Manhattan Beach and Soccer

 

While Callie was hanging out with all the Governor's Scholars in Morehead we found a way to pass the time by flying out to California. Reese had a soccer tournament and the location made it possible for us to stay with the Perrones in Manhattan Beach the entire time. Not only did this save on a hotel but it also allowed us to focus our time off the field on good friends and the beach. In fact after we landed we hit In-N-Out and the beach before we even saw Lauren and company.

 

Being in Manhattan Beach also provided the perfect opportunity to take Reese on a tour down memory lane. While Sarah and Lauren went for a long walk on the Strand, John took Reese to the best breakfast place in the South Bay, the Local Yolk. John lived just a couple of blocks away from this fine establishment for several years and the great news is that the omelets are still fantastic.

 

Staying with the Perrones meant we got insight into their daily routines, including the work schedules of Ashlyn and Kate. Ashlyn had been working at Paradise Bowls for a couple of months and boy are these the best acai bowls we've ever had. Ashlyn was very kind to humor us during our visit to her place of work.

 

We did actually make time for soccer during the trip and Lauren made the trip out to Norco for one of Reese's games. She knew exactly where to go since Ashlyn has played on these fields before. We lucked out with the weather and the timing of our games. This early game left us tons of time the rest of the day and it also wasn't very hot. Reese's team also won which always makes the day that much better.

 

After that first game we made sure to introduce some of Reese's teammates to the wondrous world of animal style double doubles and all that In-N-Out has to offer. We wanted to make sure they were properly fueled up before we took them back to the coast for an afternoon of fun in the sun.

 

We had lots of options of where to go but our inner compass led us back to Manhattan Beach. While the parents hung out and talked the three girls had the time of their lives in and out of the water. Reese, Mary, and Sophie clearly have a shared interest in handstands, goofing around, and just playing in general. Their inner child has no problem coming out.

 

Reese is a water bug and California's relatively cold water doesn't slow her down. She would have played in the waves all day if it was up to her and the other girls certainly appeared to share her attitude. It was a lot of fun watching them attempt to body surf and play in the waves.

 

At a certain point though we did have to pull them out of the ocean so that we could get a bite to eat. And while we were going to be staying in Manhattan Beach the other members of our crew were going to have to drive back inland to their hotel. It was one more reason we were happy with our choice and thankful for the hospitality of the Perrones.

 

To continue our trip down memory land we knew the perfect place for an early dinner and some adult beverages. That's right, Panchos, baby! We must admit that since the last time we visited the prices have risen at this Manhattan Beach institution. John's go to Burrito del Mar is now almost $30 which he certainly would not have been able to afford when he lived here as a grad student. But the food was still tasty and the margaritas hit the spot. 

 

Ashlyn and Reese not only have soccer in common. They also have a passion and patience for the world of nails. Reese was taken by some of Ashlyn's tools and Ashlyn was more than happy to provide all the insights she had learned. Together the spent a couple of hours together talking about nails and showing off their respective skills. It's exactly what Lauren and Sarah did when they were in college...not!

 

While the nail salon was in full gear the other folks indulged in Kate's particular passion...macha! We knew Kate had a great love for this and even had created with a friend an Instragram page called Gas or Grass on which they rate different macha drinks throughout the South Bay and beyond. Not only did we get a macha but then we even got our own brief appearance on the Gas or Grass page. We are still hoping it will go viral eventually and we can become influencers.

 

The next day was a day off from games and we invited Sophie and her Mom to meet us in Santa Monica for another southern California experience. We walked along the Santa Monica Pier and the promenade to heck out all the stores. We didn't see any street performers, but these tourist spots haven't changed much in the last two decades.

 

Pictures like this of Sophie and Reese swinging at the beach are always good reminders that it's a different world out on the California coast. Even though we tried not to take it for granted when we lived here these moments still make our hearts sing. We definitely miss being so close to the ocean.

 

Reese rode with Sophie and her mom from the beach to our suggested lunch spot in Westwood. This allowed us the time to visit some truly special places in our personal history. The building is now occupied by someone else, but this picture is outside what used to be the Kaplan Center where Sarah and John first met. In fact, at some point in the summer/fall of 2003 Sarah was standing right outside of these windows making faces at John while he was in front of a class teaching a GRE or GMAT course. Such good memories.

 

But the truly special memory of our visit to Westwood occurred after lunch when we stopped by the Brandy Melville store. We cannot come close to doing this story justice here, but will try and give the highlights of an epic encounter with this Westwood traffic cop. Sarah first got us involved in a conversation with her through an innocent comment related to a ticket the cop was giving to someone who had parked illegally in an alley. For the next 30 minutes we were part of a show that will never be duplicated. She provided life advice that ranged from the length of shorts, to romance, to making sure the girls knew that "honks are for hoes" (in other words, a boy coming to pick you up needs to come to the front door and not honk the horn in the driveway). This was one of the most entertaining conversations we have ever been a part of and as you can see, Reese and Sophie had no idea how to respond or react. Honestly, we didn't either. So we took a picture and did our best to remember every element of the encounter because no one would believe it if we told them.

