I went out for an early run and stumbled on a deer that didn’t mind me being there at all.
This deer didn’t mind me running past.
Closeups
My leg a day after stepping in sawgrass at Matt and Erin’s lake.
August 3
Taking Sadie down to the lake.
Those shirts can only be bought by members!
Little Lake Buckhorners.
Now the silly one!
Grownups. We’ve known each other for a long time!
Selfie.
Too bad the smeary window is in between us and the amazing sunset on the way home from the airport.
Benjamin fell asleep with his hand on his water bottle.
August 5
Benjamin took an evening golf lesson at the Broadlands course where Phoebe takes lessons every summer.
Kids practicing their putting.
Kids practicing their putting.
Well, he’s bent down nice and low.
More Putting.
Relaxing.
Trying it on his own.
See the ball in the air?
Miss Missy working with Benjamin to put his ball on the tee.
Dave had to pack for a two-week work trip to China, so we tucked a few things into his suitcase.
I love this one.
The Pokemon card Phoebe made for Dave.
August 6
Phoebe took a final four days of golf for the summer.
Look at her hair in the sunshine!
Not so sure about that swing.
Kids lined up on the driving range.
Mr. Chris reminds her to keep her head down.
There’s a golf ball in her shadow.
Keep your head down!
Nice swing!
But she doesn’t like having her picture taken.
She always enjoys golf lessons.
Her usual scowl.
August 8
We cat-sit for Brenda and Michael’s trip to Maryland.
Big helper, bringing the trash can back!
August 9
The kids practiced every other Monday all summer for a talent show at Take-A-Break. Phoebe and several of her cohort refused to do it, but Benjamin played along.
The kids singing a song about being all they can be or something like that.
Benjamin’s sign says “My dream is to become a basketball player.”
He’s actually doing some motions!
August 10
I had no idea we were having a helium shortage!
August 11
I never liked harp music much until I heard John McColley play.
August 13
This was right over our house; that’s our neighbor Pam’s apple tree in the corner!
We could even see the fire from the burners.
August 14
Benjamin was SO excited to start first grade; he woke up in the middle of the night, all ready to go!
First day of first grade! He’s carrying some school supplies. Everyone lined up outside the front door just for the first day.
In his new classroom. His teacher is Mrs. Turcotte.
Traffic light sandwich I copied from a book. ( lettuce, cheese and tomatoes.) Alas, he didn’t eat it.
While Dave was in China, Phoebe and I re-painted our upstairs bathroom. This is after a coat of primer that Phoebe helped me with.
August 15
I can’t help but photograph every bloom the night-blooming cereus produces!
August 16
Phoebe’s school started a few days after Benjamin’s because of summer construction, but she got to go meet her teacher on Friday before her school started on Monday. She had taken an after-school class with Mrs. Watson last year, so they already knew one another a bit.
Phoebe’s day 1 schedule in Mrs. Watson’s class.
August 17
We took our annual camping trip to Hermit Park (near Estes Park) with the Wilensky and Berzanskis family, including Andrew’s parents. It was a great weekend. The kids climbed a tree, rode bikes, and played in the tents. We went to a talk about bears Saturday evening and on a short hike (2 miles round trip) on Sunday morning. Dave got back from China on Saturday and went home to sleep, so we didn’t see him till we arrived home on Sunday afternoon.
We were H15. The kids brought bikes.
Phoebe and Tilley reading during breakfast.
Benjamin wasn’t afraid of the climbing tree!
He got pretty high!
Phoebe, Whit, and Tilley in a tree.
Having a fun camping trip.
August 18
Our campsite at Hermit Park.
That’s our picnic table. It was weird to camp without Dave, but we had a nice trip.
The kids helped Andrew clean out their tent.
Benjamin calls Milam “the guy with curly hair.”
Cheryl and Andrew with Peter in the background.
Our campsite all cleaned up.
The boys: Benjamin, Whit, and Milam.
Peter and Cheryl Tilley, Whit and Milam’s grandparents.
Tilley and Phoebe.
Heading out on a shortish hike.
