Other October Fun Included...

Cass ran her first race! The Run for Education is the premier race for education in northern Nevada. Proceeds go towards supporting PE programs I believe. We have a ton of races here by the way. Running, kayaking, hot air balloons, camels, outhouses, biking and pedaling, I could go on. Cass ran half a mile with Mount Rose and had a great time.

Also, Homecoming was this month! Matt got his Whipple staff together for quite the weekend :-)
You know, Savvy turned 3 and had a fantastic party at the beginning of October if you remember...that seems so long ago!

My counterpart in our foundation office and I went to the AcademicWorks Conference in Austin, TX. What a splendid time!! Their company is amazing, we are always glowing about their customer service. And it was clearly reflected in the conference. There was not a session I went that was not helpful. And the activities they planned! I have never experienced karaoke with a live band as back up. I do believe I need to add that to our big grad/vow renewal/cassidysbirthday big shindig for Spring 2017. AcademicWorks is a software product that allows us to track, upload, organize,market scholarships and grants, have students apply and followup, and manage donor relationships. It is so neat. Tara and I also learned that ours is a rare relationship, most financial aid offices and foundation offices do not play well together when it comes to managing scholarships apparently. We heard it over and over from people who were in awe that we even knew each other's names, much less liked each other and worked well together. Had no idea! 

I do love me some Tara! Even if she is a Bears fan.....

These pics did not come out so great. But you will love this story. Our church has a new reverend. Father William.

We adore him! He is from Florida. And started in August. The Episcopal church has an intense structure when it comes to replacing clergy which includes an exhaustive search that lasts forever. To get to know him, we signed up to host a cottage dinner, where he and a few families from church come over for food and fun.  Three other families came over (Rich and Celeste and their daughters Ana and Monroe, Mark and Laura and their girls Nevada and Alice, and another family who did not appear, so really two families came over). We had some rumblings because usually during the family service the kids do everything. The sacrament, the eucharist, the readings, everything except for the story at the altar but even then they all gather up there to listen. They pull the pillows off the pews and sit and listen and ask questions and it is a delight to watch! However, the kids had stopped doing the wine. We were so confused. Who was this person coming in changing everything?? 

Well, as it turns out, it is illegal for a minor to serve alcohol. Even if that alcohol is supposed to be Jesus. Whoops! We laughed so hard as Father William explained our need to be in compliance with the LAW. So obvious, but had never occurred to any of us.  

 Matt and I volunteered to be trained as Eucharistic Ministers so we can help out with the wine on Sundays and alternate with Dave and Rich when need be. It was a quick training too. Father William was so patient, the girls kept interrupting him too and he would just keep explaining things and showing them special parts of the back office where sacred items are stored. It was awesome. We are super happy he is here. Now we just need help getting his husband Ernie here. Ernie is still in Florida working until he secures a more permanent position here. If you know of someone in need of a fantastic person with higher ed and online experience, shout out!