 

Lauren was very sweet and hosted a dinner one night so that we could see Auntie Pi and Auntie D. Auntie D's niece and mom also joined the fun. This is a fun crew and the presence of the younger generation makes it that much better.

 

Yes, there was still soccer to be played. Overall the girls had a great trip, winning all three games. Reese played well and while we don't want to make a habit of traveling 2,000 miles for a soccer tournament it worked out perfectly when all was said and done. The weather was great, Reese got into the ocean every day of the trip, and we saw all sorts of folks.

 

We even got to spend some time with Auntie Gret. Earlier in the trip we had dinner with her and her son Josh, but she also made the time to grab an ice cream with us before we headed to LAX for our red-eye flight back to Kentucky. It's never enough time but we are grateful for all of the moments we got to share with great friends on this trip back to southern California. Hopefully we'll be back again soon.

Callie the Governor's Scholar

 

Over the course of her junior year Callie went through an application process for what is known as the Governor's Scholar Program, or GSP for short. This is a well known program for rising seniors in Kentucky where, if selected, you spend five weeks on a college campus with around 350 other rising seniors from all around the Commonwealth. You take classes in areas of specific interest, go on field trips, and spend time getting to know kids your age from all over. It is also free. We had heard nothing but great things about it and were so excited when Callie was accepted. Her initial excitement level was low because it meant five weeks away from friends in the summer and missing the first days of high school soccer. But she knew it was a great opportunity that she should take advantage of and leaned into it.

 

Everything about the process was good preparation for college both in terms of the application itself as well as outfitting a dorm room and spending weeks away from family. Callie was placed at Morehead State University, just a little more than an hour away from Lexington. The campus is in a pretty setting and we got a full move-in experience from the crowds of people, overloaded elevators, and nervous introductions to new roommates.

 

Callie shared a dorm room with three other girls and the first roommate she met is pictured here. Her name was Maybe and she was from Hopkinsville. The girls hit it off and we went to lunch with her family in the time we had before the official opening ceremony. This is the 42nd year of GSP and they have a very organized structure that is proven to work well for all involved. At the opening ceremony they lay out the rules pretty clearly for parents and scholars alike. One of the best rules is that the scholars can only use their cell phone when they are in their dorm room. Outside of the dorm room they should not have their phone on them. It is absolutely fantastic and it is a rule that anyone who goes through the program continues to support.

 

When the ceremony ends the parents leave and then line the walkway outside of the auditorium. The students then come out in groups according to their academic focus area. We managed to get a glimpse of Callie as she walked with her Engineering crew and were delighted to see that she was already chatting it up with one of her classmates. It was a sign that she was going to be okay and that's all we could ask for.

 

In the five weeks of the program there is one day designated for visitation. The second Saturday of the program we were able to pick Callie up at 8am and she didn't have to be back until 10pm. We decided to rent a pontoon boat so we could spend the day on a lake near Morehead. Everything about the plan was perfect until that Friday when Sarah tested positive for Covid. Not only did she feel bad but we knew it was not in Callie's best interest to expose her. That meant it was only John and Reese who made the trip and got to see Callie.

 

We weren't sure how Reese would respond to five weeks without her sister. The good/bad news is she seemed to be perfectly fine. That being said she was over the moon to spend the day with Callie and they had a fantastic time jumping off the boat, floating in the inner tubes, and just relaxing. Sarah made sure we had a full cooler of snacks and treats in order to maximize the time on Grayson Lake. And Grayson Lake turned out to be a great place to go.

 

In very small world twist of fate, John has an interesting connection to Morehead going back to his college days. Two of his college spring breaks were spent in Morehead with a group of Yale students working in partnership with a non-profit helping build houses in the region. And during that week John and his classmates slept in the basement of the Catholic church associated with the university. So John made the girls take a picture with him in front of the building he had once slept in over three decades ago. 

 

Callie and Reese communicated quite a bit during the five weeks, whether it was Face Time or texting. And Callie's program ended up providing a great opportunity for them to connect in person. Callie's Engineering class had field trips each week and she went to the Toyota Plant in Georgetown, the McAlpin Dam in Louisville, a water power plant somewhere, and the Engineering Department at the University of Kentucky. That UK field trip is what enabled this photo to happen as Reese conveniently ran into her sister at the Chipotle on campus. Reese had to work some logistical magic to make it happen, but she can do great things when she puts her mind to it.

