Sand, Sun, Socializing and Strawberries (or, Summer so far...)

Mid June has been a sweet little slice of summer, with sunshine and moderate temperatures, and we have been soaking it up.

I've been a slacker on getting out for runs-- blaming my summer schedule plus summer heat and humidity. But this week the cooler temps-- and the return of a wonderful running friend to our group- have gotten me out for more miles.  Grateful for my friendships with these ladies. 

Speaking of friendships-- Ivy and Vio are continuing the BFF summer.  Took the girls out to get Boba tea in Asian Town on Sunday to celebrate their swim meet.  We ended up buying about 4 million packages of Ramen and the girls are obsessed.  I think they just love that they can make it themselves. 

Here they are spitting the little Boba blobs through straws.  Thanks for teaching them that one, Nat... :) 

We've been getting to the lake a couple of times a week, so all is as it should be.  The kids invariably want to stay home.  We give them that choice sometimes, but some nights we drag them along and they always have a nice time.

My front porch flowers are making me so happy this year. 

We had a most lovely day on Tuesday with our cousins-- strawberry picking at the Audenkampfe Family Farm, then a visit to Vermillion. 

Nothing like paying to be field laborers!  :) 

Actually, it was super fun.  It was my first ever time picking strawberries and I loved it.  I think I ate my body weight in berries- fresh and juicy and sun-warmed, they were intoxicating.

We visited the Mill Hollow reservation afterwards, where we explored and skipped stones in the yellow June light.  It was lovely.  

Then off for ice cream!  We went to Granny's Creamatorium-- which I thought was a hilarious name, but it turned out to be absolutely the cutest little place.

It's so crazy that I have these  big grown up kids who order for themselves at restaurants, over at their own table with their cousins. 

Poor Ivy- we went for ice cream but forgot to bring a lactaid pill.  When we went to the counter to order her treat, I advised her to get a small cone to avoid tummy upset.  The sweet girl working there talked with Ivy about how she's lactose intolerant too-- then she pulls a lactaid pill out of her pocket for Ivy.  Too kind.  Here's the happy girl with the giant brownie sundae she was able to eat. 

Quick stop at the main street beach.  Vermillion is just a picture perfect vacation-land.  I'd love to take a date-weekend some time and wander the main street shops and look at the cute beachy houses.

The loveliness continued on Wednesday.  I had a light teaching morning down in Solon, then we went to get chicken food and squeezed in a quick visit with Melinda and Will -- handy that their house is minutes from Tractor Supply. We left Jack home to rest up as he had his second shot for his vaccine study on Monday and has been headachy and sore since (hoping this means he got the actual vaccine!!) But he rallied and ended up heading to the pool to meet his friends.  All on his own.  I can't handle the grown-up-ness! Rushed home so Nat could do a class and could do some deliveries for CPR-- but brought two extra girls with us to keep for the day (Happy Ivy!)  Then we headed to our nieghbors for a meet up and drinks.  It was a magical night.

The kids hit it off and were playing softball together in the driveway in no time. 

Indra made lovely vegetarian treats and kept bringing out more wine.

Melinda and WIll joined us to pick up the girls, and we enjoyed all the layers of connection in our group-- neighbors, Hiram, art schools, places we've lived and visited, singing, our kiddos....

So grateful to live in this place and to have these people in my life.

Thursday, 80 degrees and blue-sky brilliant-- best summer weather so far this year.  My mom has been having some health concerns so most of my day was spent in Lakewood helping her, but I did get to soak up a bit of tropical Cleveland at a happy hour with a treasured friend. 

Summer in Cleveland is pretty OK.

A visit to Hiram

With Alumni Weekend cancelled for the second year in a row, we've been missing our Hiram tiem.  We decided to hold a little "mini-reunion" on Saturday.  We gathered a few local alums who had free time that night, and we all convened on the BC lawn to pretend we were in college again.  Because Hiram is a magical place, and quite possibly a time machine, it pretty much felt like we were.

What a joyful feeling to park on 700 and see our friends meeting up out in front of our old dorm.  Twenty years erased, just like that.

The other joy of the trip?  Watching our kids settle in to campus like they've been in college for years.  Here's Lillian, finding her natural habitat on the stoop. 

Jack, ready for lawn games (and sitting around on his phone a lot too, so he really is ready..)

Meanwhile the grown ups settled in to the lawn like it was our job.  Let the day drinking and snacking and conversation commence!

That moment when we finished the partial bottle of Fireball... and Majeed nonchalantly pulls a brand new out of his cooler bag. 

Before long the girls were ready to take off and wander campus on their own. Watching them walk away, the distance from now til 18 seemed pretty infintessimal.

Then, off for a group wander around campus.  We tried to explain to the kids that this is really what we did with our leisure time here,  sitting and talking and drinking, and walking and talking.  And somehow it was thrilling and perfect.  I am so grateful that we had our college experience before the age of smart phones, so we could be fully engaged the whole time...

Here are the girls posing for their album cover in front of the old Art building.     I am so glad this sculpture is still here.  The site of many memories for our group...

One of the highlights of our walk was this table of free stuff in front of a local house.  We had wayyyy too much fun looking through this junk.

Playing ball in the street.  Because its Hiram and you can.

We always like to do something brand new at Alumni weekend.  In recent years that has been sneaking out onto the roof tops in various buildings.  With campus locked down for the summer, we took to the woods.  There was this great house behind the Pendleton House garden, with this grand archway.  We went to investigate, then found some hiking trails heading off into the woods, and wound our way around and back to Bonney Castle.  All that walking for 4 years in this tiny town and I never kneow those trails existed. 

Had to visit the Class of "97 bench to admire its silvery grey hue.

And there is  a new fountain at the library!  We did not go in for a wade this time, saving that for a trip when Jen and Sullivan are here too.

It was a lovely 4 hours in our happy place.  So much is different on campus and yet the essence of it is the same, and WE are the same when we are there, sinking back into who we used to be, back before real life got in the way.

It worked its magic on my girl, too.  Here she is flopped in the grass next to the van as we packed to leave, saying "I don't WANT to go!"

Me either, kiddo.  

See you soon, Hiram.