Sarah has been meaning to tackle some of the invasives in our yard, starting with these two sprawling Japanese Barberry bushes. They came out more easily than expected and opened up a bunch of space near the side deck and sun room.
Barberry Removal
Tag Archives: Sarah
Faculty Family Bowling
The Faculty Fun Committee organized an afternoon of bowling at Sunray Lanes, not far from our house. Maggie opted out, but the rest of us had a great time. (And Griffin beat Andrew!)
Almost 15
I was just thinking about this kid this morning, as I lay in Oliver’s bed to wake him up (he likes to snuggle awake, which I will take as long as possible). I adore Griffin as an almost 15 year old, and I continue to be amazed at the person he is becoming. He is remarkable in all ways, and I love growing with him. I have no desire for him to be little again.
Except.
I do desire to be the mom I am now to the kid he was then. I know so much more than I did then about myself, about children, about life. I want to scoop that little boy up and let his little head fit perfectly into the space between my neck and my shoulder and whisper to him: I love you. I love you. I love you.
A Bit of Culture
We spent a fabulous day exploring the Hirshhorn Museum on the National Mall. We were wowed by sculptures by Simone Leigh, Yayoi Kusama, and Rodin. We also explored other worlds through an exhibit of contemporary Chinese photography, Laurie Anderson’s “Four Talks,” Mark Bradford’s 400-foot long “Picket’s Charge,” and John Akomfrah’s “Purple.” And food trucks. Obviously.
Christmas 2023
Due to our school calendar, we barely made it to Bethesda in time for Christmas. Fortunately, traveling on Christmas Eve is surprisingly pleasant — no crowds at the airport and plenty of room on the plane. This visit included Anthony and Andrew’s families plus Max. Dave, Nancy, and Raven spent the holiday in Utah. We missed them!
Festive Sweater Cookie Party
The Olson-Hammers outdid themselves once again with a magnificent holiday party featuring sweater-shaped cookies and a massive array of decorating materials. My sweater was intended to be creative, but I ended up accidentally crushing it in my hand just before the photo.
(Griffin’s photo is missing at the moment. We’ll remedy as soon as we track it down! )
Brandi Carlisle
Sarah, Maggie, Griffin, and I went back to the fair on Tuesday evening for the Brandi Carlisle concert in the grandstand. It was Griffin and Maggie’s first big concert, and Brandi set the bar pretty high. It was a phenomenal show.
State Fair, 2023
We love going to the fair. Even with the lines and crowds. I didn’t take many pictures, but I found this cute selfie of Sarah, Maggie, and me packed into one of the cable cars over the fairgrounds.
Amazing Race
I think I may have the perfect example ever of how parenting is so freaking hard with 3 different ages:
I just got all three of my kids to get ready for an outdoor adventure by pretending I was Phil from the Amazing Race, and the winner of getting totally ready (outdoor clothes, snack, water bottle, sunglasses) would get a $5 snack of their choice purchased at a snack bar. AND GO!
This resulted in oldest child minding his own business and doing the assignment, middle and youngest trying to hurt each other and keep the other from finishing, which resulted in tears and fury. Two out of three children in tears, oldest proclaiming: “THAT WAS SO FUN! WE NEED TO DO THIS MORE OFTEN!” and youngest two arguing about who should have won and gotten “penalties” for being mean and/or already partially ready. OMG.
BUT: all three children are ready, and EVERYONE WINS! THIS IS A NON-ELIMINATION ROUND AND EVERYONE GETS A $5 SNACK!
I cannot stop laughing at myself.
Mini-Mama
While we were loading the car today, we heard gales of laughter from the cabin. We returned to find Oliver decked out as a miniature Sarah.
