Looking Back
I wrote this yesterday, but forgot to post it before heading out for an afternoon of kickball. I believe M is coming home with an assignment tonight to ask S and I what our memories of September 11, 2001 are. Her social studies teacher wrote her memories of that day on her whiteboard and shared a pic of it on…
Out of the Fish Business
We’re out of the fish business. Our last betta, Harry Potter, died an unfortunate death today. He was on his last legs already – L was sure he was dead last weekend – but then I accidentally wacked the side of his bowl with a lid to some Corningware while I made my lunch. Water and gravel went everywhere. By…
Busy From the Beginning
The first full week of school is now underway. the girls were a little grumpier the last two mornings than they were on Thursday and Friday. I admit so was I. I’d love to get into some kind of daytime routine, but we also started a bathroom remodel yesterday. It should be pretty quick – knock on wood – but…
First Day Back
First day of school! Summer is over!1 The girls and I closed out the summer with a pretty fun day yesterday. I took them to a wall climbing place. We got there right after they opened and they had the walls to themselves for about 45 minutes. There was a combination of both automatic belays and ropes that I had…
Gearing Up
We got our final lake weekend of summer vacation in the books. Like our last visit, two weeks ago, this was a split weekend. Saturday was gorgeous: upper 70s, no humidity, warm sunshine, and a fairly open lake as a lot of the locals were already back in school. Then clouds moved in and Sunday was cool and rainy, which…
This ‘n’ That
M had a great time at camp. We picked her up Friday afternoon and, just like last year, she shared every detail of her week for the next 90 minutes as we drove home. Well, this year was a little different since C had been at camp two weeks before and would occasionally interrupt to ask a question or share…
Catch Up
It’s been a busy few days. Going back to last week, our friends the R’s visited from KC for a long lake weekend. They met us down there Friday afternoon and stayed through lunchtime Sunday. As a lot of you know, the R’s have two boys and they’ve not spent a ton of time with our girls. So we really…
A Whole New Ballgame: 13
Well, here we are: the teenage years. Holy shit! Thirteen years ago this morning M came into the world, full of drama from the start. It’s a cliche to say something like “and that day, my life changed forever.” But, really, what else can you say? Marriage is a big change in your life. But S and I had also…
More Summer Notes
Before I share another tidbit from our holiday week, we had kind of a crazy morning today. M and I went out to buy school supplies[1] and then grabbed some lunch. In the five minutes it took us to get from Target to the restaurant we caught a break in the storm. But the western skies looked pitch black. By…
Summer Doings
Time to get back at it. After the long holiday week, bookended by trips down to the lake house, we’re finally home for what should be a very quiet week at home. Last week we had my brother-in-law, his wife, and their two-year-old daughter from Boston staying with us. It was good to catch up and hang out with them.…