This may be the longest stretch I've gone without an update, and avoiding unpacking boxes may be the lamest reason yet to sit down and share one, but we really are all alive and well and officially residents of the Bluegrass State.
It's been a whirlwind of a couple months. We enjoyed every bit of the Maryland Farewell Tour, soaking up brackish classics like crab shacks with friends, and family (cousin) time on the Northern Neck.
We farewelled allthesports,
noting that some (ahem, lacrosse boat party on the Severn) did it better than baseball (parent-kid game in searing heat.)
It was especially hard to say goodbye to our baseball family,
after a tough loss and four seasons of moments like this (a game changing catch at shortstop with Coach Dad on the field.)
My 45th birthday would've come and gone amid pre-move chaos, except that our best people made the trip up for Severn fun and general debauchery, and I am grateful.
We celebrated moments big and small, from Mother's Day and the May birthdays
to art shows and final (!!) cello concerts.
We had shirtless pool parties and sleepovers galore and day-off rock scrambles in the rain.
Some of us made poor choices and agreed to chaperone field day (0/0 stars, minus kid delight),
but were rewarded with good times on the river.
We discovered the hilarious family game of Blank Slate.
Our Arden crew threw us an epic going-away, complete with three story water slide bounce house and all the bro-moments,
and old college friends dragged us to the World's Largest Bounce House to celebrate school being out.
Instead of packing up like a responsible adult, I fled north for Memorial Day weekend, and took Finley to see Harvard (she's been begging, and a friend there gave her an amazing insider tour.) I also got to finally lay eyes on Walden Pond, which was simply magical and a dream come true (if chilly.)
Our final "welcome to summer" destination, Narragansett with our RI people, is always good for the soul; with kids riding bikes to the beach and scamming ice cream and lemonade, and we finally got to see Bex and Jeremy's new venture, the beautiful
Dark Outpost Distilling in Pawtucket.
These two also discovered New England seafood and, expensively, lobster rolls;
and we managed to catch our Antal besties in NY after the very sad (for Ford and I) Dodgers-Mets rainout.
Back in Maryland, we did a final round of pool parties
and Finley got to play basketball in the "real highest court in the land" (the basketball court that sits on top of the U.S. Supreme Court) and snuggle baby goats at
MRT. We sure are going to miss this place.
And finally, with school out and most of the goodbyes logged, F+F bade farewell to an idyllic two years in Arden-on-the-Severn and departed on a three day drive with the intrepid Grandma Jayne, two dogs, lots of snacks, and brand new Bark phones for some summer North Dakota time.
I followed after many days and nights of scrubbing ovens and taking load upon load to Goodwill and the dump (laced with profanity in all cases), having forgotten just how miserable this is. Moving is a bit like childbirth. Divine intervention ensures you block out just enough trauma that you're willing to do it again.
I had also forgotten I'd need to get the skittish cat (which enjoys neither harness nor carrier) to Kentucky, but once I did and knocked out a few days of transition with my predecessor, I left Seth and cat in a mediocre hotel room suite and reveled in a solo road trip to meet my people on the Canadian border. It is
far but I enjoyed every second, stopping to run in state parks and take photos with odd, giant statutes of wildlife. Arriving at the
top of the lower 48 was joyous as usual.
F+F love their North Dakota time, and we enjoyed a couple of very chill days at Grandma and Grandpa's before a freak gust of wind took the ATV they were driving with farm friends into the slough and landed them in the ER. One snapped collarbone and five staples to the head later, all's well that ends well and we feel very, very lucky (all four kids walked away, although they gave us a rough couple hours.) I won't soon forget four kids running out of the ditch (65 miles from the nearest ER) with blood streaming down their faces, and we are working hard to convey to the kids that safe driving saved their lives.
Kid resilience is a thing, though, so they managed to enjoy their upper midwest time in slings and with staples
and even got back on the horse that threw them eventually. Cousins helped.
Bandaged up, we made the most of our time with hiking and one-armed tubing (Finley is seriously amazing and feels no pain, and I figured it couldn't get broken any worse!),
and the kids just loved their cousin time.
We visited Finley's adorable car (thanks, Grandpa)
played on the lake (Handsome Ford is not trying to be that cold!),
and marveled at Uncle Taylor's fireworks. Which were spectacular.
In our second tough farewell of the summer, the kids hated saying goodbye to their North Dakota (second) cousin crew after the holiday weekend.
A stop in Chicago to see Ashley and the Cubbies softened the blow (Ford's pick)
as did our stay at the Ritz-Carlton (Finley's.)
And then, annual Michigan plans having fallen through, we made the last minute decision to meet Seth, who had been busy accepting household goods delivery while we played, in Indianapolis for fireworks and unplanned fun.
We love discovering a new town, and the stunning museums and random canal in Indy did not disappoint.
Neither did a chance meetup with my dear friend Steph and her kids,
or the incredible box seats Seth scored at Gainbridge for the Fever (bonus: we got to see the history-making
triple-double and win over Liberty. With ice cream.)
And then we were home. At our new house which is in fact conveniently located onpost, but about 1/2 the size of our last one. So arriving to piles of everything we own on the floor, and furniture in the garage, was a bit of a downer.
Luckily, 1) my parents the workhorses were on their way to help out, 2) there is a fantastic local Goodwill, and 3) we discovered the pool and the bowling alley right away for breaks.
My parents have spent the last 5 days unpacking and hauling things while I tried to juggle inprocessing and school registration, and Seth and I have pulled some late nights organizing and trying not to stab each other with the paring knives we can't find. Moving is not glamorous, and we are so lucky to have our people to help with it on both ends. (Shoutout to Jayne, too, for all the repainting and hole patching and kid wrangling in Maryland!)
We could not do this without our people, and we are just so grateful. And exhausted. But ready for the adventure this next two years will bring in
the cornfield Kentucky, and hoping this midwest heat breaks sometime soon. If my first week at work is any indication, it's going to be a busy couple years for me, so I feel a bit like we're standing at the top of a water slide. Here goes nothing!
Tony and Jayne arrive with the #worldsbesttrainedservicedog and his cousin early next week. How much more chaotic can a small house get? I am already bracing myself, and raising a glass to PCS season.
