July/August Adventures

While Luke was off at Ohio State Marching Band Camp, Leah returned to Camp Linn Haven for her second annual Middle School Week.  Last summer, she declared that this was the best week of her life, and she couldn't wait to go again.  This year, we had a group of 14 middle schoolers from our church attending, and Leah's cabin was filled with friends from her youth group:

Cabin 9

 Last summer, we carefully planned and packed, and I was a tearful mess dropping off my baby for her first sleepaway camp.  This year, Mark and I were in Ohio with Luke, so our friends drove Leah to camp and our independent girl didn't need us at all (and was beside herself with excitement).  What a difference a year makes! 

Leah's counselors texted us pictures throughout the week and the kids had a wonderful time again this summer.  Linn Haven is such a special place and these youth grow closer to God and each other during their time there:

The mountains of Western NC are gorgeous.

Crafts.

Spa Night

Dressed up for the dance.

Linn Haven Life.

Meanwhile at home, I was checking off a bucket list item as I met U.S. Congressman Jeff Jackson.  I attended a reception for him at the home of the mayor of Greensboro, and it was an incredible evening filled with hope and optimism.  No matter your political party, this is a man who is good, decent, and filled with integrity, and it was an honor to hear him speak in person and talk with him.  My friend, Heather, and I were complete fan girls here, and am I proud to support him in his race for Attorney General:

At the end of July, we said good-bye to Uncle Dick, who passed away after a sudden and brief cancer diagnosis and battle.  It was a hard few weeks, but there was a lovely service at our church and reception afterward, and we spent the day with family who is so special to us:

We celebrated Mark's birthday at the end of July with Flow Club tickets (thanks, Heaney family!) to watch the Winston-Salem Dash play the Greensboro Grasshoppers.  This was such a fun game between hometown rivals, and we enjoyed food, drinks, and VIP seats while the kids were at marching band camp:

I also flew to Washington D.C. the first weekend in August for our annual BB reunion (with my best friends from college).  BB Cary hosted us at her lake house in Maryland, and we recreated a photo from 20 years ago.  These girls are my heart, and there's no one else that I'd rather sit poolside, laugh til I cry, Tiki Bar, and Karaoke Night with...!

2024

2004

Mark and I spent a fun-filled summer Saturday visiting our dear friends at their gorgeous new home on Lake Norman.  It was a treat to see the Tuckers and we spent the afternoon on their boat:

#LakeDays

Mark tried something new in August and signed up for an Adult Beginner Rowing Class with NCRC.  This was a great weekly adventure for him and he enjoyed his mornings on the water:

In the spirit of adventure, we celebrated 21 years of marriage with a 7 mile bike ride around Salem Lake.  This guy is my favorite human, my best friend, and he always humors me when I have crazy ideas of "fun" things to do.  We also had an anniversary lunch date at Fourth Street Filling Station, and we often choose a restaurant from our college days (or at least one in Winston-Salem) to celebrate each August 23:

Luke worked a ton this summer at the pool, and Leah and I squeezed in a few tried and true end-of-summer shenanigans.  We visited Krispy Kreme (which was reminiscent of her preschool Stay at Home with Mommy days), hung out at Barnes & Noble, made runs to Starbucks, and went shopping together.  She's so much fun to be with, and I love this 1:1 time with my girl:

We planned a family adventure for the last week of summer and spent a day at Carrigan Farms, which is a giant, natural quarry and swimming hole near Charlotte, NC:

Luke's girlfriend came with us, and we loved having her join us for the day:

Mark and Luke were the only ones in the water in the below photo.  This was the beginning of the day, and they were taking the swim test.  What a beautiful place!

Ready to swim!

My crew had a blast jumping off the cliffs, swinging from the rope swing, and swimming in the cool, clear water:

Carrigan Farms has been on our summer to-do list for a long time, and we absolutely loved our visit!