 

It is amazing how quickly five weeks can fly by. Before we knew it the time had come to pick up Callie. Sarah and John actually drove up the night before to load up most of the gear from her dorm room to make the next day departure easier. We didn't get to see Callie during that process because they have a tradition for the last night that involves little sleep and no parents. The closing ceremony the next day was wonderful and it the final good-byes made it clear that Callie had not only had a great time but that she had made lots of good friends.

 

Due to unfortunate timing Sarah was not able to make it to that closing ceremony which meant that it wasn't until she got home from work that day that she finally got to see Callie in person after five whole weeks. Mother and daughter were finally reunited and it was great to have her home just in time to jump into her senior season of high school soccer.

 

Another group of people that really missed Callie were these three. They had taken the initiative to coordinate with Reese a surprise welcome home for Callie after her first day of soccer. We got them in the house and into Callie's room so that when Callie came home she was greeted with hugs, shouts, and signs. It was the perfect end to a great GSP experience.

Railbird

 

2025 turned out be a year of leaning into live music experiences in and around Kentucky. After we realized the prom/Tyler Childers show conflict we purchased one-day passes for Railbird, an outdoor music festival held on the infield of the Red Mile Racetrack in Lexington. It's a two-day event with big-name headliners and smaller bands at stages around the venue. In fact, one of Sarah's co-workers was on a side stage at the beginning of the day with his band Mojo Thunder. We were excited to see them play and got there early to catch the show knowing we had a long day ahead.

 

This time it was Callie who got to bring a friend since she missed out on the Tyler Childers show. This is the seventh year of the festival and it has quickly become a favorite for many in the area, including high schoolers. In other words, Callie had plenty of friends who were already planning to go and they had a great day going from stage to stage and hanging out. And because the festival takes place in early June the weather was great and they could all display their summer dresses and cowboy boots.

 

It's been a minute since John and Sarah have been to an all day festival and it is quite possible our endurance is not what it used to be. Fortunately the grass was dry and the ground reasonably soft. We could find a place to sit and enjoy the tunes. John's main complaint was that too many people continue to smoke cigarettes and even an outdoor venue doesn't help. He ended up with a cough for several days after. In short, we are old and don't know how we spent so much time in smoky bars in the 1990s during and after college. Thank God for smoking bans.

 

The headliner that Sunday night was Jelly Roll. We ended up knowing more songs than we expected to and he brings a lot of energy and passion to the stage. We were hoping he was bring out the headliner from the night before for a song or two but no such luck. Still, it's hard to have a bad time listening to live music.

30th Reunion

 

Memorial Day weekend was more momentous than usual as John headed to New Haven for his 30th college reunion. Yale does a great job organizing these gatherings and John was excited to see all sorts of folks. The first night started with an informal gathering at Mory's which was packed with classmates able to get into town early. Among other things, Mory is known for their cups and quite a few great college memories revolve around drinking cups at Mory's. It is not as easy to tackle these in your 50s, but it never hurts to try.

Every alum has their own perspective, but for John one of the best spots on campus is the courtyard in Jonathan Edwards, his residential college during his four years. This reunion weekend JE was not hosting the class of 1995, but he was still able to go in and walk around. 

 

A new feature of the reunion weekend were organized panels where classmates led conversations about different issues. A 30th reunion is much different from a 5th or 10th in terms of life experiences, and the schedule featured people talking about life after divorce, raising neurodivergent children, and writing a book. John's friend Amit led the charge for organizing these sessions and got John to agree to be on a panel talking about writing a book. John and his classmate Euny shared the stage and many of John's friends were kind enough to show up and pretend that it was interesting. Many of the people in this picture are far too aware that John wrote most of his papers the night before they were due and are not going to take writing advice from him. Soren, the guy on the far right in this picture, was one of John's roommates and led the effort to get as many of our JE people back to New Haven as possible. 

 

This picture captures the JE class of 1995 folks who were in attendance. JE had a pretty good showing overall. It would be fun to compare this photo to the photos taken with much less sophisticated cameras when these folks moved onto Old Campus back in August 1991. 

 

These three guys spent a good portion of the reunion hanging out and made a point of going for some long walks around the city to get some time for good conversation. Amit and John met on the very first day of an orientation conference and have been close friends ever since. Steve and John met through intramural soccer and their lives have intertwined in a variety of ways since college. Reunions provide an opportunity to see people you haven't seen in years and to reconnect with some you have lost touch with. Just as important they provide time to deepen friendships with people you have known for decades.

School Milestones

 

One result of Callie's hard work in all three years of high school came to fruition this spring as she was inducted into the Henry Clay chapter of the National Honor Society. It was impressive not only for her to have this accomplishment, but the fact that so many of her good friends also were inducted says a lot about the company she keeps.

