We closed out June all snuggled in our bed. As the kids red or watched their iPads, I wound back the month in my mind. Since school let out on the 10th, we’ve covered some ground— and still have so much summer left to go. Here’s a snapshot working back in time…
We went to the movies. Actually, we went twice— seeing the animated Spirit and In the Heights (just Marin and I with our dear friend and neighbor.) Both times we were nearly the only ones in the theatre. It was nice to sit in the dark with a humongous bucket of popcorn— which is really the only reason to go to the movies these days.
I did my first open water swim practice with Wave One at National Harbor. My first triathlon in nearly 20 years is coming up in 3 weeks. Hoping to avoid some of the inevitable panic during the swim, I figured some practice out of the pool in something chilly, brackish, murky and wave-y might help. Putting the weirdness of swimming in a public place where nearly everyone else is walking around fully clothed eating ice cream aside, this was a really great experience— the friendly group, calm, sparkly water with plenty of space was just awesome. Though I still I suspect all of this is just leading to me eventually being eaten by a shark (more on that phobia in a future post.)
Last week, the girls went to sleepaway camp for the first time at Camp Varsity in Madison, VA. They loved, loved, loved it. This baby step towards greater independence benefitted for all of us. While they were singing, hiking, and enjoying late-night “cabin talk,” Linc fully embraced his temporary status as an “only.” He enjoyed take-out, pool playdates, and having his grandparents and cousins all to himself at the annual River Bash. Brian and I got two date nights in a row which was pretty great too.
Before camp drop-off, we went cherry picking. This is one of those experiences with kids that never quite lives up to my imagination. It was HOT, a bit buggy, and uphill both ways through tall grass. It seemed like a good idea to get the big bucket. It wasn’t. We were all into it just long enough to cover the bottom with cherries. So it wasn’t long before I was yelling, “Just keep picking!!!” And all that annoyance was BEFORE I realized the pain in the ass it would be to pit them all. Ugh. What seemed like a quick, fun activity turned into a week-long project. The best thing that came out of this was these cherry bars. They were so good it was almost worth it. The other plus is that we have enough in the freezer to perfect our Luxardo maraschino recipe to keep us going with Old Fashions all winter.
The biggie this month was our trip to Ocean City, MD to visit the beach and Aunt Anna and cousin Jake. As a bonus, we got some chilly lunch and playtime in with Kelly and Ric’s Cambridge cousins.
As many of you know, Brian and I are not laying on the beach people. I hate sand, sand, and sun in anything but small quantities. Somehow we got three who LOVE the buckets, waves, shells, boogie boards, wet towels, snacks, and running back and forth to the water. Marin is like her Mom Mom T and could jump the waves for hours.
Brian spends his time grumbling about how different (subpar) the Maryland beaches are compared to New Jersey. He was part delighted and disgusted when the lifeguards actually called a meeting to warn about the riptide. Apparently, that would NEVER happen at the Jersey Shore. Here are just a few of the highlights from that trip.
Lastly, a couple of random highlights…
Enjoying the most delicious mixed grill BBQ put on by our friends (including an actual Brazilian)— with marshmallows!
Lots and lots of great food between our garden and nights out
Backyard bubbles with neighbors, and, of course
Plenty of screen time
