This was a momentous month! The day after I wrote last, August 19, I went to what I thought was an end of summer party with my local families at Hannah’s house. It was a beautiful day, and as we’re sitting in her back yard, my son, Levi, subtly says something like, “Hey I just realized it’s your 63 years and 10 month birthday today.” To which my daughter, Jem, replies, “If I’d known that, I would have thrown you a party!” I laughed that off and made some comment about how I plan to retire on August 19, 2026, when I’ll be 66 years and 10 months. Minutes later, my daughter, Amelia, and her fiancé, Ben, walk into the yard. They live in Louisville, Kentucky, so that was very unexpected! As a matter of fact, we’re going there this week for their wedding. Anyway, shortly after that, my son, Cai, who also lives in Louisville walks in to the yard. Unfortunately, his wife, Amy, and their daughter, Dorothy, could not come, but I figured, OK he just came with Amelia and Ben. Then my daughter, Caitlin, her husband Ben, and daughter, Lena, walk into the yard (from Philadelphia), followed soon by my daughter, Kortney, her husband, Mat, and their kids, Daisy, Bea, and Gus (from Minneapolis), and finally by my daughter, Carissa, her husband, Matt, and their kids, Ruby and Milo (from Philadelphia).
It turned out
that Jem decided I needed a surprise 65th birthday party, so she planned this
whole thing with everyone, and to surprise me, they had it a year and two
months early! It was great in every way! They each gave me t-shirts
from where they live, so I have a Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and New
York t-shirt, and I’m very proud to wear each of them!
 |
| My Kentucky shirt |
They all stayed for at least a couple of days, and while they were here, we did several fun activities, like going to Seabreeze, our local amusement park, and visiting a kid-themed farm, the beach at Lake Ontario, and other local parks and playgrounds.
 |
| Mat and Gus on the carousel |
 |
| You might have to zoom in, but the 2nd car is Carissa and Milo, and the third is Kortney and Bea |
 |
| Maya and Truman being cute eating snacks under Cody's watchful eye |
 |
| Matt (with his arms out) and Ruby |
I mentioned a
month or so ago that I’m taking the local grandkids out for their half birthday
for a dessert date with me. This month, it was Ansa’s turn, and she chose
a local ice cream shop. That seems to be a favorite outing since many of
them have chosen that, and there are several in our area, so we haven’t
repeated one yet! And, of course, I don’t mind getting ice cream!
 |
| Ansa and I on our dessert date |
For Labor Day,
we stayed low key, and just had a simple get-together at our house with the
local families. It was beautiful weather, and a nice time together.
Our barbershop
chorus is getting ready to compete this Saturday. I won’t be there
because I have a better offer to spend time with family at Amelia’s
wedding! Anyway, our director had to be gone for the past couple of
weeks, so I got an opportunity to direct two rehearsals to hopefully keep them
ready to do their best at Contest. Also, our chorus sang at a local 9/11
remembrance ceremony, and I directed us then too. We even made the local
news! If you watch the video here: Victims
and heroes of 9/11 honored at memorial in Webster | WHAM (13wham.com) near the end you’ll see a very brief
shot of our chorus (we’re the guys in khaki pants and maroon shirts) singing The
Battle Hymn of the Republic. Then shortly after that, you’ll see a
shot of two young families with a little boy waving. That’s my grandson,
Alex, son-in-law, Kevin, daughter, Hannah, daughter, Abigail, granddaughter,
Maya, granddaughter, Ansa, and granddaughter, Alma. Maya is Abigail’s
daughter, and Alma, Alex, and Ansa, are Hannah and Kevin’s. So,
basically, we’re all famous.
My son, Levi,
is playing soccer again with a local Christian school. Their league
allows local homeschooled students to play with them, and even though Levi is
out of high school now and in college, he is eligible to play this final year
since he’s still 18. Anyway, they’ve had three games so far, and they’re
1-1-1. I missed the game where they won, but I’ve been able to go to two
of his games, and I love watching them all play. He usually plays center
back (defense), and occasionally plays goalie.
Abigail and her
husband, Bernie, threw a big part for their daughter, Maya’s, first
birthday. It was at a local park, and although the weather wasn’t
wonderful, we all had a great time watching her cuteness. She seems to
enjoy being the center of attention. I wonder where she gets that
from? *cough* Abigail *cough*
We were all
very disappointed with how poorly the Buffalo Bills played in their first game,
but happily they bounced back nicely yesterday. Go Bills!
I guess that’s
it for this past month. Thanks for reading, and we’ll talk in October!
No comments:
Post a Comment