Week 34 of 52 in 2024

Jackson:  Tuesday was LPP orientation day at Towson High School.  We dropped off our LPP student to school for a fun couple of hours to meet other students accepted into the program and explore the school before Freshmen Orientation.  Since Jackson was getting pizza, Michael and I took Connor out to lunch at Roggenaerts.

Connor: With school starting, it was definitely time to get Connor a new bike. He had outgrown Jackson’s and we went to a bike shop in Belvedere today.  Connor seems to be happy with his new bike and the other bikes received some maintenance that was long overdue.  

Jackson and Connor: On Thursday, the boys had Freshman Orientation.  There was a presentation, tour, meeting of teachers and lunch.  The boys are hopeful that they won’t get lost on their 1st day.  The bike locks have been ordered.  Next up is figuring out the best route and timing since they have to be at school by 7:25, which is early.  There’s been discussion of waking up in the 6 o’clock hour.  

After voting for 5 consecutive days for the All Star Game, I was given an option for a discount and we picked Thursday, August 22nd, which happened to also be Back to School night.  It was an easy decision to catch up with the Orioles and Corbin Burnes.  It wasn’t the best game and the offense is really struggling.  But the Bird and his shenanigans are always good to watch.  It’s our 2nd loss in a row and we need to turn that streak around.

Week 33 of 52 in 2024

Jackson and Connor: Monday ended up being our last day at Six Flags for the summer with Towson sports kicking in to gear.  We had a good time (I rode 3 coasters in 30 minutes) and couldn’t miss an opportunity to get a pic with Fog Horn Leghorn and Sylvester.  The driving home and being routed the through city in areas that most definitely inspired The Wire was not a favorite.

After a club meeting early in the week, the boys were out at Fox Hollow for some practice with the rest of the freshmen on the developmental team.  Need to practice a lot of patience and remember to bring a book whenever there is practice since what was supposed to be 1 hour turned in to 2 1/2 when the coach delivered the jumbo buckets of balls when we through it was over.  Nobody can tell me otherwise that the Fox on display in the clubhouse, which Connor thought was real (not sure if it had on the pink sunglasses) is most definitely creepy.

Family:  On the way home from Six Flags on Monday after another reroute to the city by Waze, I encountered what I thought was a 4 way stop at the corner of W. Lombard and Mount that most definitely was not.  All the beeping that I’ve had to listen to, there was absolutely no warning until the collision and the front bumper basically slid off the car to the tune of almost $12K in damages. Somebody picked those pieces off the street and moved them to the curb.  The accident was bad enough but trying to move the care to a safe spot may have been the worst part with no vehicle caring that the accident happened.  I was more worried about getting rear ended or tboned than any damage that the accident didn’t do to the car.  PSS, I’ve since decided that Waze is not safe and not feeling comfortable when driving with kids in the car is not the best mix.  Thankfully, nobody was hurt, we have insurance and there was just a deductible.  Unfortunately, I hadn’t had my car for 2 full months.  Now, we wait for it to get returned to us.

We had Orioles tickets on Tuesday and with them playing the Nationals, we expected a good game.  Apparently, the Orioles didn’t get the memo and it was our first loss at OPACY in a while.  Need to get things sorted out and give credit to the National rookie and second year player that couldn’t miss at the plate.  Oh, and in addition to the loss, our insurance company never processed the paperwork and the car was technically uninsured. Lots going on.

Week 32 of 52 in 2024

 Jackson and Connor:  It was the week of golf and haircuts.  The boys have really been trying to comply with Coach Blair’s request to get in 18 holes/week.  This week, they had their 1st lesson with Coach J.  She was so good with them and went almost 2 hours over showing them videos.  We need life to slow down so we can get them back in with her.

Haircuts at Blue Spark every 5 weeks has become part of the routine.  After the cuts, we went to Barnes and Noble to pick up the boys’ own copy of their summer reading pick “All American Boys.”  Michael always questions if Connor actually had a cut…

Week 31 of 52 in 2024

Jackson: After what took way longer than we ever expected to happen, Jackson’s left handled Strata Set was in at Pine Ridge.  For some reason, left handed golf club sets are really hard to secure in a decent price range.  Apparently, the sport is dominated by right handed players.  Someone need to make it make sense for me.  It was a happy day when we got the call from Ed that the clubs were in.  His days of using his Jrs that he had outgrown are over.

Family: It was our 2nd consecutive week at Merriweather Post.  This time it was for Collective Soul and Hootie and the Blowfish.   It was my 3rd time seeing Collective Soul and the lead singer’s birthday so maybe that part of the issue but the Duke Kaboom suit couldn’t mask how much he was struggling to sing the songs. Hootie and the Blowfish, on the other hand, were incredible.   Such a good night despite the rain.