Yesterday we had a nice visit with Uncle Butch and Aunt Carol, who were in Las Vegas for a few days. They were staying downtown, so we met them at their hotel and headed over to 7th and Carson, one of our favorite brunch spots. We hadn’t seen them since moving away from Washington almost four and a half years ago, so the visit felt long overdue. It was great catching up over a relaxed meal, then walking across the street to the Downtown Container Park to enjoy the weather, play cornhole, and watch a little football. They couldn’t believe how much the kids have grown, and it was nice hearing how much they’re enjoying retirement. We made plans to visit them in June when we head up to Washington for Aunt Norma’s 100th birthday. It was so good to see them again, and hopefully it won’t be this long before our next visit.
October has been a full month for all of us, and we still have Halloween to look forward to. It started off on an exciting note for me. On the morning of October 1st, I flew to Boston for a work trip. My company was hosting an “AI Bootcamp” for executives, designed to train them on AI concepts, then split them into teams to build an AI app in a single day and present it that evening. I was invited as one of the trainers and ended up serving as the main grader for the presentations.
It was my first time in Boston, and with only two nights in town, I wanted to make the most of every moment. Both nights, after the work events wrapped up, I went exploring on foot, calling Jessica and the kids so they could see what I was seeing. The first evening, I walked to Fenway Park. The Red Sox were playing the Yankees in New York that night, so the stadium was eerily quiet. I had the rare chance to walk around this historic landmark completely alone, which, for a lifelong baseball fan, was unforgettable.
The next night, I wandered north to Little Italy, taking photos along the way. I’ve never seen so many restaurants packed into one area, and every single one seemed busy. Even the closed ones had TVs on with the Red Sox game playing. I ended up at a great Italian restaurant, enjoying oysters and veal at the bar with a glass of wine while the game played overhead. After dinner, I stopped at Mike’s Pastry for one of their famous cannoli and kept walking through the neighborhood as I ate it. I followed the Freedom Trail back through the city, passing through the park and an old graveyard from the 1600s, where I called the kids again so they could share in the moment.
I was there for less than 48 hours, but Boston left a big impression on me. It’s now one of my favorite cities, and I can’t wait to go back with the family so they can experience it too.
It’s been a great month for the rest of the family, too. Jessica continues to shine at both school and work. Her first round of parent-teacher conferences went really well, and she earned outstanding feedback from her administrators during her first classroom evaluation. This is likely her toughest year yet, balancing teaching full-time while finishing her master’s program, but she’s on track to graduate in May. Once she’s through this stretch, the coming school years will probably feel easy by comparison. For now, she’s handling everything with grace and setting the standard for how to take on such a challenge.
Ava has been having a fantastic month, both at school and on the softball field. She recently earned a Student of the Month award, which made us so proud, and her hard work on the field has turned her into one of the team’s top players. Just a few nights ago, she crushed a line drive to the fence for a triple, and yesterday we spent some time at the batting cages. I must have fed her around fifty pitches from the machine, and she didn’t miss a single one—it was incredible. Elise is also doing great; she recently advanced to the next level in her figure skating class and is loving it. I was especially proud when she told me she’s now the first-chair violinist in her school’s intermediate orchestra. It’s cool having another string musician in the house. Enzo is looking forward to starting another short season of track and field in December. He had such a great time doing it last year, and we’re all excited to see him back out there.
Halloween is just around the corner, and the kids couldn’t be more excited. They love putting on costumes and collecting all the free candy they can. Our friends Jodi and Miles are coming down from Washington to spend the holiday with us, which will make it even more fun. The kids can’t wait to show Miles how great our neighborhood is for trick-or-treating. And since Halloween also happens to be Nana’s birthday, it’s always an extra special day for our family.
Looking ahead to Thanksgiving—my favorite holiday—it’s shaping up to be a full house. Amy and Tom are coming out from Colorado, and Kristy, Tito, and Madi are flying in from Washington to stay with us. With our family of five, that makes ten people under one roof for a few days. On top of that, we’ll have several friends joining us for Thanksgiving dinner. I’m sure it will get a little hectic at times, but it’s bound to be memorable. I’m hoping for a fun, slightly chaotic “Griswold” kind of Thanksgiving—maybe even another Thanksgiving-gate we’ll laugh about for years. Plus, we’ll be celebrating Ava’s 14th birthday that week. I look forward to writing all about it in next month’s post. Until then…