We had a fun, busy Labor Day Weekend. The Mary and Casey were in town and it was the last weekend to have our pool up. On Friday we had everyone over for pizza and to watch the Valley vs Dowling football game. On Saturday we did our own thing during the day and then Mary and Casey hosted dinner at the Rafferty’s (their friends’ house). Sunday was the closing party for the pool.
Today was the first Cross Country race for Andrew and Mari. Cross Country and Soccer have been lifesavers during the pandemic because they are all outside and it gives the kids a chance to exercise and see their friends. Mari, Andrew, and Elliot are all running this year. Elliot’s first meet isn’t for a couple of weeks.
No fans at high school football games this year, so we bought season pass to stream the Valley games online. This evening we set up the TV on the deck to enjoy their season opener against Roosevelt.
Today was the first day of school for the older kids. Our school district offered either an in-person or online option and we opted for online, at least through January. The kids connect into an actual class where most kids are in the classroom but a few are online. The logistics turned out to be a little complicated to sort out because they are operating on a block schedule, where the kids only have 4 classes each day. In some ways that makes it easier, but we have to be sure we are ready for each day, and there are a few twists that add some occasional confusion.
I started working on my MBA back in the spring of 2017. I took some time off because of our trip and finished up a couple of weeks ago. There was a slight delay in officially celebrating my graduation because I was waiting on a final grade. We had the Reagens and Mimi and Papa over to celebrate and Susan and the girls put together a mini graduation ceremony for me. I probably spent about 3-5 hours each week working on my MBA work and it will be nice to have that time back.
Today we took a day trip to Whiterock Conservancy with the Reagens. we have been out here a few times over the past few years, usually with the Reagens. Sometimes we spend the night. We enjoyed playing in the very low river, looking Lucia’s lost shoe, hiking, biking, and just hanging out.
Susan and the little girls made it down to the creek today to play in one of the beachy areas where there is nice sand and pleasant water. The girls love to work on projects using the sand, rocks, and sticks.
This morning there were some storms moving through. I didn’t think much of it, but as we stood on the front porch it started to get really windy and the sky was definitely funky. It turned out to be a derecho – straight line winds across the state from 70-120 mph. We mostly just lost some small limbs around our yard, there are plenty of branches down across the city, and corn has been knocked down in many places across the state.
We haven’t been to Cincinnati in a year and we have been working hard this summer to find a time to go. A good window presented itself and we made the trip, staying just a few days in Cincinnati. We mostly hung out with my family, except for visiting with the Herrels.
After a slight delay, we are headed to Cincinnati! We delayed our trip one day because Elliot started developing a rash. We weren’t sure what it was, but after a few hours we could determine that it was poison ivy.
The big kids like to rotate who sits in the back and are committed to making sure they switch at the right time. Here they are, doing the rotation.