2024 - That’s (Almost) a Wrap

Well here it is, the almost end of 2024, and in the spirit of auld lang syne, I am going to try to do a year in review.

Let’s see, the year started off with Liam finishing up senior year of hs with an exciting season of Madrigals, where he got to perform downtown on the radio with Chris Petlak, and then again downtown on Fox 32. It was quite an awesome musical experience for him and us. He was also cast in his last high school musical, Momma Mia which was pretty epic and performed at the White Eagle banquet hall. It was a hike but I think I made it to every show. The whole family met up with him in The Big Apple after he finished a Broadway weekend with the theatre department. Liam is a trooper and continued in band, also going to district honors band and district honors choir. He finished high school STRONG and graduated with honors and the PHS Music Department award. He had a summer of working at Cap’s ice cream and relaxing (after a summer of pandemic and then programs at Berkeley and Dublin the last two years.) Then he successfully transitioned to CU to study astrophysics and participate in the marching band. Now we’re all college football fans, watching the team and the band excel and end up at the Alamo Bowl! We have had the good fortune to travel out to see him a few times this year, including a really good exciting Thanksgiving that included some great meals, an awesome football game with Liam sighting in the marching band and a lot of much needed family downtime. 

Brendan had a great start to junior year, still plays volleyball (now exclusively) and is crushing academics. 36 on his first crack at the ACT, and a fun summer including being a youth ambassador for the DNC and a judge of elections in November. He and Eric head out to Southern California in a few weeks for a nationals volleyball tournament. 

Aidan had a fantastic end to grade school, and started PHS over the summer with consumer ed. He has straight As after that summer and his first semester, with a full set of difficult classes. He’s crushing his first AP class just like his big brothers did. He is doing choir with his angelic voice, had the only freshman solo in the PHS winter music concert, and had his first role in a PHS show. Unfortunately we couldn’t attend because we had longstanding dinner plans we made for everyone to see Liam when he came home from college before Thanksgiving.

Ellen is doing a great job as the family caboose. She is still kind and sweet, and works hard with her schooling. She’s trying out all the sports, taking saxophone lessons and had a staring role as Toto in the SRS spring musical (while Aidan was the Tinman and the rest of us did crew.) She is excited to have ended the year getting a phone, and will begin horseback riding lessons at the start of the new year. 

Eric and I are doing well, and Nessa is everyone’s favorite dog (Squirmy has secured the role of favorite snake.) Tonight Eric and I will go with friends to one of the last nights Dave’s Specialty Foods is in business, as he is closing the store at the end of the year. On the plus side the town has opened a lot of new restaurants and a great little Italian grocery store. Prayers for a happy end of this year and a joyous and prosperous 2025!

Another Day in the Pandemic Times

 But then, apparently in England, the pandemic has ended? https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/19/world/uk-johnson-covid-rules.html?searchResultPosition=9

I’m definitely confused, but the good news is tomorrow is Friday! Seriously, this year 2 of the pandemic has brought back all the trappings of our overly scheduled lives, but none of the deep interpersonal relationships and human comforts that make them bearable. We have no joke like 15-30 assorted basketball games and practices this week, but no one feels comfortable watching the games when you know the next day you could get a message saying a kid on the team has Covid. Everything is fraught. 

Foggy October Friday

 The pumpkins we were growing didn't grow. The side of our house is not suitable for pumpkins we have learned. Liam wants a Gagaball pit. That's a thing but not sure how it's spelled. Brendan's homewroom teacher said he will go far. Aidan made the state sectionals team as an alternate. He won every one mile his raced in other than 2, but in all cases came in first on his team. Liam has a band competition tomorrow in Iowa and has to be at Prospect at 3:45am. AM! Eric is going up tonight with Al S. and I intend to send a lot of memes from Planes, Trains and Automobiles. They will be helping on the Knightshift. Ellen and Brendan and Aidan all had great conference reports from their teachers. The weather is super weird and steamy and foggy and warm. Well, back to a staff inservice day for me.

Day-Tripper

We have this adorable bright yellow bird who started visiting our minivan early in the summer. He comes fairly regularly, sits on the sideview mirror of either of our cars, then jumps down to look at himself in the mirror and jumps back up. He does this for about 5 minutes at a time. I have some pictures and maybe a video of it that I'll try to find and add here. I tried to take a video of him just now but he flew into a tree. We have decided to call him Narcissus.

July 2021

 It's been a minute. How to sum up the last many many weird weird months? Well let's start with now. The three boys are at Scout Camp for a week. It's Aidan's first time, Brendan's second (because it was closed last year thanks to Covid) and Liam's fourth. The last time they were there it was Liam, Brendan and Eric, and there was the Friday night Makajastorm. They'll have to write about that but basically some huge storm blew it with tornadoes and wiped out much of the camp. Thank goodness they were in the cafeteria shelter and were safe. Ok, so last week Liam and Eric were in Berkeley for a Biodesign camp Liam went to at the Lawrence Hall of Science. Then they came home on the redeye Sat morning and Sunday Eric drove the boys up to camp. It's 180 from last summer when almost everything was shut down. This summer Liam has had band camp, Biodesign camp, Makajawan and when he gets back track camp and more band camp. He also got to march in his first parade, 4th of July, and got to perform as a band at Memorial Day even though there was no parade. Brendan has had golf and VBS, and is running Camp WaPella, and when he gets back he will have XC, Track and football. Oh, and all three boys and Eric also went on a scouting canoe trip and Liam and Eric did the high adventure version, which was Liam's first high adventure. Aidan has had basketball, volleyball and track camp, swimming, and he has been in a bookclub. when he gets back he will have another volleyball camp. Ellen has had cheer camp, golf, basketball, yoga and tutoring and now she's in a camp once a week run by the David siblings who are teachers at SRS.  Tomorrow Ellen will go for a 2 night sleepover to Grandma and Grandpa's and Eric and I might try to paint the basement ceiling. I have not yet gone back to the school library, but I will tomorrow. I really needed a mental health break and I hope I can get a lot accomplished tomorrow. 

This year we did not plant a garden but we are growing pumpkins and I have some flowers in pots and in the front garden that are doing really well. We got a big couch for the back patio and it it pretty terrific. Also a giant slipnslide. It's been a pretty rainy summer with days of blazing heat. In fact totday is one of those days so I better go water asap.

Ellenisms Continued

I told Ellen I had some jewelry she hasn’t tried on, because I want to keep it safe. She said “yea, because I might lose it, and then you wouldn’t have it for a fancy equation. Like a party, or a funeral. Do you wear jewelry to an equation of a funeral? Or does that seem like you are trying to look fancy and then it would seem like you were happy about the person, you know, passing away?”

Parenthood in D minor