Whirlwind Summer

The last few weeks have again been a whirlwind of activity for our family. It’s Summer Break from school, and our days have been full. Libby had VBS each day last week, and had another great time. Matthew can’t wait to attend next year!

Our Senior Pastor, Ron Grunke, also retired last week after 22 years with our church, and we’ve had several special services/events for him. I’m also on the Stewardship Committee, and with planning for our coming transition year has been some good work, too.

We got to have an impromptu Mexican dinner last Friday with the Arnolds, which was a ton of fun! And the Lights came over on Sunday to grill out burgers. Emily, Harrison, Libby and Matthew had great fun playing together! 

The weekend before, Libby came down with pink eye and a double ear infection, so we stayed pretty quiet. She was well enough though to go to "Zootopia" on Sunday after church where we met Maddie and her mom for that outing during a rainy day. 

After VBS one day this week, Libby had three girlfriends from the neighborhood come over to play. Michael was baffled that this would in some way “help” me be able to work more, but it did! 

That day, we also enjoyed some later afternoon swimming before dinner!

Also this week there were a couple of huge thunderstorms, one that resulted in a big visit from AT&T and a new TV and DVD player for us. 

On Thursday, Libby cashed in one of her earned “Bahama Bucks” shaved ice treats.  She enjoyed the “princess” flavor – a combo of cotton candy and birthday cake. Matthew asked for “Mickey,” so we made it up and it was a blend of Strawberry-Coconut.

It was the perfect cool treat during a BLAZING hot week here!

Last week, the kids got to have fun at the sprayground with Michael one day, plus go to the arcade and bowl for his work’s “Spring Fling” activity. We all got to bowl two rounds and it was really a fun time! He also took them to the Roswell Sprayground, and they had fun both with the water, and dry land.

I’d spent the rest of that week in D.C., and the kids went to Cedartown for a couple of days, too. They spent fun times with Gigi and Papa, enjoying Gigi's short ribs and going to the pool both days. 

D.C. was great – productive, busy and fun. I got to go to the Senate floor for the very first time, and my boss was giving a speech. I also got to be there for the BBQ we have each year! The guys drive a whole entourage up from Marietta to Arlington/Washington to cook a feast! And the night before the big lunch, they have some of the staff over to eat. This year’s menu for that event was duck crudités, cole slaw, amazing mashed potatoes and steak! That was followed by fresh, home-churned peach ice cream. The secret ingredient? Cream cheese!

I even got to hang out with this great car, a 1960 restored Corvette with the original engine and only 60K miles!

And I got to see lots of old friends and former co-workers: Sheridan and Jim, Ed, Nick, Andrew D., Jennie and more! Plus I met more fun new folks. I didn’t plan as many get-togethers ahead of time on this visit, but I did get to see Linda L.  and meet a reporter with whom I’d been trying to arrange a meeting for awhile.

My list of senators spotted was pretty large too, and included Marco Rubio this time. No presidential candidates this time, and I sadly missed Helen Mirren who was there testifying before a committee regarding Nazi-stolen art and artifacts.

I also passed the "Florida House" this time- which we learned more about in Asheville last March. It actually belonged to Senator Reynolds when he served as a U.S. Senator. I did not stop in this time for some orange juice. 

And of course, I ate at Le Bon Café. I also treated myself to Old Ebbitt Grill takeout that I ate in my bed at the hotel! One perk of staying where I did – it’s near Old Ebbitt, and it was on my way home from the softball game at the Washington Monument, where I cheered on our team after work one night.

Last week, Libby swam in her first relay of the year (1^st leg of the 100 free).  And on Tuesday, her coaches announced that she earned the leader cap! Unfortunately, we missed the big announcement because she was at VBS during that time, but they were excited to present her with it on Wednesday morning.

She also earned the crown for the best dive at end of practice one day.

Matthew has had a great time cheering her on at the meets, and has enjoyed playing during her practice times, too. Of course, the best part is pizza and treats at the meets! And while Michael wrangles them, I have successfully timed the first half of two meets.

They’ve also managed plenty of Chick-fil-A and other treats this summer. We’ve had fun playing at the pool too- and even made it on a weekday late afternoon before dinner this week!

Yet, I also just ordered Libby’s school supplies for next year, because of course, she goes back in six weeks. Between now and then, she has trips to Greenville, Charleston, Rome, Cedartown, and has meteorology camp one week!

What a whirlwind.