Summer 2023

Helen had a fabulous time doing all sorts of different camps this summer--woodworking and sewing classes at the Eliot School (both hand and machine), dance camp at Tony Williams, KidsArts, chamber music camp through her school orchestra program, Vacation Bible School for one week, Cedar Hill Girl Scout day camp for two weeks, and circus school too.

Ballet:

Hip hop:

Creative Dance:

She's also been doing piano lessons most Sundays, violin lessons most Mondays, and track with YES on Tuesdays.

Teaching Heavy Mary how to play the piano too:

Meanwhile, Samantha kept busy with some Tenacity near our house, the BPS DARTS program at the O'Bryant (including a day trip to Tanglewood), some Cedar Hill day camp, and some Girl Scout sleepaway camp. She also had a bunch of time with Esme when she was visiting her grandma in town for most of July.

Marcus did frisbee in the evenings and Tenacity at Carter (until he sprained his ankle), and CTY for computer science down at Roger Williams in Rhode Island (at which point his ankle had healed enough for him to devote plenty of time to frisbee as well as to coding).

With the big kids being away, we had some time with just the girls, and then some time when Helen was an only child--such fun and different dynamics, though it was of course great to have everyone home again. On weekends and evenings we managed to take in movies at the Prudential lawn, bbqs with friends, picnics and splash parks, evening concerts, "Evita" at the ART in Cambridge with Howard (cue Howard and I singing all the songs walking to, and on, the subway, with Samantha rolling her eyes so hard at both of us), Circus Smirkus in Waltham, Boston Bike Party's 10th anniversary, Robert's softball games, free slushees on 7/11 and free french fries at McDonald's on Free Fry Day, lots of playtime with kids on the block, and more. We also had visits from Cori, from Robert's sister Jennifer, and from Robert's nephew John (with a little old-fashioned DIY moving fun thrown in there too).

Saying goodbye to Marcus:

Wishing Grandma a happy 83rd birthday:

Helping John move:

Hanging out with Cori downtown:

Greenway fun:

Hanging out with Suzi and Ken and their girls:

Enjoying Grandma and Pop-pop's pool:

Macbeth picnic (Samantha read along and kept us updated on what was abridged):

Immersive Disney animation exhibit:

Waffle party brunch:

Biking fun:

Hot summer night Monopoly:

Neighbor fun:

Creations:

Fourth of July party--the advertising, some of the food, and the aftermath:

Chess workshops and open play:

Dinner with Howard at Wusong Road:

Cows around the city:

Tea downtown:

Sibling love:

Science experiments and swimming lessons, also known as staying cool in the heat, and new porch lights:

Vacation Bible School:

Saying goodbye to Samantha:

Circus:

Bike Party!!

Featuring the penny farthing,

the Pikachu bike,

the Birthday Girl bike,

Disco Bob,

the tall bike,

the Dunkin tandem,

the bubble bike,

and about 1000 other bikers.

Our party stop at Carter playground on the way home:

Titus Sparrow concert, dance party, and picnic with friends:

Picking Marcus up from CTY!

Another beach weekend in the Christmas cottage in Wareham:

Marcus taking the reins at the grill:

Mayor's Cup tennis tournament--in the 14U category, Marcus made it to the semi-finals in both singles and doubles (with Sunil):

Fun brunch and games day with old friends, celebrating Cori staying in the states awhile longer and Kristijan being home from the hospital and recovering well:

Getting caught in the rain (more rain!) on the way to Helen's KidsArts showcase:

Marcus and his friends going camping for the weekend for his birthday (with Robert). Little boys on the block were very jealous. Big boys loved Purgatory Chasm, but also the playground at the campsite:

Beautiful end-of-summer dinner at a dear friend's house:

Really cool bilingual "wandering" Hamlet all over Chelsea with Helen (dinner was pupusas eaten on a curb):

My favorite caterpillar show at the Arb with friends:

Celebrating Marcus's birthday with Pop-pop:

Lots of late-August afternoons with Pop-pop, before he moved to Goddard House:

Samantha, too cool for words, at a skate park during photography camp:

Circus camp showcase:

Fun in Maine for cabin camping with people from church, and a stop to meet up with neighbors on the way home for ice cream:

Late summer Red Sox game. Not too hot! (More rain!)

Boys baking a cake for George's birthday:

Greek festival, in the rain:

So yes--it's been an amazing summer, with lots of fun despite the heatwaves, the thunderstorms, and the many times the streets flooded. (Better than last year's drought, I guess?)

And finally the first day of school--and how it goes when you ask the 7-year-old to help wake up the 15-year-old!

 

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Created: 8/30/23. Last Modified: 9/16/23.