Day 2714 | Fall Soccer
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We’re back for a new soccer season. A brand new team. A new coach. And a renewed sense of excitement. Robbe even scored a goal! The beautiful fall morning didn’t hurt either.
I think it’s going to be a great season.
Day 2713 | Birthday Coffee
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My grandma turned 96 (!!) yesterday so a birthday coffee was in order! What a treat to spend some time with my grandma, great aunt, two aunts, and my cousin. We’ve been back in Wisconsin for eight years (!!) and it’s moments like that these that brings a renewed appreciation for living close.
Day 2712 | Kitty Antics
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I just love cats.
Day 2711 | First Day of 5th Grade
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And now we have a 5th grader! A final first day at Montessori and we’re all very excited (and a little emotional) about the whole thing. Robbe has the same teacher, in the same classroom, with half the same kids so it’s about as easy of a transition into a new school year as you can get. No complaints about that.
Day 2710 | First Day of 7th Grade
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Big [HUGE] day over here. Chase started 7th grade (!!!) and Robbe had his last Welcome Back Day as an elementary student (!!!). How are these kids so old? And how is summer officially over? And who am I going to hang out with now?
Clearly, I’m working through a lot at the moment.
Day 2709 | Volcano Erupting
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Robbe made this sweet volcano as a 4-H project and today was eruption day. It took a few tries, but it we figured it out and put on quite a show. Science is fun!
Day 2708 | End of Summer
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You know it’s the end of the summer when all of the inflatables call it quits on the same day. Two have holes and one lost a head. That’s a rough day.
Day 2707 | Coffee Date
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I’m excited for school to start back up (next week!), but I am going to miss my 24/7 friends. We’ve had a really nice summer and haven’t even driven each other crazy—that much.
These two are my absolute favorite.
Day 2706 | Two Best Friends
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These two. They love each other so much.
Day 2705 | A Trip to Denver
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Back from a fun-filled trip to Denver to visit my brother and his family. We went on a challenging hike, hung out in Boulder for a bit, went to the Botanical Garden with the little guy, ate lunch at Casa Bonita, went out to a birthday dinner, visited a local playground, and I even got to drive my first E.V. Good times, right? Enjoy some photos to get a sneak peek into th evacation.
Day 2704 | White Shoe Club
/The boys just got back to school shoes and both pairs are white (or off white). Eek. We’ll see how long this lasts. I happen to be a part of the club, too (you can see how dirty mine are), and Chris is also a member (but is not pictured). Must run in the family.
Day 2703 | Lake Time
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We finally made it back to the lake (it’s been weeks!!). And some good friends joined us, too. What a lovely way to spend a summer weekend.
Day 2702 | Rainworks Bingo
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We successfully accomplished another round of Downtown EC’s Rainworks Bingo. We had to visit 16 local businesses and find a hidden symbol on the sidewalk. Some were pretty quick, others took a lot of spraying. Robbe thinks he might have pulled a muscle from all the squeezing. Hahaha
Day 2701 | Braces
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Look at this guy! Have you ever seen braces look so good? Chase got his new smile on Wednesday, so we’ve been learning a lot about all the new rules and dealing with some sore teeth. He’s handled it like a champ, though.
It’s incredible how in a blink he looks so much older!
Day 2700 | 2700!
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Another 100-day blog post and another delay to get here. You blink and the day is gone, you know? We’ve had *a few* things going on lately and I’ve been waiting for this moment to announce…wait for it…we added TWO KITTENS to our family a few weeks ago. I know. I’ve been holding out on adorable kitten photos for all this time because I wanted the big reveal to be on the 100-day post. We finally made it! So, let me introduce you to Murphy (the gray kitten) and Marvel (the black and white one). We call them Murph and Marv and we’re over the moon. I’ve loved cats for as long as I can remember and TWO kittens? It’s been a total dream. I’ve added a special kitten question to the entries below so you can get a sneak peek into our life these days.
