• More European Vacation Notes

    I’ve been sitting on several leftover notes from our European vacation. At this point I doubt I’m going to remember anything interesting or important so seems like time to finally purge them from the notebook. Good grief, Europe is expensive! I know this isn’t a news flash or anything. It didn’t help that we were staying in bougie places, in…

  • Weekend Notes

    Another weekend that, honestly, not much exciting happened in our lives. Most of the weekend was dreary, from Friday evening until late Sunday afternoon. We got a decent downpour overnight into Saturday morning, enough that the pool cover pump was completely submerged when I tossed it out Saturday morning. Later in the day we got absolutely pounded, with flash flood…

  • Spending Like Drunken Sailors

    S and I have been cautiously counting down the various financial milestones we are about to check off as parents. Earlier this month we had a mini celebration when we paid CHS tuition for the final time. This is also the last year we will be paying tuition for three kids. As a family that chose to send our kids…

  • Weekend Notes

    It was nice to have a laid back weekend after several weeks of travel and other nonsense. Although a few of us spent time in the car. Unfortunately, I am still sick. Today will be day 14. I guess this is my punishment for going so long without being ill in any way. Last week I tried one batch of…

  • Summer Vacation 2026

    Four years after our first family vacation to Europe, we again jetted across the pond last week, splitting it between London and Dublin. It was a pretty good trip, although there were two significant bummers and a couple other smaller disappointments that kept this from surpassing either Italy or Hawaii as our #1 ranked family vacation. London Our first stop…

  • Holiday Weekend Notes

    In some ways this was our most boring Fourth of July weekend ever. In other ways it was super packed with events. Independence Day We didn’t do a whole hell of a lot for the Fourth. S had a four-day weekend and she mostly used it to prep for our upcoming vacation. As we were between trips we decided not…

  • Colorado Trip Notes

    We had a wonderful, long weekend in Colorado, checking a number of boxes along the way. Somehow, despite sleeping poorly Saturday night, I was unable to sleep well last night. Forgive me if this is disjointed, and it may not be as inclusive as my trip summaries were in the past. The primary cause for traveling was the wedding of…

  • Weekend Notes

    Plenty happened over the weekend that requires at least a quick blurb or two. HS Basketball This was an evaluation weekend, when college coaches can come in and watch teams play, so CHS participated in one of the big, local events. Two games Friday, two Saturday. The team went 3–1. They won two overtimes games, one in doubt OT. They…

  • Weekend Notes

    It was a proper summer weekend. The weather was warm and got warmer and muggier as the weekend progressed. That turned into torrential downpours Sunday afternoon. We lazed in the pool when the weather allowed. Sunday S and I went to the graduation party for the daughter of one of her partners. As it poured we reminisced about M’s party…

  • Weekend Notes

    A weekend with some big sporting events to discuss. Hibachi I did some Good Dad stuff to start the weekend. L’s favorite restaurant is a hibachi place near us. Since I got a Blackstone grill last year I’ve made a far-less-elaborate home version a couple times. She had bragged about my skills to her friends and requested that I cook…