Lemmon, Great Grandma Elaine,

The first week of August is the official last normal week of summer for our house. It's the last week we have childcare before it becomes a serious shellgame of where do the children go. Eleanor finished Blast care on August 6 and until August 24 will be off schedule. E and G have another full week before the shift happens. One of our go-to's has been Art Camp. Like myself, E has loved to watch what she can create and has a patience and hand for it when the mood strikes her. The theme of the camp this year that she attended was Under the Sea. It was fun to have her come home and show me the pieces that she created and the confidence that she had in them.

Grady had a major milestone - he had his last day at Montessori. I will admit, I didn't tell him until we were walking out - he's pretty tenderhearted but I'm not sure you quite understand when you complete a rite of passage at age 5/6. He's accomplished a lot of things and gained a lot of ground through those doors. We knew he'd be the one to spend the most time given where his birthday sits in the calendar year and I even put him on the waitlist before he was born. 

We headed to Lemmon for a Moser Family "Reunion" - I feel like I'm being fast and loose with the word reunion because we used to get together 1 or 2 times a year but reunion may be accurate as I struggle to remember when the family was together almost in entirety (outside of a funeral). Life is getting busy and as everyone's little family grows it's hard to imagine Christmas's a million years ago in Morristown. Back then it was 28 (at the max) now it's on the conservative side of 64 (depending on how you want to slice it). My cousin (and childhood best friend) hosted at her house in her community. 

My favorite part of the weekend may have been the golf - was fun and light hearted. Was nice to catch up during an activity and give each other schit like we did when we were children. Matt and I were paired with Heather & Brad and then Twila with Nick and Dekker. We had the course practically to ourselves. The kids went with Heather's kids and eventually joined forces with others including Kate's kids and Cam's kids. 

Following day, before heading to Heather's, we went and saw local artist John Lopez. We showed up late but it was beautiful to see the thought and design put into his pieces. This isn't ramshackle-d together but designed with intent and definition. I think they are so interesting - Matt and I differ a bit on what we like. The kids thought the sheer size of these pieces was very cool. The whale is from airplane gas tanks but the wolf caught my eye for sure, as did the delicacy of the tree.

In the afternoon the kids swam. and swam. and swam. and swam. That's what they were angling to do and it was nice to just let them be and be happy. Heather and Brad had a fantastic set up for it with a slide and water balloons and after having them fight and needle at each other for the past day, I let them swim until they were the last ones in the pool. Eleanor's eyes took a full day to recover but I think she thinks it was worth it. 

It's hard to see my grandmother age. This was one woman who I spent a week each summer with - I would go down and stay with her and my grandfather but it was mostly her. She had a movement to her that I can remember from those summers. A quiet hurry. She wasn't big movements but intentional and deliberate. She wasn't a loud woman but opinionated and practical. As she faces the sunset of her life, it's humbling to watch. She still has a setness of mind and a quick opinion - one that scares me to get on the wrong side of but the shift of the world and her body create a fragility. I already miss the woman who I spent summers with but love that her humor is still there and I'm amazed her candor is untarnished. 

A visual representation of what it's like to have three kids:
Okay... on the count of three we are going to jump. 1, 2, 3. .....