This blog won't capture the major milestones of life. Instead, this is the place where I hope to capture the little day to day realities of life...the little things that I want to remember when the little handprints have faded away.
Friday, April 26, 2024
Book 10
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Last Competition
They all come off exhausted from this dance, but I love the energy:
Then she had tap. This isn't the best picture, but it captures the moment she and Bailey make eye contact and smile so big:
These friendships show up onstage as well as off.
And she ended the day with her solo:
Her final moment on a competitive stage:
The competition honored seniors and gave them each a key chain:
And I spent most of the day teary, which I did not expect, and I'm blaming this woman:
Stephanie built more than a studio; she built a family. I had wrapped my head around the fact that this was Issa's last competition, but I forgot that it was also mine. When I walked in and started getting hugs from all the mom's, it hit me, and I'm still teary typing this two days later.
The high school team stayed backstage to watch Issa's solo, and after they hugged her those sweet girls came off stage and hugged me. All of us (but Issa) were in tears. Issa was actually the last one out, and she was just beaming.
I have loved watching Issa on stage--especially this year when she is truly having fun. I was ready to close that chapter with her.
What I am still processing is that I am closing a chapter with each of these sweet families, though. We will still show up to support our friends, but it will be different. It has been one of my greatest joys to watch these girls grow on and off stage, and I will miss closing their chapters with them. Thank goodness we still have recital.
Friday, April 19, 2024
Small Rituals
We got a new coffee pot last week. We loved out old one. It didn't have a traditional pot, which meant the coffee stayed warm forever. It was great until the lever broke and coffee would just randomly start flowing. It was a lot to handle before you had your coffee. When that became a somewhat regular occurrence, we ordered a replacement.
This one has the traditional pot again. I didn't realize how much I missed the small ritual of pouring coffee in the morning. Something about that motion just feels homey and comforting. It has made me realize all of the other small things I do everyday to keep my ship sailing.
May and June are always a blur, and I've made a commitment to soak in all of the moments this year, and I'm settling into the small rituals to keep me grounded.
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Perfection
And she is so authentically herself:
And I finally got a real smile in pointe shoes:
We spent a bit chunk of time planning her graduation yesterday, and I can honestly say I'm not at all sad. I am loving celebrating these milestones, closing this chapter while opening the next one. I'm so very proud of where she is, and I am absolutely loving who she is becoming.
Monday, April 15, 2024
An Absolutely Perfect Date
Brad and I had an incredible night out Saturday. I had worked an event all day, and I was so ready to make zero decisions and just enjoy some time out, and our evening did not disappoint.
We drove to a nearby little town and ate on the patio overlooking the river. We found this fun little pub with a ton of options for Brad and a great wine list. The weather was perfect and the food was great!
After dinner, we walked by the river and saw a double-crested cormorant wading in the water. He was beautiful!
We ended the evening with a strings concert in an old mill. The acoustics were incredible, and the music was gorgeous.
We are not in love this little town, and we have found a campground that we can walk to all these places from! We are already looking for the next night we can get away!
Friday, April 12, 2024
Book 9
The Poldark plot if thickening as we are following the second generation into their adult adventures. I have two books left in the series, and I am going to miss this family so much.
Thursday, April 11, 2024
An Eclipse Party
We hit about 84% totality. All of us noticed how much darker and cooler it got, but the thing we keep talking about is the quiet. No birds. No insects. Evan said even the teenagers got quiet.
It was such a wondrous thing, and I'm so grateful we were all able to experience it.
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
A Wild Ride of a Conference
And I had the right brick in 20 minutes. The actual conference was amazing! So many of these people I have "known" online for years, and it was great to miss in person. I had three presentations, and the book I have a chapter in launched:
I'm not going to lie, it was pretty cool to see my name solo in print in an actual book. And it was fun to present:
I also got to have dinner with Becca while I was in town, which was awesome! I don't often get a lot of time with just her, so it was great to catch up over a very long, very good meal.
Thankfully, the flight home was smooth and I got in on time, and my saint of a husband picked me up at 10:45pm.
I'm already looking forward to next year's conference and reconnecting with these colleagues.
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
The more traditional museum pieces were gorgeous, but this ceiling was my favorite:
They are all individual pieces. This huge main exhibit was also impressive; it took up a whole room:
This was also the trip that we learned Carol loves sprinkles:
And Evan still loves cheese burgers:
It was great to get some time away. The kids had their own room, and they loved the sibling time. I think we are all soaking in these memories this semester.
Monday, April 1, 2024
Happy Easter!
We actually lost an egg for a while:
Carol and Shannon knew where all 17 were, but we could count those places, thought we had gotten them all, and still only had 16 eggs:
Shannon literally shook the bushes one more time before dinner and it fell out!
We had traveled last week, we decided to decorate eggs after the plastic hunt and a waffle bar:
Nana made an Easter bonnet egg:
Brad and Evan made engineering marvels:
I am still insanely proud of my Easter Bunny egg:
Issa made butterflies:And Aunt Carol made pair:Aunt Shannon made a very pretty lace and sparkles egg:
After eggs we walked the river walk, and then we enjoyed an early traditional ham Easter dinner. It was a gloriously simple day, and we all enjoyed ourselves tremendously!
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Books 7 and 8
Monday, March 25, 2024
A Huge Weekend with Only One Bad Picture
She is compiling her graduation wish list, and she wanted to be sure she knew what was already there.
She is still so confident in her decision, and she has decided there really is no bad option when it comes to residence halls, so we'll take it!
Saturday night, Mom, Shannon, and I went to see the musical Mrs. Doubtfire. It was cute, but the highlight was dinner before. We tried a new tapas place, and it was delicious. The menu is fusion, and the atmosphere was bright and not at all crowded. We will be back!
Sunday afternoon, all we girls went to see a debut ballet, The Little Mermaid. The score was composed specifically for the ballet, and we had a live orchestra and soprano. It was absolutely the best ballet I've ever seen! It was both classic and modern, and it was danced absolutely beautifully.
We met the boys afterwards for dinner at Radius, and I was in bed by 9:00. It was a perfect weekend!