Without further ado…
Sara
FAVORITES: Sparking water, long walks, extra time with the boys, all the kitten snuggles, a freshly-detailed van, evening meals on the porch, low-pressure mornings, our new fancy beach towels, coffee from my favorite mugs, catching sneak peeks of the bun engaging with the kittens, quick moments for reading
SUMMER-Y THING I’M GOING TO MISS THE MOST: Wearing dresses and tank tops
THE BEST THING ABOUT THE KITTENS: Watching them wrestle and play (it's just so cute!)
FALL THING I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO: Making space for myself again: work, and volunteering, and friends.
Chris
FAVORITES: Pinball (going for one billion), creme-filled long johns (maple or snow white with sprinkles), summer walks, making a 6:30 mile, swim dock swims, time with the boys, watching the family with the new kittens, our robot litter box, weekend morning strolls
SUMMER-Y THING HE’S GOING TO MISS THE MOST: Coming home from work and it being light outside
THE BEST THING ABOUT THE KITTENS: How hard they sleep
FALL THING HE’S LOOKING FORWARD TO: Crisp fall [early] evenings
Chase
Age: 12
FAVORITES: Books (most recently Infinity Cycle), anything having to do with the kittens (specifically, picking them up and carrying them around), board games (most recently Splendor), going for walks with the fam, mocha lattes, video games (almost any), brownies (preferably with ice cream), sausage pizza, swimming, Camp Manitou, time at the lake
SUMMER-Y THING HE’S GOING TO MISS THE MOST: All the free time
THE BEST THING ABOUT THE KITTENS: All the sleeping snuggles
FALL THING HE'S LOOKING FORWARD TO: Being back at school with friends
Robbe
Age: 10
FAVORITES: video games (Fortnite), books (Roll for Initiative at the moment), kittens (and more kittens), cold summer sweets, french toast, playing outside, the Olympics, Camp Manitou, his new endless bracelet, activities at the lake
SUMMER-Y THING HE’S GOING TO MISS THE MOST: spending more time with the fam
THE BEST THING ABOUT THE KITTENS: The weird positions they end up in
FALL THING HE'S LOOKING FORWARD TO: Soccer starting back up
Looking back at 2600 posts
Day 2699 | Summer Reading
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Yeah, we’re still big readers over here. It’s one of my favorite things. We visit the library weekly (if not more) and somehow find 20+ books to bring home every time.
The boys turned in their summer reading challenge today and got their free books. Chase is keeping his fingers crossed for a sweet teen raffle prize, too, so send lucky vibes his way.
Day 2698 | Home from Camp
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After five nights away at camp, the boys came home yesterday! We got to hear all about their adventures and loved that they loved it. Unfortunately, Robbe had a bit too much fun and ended up sick today, but hopefully it’s just the exhaustion reminding him to take it easy.
It’s really nice to have all of us under one roof again.
Day 2697 | Politics, Baby
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The boys have been at camp and I’ve been spending all day, every day working. Working. Working.
Except for the time I’ve been politicing, obviously. You *might* have heard about a small rally that happened in EC this week. I was there! And then you might have seen some details about a GOTV rally for my good friend Nick. I was there, too (same night). And today, I voted!
I’d like to go into great detail about my experience at the Harris rally. Maybe I will at some point. For now, I’ll just say I’m glad I went. I’m glad Wisconsin showed up for Harris (12,000 people!). I’m glad there’s enthusiasm and life back in the democratic party. One of the most poignant moments was during a [rare] unscripted moment from Tim Walz. My friend B.J. Hollars clearly felt the same way and wrote a really lovely [and much more articulate] narative of the scene.
I hope you’re all feeling as inspired and motivated as I am about the political outlook right now. I’m going to seek out ways that I can help Harris (and Nick!) get elected and I challenge you to do the same—in whatever way makes sense for you!
Day 2696 | Camp Manitou
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It was a rainy (very rainy) camp drop off but the boys are settled into their five night camp while Chris and I try to figure out to do without kids filling every silence. Don’t worry about us, we’ll be just fine.
Day 2695 | Photography
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I used to love photography. And I think I was pretty good at it, actually. Life got in the way and now I mostly take photos of kids and pets. That’s fine, too. Maybe someday I’ll get back into it. For the first time in a long time, though, I stopped to take a photo because I was just inspired. A blue sky would have helped, but I Iove the tracks and the way it draws your eye.