 

The actual induction ceremony quite a formal proceeding and included four speeches, each one addressing a different pillar of the National Honor Society attributes. Each new member had to go up and officially sign the book that has recorded the names of Henry Clay honorees for decades. (The mother of one of Callie's friends was actually able to find her signature from back in the day) Our favorite part of this section of the ceremony was watching the student that was responsible for handing out and collecting the pen used to sign the book. It was quite an operation.

 

At the end each honoree walked away with their NHS cards that they can present if anyone ever challenges their membership. Callie and Hope enjoyed the silliness of it all and went a little overboard when asked to pose with their card by Sarah. Overall it was a great evening and a tremendous honor for Callie.

 

Speaking of honors, just a few weeks later Reese had her 8th grade graduation ceremony. This year it was held in the gym at Henry Clay High School and started out with some technical difficulties which meant we couldn't always hear clearly. Nevertheless, we did get to hear Reese's name called several times because she won awards for highest excellence in Science and highest excellence in Spanish. She also received a special Teaching Assistant award for being a teacher's aide for two years in a 6th grade math class. 

 

We were able to capture Reese as she walked across the shake Mrs. Jones's hand to recognize this milestone. We had also seen Mrs. Jones take a selfie with Reese prior to the ceremony starting. When we asked Reese about it she told us that Mrs. Jones said she wanted a picture for evidence when Reese comes back to teach at Morton years from now. It was a pretty special evening and we are so proud of Reese for all she has accomplished but even more for how she clearly has connected with and impressed her teachers.

 

And once the ceremony was over this group of girls and their classmates were on their way to high school. That is very hard to believe. We have pictures of Reese and Mary in particular from when they were in pre-school together. Time is flying by far too quickly.

 

After we took the honoree out to Orange Leaf to celebrate we realized that we hadn't gotten a good family photo for posterity. So we made Callie take our picture in the living room and called it a night. We now have two high schoolers in the house. Yikes!

Big Easter weekend

Callie's junior year of high school has been full of a lot of hard work in the classroom but it has also had its fair share of fun events. She was excited to go to her junior prom and share the evening with good friends. These days prom prep is just as, if not more, important as the dance itself. Callie got her first spray tan, and watching her and her girlfriends go through that process was quite an experience. Of course they had to start their day with bouquets and brunch. It takes time to put together the flowers that you will use for pictures and then put to the side the rest of the evening.

 

After brunch Callie and several girls got ready together so we only got to see the finished product of their efforts during the photo extravaganza at Idle Hour Country Club. Callie was one of almost fifty kids there to take pictures and then eat dinner before heading to the dance. We were happy to be able to snag a quick picture with just her in the midst of all the craziness.

 

Callie looked absolutely radiant and you could tell that she was having a great time. And she was fully comfortable with the fact that she was going without a date. She is certainly grown up and her comfort level is also a reflection of the great group of friends she has. But more than anything it is a clear indication of the wonderful young woman she is becoming. We couldn't be more proud of her.

Among the many picture groupings that occurred we were able to capture one of Callie with her Cassidy Elementary crew plus Molly. These girls have known each other for more than a decade and all of their parents were standing around talking about how old they all looked. 

 

We also made sure to get a picture of Callie with the girls she has become close with over the last year or so. All of these girls certainly clean up well but it is also evident how good they are for each other. 

 

As we mentioned there was a large group and we went in to get the necessary pictures since we had limited time. This was an impressive group of young men and women who we have gotten the opportunity to watch grow up. It is neat to see them at each milestone knowing there are more to come. But we also didn't want to dawdle because we had our own plans for the evening.

 

For Christmas we had purchased four tickets for the family to see Tyler Childers in concert at the UK football stadium. When we came up with this brilliant Christmas gift we did not know when prom would be. Turns out they were on the same night and while it took Callie a little while to realize she couldn't do both, she finally relented. That meant Reese got to invite a friend to the show and she asked Sophie to join us for the evening. We were all excited for a great night of music.

 

There were two opening acts which meant we had a lot of time in our seats prior to the main event. But this was certainly a popular concert because we saw all sorts of folks there. And they saw us. At one point John got a text from our associate pastor Linda with this picture and a simple note saying Hi John! It took us a while but we were able to locate where they were seating. And it was not only Linda and her husband Daniel but also our head pastor Frank and his wife Abby. You know you belong to the right church when you right into your pastors at the Tyler Childers show.

 

We had a fantastic time at the show. Tyler's early career included a lot of small shows played in bars around Lexington and it was cool to hear him revel in the experience of filling the football stadium with fans who could sing along to every song he played. Not only were we able to hear amazing music but he also put on a drone show unlike anything we had ever seen. The colorful chicken in the sky was a highlight for sure. 

 

And all of this took place on Easter weekend. Despite our late night outing with Tyler we still managed to have a fine Easter morning with baskets with a theme of relaxation and, of course, candy. We did not, however, manage to get a family picture on the big day. It's possible we were all pictured out or that may have just been Callie.