August 2026

 Where did the summer go? I can't believe it is August. 

Sophia went to Boston to present a poster session at MathFest. There were several groups of students and professors that went. The conference was fun. They ate at different restaurants every night, stretching the box a little with Indian and Ethiopian cuisines. They were pretty busy and they didn't get to explore a lot of Boston but they had a blast. And Sophia and her peers poster won an Outstanding Poster Award. There were only 25 winners out of the 110 that were there. So proud of her.

We got to see Heather and Katlyn before both Sophia and Katlyn went back to school. I can't believe we didn't get any pictures. It is amazing how much both have grown. Our babies are now women!

Sophia watched a YouTube video about a revolving sushi place in Japan and wanted to try one. She found a place about 30 minutes away and we went to celebrate "Family Day", the day we met Sophia in China. The food was great and the whole concept fun. Sophia tried different things and now knows what to order and what to avoid if she goes to a traditional sushi restaurant.

 

 

We moved Sophia into college on August 19th. She is living with five other girls in a campus apartment. Together I think they have all the possible kitchen gadgets. Sophia will need to cook more this semester as she is on the five meal per week cafeteria plan.

 

Sophia is already involved in sorority activities. She helped freshmen move in and also was at the enrichment fair. 

 

Steve and I went to spend some time with Nick and Mari. We celebrated Nick's birthday, albeit a couple weeks late. 

 

And of course, I have to end with the pets.  

July 2026

July was another fun month. Sophia and I went to Ohio with Wren and two other families to compete at World Equestrian Center. It was a HOT weekend and Sophia had rides late afternoon. The first ride was outside at 2:00 followed by an indoor ride at 4:00 on Friday and then a 4:00 outdoor ride on Saturday followed by one indoors at 6:00. They were long, very hot days. Kids and horses were a bit sluggish. Sophia's rides got better each day but she did not get that second 60 that she was hoping for. This is the place with the ride up Starbucks. Such a fun touch and much needed on these hot days. We also enjoyed hanging out with the two families over dinner in our cottages. Such a fun show.

I have been enjoying knitting and I am currently working on a warm mitten for the cold days at the barn

Nothing else exciting to report. Sophia continues to enjoy her internship. She comes home on the weekends and tends to bake bread!

And our pets are all loving life. 

June 2026

June flew by quickly. Sophia started her summer research project with a peer and her math professor. She is enjoying it. She comes home on the weekends because there isn't much going on during the summer at college. 

Sophia continues on her sourdough kick. We made the most delicious pizzas from sourdough. They were better than pizzas we get at restaurants.

Sophia competed in a dressage show at the third level. She is hoping to get her bronze medal on Wren this year so she needs to get two third level test with a score of 60 or above. She got one this weekend! One down, one to go. This is a huge accomplishment. Wren isn't build for dressage. He has a long body and neck with his head pretty high set. But they have been working very hard and making it all happen. He is really developing the muscle to perform dressage. 

    

Our animals are all doing well. 

May 2026

May was a relatively quiet month. Sophia finished up her spring semester mid-May and then just over two weeks later we moved her stuff into a temporary dorm room which she will spend her weeknights in while she is working on an 8-week Faculty/Student research project. Last summer she did this for 6 weeks with her Computer Science professor. This summer it is 8 weeks with her Math professor.

Sophia also started making sour dough bread. One of Steve's friends gave her the starter. She has watched videos and is into making delicious breads. She would like to continue making this at school in the fall and perhaps expanding beyond just bread with her sour dough starter. 

First weekend in May is the Sheep and Wool festival. The weather was beautiful, no rain this year. It was even cool enough to wear sweaters. This is one of my favorite weekends of the year!

  

Our pets are all doing good. Loki has a bit of a GI issue but that has cleared up. Otto had an hour plus long adventure outside when he snuck out as Sophia was bringing stuff back from school. It took us 45 minutes of scouring the neighborhood, with the help of a neighbor, before we found him. Our neighbor spotted him and then we were able to grab him and bring him back home. It was dinner time with people coming home from work. I was so worried he would be hit by a car. He got pretty far into the neighborhood but was in a wooded area.

I love it that all our pets get along with each other, they truly like each other!

April 2026

 April was an exciting month. It was full of adventures. Some were better than others! We started out the month with new tires on Sophia's car. We had them replaced during her spring break in March. She came home one weekend and when we woke up Saturday morning they were gone. The car was resting on the rotors. I felt so violated. This happened right in front of our house. The parking lot is very well lit. Thankfully insurance took care of everything and was very easy to work with but it was a hassle nonetheless. 

Sophia's sorority had their spring formal. Sophia is on the social committee and helped plan it. She picked up all the food and delivered it to the venue while decked out in her formal ware. Sophia invited a friend from the barn to go with her. They had fun. 

I had a MOHs procedure to remove a cancerous spot from my face. It was superficial but needed to be removed.

We made it to Kentucky Three Day! We have always wanted to go and Sophia thought it would be a nice road trip for us. We traveled with Peggy, who we always traveled with to horse shows. Her daughter, Sophia's good friend, Gretchen is in college at the University of Kentucky so we meet her down there. 

   

We saw all three phases of the event, dressage on Friday, cross country on Saturday and stadium jumping on Sunday. I had never seen a cross country event at the 5 star level. It was such an incredible rush. Those riders seem fearless.

 

Sophia and Gretchen standing by a jump. Look at how high these riders and horse jump. 

We also went to Buc-ee's and 7-Brew. We had yummy dinners together and amazing views. We even got to visit Gretchen's horse, Grizzly, down there. 

 

 

Perhaps the most fun?? was the opportunity to drive an obstacle course in a Defender. Sophia, Gretchen and Peggy all had a go at it. They all laughed so much. I didn't partake with the incision on my face but got great video of them driving. 

Sophia and Wren are doing well. He is such a good horse.

Our furry family are all doing good. 

And spring is in the air! 

Til next month!