Every year I use vacation days to take off a large chunk of time in the second half of October. In 2005 we went to Seattle and Vancouver. In 2006 we took a cruise to the southern Caribbean. Last year we spent a week at Disney World. This year our situation is obviously much different, with a new member of the family, new Bible studies, and a new role as a CARES team. So I’m still off duty for the next 10 days or so starting Monday morning, but we’ve altered our plans compared to previous years.

First, we have our normal Monday night men’s/women’s Bible studies and our every-other-Tuesday home group at our place. On one of those days we plan to vote early for the Nov election. Wednesday morning we plan to drop Brenden and the dog off at Grammy’s house and go on an overnight adventure. The location and itinerary are a surprise for Jenny, but I’m very excited and think we’ll have a great time. All I’ve told her is that we’re driving, staying at a bed and breakfast, and spending some time outside. Email me if you want the details.

Thursday is my birthday, my 30th. I’ll address that issue in another post. =) We plan to meet at Crystal’s Pizza in Irving at 7:00 to celebrate like 10-year-olds in case you’d like to join us. Friday night is our CARES Fall Festival, a fun carnival for all the CARES teams, families, and apartment managers. Saturday is our monthly CARES breakfast. Sunday morning Lisa and Phillip are dedicating Reagan at church. So we’ll be plenty busy as usual, but at least I’ll have some time off work to relax and play.