To Connecticut and Back

 

We hit the ground running when we arrived in Connecticut after Christmas. Unfortunately the Hannen family was not able to make the trip but we had been able to see them in Cincinnati earlier in December which kind of made up for it. We had gotten everyone tickets to go see the UConn women's basketball team play a home game. It was Paige Buecker's senior season and we are big Paige fans. And the whole Bowes family loves UConn women's basketball which made for a great night out. 

 

We had to take this sweet picture of Callie and Nana Banana. First, because it captures their sweet relationship. Second, because we were all just so happy that Nana made it all the way up the steep flight of stairs to make it to our seats in the upper reaches of the arena. We were not courtside, but we all had a lot of fun and the Huskies won. And to cap off the night we walked by Husky great Rebecca Lobo in the concourse.

 

Going back to Madison always means John runs into folks he grew up with but this time around there was a special surprise because Ted Dowling was in the area as well. John, Ted, and three other high school friends all went out to dinner one night to catch up on life, family, and the world in general. Nothing beats getting together with guys you have known since elementary school.

 

Seeing as we had spent some time visiting colleges over the previous six months or so John figured it was only proper that we drove into New Haven to walk around Yale's campus a bit. We weren't able to take an official tour and the gates to Old Campus were locked so it was up to John to tell stories about the buildings and various spots on campus. The girls had fun though it isn't clear if Callie is going to apply or not. We shall see. 

 

And since we were in the neighborhood we had to stop by the best laundromat in Connecticut to make sure everything was operating smoothly. Chris gave us the official tour, offered us some popcorn, and shared the details of his new washer investment. It was a lot of fun to see him in action and get a picture with him in front of the family business.

 

We obviously had to take a drive down Middle Beach Rd and get some time down on the Long Island Sound at sunset. The Madison shoreline never disappoints and though it was definitely windy we loved just being down by the water. 

 

At this point, Christmas in Connecticut also means New Years with the Skonieczny's. This time around we started with a good old fashioned hike in the north woods. Ella was in town as well which meant we got an update on her sophomore first semester and heard all about her incredible plans for the spring that includes a month in France and sailing to Tahiti. She is definitely college the right way.

 

Later that evening the energy picked up a bit with some Texas Hold 'Em led by the Magic Man and the Commish. We can't remember all the other nicknames that we got, but we do remember that Reese was not a big fan of hers. In any case, we had a great time playing cards, hearing all about what Eli and Ethan have been up to, and just enjoying time together. We are very lucky to be friends with these folks.

 

Us landlocked folks need to make sure we get as much ocean time as possible when we are in the vicinity. So on New Year's Day, John, Sarah, and Callie took a long walk at Hammonasset State Park along with a variety of others who clearly thought it was a great way to start the year. 

 

The next phase of our adventure was all about celebrating Reese. It was a trip year for her birthday and we decided to spend a day in New York City going where she wanted to go. This meant a whole lot of shopping. We woke up early to catch the train into Grand Central and the excitement level was high.

 

Few people like donuts as much as Reese so our first stop was at The Donut Pub which we had heard great things about. To say this place had some options is an understatement. It was a bit overwhelming but also a great way to start things off. After we had eaten some sweet treats we headed out to the mean streets to find what stores were open. The search started in SoHo.

 

Sarah had things well planned out so by lunchtime we were right near Chelsea Market. After walking around inside a little bit and looking at some shops we found a Chinese restaurant with available tables and great food. 

 

It is certainly easier and much more enjoyable to do a day like this in New York when your kids are 14 and 17. Callie and Reese were excited to check places out and even jumped on TikTok to see what stores were trending or were must see stops during our visit. 

 

We did do a lot of walking and at one point even walked through Central Park after taking the subway up the wrong side. It all worked out perfectly though because we saw the park and still made it to the Swedish candy store that was a must stop for Reese. Sarah took this picture as we headed back to Midtown from the Upper East Side. New York City is just an exciting place to be any time of year.

 

But of course it is extra special around Christmas. It is safe to say there were a few other visitors to the city when we were there. We waited in a long line at FAO Schwartz for the possibility of getting some sort of jelly cat and were unsuccessful. But we did fight through the crowds to get a family picture with the iconic tree at Rockefeller Center.

 

And no trip to Madison is complete without at least one large gathering with all of the Bowes and Skonieczny clans. This family room at Nana Banana and Sports house has seen more than a few of these fun nights over the past four plus decades. It was fantastic to see everyone and the right way to end our visit.

 

We did have to get back to Lexington, though, not only because the girls were going to have to get back to school but also because we had one last Christmas tradition to fulfill. Ella and Claire were both in town so we had the Abrahams over for tape ball. As always it involved too many gifts and a lot of fun. We were ready for the new year to begin.

