Skip to main content

local outings

We are so glad we live in such a lovely place.  This summer we went to our friends' pool, Michelle took Dancenastics, Kaelah took ballet, Danny was in gymnastics and continued taking karate.  With those classes came free passes to open gym, which we enjoyed going to the with B family.

We bought an annual pass to the local children's museum since we were finding ourselves being near there for appointments often.  And once we were blessed to have some of our favorite people join us.

We visited Michelle's future preschool.  This was the first preschool K had attended and it was lovely to be back.  Stacie had moved away so Danny never got a chance to attend, but M couldn't be happier to be around the rabbit, chickens, sheep, and raspberry plants.  I like to say if she can go visit a place like that frequently, I won't have to turn my own home into a zoo.
The Rhythm on the River was great entertainment and free of charge.  Our oldest 3 got to go rock climbing for the first time -- that was our favorite part -- but also lots of booths to learn how to brush teeth, make a kite, or make something out of wood.   A highlight was riding the shuttle bus to get out of the rain.

Us girls were there for the demolition of the mall.  I am grateful we went because M almost cries every time we go past the construction.  She doesn't understand why you would tear down a perfectly good building just to make a new one.  Luckily we have a chunk of it in our garden as a keepsake, thanks to Sarah, one of the city counsel members.  Sarah even drove the bricks in her car over to where our car was parked in the non-VIP parking.
We loved attending the W family's farewell party at the R's house.
And Kaelah proved once again that she is a tremendous artist, this time after coming home from a neighbor's birthday party that was held at an art studio.
AFW has shopping all figured out.  While Mom goes around looking and making decisions, just set the children in front of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.  The children begged to go back.
The County Fair was a huge hit, as usual, made even better by meeting neighbors there.

Dan & I attended our first red carpet premiere, thanks to my former Apple co-worker.  Two of the awesome people I worked with practically made the short film by themselves... but of course, I exaggerate.  It was fun to go out and do something super out of the ordinary for date night.
The SFS Back to Pool party was super fun and all 4 of the children are signed up for swimming lessons this fall!
This July Danny earned his advanced white belt in karate.  Funny story here: I saw on the karate calendar there was a summer olympics one week but assumed it was something extra.  So when M & D and I went to the summer picnic & it was announced they were passing out medals, I told my children not to worry about it & finish eating.  Along came a teacher that said they needed Danny to come over.  Ok.  Turns out this kid earned LOTS of medals as part of his class instruction.  Basically, anything that required strength, he got a medal in.  

Danny's medals from the karate summer Olympics

3rd place Black belt kicks
1st place Push ups
1st place Heel palm shot put
1st place High jump kick

Way to go, big boy!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Homecoming 2025

The tail end of summer has been so much fun.  The weather has been fantastic and we've all had special occasions to look forward to.  First up, a family party for Natalie's softball team that included pizza, whiffle ball, and seeing the girls just have a good time together as a team. Here's my favorite photo from when Michelle helped her friend, A, celebrate her 16th birthday.  Although she has been friends with A & Z since her time at the Waldorf school, Michelle ended up hanging out with a lot of strangers and had a wonderful time.  I love seeing her branch out and make new connections while maintaining her core friend group. Homecoming week included a BBQ, Powder Puff game and drone show, parade past the middle school where I was volunteering at the Rattler Run, plus a very exciting football game that even Hubby attended by being one of the basketball parents to man the concession stand. Danny did a great job tossing candy instead of throwing it and the basket...

45

I feel spoiled. My parents and our whole family around a dinner table was perfection. Hubby provided roses & a grilled steak, roasted potatoes, and fresh salad dinner complete with chocolate cake (decorated by Michelle).  My mom and dad bought me sweet and thoughtful gifts (including a mug Natalie had painted when my mom took her to Crackpots this summer) and even stayed to watch K Pop Demon Hunters in the basement. We thought it would be hilarious to watch them watch something so different from their favorite shows. They did not disappoint. It was a joyful evening that made me feel much better about turning 45 than I felt earlier in the day.  Below you’ll find what I had written before we celebrated.  Photo credit goes to Kate! 10 Years Ago I filled out interview questions for my 35th birthday and 5 years ago I did the same, adding 5 more questions.  I really don't think I should add 5 more every year because this is probably already too much information for an...

Adventures Begin

Michelle had been saving her money for years. She didn’t know exactly what for, but it turns out she used that money to travel with a group from her high school to Asia!  When people asked me at the end of the school year what I was excited for this summer, the first thing I would think of is Michelle’s trip to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam!  We loved getting texts and photos almost everyday and were able to FaceTime her a couple times.  She had quite the range of experiences from museums and treasures such as Angkor War to cooking classes and time on the water to learning how to fold flowers for offerings at famous Buddhas, and even hanging out with rats that sniff out landmines to be properly disposed of.  We are absolutely thrilled for her! While Michelle was in Asia, Hubby and Kate worked and Kate hung out with friends doing things like paddle boarding (it is great to hear her work stories!), Natalie and I watched the Women’s College World Series when we weren’...