Checking in 6 months later...

Hello out there to anyone who is still reading. It has been almost 6 months since I have written on here. I didn't mean to take that amount of time off. It just kind of happened. I have been super busy and while I have been reading other blogs, it usually happens on my phone and that is not really conducive for writing out a blog post. But I am here now so let's get you guys updated. 

So what has been going on? 

The easiest way to do this I think is to just hit the highlights of the months I missed and then go from there. 

So...

January 2024.

Rebecca competed in OMEA solo competition and earned a Superior Rating for a Class A singing piece. The highest score for a high level song. 

February 2024.

February brought lots of cool looking skies.

It also brought lots of working hours for me. 

March 2024.

Influenza A hit our house hard. 

Rebecca and I went to see Mamma Mia in Columbus on St. Patrick's Day. It was so good. 

Jacob served as an MC for his school's talent show and he did a great job. 

Spring Break 2024... we took an overnight trip to Columbus. Started with the Columbus Zoo. 

Stayed at a hotel with a pool.

Had food door dashed.

Went chasing waterfalls... which the kids complained about! 

Ended our trip with a trip to see the butterfly exhibit at Franklin Park Conservatory.

Easter came.

We had a nice Easter with church and visiting my parents.

April 2024. 

Ben turned 12!

His request was for chocolate lasagna.

Rebecca and I watched the almost totality solar eclipse with our neighbor. The boys were with their father. 

Met up with a former coworker of mine for dinner and drinks at a new restaurant in town. Their margarita was so good. 

I took part in the March Madness bracket at work and won one of the rounds AND the overall bracket! 

Jacob and Rebecca were in the high school production of Freaky Friday. 

Rebecca played the part of Torrey (which was the mom's assistant).
Jacob was Parker (one of the students).

They both had a blast doing the show!

I went to Toledo to be the Confirmation sponsor of my best friend's daughter. It was a lovely mass at the cathedral. 

Jacob participated in Track again this year and did well in both discus and shot put. 

For the first time in a long time, the high school chorale qualified for the OMEA state competition. Rebecca was so excited to go. 

The chorale sounded AMAZING and received a score of Superior (1) which is the highest score! 

May 2024.

In May, Rebecca received her 2nd music letter. 

She also received her 2nd Academic Letter.

She also received awards from our local Rotary Club for being in the top 10% of the junior class and for being an editor of Vedette (which also came with a $50 cash gift).

The boys finished up their choir year with end of the year concerts. 

Ben finished up his year of playing the violin in orchestra. He has decided it is not for him. 

Our school year came to an end at work and we shut down our center for the Summer. Now I am subbing at other centers for the Summer. 

We went to Cleveland to celebrate my sister's graduation with her Master's Degree in Art Therapy.

I attended my niece's graduation from Project Search (a year long internship program for special needs (autistic) individuals that need extra help learning how to be in the workforce for the year after they graduate high school.)

We had family pictures taken as a Christmas present from my brother and his fiancee. 

Our extended family.

My mom and I went on an adventure day thrifting up in Amish Country. 

We ended our day with a stop at a winery for a wine flight. The peach wine slushy was amazing! 

We attended our town's Memorial Day parade.

Rebecca was there too. 

Rainbows out my kitchen window. 

To celebrate the end of the school year, I took Rebecca and Ben to the zoo and we met up with my sister and sister-in-love. Jacob was on the 8th grade trip to Washington DC. 

June 2024.

I took part in a walking challenge for the month of June. You were to walk 1 mile intentionally every day. I am happy to say I did AND I have continued into July so far. 

I got new furniture for my living room. An old high school friend's mom was giving the couch and chair and ottoman away as she was moving. I then added the 2 blue chairs and I love the new look. It is me.  

One of my many walks in June. 

Boys and I went to our town's 1st Friday celebration. Rebecca was there with friends. 

The boys walked with me sometimes. 

Met a coworker for dinner. She had never had a margarita before and she is almost 40. She loved the margarita! 

Celebrated Father's Day with my dad. The kids were with their father and then he took them to their week long camp. 

While the kids were away at camp, I took the a short solo trip up to Cuyahoga Falls National Park to do some hiking and waterfall finding. 

It was such a neat little trip. I will share more in an upcoming post. 

Then I went and stayed with my sister and sister in law for a day. We went on a walk that night. 

We also visited a newly opened Canopy Walk that was neat. 

A friend joined me for a rainy day walk inside of a Rural King store. It was awkward but got to see some adorable chicks. 

I attended a wedding for a coworker at a beautiful Catholic Church. 

The kids and I went to see Disney's The Lion King. It was amazing! 

I have always wanted to see it, but my ex never would justify the cost. It fulfilled a bucket list item for me. 

I finished my walking streak challenge! 

 

I also worked a LOT. Spent a lot of time doing day to day chores and running the kids everywhere. Being a single mom is not for the faint of heart. In fact it is the toughest thing I have ever done. Life definitely keeps me busy. Speaking of being a single mom, my divorce is still not finalized. Hopefully within the next 90 days. That relationship is tense. We will just say that. 

So that brings us up to July....

So far in July, I have kept up my walking streak. We celebrated the 4th of July with fireworks at my parents house in the afternoon. Then we made the last minute decision to go watch our town's fireworks in the pouring rain. It was fun! I also went on another adventure day trip with Rebecca, my mom, and my niece (which I will share in a future post). 

Setting off fireworks at my parents' house

  

Fireworks in the rain.

More fireworks in the rain.

Walking daily.

Day trip with my mom, Rebecca, and my niece. 

Ok, so I think, for the most part, I have hit the highlights of the last 6 months. I am not promising posting daily, but I will promise that it will not be 6 more months before another post. I hope to be back on here more frequently. 

What has everyone else been up to? What have I missed?