August 2021

July 2021

June Middles

Susan staining the deck. Now that the pool is done we are working on improving our deck.
Hilli, Lucia, and Rose swimming
Lucia, Susan and Rose swimming

The rest of May

I have been woefully behind on the blog. I decided that to catch up I would just do a few posts that cover entire months. Here comes May. . .

Filling the pool with a sand foundation.
Spreading the sand
Susan, Mary, and Erin
Working on the liner
Working on the liner
Ian was the first one in the pool
Rose, Ian, and Lucia
Hope and Mari reffing
Going away party for our neighbor Vi
Generic pool shot
Lucia playing socer
Lucia’s Soccer Team
Rose’s Soccer Team
Elliot after band concert
Dew Tour
Rob Axe Throwing with Friends
Susan and Rob on anniversary date

3 Car Family

Feeling the pinch with all the kids’ activities ramping up this spring, we decided it is time to invest in a third car. Andrew is paying for part of it and he will be the primary driver.

On the lot
Andrew driving

Pool Fence

Over this long Easter weekend we replaced our back fence, to be up to code for the pool. Our whole family and the Reagen kids came over to help with all the work that needed to be done.

Andrew and I used this two-man auger to dig the post holes. It would have been fairly straightforward, except we were working right next to the hedge, so that meant weird angles and roots.
Set posts
Putting up the last picket
Finished product, footprint from the old pool, yellow tape is the approximation of the new pool.

Father/Daughter/Mother Dance

For a few years now I have been attending the Father/Daughter dance with Mari, Lucia, and Rose. It did not happen this year, so we staged our own dance this evening at home. All credit goes to Susan (of course).

Formal Shot
The Dance Floor
Snack Time

Around the House

Not much is happening these days, so I haven’t had a lot to post about. I decided to take some time to share what we have been up to these days, on a day to day basis.

Susan has been working 40 hours a week as a billing specialist at 515 Therapy, a mental health counseling practice. She works from our closet most times, going into the office on Fridays for a few hours. When not working, she enjoys reading, exercising, and going for walks. She and I are almost finished with a Beachbody exercise program that had 100 30 minute exercises.

I have also been working about 40 hours per week, either at the dining room table or in my closet office in the basement when I have a meeting. I enjoy exercising and walking with Susan, and practicing guitar. I am taking an online guitar class right now, learning some traditional Kentucky tunes.

All of the older kids are back in the classroom this semester and have been enjoying it. Andrew leaves for school around 8 in the morning and usually gets home around 3:30 or sometimes stays to lift or run after school and gets home closer to 5. For the past few months he worked a seasonal job at Target, but that has come to an end. He is around more, but with track starting in a few weeks that will come to an end.

Mari goes to school the same hours as Andrew, but at a different building because our school district has a separate building for 9th graders. She really likes being back in school and having more things to do. She is planning on playing soccer at Valley and has been going to practices once a week in January. In February there are 2 practices per week and some ACL strengthening classes 2 more nights per week.

Elliot is in 8th grade and is the most neutral about being back in school. He thinks it is OK, but would rather not go to school at all. His school starts the earlier, 7:30, and we pick him up around 2:30. He doesn’t really have any activities right now and his soccer season won’t start again until March. He has been reading more over the past few months and passes some of his time doing that. He also likes like Rocket League, Forza, and ping-pong.

Lucia was going to go to school this year but because of the pandemic we decided to keep her home. Same for Rose and their daily activities should really be listed together because they spend 99% of their time together. They spend a lot of time playing and pretending, either with their toys or with role play. They like to play with their dolls, barbies, and horses. The are up around 8 or 8:30 and have lights out at 9:30, but they often stay up too late chatting until around 10:30. Lucia is doing dance class online this year and they are both signed up for soccer in the spring.