Another college visit

We took Catherine on another college visit today.  We drove south to visit NKU.  I didn't know much about it and didn't really know what to expect.  Overall, I think she liked it, but it isn't at the top of her list.  It is only a ten minute drive from Cinci, and I'm not sure she really wants to be that close to a major city.  She liked the fact that it was a more traditional four-year school, but just thought it was too big overall.  It's hard to believe we are just two weeks away from beginning her senior year.  It's all gone so quickly, and I know the next ten months are going to fly by!

Trade deadline

I've been a baseball fan my entire life, and there have been many times in my adult life that this date, the MLB trade deadline, has made me unhappy.  That's the hard part of rooting for a team that often is no longer competing for anything by this time of year.  We had some hope heading into the All-Star break, but when we came out losing more than we were winning, I knew we were going to be "sellers" rather than "buyers" as this deadline approached.  Sure enough, the Reds traded Puig, Roark, & Gennett.  I wasn't surprised by the Puig trade, although I did enjoy watching him play.  Gennett was one I really liked, but this is life in the baseball world!

A quiet Sunday afternoon

Catherine is at work today, and Andrew and Thomas have taken the afternoon to spend playing frisbee golf and taking a bike ride.  I love that they are doing that together, and I love that Thomas wants to spend that time with his dad.  It really means a lot to us.

I really needed this quiet afternoon.  Starting last weekend, there have been lots of emotions happening in my family.  It was such a busy week that there were also a lot of distractions, but they were still there.  Additionally, my week was full of people.  Lots, and lots, of people filled my days.  I enjoy people, but I NEED quiet time sometimes, especially with as many people as I had in each day.  Yesterday I was just peopled out.  Of course, I still had to chaperone a band pool party last night, but I enjoyed getting to see all the students have so much fun.  Today though, I've definitely enjoyed my quiet afternoon.  There was a Reds victory, laundry folding, and a nap!  Only a couple of these glorious "I don't care that it is Sunday because it is summer break" kind of Sundays left!

I'm going to be an emotional mama

Yesterday, Catherine finished her final band camp.  I hadn't really thought too much about this being her year of "lasts", but I saw a picture of my tiny daughter with all the seniors, and it hit me.  It is so very different than it was with Robert.  With him, we needed to get him finished with school and into the military...for the sake of all of us.  With Catherine, oh goodness, I can't even imagine her not living here and waking up here everyday.  I had really thought she might attend a local school and commute each day, but it is looking like she might actually go away.  Not far, but far enough that she will live there.  I'm not sure I know where all the time has gone!  Andrew and I are being certain to soak up each day!

We survived another band camp week

I am always grateful when band camp week wraps up.  Honestly, there are few weeks as physically exhausting as band camp week.  I am incredibly grateful that I had so much help from Andrew this year.  Him not coaching football is wonderful!

I began preparing for band camp last week by doing some shopping, and things revved up Monday.  I reported to the high school just after Noon on Monday.  Andrew came up to help with some chores, and then I spent some time working on paperwork and running some band errands.  Andrew came back up to help get things ready for dinner, and a few others joined us for serving.  I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to be home around 6:30 that evening!  Our friends from Missouri came to town (they are visiting family) and we had dinner together.

Tuesday I was up on the road early for a doctor appointment.  The kids had swim practice first thing that morning.  Andrew and I left a little after Noon to head to the high school again.  We iced down drinks and prepared a couple of things for dinner, and I was very happy to be heading out the door after only being there an hour.  That is when a young lady passed out, and Andrew rushed to help.  This young lady has been having some health issues.  I contacted the mother, and an ambulance was called.  It was decided to transport her to an emergency room just to be on the safe side.  We were again out the door, although another hour had passed.  I needed to head to the church office to get a few things accomplished, and then I ran some more errands for band.  We were back at school to serve dinner and clean up, as well as get as much together as we could for the next day.

Wednesday our family was out the door by 6:30am for swim championships.  We got back home at 1, and Andrew and I were out the door forty-five minutes later to go ice down the drinks.  We got home by 3:30 and were out the door again around 4:15.  Andrew went to pick up the subs we were having for dinner, and I went to the high school to make sure everything else was ready.  Andrew let us know he found out that our subs weren't cut, which meant we had some serious work to do before we could serve!  The place had also not sent any condiments along, so we had to go get some.  It ended up being a long evening, and I was exhausted.  Thank goodness Thursday morning we could sleep in!

I woke up feeling absolutely lousy.  Thankfully, I didn't have to be anywhere until I needed to head to the school at 12:30.  It was a fairly easy day, and Andrew met me up there to ice the drinks.  I came home and did band paperwork most of the afternoon.  Dinner went off without a hitch, and I'm so grateful for the other parent volunteers who helped out.  We were able to clean up fairly quickly, and I got almost everything put back in place.  I was so happy to walk out this evening, and to know we had made it through band camp week!

Summer swim has come to an end for this year

Yesterday was the end of the season for summer swim.  The season was only seven weeks long, but because of the overlap with band at the end, I was ready for it to end.  Catherine didn't have great swims yesterday, and Thomas had a couple of personal bests, and a couple of not.  Neither one qualified for finals tonight (as we knew they wouldn't) and neither was assigned a relay (even as an alternate) so swim was officially over yesterday.  I can't say I was sad about it.  I'm grateful that the kids didn't just sit around this summer, but I just can't feel hugely to something during the summer.  Although band is underway, we do get to sleep in more right now!

There is literally nothing on our calendar

Today's little square on the calendar is completely BLANK.  I am not at all sure how we managed to make that happen, but once we got close and I realized it was happening, and I made sure to keep it that way!  I am so incredibly grateful for this day, even if it is going to be hotter than the blazes (heat index was 93 degrees before 11am)!

We had a busy week with band and Catherine's job and doctor/dental appointments and a college visit.  Yesterday we made a trip to visit our friends who moved away two years ago.  We arrived late afternoon to avoid the city rush hour, and our friend (husband) surprised us by leaving work early and coming home when we arrived.  We had a lovely visit, and I'm so glad we made the trip.  The drive home was a pain because the interstate was closed for a bit in a construction zone, but knowing we got to sleep in this morning made it bearable.

We have our craziest week of the summer coming up with band camp (I am in charge of all meals) and swim championships.  We also found out our friends from Kansas City are in town so we are squeezing in a quick visit with them.  Don't want to get too crazy about wishing away the time though because school will be oh so close when the week ends.

I am so grateful for this little life of ours!