Benjamin climbed up this rock.
Milam, Whit, Tilley, and Phoebe went much higher!
August 19
First day of 4th grade!
August 20
Dave at dinner a day or so after he returned from Nanjing, China.
August 22
I pass this bush on my way to work every morning. It’s so beautiful!
Up close.
I went over to Sanchez to meet with the new principal, Joel Rivera, about the reorganization of the kindergarten classes (they lost a teacher to kindergarten and had to combine two classes into three, but there are still only 21 kids in Benjamin’s class.)
Benjamin’s class’s book buckets.
Benjamin’s class schedule.
August 23
Sunrise at Peak to Peak the school right behind our house.
We went on our annual camping trip with the Gawenuses, this time to South Meadows Campground near Woodland Park. It was a great campground, and it was 2 miles away from Manitou Park Lake with a bike path connecting them. We had a really nice ride on Saturday—I pulled Benjamin on the Tagalong—and on Sunday I ran back to the lake in the morning. Once again, no Dave; he was in Pittsburgh for work.
Ready to sleep in his woobie with his blankie.
Reading Harry Potter before bed.
I’m reading How to Hide an Empire (I can never remember the title so I call it “that book I really liked”). Phoebe always remembers though.
August 24
Scootering in pajamas.
The Gawenus’s campsite.
Our campsite and picnic table. Another camping trip without Dave, who was in Pittsburgh. Again, we had a great weekend, even though we missed him.
Silly guy. (He’s drinking hot chocolate from that mug, which I used almost every day at Wittenberg. And yes, we’ve had it for more than 20 years.)
Kevin and Benjamin working on Rubik’s cubes.
Lisa cooking breakfast.
Photo of Kokopelli for Dave, who loves him.
Who looks weirder, Benjamin or me?
Saturday night campfire.
August 25
We all loved this long bridge!
Sunrise over Manitou Lake.
Benjamin didn’t like the music in the car, so he improvised.
Phoebe had a movie and pizza play date, and Dave was in Pittsburgh, so I let Benjamin pick a dinner spot. He chose McDonald’s, but he didn’t like his hamburger. My chicken sandwich tasted just like it did when Jennifer and I used to go before confirmation class!
See him in the train car?
August 26
Phoebe doing gymnastics.
Stretch it out, ladies!
Phoebe bouncing on the springboard to get onto the mat.
August 28
Our piano teacher, Walt, who has been Mount Calvary’s accompanist for a couple of years, gave some summer concerts. This was his last one.
Walt explaining something to his adoring audience.
The program for Walt’s last summer concert at Mount Calvary. The last piece was a rag he wrote himself.
August 29
Back to School Night barbecue at Benjamin’s school, Alicia Sanchez International Elementary School. The teachers give a talk about what the classroom time is like, and then the Rotary Club cooks us hotdogs and we enjoy a potluck.
Benjamin played basketball with Harper’s one of his classmates grandpa.
Phoebe’s old enough to have biked home, made ramen noodles on the stove, packed them up, put them in her bike basket, and come back to the school to eat them.
The tall guy is Joel Rivera, the new principal at Alicia Sanchez.
I bit the bullet and handed out PTA flyers on Back to School Night. Maybe we’ll get another body or two!
August 30
The city threw a dinner party for people who volunteered on a city board or commission during the year. I’m on the library board, so the kids and I went to Isabelle Farm for dinner and icees.
This Asian corn was delicious. Or maybe it was Mexican? It came from the Ginger Pig food truck.
The invitation for this event said there’d be “games for kids of all ages,” but these foam bats for whacking were all that was available.
This big boy was really nice to Benjamin.
You can barely see the 16-year-old fiddler in the back, but he was terrific! (So was the rest of the band.)
This band was pretty fun at the thank-you dinner for people who serve on a city committee.
August 31
We went to the library in the afternoon.
Okay, that’s a clever use for the chairs!
I love to see a kid spotting words in comfort at the library!
In the evening, we went to play at Sanchez; here Benjamin is scootering home. He’s getting pretty good at gliding!
