My Favorite Time of Year

Highlights

• Board game club and board game/strategy game gathering with Mr. Johnson at the RCC on Sundays

• Soccer and goalie training
• A fun family day of hiking at Seneca Park, lunch at Taco Bamba, and a lot of great Halloween decorations in Falls Church, Dunn Loring, and Vienna
• Taking the day as it came: 100 Things to do before you grow up with Teddy and the soccer match with GFR coaches Illias and Carter. Had time to chat with Josh’s dad
• Walking to school - great as always
• A birthday celebration in Woodstock was great fun. Frank and Zach ran the RC car, and then met us for lunch and cupcakes. Zach spent the night! 

• Zach and I also stopped in to visit Mom and Dad on the way to and from TN
• I got my old job back! People missed me, and in my listening tour, they’ve been letting me know. Feels pretty good!
• Hubbard Street Dance performance at George Mason was a fun treat, though a late night!
• Math Olympiad for Zach
• Rediscovering the Indigo Girls’ song Mystery and Matt Kearney. Nice rocking out!
• We're getting in a lot of Gordon Korman listening. We like The Superteacher and Fort best and then Slacker, Snoop, and Ungifted. The books are so good!
• We celebrated Frank's 50th birthday! On Veteran’s Day, so we went out for a hike at Banshee and then lunch at Lark and then tried a new Vietnamese restaurant.

• At the end of the season, the boys got their first win and headed off to the Bethesda Premier Cup where they won all four of their games and finally won a tournament. The champions! Hanging out with Yousef and Alan.

• A sweet card from one of the soccer families. I appreciate the thoughtfulness from them, from Sameen and Amy
• Northern Lights in Reston!
• Dinner with Katie and Suji

Halloween fun: though I really dislike costumes and trick-or-treating, I loved checking out decorations in October and making fun treats (witches fingers and eyeball punch)! 

Not our carved pumpkin, but so good!

Visit to TN: magical - See Paige's special video here.

• Zach got to ride a horse for the first time, feed a calf, and see the where I grew up. We had fun with the Bell family! They were selling honey at the Willow Garden. There are good restaurants, Ghost and Grits, great food and coffee - all in Jefferson City. 
• We had some terrific inside jokes, played games all around, laughed a lot and ate Martha’s wonderful cookies, soups, and casseroles. 
• We visited the rodeo in Seymour, TN, and it poured and was so cold, so it was nice to warm up with and old friend, Linda, and her cat, Cornbread. Zach enjoyed vegan hotcho
• We visited Jonesborough and the International Storytelling Center and Kids Festival and learned about Buckminster Fuller, which was fascinating!
• When we left, Zach cried. I did too. 
• On the way home, we happened upon a wonderful coffee shop and bakery - The Girl and The Raven in Abingdon. 

Food and Cooking

• Trail mix pancakes
• Dinner out for Emily’s birthday at Reveler’s Hour in DC; the gnocchi and garlic knot were amazing
• Choolaah was an unexpectedly delightful find! Zach and I enjoyed the black lentil daal. Yum!
• Finally made it to Great Harvest Bread Company, and October was shortbread month! Ran into an old GoCanvas colleague!
• Don Sebas for tacos
• Dinners at Corsica
• Breakfast for Frank on the eve of Frank’s 50th birthday
• We tried out a new Vietnamese restaurant, Lantern House

Of Note

• Zach doesn’t like chorus because the teacher is cranky and mostly frustrated with the students. 
• We had Zach's parent / teacher conference and all seemed great, and I think it is, but his teachers this year "grade" on a harder scale! LOL!
• Ears cleaned out and a visit to the dentist
• Flu shots and COVID shots all around
• My second shingles shot made me so much more sick than the first. I was glad to see the same pharmacist. I really like her. 

Challenges

• Having empathy and understanding for others different motivations - Why isn't everyone like me!?
• Homework is still a challenge, but we’re rolling with it and are less intense.
• Halloween - the actual night! Though I had a lot of fun finding recipes and making witch fingers cookies and eyeball punch, the actual night is so energy draining! Claire and Beto made an amazing taco bar spread, but the conversation about Reese’s candy as the devil was a little hard to handle! Zach had a blast with Theo, Henry, and friends as Harry Potter. Year 2 of 2!