Christmas 2024

 Although we had plans to travel to Connecticut over the holiday break we weren't going to leave until after Christmas so were able to celebrate with some of our favorite people.

The Christmas Eve schedule was a bit tricky due to the timing of the church services and the people we were hanging out with. Sharon and Chris went to the 3:00pm service and since Sarah had to work we attended the 8:00pm service. Linda had to go to both along with John, who was a greeter for both as well. That meant we had a unique strategy for the evening.

 

The eating commenced between services at the Chrisman's with some soup, appetizers, and a few wine choices. Only Chris and Sharon could freely enjoy the wine at this time, of course. But we all enjoyed the opportunity to share a meal together.

 

The real fun started after the second service when we invited everyone back to our house for another round of food. Based on the time of night our guests were welcome to wear whatever they desired and Sharon and Chris determined it was the perfect time for their Christmas PJs. Callie and Reese followed suit.

 

Linda was also able to return along with her husband Daniel and Tommy Glover also made an appearance. We had more than enough food to go around and had an absolutely fantastic time eating, talking, and laughing. It was the perfect way to spend Christmas Eve.

 

Before you know it Christmas morning had arrived and it was time for the annual picture at the top of the stairs. The girls still sleep in which makes Christmas morning that much more enjoyable and relaxing. We didn't have any big plans for the day so we just had a great time with each other.

 

Opening gifts with the girls is always great because they appreciate everything they get and they always want to see what everyone else gets so they can share in the joy. And at this point they are also into buying gifts for each other so that has added to the fun. We tried to serve up one gift with a riddle this year. It didn't quite work, but we were excited to share with the girls that we had tickets for all of us to see Tyler Childers at Kroger Field in April. 

 

As this picture captures, the rest of the day was a combination of hanging out, being silly, and wearing comfortable napping clothes. We needed our rest before our trip up north to see the Connecticut crew.

Enjoying the Holiday Season!

 

We were all happy to get an invitation to a dinner and cookie-decorating evening at the Grote's early in December. Abby and Callie had been club soccer teammates for several years and they in part bonded over the fact that almost all of their teammates were in a grade above them. So most of the girls in this picture were seniors and no longer played soccer. It was a special opportunity for the girls to get together and also for the parents who no longer saw each other with regularity on the sidelines or at tournaments. This was a good group of individuals and we enjoyed kicking the holidays off with them.

 

Kelly and Sarah decided to shift their chocolate dipping Christmas tradition to cookie baking with the help of the illustrious Susan Buhrow, baker extraordinaire. Typically the girls are not involved but this year we wanted to try something a little different. 

 

We knew it was going to be intense when Susan brought over a multi-page document of instructions and recipes. She had everything all laid out for at least eight different cookies and each one had its own special twist. This was not going to be a day for lollygagging in the kitchen. Reese was not amused and at times looked like she was being tortured. 

 

We took the divide and conquer approach in order to keep up with Susan's schedule. The kitchen probably looks a bit chaotic in this picture, which led to Sarah's role of constant cleaner to make sure each baker had the utensils and equipment they needed. You will notice John is not present in these pictures and it is not by chance.

 

In the end each party went home with an incredible collection of baked treats and we hadn't even completed all that was on Susan's list at the beginning of the day. Callie was a trooper throughout and showed off her culinary skills and work ethic. We'll have to see if next year brings back the chocolate or if the baking makes a return. 

 

And of course during the holiday season we had to get in the winter-themed Cotillion as well. Reese was especially excited for her Christmas dress which would be playing double duty for Cotillion and Christmas Eve. It is no secret that this is her absolutely favorite time of year for so many reasons and Cotillion just added to the fun.

 

Sarah, Sharon, and the girls were asked to light the Advent candles one Sunday at church which was a wonderful recognition of the relationship and love between our families. It is kind of amazing to look at this picture and know that Sharon has known the girls since they were born, from bringing us fresh pineapple at the hospital when Callie was born to hosting Callie and then bringing her to meet her new sister with a bag of dark chocolate Reese's cups. We are so very lucky. 

 

In a wonderful twist to the holiday season we got to see the Hannens for a day when they were in the Cincinnati area visiting Brian's sister and family. We met up for pizza and beers in Newport and then walked around to see the Christmas decorations. 

 

We are glad that we were able to make this happen since the Hannens were not going to be making it to Connecticut after Christmas this year. The girls always enjoy getting more time with Zoey and Abby and we also had the opportunity to explore parts of Newport we hadn't been to before. 

 

One of those reasons we know that Reese is part elf is because of her December birthday, and good old Sam made his annual appearance in the Christmas tree wishing her a happy 14th birthday. An even number birthday means a trip and this year we were incorporating that into our Christmas journey to the northeast. More on that to come...

