Day 2705 | A Trip to Denver

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Back from a fun-filled trip to Denver to visit my brother and his family. We went on a challenging hike, hung out in Boulder for a bit, went to the Botanical Garden with the little guy, ate lunch at Casa Bonita, went out to a birthday dinner, visited a local playground, and I even got to drive my first E.V. Good times, right? Enjoy some photos to get a sneak peek into th evacation.

Day 2700 | 2700!

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Another 100-day blog post and another delay to get here. You blink and the day is gone, you know? We’ve had *a few* things going on lately and I’ve been waiting for this moment to announce…wait for it…we added TWO KITTENS to our family a few weeks ago. I know. I’ve been holding out on adorable kitten photos for all this time because I wanted the big reveal to be on the 100-day post. We finally made it! So, let me introduce you to Murphy (the gray kitten) and Marvel (the black and white one). We call them Murph and Marv and we’re over the moon. I’ve loved cats for as long as I can remember and TWO kittens? It’s been a total dream. I’ve added a special kitten question to the entries below so you can get a sneak peek into our life these days.

Without further ado…

Sara

FAVORITES: Sparking water, long walks, extra time with the boys, all the kitten snuggles, a freshly-detailed van, evening meals on the porch, low-pressure mornings, our new fancy beach towels, coffee from my favorite mugs, catching sneak peeks of the bun engaging with the kittens, quick moments for reading
SUMMER-Y THING I’M GOING TO MISS THE MOST: Wearing dresses and tank tops
THE BEST THING ABOUT THE KITTENS: Watching them wrestle and play (it's just so cute!)
FALL THING I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO: Making space for myself again: work, and volunteering, and friends.

Chris

FAVORITES: Pinball (going for one billion), creme-filled long johns (maple or snow white with sprinkles), summer walks, making a 6:30 mile, swim dock swims, time with the boys, watching the family with the new kittens, our robot litter box, weekend morning strolls
SUMMER-Y THING HE’S GOING TO MISS THE MOST: Coming home from work and it being light outside
THE BEST THING ABOUT THE KITTENS: How hard they sleep
FALL THING HE’S LOOKING FORWARD TO: Crisp fall [early] evenings

Chase

Age: 12
FAVORITES: Books (most recently Infinity Cycle), anything having to do with the kittens (specifically, picking them up and carrying them around), board games (most recently Splendor), going for walks with the fam, mocha lattes, video games (almost any), brownies (preferably with ice cream), sausage pizza, swimming, Camp Manitou, time at the lake
SUMMER-Y THING HE’S GOING TO MISS THE MOST: All the free time
THE BEST THING ABOUT THE KITTENS: All the sleeping snuggles
FALL THING HE'S LOOKING FORWARD TO: Being back at school with friends

Robbe

Age: 10
FAVORITES: video games (Fortnite), books (Roll for Initiative at the moment), kittens (and more kittens), cold summer sweets, french toast, playing outside, the Olympics, Camp Manitou, his new endless bracelet, activities at the lake
SUMMER-Y THING HE’S GOING TO MISS THE MOST: spending more time with the fam
THE BEST THING ABOUT THE KITTENS: The weird positions they end up in
FALL THING HE'S LOOKING FORWARD TO: Soccer starting back up

Looking back at 2600 posts

Day 2697 | Politics, Baby

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The boys have been at camp and I’ve been spending all day, every day working. Working. Working.

Except for the time I’ve been politicing, obviously. You *might* have heard about a small rally that happened in EC this week. I was there! And then you might have seen some details about a GOTV rally for my good friend Nick. I was there, too (same night). And today, I voted!

I’d like to go into great detail about my experience at the Harris rally. Maybe I will at some point. For now, I’ll just say I’m glad I went. I’m glad Wisconsin showed up for Harris (12,000 people!). I’m glad there’s enthusiasm and life back in the democratic party. One of the most poignant moments was during a [rare] unscripted moment from Tim Walz. My friend B.J. Hollars clearly felt the same way and wrote a really lovely [and much more articulate] narative of the scene.

I hope you’re all feeling as inspired and motivated as I am about the political outlook right now. I’m going to seek out ways that I can help Harris (and Nick!) get elected and I challenge you to do the same—in whatever way makes sense for you!

Day 2695 | Photography

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I used to love photography. And I think I was pretty good at it, actually. Life got in the way and now I mostly take photos of kids and pets. That’s fine, too. Maybe someday I’ll get back into it. For the first time in a long time, though, I stopped to take a photo because I was just inspired. A blue sky would have helped, but I Iove the tracks and the way it draws your eye.

Day 2690 | 4-H Fair

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I was so incredibly proud of all the work and effort and time that went into this year’s 4-H fair projects. Between the two of them, they entered 39 projects! Chase brought 17 and Robbe brought 22–crazy, right? From photography to posters, from sand candles to art, from flower arranging to vegetable characters…these boys did it all. There was lots of excitement (Robbe received a champion ribbon and trophy and Chase received a reserved champion ribbon!) and some disappointment (there’s always some disappointment), but all in all everyone walked away feeling a great sense of accomplishment.

I just love fair time.