The Latest: The Short & Sweet Version

Highlights

• Walking to school with Zach; this week there were six of us; it was pajama day, and all the kids had at least one stuffie. So cute <3
• Walking to school in general with friends
• Some good stories and we really enjoyed Gordon Korman's Shipwreck, Survival, and Escape books
• Zach and I returned to Northside Social

• Soccer, soccer, and soccer + goalie training with Liam
• Soccer bonding between tournaments, at Loudoun United games, and in Williamsburg
• Quality time with Theo
• Zach’s cooking - he made a fresh tomato sauce

• Remembering the Canadian Rockies in 2013; some amazing photos came through my Shutterfly memories, and I re-read my blog posts, like this one on the Trip Superlatives.
• Clay cafe with Auntie Em and Burke Lake with Grandad
• Visit to Hershey, PA. It was a theme of the summer for us. I went in Aug, and F&Z went to the Park. Then, F&Z went again in Sep with Owen
• Skateboarding - thanks to Aidan for letting us borrow his board to try it out
• Mexican restaurants - Don Seba’s and El Rodeo Mexican & Salvadorian Restaurant in Fredericksburg
• Catching up with Paige
• Band, drums, and chorus for Zach
• Zumba with Auntie Em
• So much good food and Auntie Em's tomatoes!!!
• I’m loving Corsica Wine Bar - went twice with Auntie Em

New, Difficult, and Managed

• The new requirement of homework is a lot of emotional labor and is taking some time to navigate
• Days off school give us more time to do the homework and Zach managed a day on his own
• Back to work and setting boundaries

New Experiences

• Volunteering for a nonprofit that is forming is keeping me busy
• Working on my portfolio has been fun and thinking about new work opportunities. Here's the snazzier version that might not be around after this week.
• Head wraps

Goodbye to Katie’s Dad

Michigan 2025 (July 27-August 16)

Check out all the photos. 

Zach of Note

• Zach took some time to draw cute animals

• He bought and wrote in a journal. As an avid journaler, this was awesome for me! 

• Cooking: grilling, pancakes, and grilled cheeses

• Listening: We all listened to Patina and started Sunny, but it was really strange! We tried a different book, but we didn’t all like it, so we ended up starting Coop Knows the Scoop on our way home

• Allowance conversation and Zach spent $15 on his journal (Mom and Dad chipped in $5/each) and $27 on his water bottle

• Loved Camp Carvela!

Laughter/Fun

• Just saying these words made us all laugh! El Cilantro, Rodrigo’s, Mimi’s, and Whatzat
• The ducks at house #2
• The foxes at house #3

Good Food

• Pond Hill Farm’s pizza, peanut noodles, kale salad
• Excellent homemade beet, strawberry, and hibiscus smoothies, tortillas and eggs, and Peruvian chicken and rice in Charlevoix
• That French Place’s crepes and pastries
• 9 Beans Row’s cinnamon croissant, shakshuka, and pizza
• Vander Farm’s goodies
• St. Ambrose’s fish tacos
• Spanglish and Left Foot Charley
• Tandem Cider’s crepes and homemade sodas
• Mimi’s bean dip, chips, and salsa
• Mudgie’s ice cream sundaes (dirt and tin roof)
• Amazing blueberries and some good blackberries
• We made s’mores; grilled sausages, veggies, and corn; trail mix and blueberry pancakes; and homemade grilled cheeses 
• Fresh Coast Market’s chocolate cappuccino muffin
• Zach loved the food at Camp Carvela and tried pierogies and kielbasa

Highlights

• Pond Hill Farm and St. Ambrose evenings
• Seeking out fantastic baked goods
• Libraries (Harbor Springs, Empire, and Mackinac Island)

• It was still cherry season 
• Time with family at Polecat

• Warm temps made for a lot of good time in the water, especially for Frank & Zach
• Goalie game - trying to get the ball past the goalie
• Paddle baseball
• Juggling for me! 
• Snorkeling over shipwrecks in Lake Huron
• Alpine Slide for F&Z
• Mackinac Island
• Lots of lovely outdoor meals
• Art: sculptures on the Leelanau Trail and in Cheboygan, Michigan Legacy Art Park, and Interlochen

• Paddle boarding on Lake Leelanau and on the Platte River

• A haircut
• Beautiful evenings on Lake Michigan beaches
• Empire Bluffs hike for Susan
• Camp Carvela for Zach

