Halloween

Ansel as Weird Barbie, and Amity as... Amity (from Owl House). Happy Halloween!

Old Rag, Finally!

Seneca Shadows

So over the long fall break weekend, the 4 of us (where in this case our Z is Zelda as Zara is still living their best Oberlin life) took a little camping trip to Seneca Shadows, which is pretty much in the shadows of Seneca Rocks. While Wes and I both have done a fair amount of camping in our misspent youths, we somehow have never taken Amity camping?? and only camped with Zara a few times. As the kids are getting older and more into it, it seemed a shame not to do it. Weather turns out to have been unseasonably cool (see Zelda snuggled up under a fleece blanket like the pony she secretly is) and kinda rainy, but that did not deter us from hiking the trail at Seneca, having lunch at Yokums, stopping in at the Gendarme for awesome climbing tales from Arthur, the owner (and some delightful WiFi), and generally having some wilderness adventures. We upped out cooking game in general (Wes and I are also a product of lightweight camping, so this have a car nearby with a coooler full of food is still new to us) and inspired by both CHM and the MMs, made some "walking tacos" as well. The weather didn't really cooperate for our planned climb at NRocks though, so we'll just have ot come back in the spring and do it again?

Apples and Honey

Rosh Hashanah was kinda low key this year, but we still had our apples and we dipped them in honey. To a sweet new year!

Rocks with your whine?

Amity was a little sick this weekend, and while she was a brave little toaster for her soccer tournament, she was pretty unhappy by the time Labor Day rolled around. So, we went up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and found some rocks for her to climb, and then went to Kline's (not pictured) for ice cream. It didn't make her entirely better, but i think it helped. Plus it was just a beuatiful day to be outside. I love where we live.

Welcome to Obieland

Editor's note: You may not see much from Zara on these here pages for a bit, because they are off living their best college life. Case in point, a selfie sent while spectating a soccer game recently. They are still very much a part our family and in our collective heart(s), but they're just a little less... seen. Love you, kiddo.

First Day of School: 13th Grade (aka first year at Oberlin)

Here's a few snaps of Zara on their first day of classes at Oberlin. They were a good ragatz and humored my need to have back to school pics even when I'm not the one taking them, and for that I am grateful. Have the best school year, kiddo!

First Day of School: 8th Grade

And we're back, yet again. Amity's last year in middle school, collectively our family's last year in the Learning Village (well, except for the whole sports thing) and also the first year the kids aren't at the same school since 2015. In some ways, just the typical small changes, and in others, it's a tectonic shift. As per usual, no one was really ready to be awake at the ungodly get up for school hour, but things came together for a not even that hectic morning and as far as I know, Amity made it to school on time. Not pictured are the now customary end of August figs we bring to school for the first week or so, because when the kids go back to school the fig goes full on FRUIT!

Counselor Life

Zara's been gone for about a month now, and by the bits of info we've pieced together through a short FaceTime and a smattering of texts (between the 3 of us, Zelda doesn't get texts apparently?), having a fabulous time. Here's a few pics from the camp photo archive, we'll have an actual update when we drop Amity off next weekend.

Alumni!

There will no doubt be many more graduation pictures at some point, but here's a quick glance of Zara and some of their besties. Class of 2023 are now the newest alums of STAB!