Holy smokes, work starts on Friday. <em>This Friday</em>. Friday the 2nd.

Don't get me wrong, I've known this for a while. It's just snuck up on me. I've been enjoying two months of summer vacation and in July September seemed so far away. Now September is nearly upon us.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="614" caption="In my parents backyard"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Large" title="In my parents backyard" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6095536663/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6194/6095536663_dfc7bb2421_b.jpg" alt="In my parents backyard" width="614" height="410" /></a>[/caption]

School is about to start. <em>School</em>. School starts on September 15th.

The good news that's still more than 15 days away. <!--more-->

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="614" caption="Hot dog, beer and corn"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Large" title="Hot dog, beer and corn" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6096078478/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6064/6096078478_5e484fdb2e_b.jpg" alt="Hot dog, beer and corn" width="614" height="410" /></a>[/caption]

It doesn't seem like it could possibly be time for school to start up again but it is. Or at least that's what my calendar tells me.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="614" caption="Silly sisters"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Large" title="Silly sister photo, two" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6095535869/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6200/6095535869_9d9b7cdd8d_b.jpg" alt="Silly sister photo, two" width="614" height="410" /></a>[/caption]

Rather than dwell on that, I decided to pull together some snap shots from the summer. That's a much better use of my time after all and more productive than drinking a beer at a cafe in downtown Sofia and lamenting the loss of summer.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="614" caption="Silly sisters, two"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Large" title="Silly sister photo, one" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6096078156/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6206/6096078156_7f35e4b076_b.jpg" alt="Silly sister photo, one" width="614" height="410" /></a>[/caption]

Luckily for me, I had a great summer vacation and as if that wasn't great enough, we also have some serious holidays during the month of September. We're not talking one three day weekend like we'd get in the States for Labor Day. No sir. We've got two four day weekends in September.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="614" caption="Brother and me at a baseball game"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Large" title="Brother and me at a baseball game" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6096077652/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6067/6096077652_e69a7f6211_b.jpg" alt="Brother and me at a baseball game" width="614" height="410" /></a>[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="614" caption="Taking photos with dAd"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Large" title="Taking photos with dAd" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6096079166/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6188/6096079166_59060fa09e_b.jpg" alt="Taking photos with dAd" width="614" height="410" /></a>[/caption]

After the first day of work, we have a four day weekend from September 3-6th! Hip-hip-houray. Black Sea here I come. Then school starts in the middle of a week and the very next week we have another four day weekend from the 22nd to the 25th.  I'll be hopping on a plane and heading to Stuttgart for the Cannstatter Volksfest.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="614" caption="In Elena with teachers"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Large" title="In Elena" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6096079458/"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6080/6096079458_73501276a0_b.jpg" alt="In Elena" width="614" height="410" /></a>[/caption]

Three cheers for holidays in Bulgaria. Oh and three cheers for my cuttie-puttie high school students. I'm not-so-secretly looking forward to seeing their smiling faces as well.