He Had a Heart In His Hair!

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It's been another busy week, even though classes haven't started yet. Meetings, workshops, convocation, all that stuff. Plus, it's been super hot, and I have a cold, but I got to feature on Kyle's backyard comedy show last night, which was super fun. Last week of being 40, heh. Here goes nothing!

Even Though One of Us is on SABBATICAL

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It was a great GYLT (Get Your Life Together) week - the kids started school, so Greg and I had time to clean, get started on work before the real meetings get going next week, run errands, and even nap occasionally. We both got out to an open mic, and I went to the Who Wrote That? show on Friday night and saw a bunch of comedy friends. Today and yesterday, we went to Lilly's birthday party and a live concert at the Botanic Gardens, Alice and I visited Caitlin's family's church, and then we went to Louisa's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese today. So many birthday parties. Plus, it's August, so there are more to come. :)

We Have No Plans To Do That Again Soon

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We are back home! It was a lovely rest of the week in Maryland; we went to the Building Museum, Skydome (a rotating restaurant), the Odyssey River Cruise, and Alice and I went out to get a haircut. We said goodbye to Greg's childhood home, and then we drove back to Memphis by way of Roanoke VA (where we stopped and said hi to Bethany) and Bristol TN (in a slightly unhinged Christmas AirBnB). Today was kind of a recombobulation day, plus it's our anniversary, so we had gifts and a homemade dinner. School and daycare start back up tomorrow, but it's been real, summer!

We're Finally In the Same Place For More than a Few Days

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We had a lovely couple of days in Ohio: we stayed with Rebecca and Kaye in Lancaster, met with Marci at the Short North, visited campus and the Cartoon Library and Museum, got some Jeni's, and had dinner with Travis, Mary, and John at Flavor 91. And now, we're in Maryland! We've been hanging out with Penny and saying goodbye to the house: we went to Wheaton Park, to the Gaithersburg Community Museum, out for Dim Sum with Geno and his family, and we had crab cakes on the porch with Scotty and Joe, probably for the last time since Penny is selling the house. Then today, we met with Kelly and Andrew to go to the Baltimore Aquarium and Five Guys. We'll be back in Memphis by the end of the week, but we've got a few more days of chilling!

She Was Indeed Surprised

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We're finishing up our time in Michigan, so here's a few of the things we did this week! 

- Drinks out with Holly and Michele at Harmony Brewing 

- Lunch at Tandoori Hut with Greg and Alice 

- Minions and Monsters with the kids 

- Tapas dinner that Greg cooked 

- Drinks with Mike and Sarah at Founder's 

- Lunch and the World Cup final today with Catie and Drew at Pike 51 Brewery 

- Shoe shopping and lunch at Kawa with my mom 

And then of course, we conspired to throw my mom a surprise 70th birthday party at Fred's featuring our whole family, four aunts and uncles, and like a dozen other friends. It was really fun! Anyway, now we're off to Ohio. See you soon, Michigan!

The City Museum Is Also Extremely Awesome

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Road trip part 1! 

We went to St. Louis for a couple of days for my mentorship orientation with the Posse Foundation, so Greg and the kids explored St. Louis and saw the Arch and the City Museum. Then, we drove into Grand Rapids, spent one night with my parents, and then left the kids with them for the weekend for Cabin Weekend 2026! Now, we're in Holland with Pat and Sarah, and today was beach day! The kids are having a blast.

So Summer Break Here Is Basically Over

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We're basically done with summer in Memphis, which is good because it's HAWT. But we had a nice start to July. I went to my first Havenhaus open mic and a follow-up doctor's appointment, and then we all went to a Fourth of July party at Ann and Brent's, the neighborhood parade, swimming at the Rhodes pool, a playground, and the Redbirds game. Tomorrow, it's going to be some packing and cleaning before we head out for St. Louis!

I Just Get Them Out of the House So They Don't Ask to Watch TV

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I was solo parenting for most of the week while Greg was helping his mom clean out her house, so that was...generally fine. We went to the library, the playground, the Art Project, the pool, JP's house for some water play, and...well, Alice just came wiht me to Target. But Greg's back, and we have one more full week left until we start on Operation Road Trip.

It Has Plenty of Laughs, Many Tears, and a Lovely Amount of Conan

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It's been a nice week at home: we caught up with Mark and Kate (swimming at Rhodes and drinks at Crosstown), Sarah and Charlie (lunch at their house and meeting their new chickens), and Vanessa (a visit at our house). Plus, Alice had Cartoons and Characters camp, we all went to a Redbirds game last night, and then today, we took the kids to see Toy Story 5 (which was great). This is my actual summer break, as we're going to be traveling for most of July.

Soon, There Will Be a Pool Next Door

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I'm back from Spain, and the trip back was pretty uneventful, so that was good. Since I got back, we spent some time at various pools, saw live music at the Lair, and then Alice and I went to see Legally Blonde at Theatre Memphis with Nolita. Greg went to Bonnaroo for the day, so we're on our own until tomorrow, but it's chill. We went to novel to get gifts for Greg for Father's Day, and then we went to Panera where they didn't eat anything. Ah, it's good to be back to parenting again.