Father's Day 2026

Today, as we all know, was Father's Day.  I think Andrew struggled a little bit, as it was the first time he didn't get to see any of the kids on Father's Day.  Originally, I was supposed to be up helping my mom today so I hadn't planned anything with the kids.  I hadn't seen them on Mother's Day, so I didn't worry too much about it.  Andrew made an incredible dinner.  I told him I felt really badly that he had to cook, but I also pointed out that there was no way I was going to cook anything near as yummy as what he had made.  I'm so grateful for the incredible man that shares his life with me, and he couldn't be a more amazing father!

Of course, I've thought about my Dad a lot today.  He would love seeing what the kids are doing, especially Thomas.  I think Thomas would spend a lot of time with my parents if Dad were still alive.  I also was so blessed to be able to grow up with my grandfathers.  As I'm in my early 50's, there are so many years of memories.

We are keeping an eye out for severe storms again right now.  I'm tired and looking forward to a good night of sleeping, so hopefully nothing more severe will develop.

Another week in June

We are now 4-1/2 weeks into our summer with 8-1/2 weeks to go.  This summer is one of those rare summers where we get an extra week and have 13 weeks instead of 12.  I'm not sad about that at all.

This week has had some really gorgeous weather, although Wednesday was a really rough night.  We had two tornado warnings in town, and a tornado did touch down northeast of us.  Thankfully, it was an EF-0, but since the timing of the storms was from Midnight-2am, it made for a very-not-great night of sleep.  Fortunately, there wasn't a lot that needed accomplished at work this week, so we worked the minimum number of hours and that was that.  And we were closed today (although we try to never work Fridays in the summer), so yesterday's early departure was the start to our weekend!

It was a bit of a busy week.  Tuesday we had dinner plans with our best friends, and then on Wednesday I had TWO meetings at church.  And our week was after our busy weekend, which included two graduation parties on Sunday.  The first one was family, and my cousin expressed to me how she felt a little disappointed that one branch of our family (my uncle's...surprise, hmph) had no one attend and how her dad's side of the family had no one attend either.  As someone who just went through that with Thomas's reception last year, I get it, but they hadn't been there either.  Just remembering to feel grateful for the times we do have together.

We spent today's gorgeous weather day working in garages, although even with the nice weather it took a really big toll on my.  I've been fighting a migraine all day.  I'm hoping that soon I can get back to digitizing photos.

I'll say it again...I'm so incredibly grateful for the slower pace of summer!

The rest of our vaction

The last of our vacation was fairly uneventful, but it was still lovely.  We decided Thursday was going to be our "nothing" day.  I finished my book, Andrew did a lot of reading, took a walk, just hung out.  We were debating between two restaurants, and I was thrilled that Andrew agreed with me that we wanted to return to the winery we had gone to earlier in the week.  It was a really lovely day and I asked to sit by the windows so we could enjoy the view.  It was a really, really nice way to end the week.  EXCEPT, that we actually got to go back again, because as we were cleaning up in the evening, we realized that Andrew had left his phone there.  Fortunately, it wasn't too far from the condo.  There was also a walk along the shore to watch the sunset and another slide on the playground! :)

Up and on the way yesterday, and we were home by mid afternoon.  I was so ready to be home, and I was especially ready to see our sweet pup.  We were so grateful to Catherine for holding down the household while we were gone.

Today was another day in the car.  The parents of Catherine's boyfriend invited us to a family cookout.  We hadn't met them before, and we really wanted to make the trip, even though it was 2.5 hours each way (or more if you avoid the awful interstate drive as we did on the way home).  It was another long day in the car.  On the upside, they are lovely people and I'm so glad we had the opportunity to meet everyone.

I am grateful there is still another day before going back to work, but we have two grad parties, so not an entirely uneventful day.  But it's been a truly lovely week!

Days 2 & 3 of Lake Erie vacay

Yesterday had another rough start.  We decided to head to Sandusky.  We really though, with it being a bit larger, it would have some cute little shops.  It. Did. Not.  We had some ice cream and walked around in a fun park, but we both admitted, it was a bit disappointing.  We salvaged the afternoon by finding a nice winery, though.  Dinner was almost comical.  Andrew had dome some research and found this place that had fabulous reviews.  We dressed nicely, and when we arrived, we were stunned to find out it was basically a fancy Long John Silvers.  Now, I actually love LJS, but it is not what I am going for on vacation!  We decided to head to a restaurant that attached to a golf club, and that saved the day.  Other than it have the worst lemon martini Andrew's ever had, the dinner was nice.  It rained in the evening, but we hung out in the condo and just enjoyed the views.  I did go down some slides at the playground, and Andrew laughed at my joy!

Today, Andrew wanted to take in the Rutherford B Hayes presidential sites.  The house was really enjoyable and our tour guide was fabulous.  I could have done without the museum, to be honest.  It's also really, really hot outside.  We came back to the condo and had dinner at a little place that is essentially right around the corner.  It was burger night, and the burgers were scrumptious!  We also found a popcorn store and brought home a tin.  Yum!

Tomorrow is our last day here.  We are staying close, just doing the little lighthouse in town and going for some ice cream.  We will have a nice dinner, and Friday it is time to head home.  I'll be ready to head home, and our weekend is packed.  We still have ten weeks of summer, and I'm soaking it all up!

It was a fabulous day

Yesterday was a fabulous day.  We left around Noon and drove over to Catawba.  We found an amazing restaurant that we might venture back to for dinner later this week.  Lunch was great, but it wasn't the same experience as dinner, I'm sure.  Then we drove over to Marblehead Lighthouse and had a blast looking around there.  It was almost chilly!  Andrew went up to the top, but I wasn't interested in that.  We decided to hit up this fancy winery in Catawba on the way back and do appetizers for dinner.  They had the BEST wine and the crab cakes were also amazing.  We were back at the condo by 6pm for a relaxing night of nothing.  If the next three days are as incredible as yesterday, just wow! 

Everything about this vacation is different

We've made it to Lake Erie, and our "home" for this week is amazing.  Right now, I'm sitting in a sun room area with the windows open, feeling the cool breeze as I watch the whitecaps on the lake.  Everything about this vacation is different in every way...no kids, no pets, just Andrew and I, close to home...and healing.  After the school year we had, the healing is being felt, and I'm so grateful.

Two beautiful days in June

The last two days have been absolutely gorgeous.  In fact, I actually got cold in bed last night!  If it was like this all year round, I might even be willing to forego snow...although I still need my midwest autumn days!

My mother-in-law is still here until Thursday.  I've so loved having her here.  We have found a routine where basically I let her do whatever she wants and and she tries to stay out of my way.  That sounds far more negative than it actually is.  I'm so glad she was willing to come this week.

Next week, Andrew and I are headed to vacation.  It is the first time we have taken a longer vacation by ourselves in over 20 years.  We've had some long weekends, but this is an actual vacation.  Lake Erie, here we come.  

I truly can't say enough about how grateful I am for these moments in life!