One last summer adventure was Goat Yoga at Summerfield Farms:

This was a blast.  We laughed so much, and the baby goats = pure joy!

Mark dutifully took lots of photos of us during our yoga class before wandering off to the Well Truck for a cold beverage:

Summerfield Farms is such a beautiful, bucolic setting and yoga under the giant tree was the perfect way to spend a summer evening:

Cheers to the end of summer 2024!

O-H-I-O

 

July brought an awesome experience for Luke, as he joined 250 high school students from around the country to participate in Ohio State's Marching Band Clinic.  This 3-day camp is an opportunity for students to hone their marching skills and musicianship as they learn the traditions and marching style of the Ohio State University Marching Band.  The clinic is led by the director of OSU's band, and participants perform the music and fundamentals of "The Best Damn Band in the Land" (while they contemplate auditioning in the future as incoming college freshman).  Luke has dreamed about "dotting the i" at Ohio State ever since he started playing the sousaphone, and we added a campus tour to our visit:

This was Luke's first college tour, and we attended an information session and took a self-guided tour of campus:

Ohio Union.

Posing with Brutus Buckeye

The "Shoe"

THE Ohio State University

Our rower trying out the ergs in the Student Rec Center.

Letter M crossed out on signs = Rivalry with "that school up north"

Ohio Stadium Dome and "Block O".

After our campus tour, we explored Columbus' German Village and ate dinner at Schmidt's, a classic landmark eatery:

 While we were dining, we noticed a commotion outside the restaurant.  The Premier League Trophy was placed in the square in front of Schmidt's for a few hours as it made its tour around Columbus (ahead of the iconic match between Chelsea and Manchester City that will take place later this summer).  Although our experience/knowledge of English football is mostly limited to Ted Lasso, this was still a fun, photo-worthy surprise:

After dinner, we walked around the German Village and visited a few shops.  This neighborhood is absolutely charming, and perfect for our German-loving kiddo:

Friday was the beginning of Luke's marching band camp, and it was this boy's dream come true to play his sousaphone in Ohio Stadium.  The Steinbrenner Band Center (in the stadium) is the home of Ohio State's Marching and Athletic Bands, and it is an impressive and majestic facility:

Participants learning music in the rehearsal hall.

While Luke was at camp, Mark and I had a blast exploring Columbus.  We were gifted tickets for a walking food tour in the Short North neighborhood, which is a hip arts and restaurant district downtown.  This was such a fun way to spend an afternoon, and we learned so much about the area as we visited multiple dining establishments:

Mural in the Short North neighborhood.

One of our favorite stops on our food tour was North Market (Columbus' historic public marketplace), which was filled with international prepared food, fresh produce, flowers, meat, seafood, and specialty food items.  We sampled Somali, Vietnamese, Polish, and Himalayan cuisine, and the Market is such a neat place:

No trip to Ohio is complete without a visit to Graeter's.  This brought back sweet memories of our Cincinnati days!

We also found the cutest suburb just a few minutes from campus, and had dinner on Main Street in Historic Worthington.  We loved this area so much that we went back the next morning and played pickleball in a nearby park:

We also enjoyed watching the band camp participants rehearse on the practice field during the afternoons:

I've never seen so many sousaphones in my life.  There were almost 50 sousa players (out of the 250 instrumentalists at camp)!

On Sunday morning, Mark and I visited the Columbus Park of Roses, which is one of the largest public rose gardens in the United States:

There are over 12,000 different specimens in the 13 acre arboretum, and this beautiful place was filled with gorgeous blooms:

That afternoon, the marching band camp participants performed a finale concert, showcasing what they'd learned:

"Hang On Sloopy"

"Down By the O-H-I-O"

"Buckeye Battle Cry"

The kids also practiced and performed "Script Ohio", which was really cool to watch:

What a joy it was for Mark and me to be a part of this special experience for Luke!  Keep dreaming those great big dreams, Baboo- We can't wait to see what the future holds for you!