Project 365, Week 30

Summer, you are actually the best.

July 22

This picture was taken later in the week, but is here on Monday for context. My whole family minus Shaun and Amy's whole family minus Maddy's family were all together at Kids Camp in New Hampshire. Renna was in her "swing year" as a camper and the rest were there to serve as counselors, LIT's, Rec Staff and to help with any other needs as they came up. Even though its a lot of work, its truly one of their highlight weeks each year.

The photos are screenshots of the IG account and, as a bonus, Colombo is really good about taking pics and distributing so those are in here as well.

A video flashed Avery at the registration table and I thought, perfect job for her!

While our families were away, Amy and I took the opportunity to do our 2nd Annual Lake Ontario trip to visit family. On the drive up we kept another fabricated tradition of patronizing the Amish stand set up at a rest area.

We arrived late afternoon to the happy smiles and open arms of our aunt, uncle and cousin and for the next 48 hours we were treated like royalty. It was a slow, meandering time with absolutely no agenda, which is a stark contrast to the LobsterFest/Christmas/175 people scene we have when they come to CT.

July 23

Uncle Lee and I did the sunrise stroll. Once the sun was up, it lit the "Secret Sidewalk" in the most striking way.

Our big decisions were front porch or back garden. For this morning it was breakfast on the porch.

We packed up a picnic lunch and found some shade trees by the water where we spent the next several hours.

After dinner we walked the half a block down to the water for sunset.

At home, Pop and Kiki were caring for Ginger. She's good company and not too much of a pain and in exchange, she gets lots of treats. Not sure how she feels about coming back to our house.

July 24

We had a leisurely morning and then Amy and I hit the road. With five hours of uninterrupted time, we had some raw and honest conversations about life and death and God and family. She asked me a really good theology question thats been rolling around in my heart since.  

Colombo captured my kids having a sweet moment, loving on each other, when no one is watching. Another option is they are teasing each other and soon after this photo someone gets upset. We'll never know. 😉

July 25

A day at the office and then a quiet evening while the kids were still away. If I ever move again, I will require the house have electricity, indoor plumbing and a grand view.

July 26

When the girls were younger, one year I cleaned their shared room while they were away at camp. I gave away clothes and threw away plastic toys. They were thrilled to find it organized when they came home and from that time on, they've kept their rooms fairly clean and picked up.

In the last year or two, Amanda has moved far away from that and barely has any floor space. I told her if her room wasn't clean by the time she left for camp, I would do it myself while she was gone. Sure enough...I was merciful in that I didn't get rid of anything, this was just a warning. 

She was happy to find it in order and is trying to keep it that way. (Her long-time dearest of friends always make me smile. Forever they have been her secret keepers and tear-holders).

July 27

Shaun and the kids have been turning over an apartment.

We spent the afternoon at Sarah and Tony's and it was the perfect day for sitting out on the deck. At one point Shaun and his siblings broke off for a family meeting. I have so much respect for the way they have navigated all things Nana in these last two months. All four are able to talk openly, they are very interested in the common good and not what's in it for them, they have almost organically divided up duties according to their strengths and continue to show up. It has been a marvel to watch them work together so selflessly, lovingly and peaceably. 

July 28

Sundays. 😁

Project 365, Week 29

Summer, you are splendid and welcomed.

July 15

During her second week in CT, Nana continued to gain strength and clarity. Micah and his family are giving her diligent, care-filled attention, love, safety and activity. The rest of us are visiting as much as we can and taking care of things behind the scenes. 

Amanda left her future campus this day to come back home. She sent me a picture of the beautiful 100+ acre campus, along with a favorite hangout spot, Roosters, where she will no doubt drop plenty of money on specialty coffees and treats throughout the semester.

July 16

Throughout the afternoon, plans evolved and changed and what started out as dinner for two turned into something more. When it settled into the girls and their guys and me, I tried to bow out and let the four of them enjoy the evening, but the girls assured me they wanted me there (and not just to pick up the tab 😉). What an honor! It was such a nice evening out on the patio with these very special people.

July 17

Last tax season we had a couple people join the office mid-season and often there would be a person ready to work, but there was no computer avaialble. We determined that in the off-season we'd get several spare work stations set up in the (unlikely!!) event we're faced with a similar situation. The upstairs of our building has plenty of space, its just a matter of cleaning and organizing what has been a landing spot for moving boxes and extra furniture and equipment. Avery is spear-heading the effort with a sprinkle of help from siblings.

July 18

Nana's walker = hours of entertainment

Shaun and the boys enjoy going out some evenings.

July 19

Names are a little tricky for Nana (and there are a lot of us!) so I made her a family directory of sorts. It also included random pictures from over the years. She laughed and she cried.

I made a headshot of each family member, which required a whole bunch of cropping. The cataloging/editing program I use just came out with a new feature that gets rid of unwanted things in the photo. Its so new, I've only used it a few times. Until now, its just removed objects/people, but apparently if the crop is close enough, the program does a headswap instead. At first it was shocking to see another face show up in the family group picture, but then it was very funny and I started to mess around with it. I was laughing so hard I had trouble breathing and Amanda came downstairs to make sure I was ok.

It was so unexpected and hilarious, but also creepy enough I don't want the face-swapped photos on my blog for all of time. Just imagine with the click of a button, these faces turn into strangers.

July 20

There are piles of things I can no longer do, but I have found that old people and small children also have limited capacity and are happy to sit. And so, on this Saturday, I sat. I used to be a slayer of my to-do list and its taken me a while to appreciate that, on a wide open Saturday, I didn't accomplish much more than sitting. But it is good and important. And I got to see lots of nieces and nephews, which is always fun.

Renna, Harley and I hung out while Shaun and the boys were golfing. Shaun was kind to send pictures of their incredible sunset view!!

July 21

The conditions were right for Nana (and others) to come out to Aiden's game (though I'm not sure she enjoyed it). Not too many great-grandmothers out there cheering. :)