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.

 

Week 30 of 52 in 2024

Family:  A really fun night at Merriweather Post Pavillion with Fitz and the Tantrums and O.A.R.  We went to dinner at Victoria Gastro Pub and met up with Steph and Trey during the Fitz set.  We returned to our seats as Marc and the boys from Rockville took the stage.  Such a great show.  Jackson finally got to see the trumpet player and saxophone player steal the show.  The trumpet player is a whole vibe and you could actually watch him the whole night.  Michael was super happy with the playlist compared to the last time he saw them.  Could be a yearly tradition.

Week 29 of 52 in 2024

Jackson and Connor: Nate and Andrew Sauro joined the boys at Six Flags this week.  Andrew has a season pass and Nate was able to get in as one of Andrew’s sister. 

Family:   Continuing to get used to the new car and it’s apparent issues with mini sized vehicles. It’s happened multiple times this week that the car started dinging with a warning to check surroundings for safety.  I’ve checked and the only slightly offensive thing is the mini that is driving in front of us.  Not the car I would pick but I can’t imagine what offense this car has really created by its existence.

Week 28 of 52 in 2024 : Vacation

Knowing that we could join Stoneleigh pool starting in mid-July, we opted to take a vacation prior to the membership starting.  Decision was made a couple weeks prior to go to South Carolina and stay in Isle of Palms, which gave us the opportunity to get into Charleston in about 20 minutes.  Our rental was a 5 minute walk to the beach, which we decided was better for us than being farther away with a pool.

We made it to the beach almost every day since it was so close and on some days, we even went up 2 times. And, we caught several sunsets.  Some of us realized that the sun wasn’t playing and there may have been some searches for rash guards for more than just Michael.

There was a historic tour of the city of Charleston.

And, there was more history at Forts Moultrie and Sumpter. The boys rode their bikes to Fort Moultrie where we found the resting place for Seminole Chief Osceola.  The town of Sullivans Island was beautiful with delicious food.  We couldn’t get in to the Obstinate Daughter so maybe next time.  Their gelato and cookie shop was a nice treat.