California Thanksgiving

 

It had been a while since we had traveled to California for the holidays so this Thanksgiving venture was long overdue. Of course, some things never change and our first stop had to be at In-N-Out after we left the airport. We had made a long list of things we wanted to do and people we wanted to see, so we needed to be fueled up properly. Right after this meal, and not pictured here, we met up with Aunt Brandy and Grammy to see the movie, Wicked. It was a great start to the trip.

 

The next phase of our trip entailed driving to the Bay Area to meet up with the Perrones. Lauren had reserved parking for us at Muir Woods so that we could start our time together with a hike beneath the Redwoods. Sarah and Lauren have been friends for 34 years and they have come a long way since they were roommates their freshmen year of college. 

 

Although our girls have only gotten to see each other every other year at best over the past two decades they somehow have managed to develop and maintain their own friendships. Callie and Kate vlog back and forth, which is hilarious, and apparently is the new way to be a penpal. It certainly helps that all the girls know how close Sarah and Lauren are, so they just kind of know that they should get along. But it is still very sweet to see it all play out in person.

 

These two especially seem to have made a connection that spans the miles. Both of them are juniors and thinking about colleges. In fact they both show early signs of interest in a similar major - engineering - and talk about how cool it would be to end up at the same school Who knows whether that could actually happen or not, but it's fun to hear them talk about the possibility.

 

John and JP also get to be part of these gatherings, which is nice. They tend to hang back, catch up, talk girls sports, and overall enjoy the time together. At this point because of Lauren and Sarah they have known each other for over twenty years, so it's not as if they are strangers. It was a great way to all get together.

 

The Golden Gate Bridge is just a short drive from Muir Woods so we had to get a picture and lucked out because it was an absolutely gorgeous day without a cloud in the sky. This ended up being our Christmas photo for the year and ironically the one we took of the Perrones became their Christmas card as well. Great minds think alike! After we took a photo we headed to Sausalito for a late lunch and then we drove to UC-Berkeley to check out the campus. We packed a few things into the day and just wished their was more time.

 

Keith had sent out a text in early November seeing if anyone wanted to join him in running the Feed the Hungry 5K in downtown Sacramento on Thanksgiving morning. Reese and John ended up being the only takers and we managed to find Keith in the crowd of nearly 30,000 so we could take a picture before the run began. It was a little chilly but a great way to start the day. And we loved the fact that Keith had tried to get everyone out. Reese did not necessarily love running in such a huge crowd but felt much better when we found donuts at the finish line. And the three of us had earned the hearty Thanksgiving dinner we had later that day at Brian and Bri's house. We clearly were too busy eating to take pictures. 

 

Sarah was determined to see family on this trip, especially since we hadn't met her cousin Sophie's little boy Charlie yet. This meant hopping in the car early on Friday morning to head to Santa Cruz for the day. We met up at a local restaurant with Sophie, Charlie, Grammy, Zac, Keith, and Sarah's Uncle Tommy and Aunt Isabel. It was fantastic to have all those people together. 

 

After lunch we headed to the beach to keep the conversation going and to get some fresh air. It was another beautiful northern California day and this picture of Grammy and her younger brother Tommy is priceless. Tommy is such a great guy and unfortunately we just don't get to see him very often.

 

The crew had a fun time playing on the beach, even at one point doing crab races with little Charlie. Reese certainly took the opportunity to put her feet in the Pacific Ocean and of course we had to take some pictures to capture the moments. 

 

From the beach it was a quick drive to downtown Capitola where we could check out some shops and of course get a sweet treat. We even managed to go to the store owned by Sarah and Zac's cousin Brian's wife. She wasn't there, unfortunately, but we made sure to buy a couple of souvenirs and support a local business. But if you thought Capitola was the last stop of the day you would be wrong and you have not traveled with Sarah. We were just getting started!

 

From Capitola we made our way to Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz. The primary goal was to walk along the Monarch Grove Trail and see one of the top spots for monarch butterflies along their migratory path. Although it was the right time of year to catch them the weather patterns did not cooperate and we did not see the volume of butterflies we had hoped for. Fortunately, the Natural Bridges State Park is right along the ocean and so the trip was redeemed by the type of views seen in this picture.

 

We couldn't end our Santa Cruz trip without seeing Sarah's cousin Brian. Thanks to Zac we were able to coordinate a sunset rendezvous with Brian and his dog on the bluffs overlooking the ocean. Brian is just a cool mellow dude, the epitome of all things Santa Cruz. We had not seen him for years but it was nice to see him and have proof of life. Hopefully we can get a more substantial visit in one of these days. We drove back to Sacramento that night and flew back to Kentucky early the next morning. And just like that, another California Thanksgiving was in the books.

