We can’t believe that summer’s coming to a close. We started back to Options this week, and the first week in September we start back into academic work. Honestly, we were so looking forward to seeing our Options friends again, although we had a few over during the summer for a handful of pizza nights, that we hardly noticed how fast summer flew by. But fly by it did.
We all had our adventure sleep away camps, some of us had adventure camps without sleeping away, and others had Dungeons and Dragons and/or cooking camps. We went to Water World, the museum for an IMAX showing of The Mummy (the 1999 version, obviously), and we had a private showing of The Haunted Mansion. We set off epic fountains in the driveway for July 4th, we dodged golf ball sized hail in our backyard more than once, and Asher raked in the dough selling lemonade on the corner. (No, seriously, in addition to selling out of product on multiple dates, more than one person stoped just to give him money, telling him that they appreciated his capitalist spirit.) Summer 2023 was busy. And quietly during this busyness, Asher turned 10. 10! He’s a solid tween now. Happy Birthday, Little Man! We love you!
Emmett’s adventure sleep away camp was two weeks in California. He flew to CA all by himself, his first time flying solo! But he did great. He loved camp too. Tessa and Asher spent a week at Avid sleep away camp in Colorado, while Riley’s Avid camp was in Wyoming. It was Asher’s first sleep away camp, but he handled it like a pro. No homesickness at all! Only Emmett wants to go back to his camp next summer, though, so not everyone’s experiences were equally fantastic. Mostly, Riley, Tessa, and Asher loved camp, but didn’t like having to sleep in tents. They’d have preferred day camps with adventure where they got to come home every evening. We’ll see how they feel when it’s time to schedule for Summer Camp 2024.
We just got back from a trip to San Francisco last week (where we picked up Emmett from his camp), and we all really enjoyed the city. We toured Alcatraz, Sausalito, Chinatown, Pier 39, Fisherman’s Wharf, Golden Gate Park, the Marin Headlands, the Presidio, and the Embarcadero. We loved the three story rainforest in the California Academy of Science. We liked where we stayed too. We were at the foot of the Golden Gate bridge and had amazing views each day, except when Carl, the fog, made an appearance–which was almost everyday. We even ate at place in Chinatown where they filmed the most recent Matrix film, and the food was amazing. The trip was two thumbs up.
Now that we’re back though, everyone’s excited about something. Riley’s excited for us to pick up our Rivian. We’ve been on the list for more than a year, and he’s been hoping to bring home an EV for even longer than that. Emmett’s moved to Options on Tuesdays so he can have the day there to himself. He’s excited to hang out with new friends in classes where he gets to make his mark sans siblings. Asher’s looking forward to jumping back into his weekly DND campaign, and Tessa’s excited to see more of her Options friends outside of school.
Last week was sweltering, it even killed our AC and we had to have it replaced, so we’re all hoping for cooler days to come (especially Iris who had an allergic reaction to something triggered by the heat and couldn’t stop itching her entire body for almost two weeks). Seriously, though, who doesn’t love the autumn? We’ve got the usual slate of fall activities coming up with pumpkins, Halloween, Riley’s birthday, and ghost hunting, but we’ve also got a ton of DCPA performances on our schedule. We just saw Midsummer Night’s Dream last weekend, and coming up in 2023 are Beetlejuice, Six, and Yippee Kay Yay. We’ve got more in 2024, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Check back in soon. We’ll be able to tell you about Emmett’s Theater Camp (he’s working on a medley from Six) and Riley’s archery tournament (he’s going to state), as well as Astronomy class and more of Asher selling lemonade.
Pigs out.
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