2023 Highlights
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August 10
Tonight was teacher meet and greets at the kids’ school and boy did the kids run straight for Ms. LaTanya. And boy did she not just stop everything she was doing to embrace them. I’m sure there are lots of great schools out there, but I doubt if any of them could ever feel as…
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July 31
There was a bit of a mental breakdown today. I have been trying to make everyone around me happy on this trip and it just hasn’t worked. Robin hated me for making her hike up two mountains, Billy didn’t seem to want to hike with us at all. I felt like I was bringing Siggi…
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July 30
We went into Asheville today, which was a lot of driving for a hamburger and poking around in shops we have no business being in. It was a little disappointing. But we came home and made bouncy balls and grilled up some pesto pizza and Brett even got a modest fire going with some damp…
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July 29
I hemmed and hawed and fretted over whether to take out the SUP and use it at Lake Santeetlah. I haven’t used it much and I’m not confident with it, plus there were a lot of people swimming where I wanted to paddle. I was so self conscious. But I did it (no thanks to…
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July 28
Today we went for a short hike up Black Balsam Bald. We watched a storm rolling in toward us for the whole hike and ALMOST made it back to the car without getting caught in it. What is a hike up a mountain without getting caught in the rain?
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July 27
Another year older. We went on a short nearby hike to this waterfall, where the girls and Siggi and Brett went for a swim. We played my new board game that Siggi gave me for my birthday called Wingspan. I won! Then we went out for dinner at a stream-side restaurant in town with great…
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July 26
Our latest adventure. Long day of driving followed by lots of trees, an outdoor deck, a hot tub, and the best friends a girl could have.
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July 21
I did this today. I asked the stylist to cut at least four inches off, which she 110% did not even come close to doing. It’s like she just got tired of working on it. She snipped next to nothing. Also I thought she rushed the coloring. I think the color would have been more…
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July 6
Long drive today from New Haven to southern Virginia. We detoured around a lot of traffic and made it in about 9 hours, including stops. Going between the same two spots in the opposite direction took almost an hour more, NOT including stops, so I call this a win. I’m looking forward to being back…
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July 5
We decided to get up early and go to Jordan Pond for the hike we’d missed before getting on the road toward home. We were all packed up and there by 8 and definitely missed the crowds. By the time we finished our hike, the trail was getting a lot busier with people who were…
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July 4
We had a solid plan for our one full day at Acadia, but instead we arrived to Bar Harbor to find the entire town shut down for their Fourth of July parade. The shuttle service we were counting on was suspended most of the day. We wasted an hour hoofing from our parking spot outside…
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July 3
We hiked up Cadillac Mountain – 7.5 miles round trip with 1,500+ feet elevation gain over rocky scrambles and muddy, flooded trails in rain and fog with little to no visibility. The kids were good until about mile 3, and then they started complaining. Poor Robin had a nasty blister on her foot. But we…
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July 2
Not exactly the best vacation photo. We made an unexpected stop in Bangor to stay in a hotel so as to avoid the inch of rain expected tonight. It has been raining steadily all day and I just can’t imagine setting up a tent and feeding ourselves and sleeping all night outside in the rain.…
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July 1
Robin struggled today. There were a lot of tears. She ate an entire container of Cool Whip out of Aunt Cathrine’s refrigerator. She heard me talking to Aunt Cathrine about it and felt horribly embarrassed. BUT… she told me the truth and we talked about it afterwards and I so appreciated that gift. I hope she…
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June 30
We went into Portland since the weather app indicated it would be the best weather day of the week. Well, it was cool and foggy. We thought we might go to the Portland Head Light, but there was no point in the fog, so we wandered around spending money for hours. It was fun and…
Year in Photos 