Fall is Not Just About Soccer

 

Soccer always starts about a month before the first day of school and it comes in hot which means it can be easy to forget that there is a lot of other things going on. Reese might be playing on the high school JV team but she is finishing up her last year of middle school at Morton. And Callie is now an upperclassmen at Henry Clay and feeling pretty confident walking the halls. We remind ourselves how lucky we are that the girls stay on top of their studies and manage their homework in the midst of all the other activities that fill their days.

Despite all that was going on we did manage to fit in a birthday hike as a family to celebrate Sarah. It is always good to be reminded that beautiful hikes are just a short drive away at the Red River Gorge. You get in a good hike, see a pretty waterfall, eat some tasty pizza at Miguel's, and call it a day. That is our kind of celebration.

 

This year Homecoming for Henry Clay was earlier than normal but everyone was ready for a fun night. Callie was super excited to go with a group of friends that she had only recently started hanging out regularly. She had known these girls throughout high school and middle school, but it seemed like at the beginning of junior year something clicked and these girls really connected. Purely from our view as Callie's parents it seemed like these friendships brought the best out in her and made her really happy. It was great to see.

 

It just so happened that Nana Banana and Sport were in town to watch soccer and were able to catch the Homecoming festivities as well. Not pictured here is the moment Nana Banana saved the day for Molly Nall's date by tying the young man's bowtie since no one else around was able to figure it out. Nana Banana has a wealth of skills!

 

It seemed only fitting to capture at least one quick moment with Callie since she had been busy all day with her friends going through what has become the necessary dance preparation process. This includes, but is not limited to, brunch, bouquet making, hair and makeup preparations, and much more. Needless to say, John prepared a bit less for his part in this picture.

 

One of the things that has been wonderful as Callie has grown older is how comfortable she is being herself with us. It is nice to know that she wants us there, is ready to take pictures to satisfy our needs before she heads out for the evening, and all that good stuff. We will take anything we can get but we have to say that it is fun to watch her enjoy these high school milestones with her friends by her side.

 

Speaking of friends, we hosted a slew of them for Callie's 17th birthday party. When we asked her what she wanted to do she asked for us to make burrito bowl dinners for the crew. We always enjoy getting time to see Callie with her friends because it also allows us to get to know them a bit better. 

 

Callie also leaned into Sarah's request to get a picture with birthday hats and this crew was more than willing to get into the roles. It's always a good sign when your kid and her friends are willing to be goofy and if you have been around Sarah a lot that kind of cooperation typically leads to rewards. Dinner was a success, the pictures went well, and before we knew it they had all headed off to the Henry Clay home football game driving their own cars. Birthday parties for 17-year-olds are definitely different.

 

Callie wasn't the only one dancing through the fall. Reese had entered the wonderful world of Cotillion and enjoyed picking out the right dress. Reese wasn't going to settle for hand me downs and typically knew exactly what she wanted. The first theme was fall and she found a very suitable dress for the occasion. Her taste certainly is conservative with a dash of flair.

 

Parents other than us took charge of organizing dinner for the group of around 30 kids who were going together. Fortunately there is a good restaurant right next to the dance location so the move from dinner to dancing was relatively seamless. Reese had a fantastic time and by all accounts fluttered around to see friends from all the different middle schools. One of the great things about playing soccer is she knows folks from all over town.

 

And while Reese was dancing, Sarah and John took advantage of the Chrisman's football season tickets. It was a last minute offer and a beautiful evening. We invited Linda and Daniel to join us which worked out perfectly for a couple of reasons. First, we love hanging out with them. Second, because they both had to be up early Sunday morning for their work they did not mind that we had to leave at halftime to pick up Reese and her gang from Cotillion. Those are two wins, but the Cats unfortunately did not get the memo and lost.

 

And just like that, we look at the calendar and it is Halloween! Reese told us a couple of weeks before what she needed from Amazon. She and her friends had a plan and they executed it very well. Gru and his minions hit the streets for what is most likely their last trick or treating experience. Callie's days of dressing up to trick or treat are far in the past so no cute pictures on that front.

 

This fall also brought some visitors from across the pond. The Chrisman's Scottish grandchlidren, Dylan and Meryl, were in town for a relatively brief visit before Thanksgiving. We love seeing these two and their parents, although this time it was only Matthew since Jean couldn't make the trip. It was great to see how much they have grown up since their last visit and Meryl can't get enough time with Callie and Reese and vice versa. Dylan never ceases to impress with his overall curiosity, intelligence, and passion. He is an amazing kid and on this trip had a lot to say about political philosophy. We can't wait to see what he does with his life.