• Mountain biking at Crystal Mountain for Frank

Details of Note

• Leaving early at the beginning and end of the trip
• The woman at Wendy’s - when I asked for a Classic Frostie, she said, “What flavor?” and I said, “The Classic.” She said, “What flavor?” I looked back at the menu and clarified, “Chocolate.” Then I asked if there had originally only been one flavor. Yes, originally, Frostie’s were always chocolate. So, I’m not crazy! 
• We had smoke from the Canadian fires for seven of our 21 days, which was a true bummer. The air quality wasn’t terrible, and it didn’t impact our health, but there was a haze and we couldn’t open up the windows overnight and really enjoy the cool nights. 
• Soccer: LOTS of Team Admin work on vacation for the Loudoun Premier Cup

Summer Higlights & More (June 26-July 26)

 Zach’s Summer Highlights

• Hershey Park x 2

• Lewes with friends - Theo and family

• Juneteenth

• Camp: Day Camp, Sportsters, YMCA Science, Camp GT (and especially Sandy Springs Adventure Park), Camp Carvela

• Savannah Bananas with Auntie Em and Noah

• Loudoun United game with Landon

• 4th of July Fireworks

• The boat! 

• Friends

• Day Camp buddies

• Baylor at Sportsters

• Another Theo and James at the YMCA

• Paddle boarding

• Mom’s birthday - backroads, coffee shop, book store, lunch under a covered porch, giving, Club World Cup, Escape Room, Indian food

• Playdates with James and Adrian

• Cooking: Zucchini tots, apple chips

• Books, jokes, ST Math, magic trick, poker, cards

• Reading & movies: BFG, Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Road Trip, and O11ce about the kids at the sports school - IAD - in Argentina, mainly focusing on soccer

• Ice cream @ Chimney Cake Bakery

• Bowling

Roanoke with Paige

Talking and sharing and connecting in and amongst the below…

• Great scenic drive and podcasts galore

• Lunch at First Watch

• Walk and got lost in Roanoke. Hot!

• Groceries and hanging out at the country house

• A trek back to find ciders! 🙂

• A trip to Buchanan and their sketchy swing bridge crossing the James River

• Lunch and a walk around Peaks of Otter picnic area

• Dinner at the River and the Rail. A limited menu, and it ended up being delicious. 

• Stop for Hagen Daaz ice cream bars

• Walking country roads 

Birthday

An Ideal Day:

• Morning exercise

• A nice leisurely morning with coffee and family conversation

• A trip to a new coffee shop for a second cup of coffee and baked goods

• A stop at a bookstore

• Spice shopping for upcoming cooking endeavors

• Tacos for lunch on a covered porch while it rained

• Home on back roads

• Watched a soccer game with Frank and Zach and enjoyed homemade watermelon coolers - Yum! 

• Played an Escape Room game

• Indian food for dinner

• A walk around the neighborhood before bed

Connection

• Going to the Lake Ann Stingrays swim meet and saw Aidan, Beth, Claire, Theo, Susan, and Lindy. Good times! 

• Loudoun United with Landon and family

• Jess and Angela checked in on me

• Trip to Roanoke with Paige! 

• Hanging out with Auntie Em, esp trip for tea to celebrate Auntie Em’s retirement and out for my birthday to a new restaurant

• Trip to Mom and Dad’s: Emily provided tech support and Susan interviewed on family history

• A second trip to finish up most of the family history questions I had with Mom and Dad

• Dinner and a movie (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day) for the Fordams with the RETJ

• The Zuazo Family - smoothies and hanging out

• Walks with Katie

• Tea with Agathe

• Walks with Leni

• Goodbye to LaFaurie family at Siga’s house - we brought our watermelon coolers, but added in lemonade to the frozen watermelon and blackberries; we also brought pesto, Auntie Em’s sourdough bread, which Siga loved, and roasted chickpeas. Sacha’s speech had me in tears talking about how their French/European friends talked about how superficial Americans would be, but we had embraced them and forged deep bonds. Beautiful and nice to be together with everyone! I left Emily’s sourdough for Siga.

• Talked to Nikki

• Hearts to Liesl and all her pictures from Greece and Turkey

• Chat with Mary Kay

• Chat with Chris and ice cream with Owen and his other grandmother! 

• Potluck lunch and games: Five Minute Dungeon and poker with Kathleen and Brian

• Adrian’s brother actually asked me, “What was middle school like for you?” What a great question! 

• Day with Grandad