Home again home again...and summer keeps flying by in a rush of hot, sunny weather and lots of swimming.
Which is really nothing to complain about except for the flying by part.
Rewind to our trip home from Farley's. We added in a Waldameer stop, of course. Have to get our use out of those passes! As always, the place worked its magic. We'd run into some traffic in the eastern part of NY and by the time we made it Erie we had a car full of rangy people. The kiddos finally consented to get out of the car and at least use the restrooms but they were NOT going to go on any rides.... until all of a sudden they were off to get their wristbands and we ended up closing the place down. Waldameer by night is charming. Full moon rising in a clear sky over flashing lights and laughter and happy people wandering unhurriedly around and no lines at all for rides...
I just love watching these two on rides together, the way they suddenly are at ease with each other, talking and sharing the experience.
And then we were home and dealing with the post-Farley's dose of reality. So much house to manage! So many things on our calendar! No lake out our front door.... Sigh.
We've consoled ourselves by keeping busy with:
Running! For me anyways. I'm running with a training group and now a Wednesday night "beer run" group full of ladies who are a blast to hang out with. Sweating together then drinking beer= instant best friends. I'm making incredibly slow progress on increasing my distance and decreasing my times... but at least I'm having fun and getting outside!
Getting a jump start on my classroom. I'm working with 9 different Extended School Year students this summer so I'm in Solon two days a week.. and I've been sneaking in to get my room arranged and decorated. That's the easy part, of course. But I do like this time of year, when I am full of anticipation and ideas and optimism about the year ahead, before it's actually started and the exhaustion sets in...
Hanging out with friends. They're the best.
Going to the our "big lake" whenever we can.
We met a photojournalist on this trip who was WAY into Winter. She was ostensibly taking photos for an article on staying cool in the heat wave (Oh yeah, it was also in the high 90's for much of the week after we got home. Ugh.), with the caveat to keep it up, her photos might or might not show up. Well, Winter's photo showed up... with this headline:
Well, it IS kind of true. She *does* poop on a lot of beaches.
Swim meets...
Finally, at the last regular meet of the season, this little girl decided she liked swimming.
It doesn't hurt to win your 100 IM.
This boy crushed his 100 IM too.
An exciting day of winning for the Morehouse Tigersharks!
Going to lots of estate sales... and helping turtles on the way home.
Going to movies and the mall to stay cool...
Finding waterfalls in Ohio...
We went on a guided gorge hike at Penitentiary Glen. It's a pretty neat gorge with lots of fun geographical features... but we all found the "stand and listen" part of the guided tour a little tiresome as we are used to just wandering where our feet take us.. I'm glad we went, though, to see this little hidden gem in our backyard...
Going to the lake some more...
The Edgewater dog beach is one of my happy places. Not only is the water deeper and clearer on this end of the beach, it's got this amazing, totally chill vibe, always full of relaxed people and joyful dogs. On this night, there were also these people who were playing with glowing orbs in time to techno music. All this, AND no rest breaks? Best beach for sure.
Catching fireflies in the backyard. Magical summer nights. We simply give up on regular/ responsible bedtimes for our children this time of year. There's just too much to keep on enjoying each day...
A great day at the Art Museum...
Everything from playing tag...
..to piles of beanbags...
...to tiny books about monsters...
...to rousing games of rock-paper-scissors...
...and peaceful quiet play...
What a treasure we have here in our neighborhood.
We headed outside just in time to have a picnic and catch a few minutes of Wade Oval Wednesday.
This festival has gotten so crowded in recent years, and without babies to lay around on blankets with, it hasn't been the best fit for our family. This "quick tour" seemed to work well for where we are right now.
Date nights to the theater!
Nat and I enjoyed a visit to Hofbrauhaus...
...and completely fell in love with Come From Away. If you can't find us, we might be in Newfoundland...
And..... more lake time!
Rocky River beach with our cousins...
... and dinner at their place the next night.
Then: Championships! Otherwise know as "Wait 6 hours, swim 2 minutes," or, "Good grief it is HOT!"...
We made the best of it with friends at our "base camp," and Jack did well for himself, placing 5th overall in the 50 Breast and 4th overall in the 100 IM.
Just so proud of my sweet boy.
This week Ivy (and her friend Violet) have been off at "Animal Camp" in Chagrin Falls and the rest of us have been attempting to get some projects done around the house, and some prep done for school...
(Ivy, by the way, LOOOOOVES Animal Camp. And is exhausted by it.)
And that brings us up to today!
Guess where we went?
The lake, of course! Greetings from Euclid Beach!
Loving summertime in the CLE...
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