choir

October 13, 2024

Fall Activities

It’s been a lovely fall. It hasn’t rained here in about 6 weeks, which has been terrible for the grass and plants, but with low humidity and the perfect temperature, it’s been amazing to just be outside.

Dave and I competed in the Waterman’s Olympic Distance triathlon in Rock Hall at the end of September. I was still in great condition from training for Nationals and ended up taking 2nd overall in the Masters Category (anyone 45+). I was a little offended to be considered a Master, but what can you do? It was my fasted Olympic Distance so this Master killed it.

Lauren ran on the cross country team again this year and did really well. She ended up in the Top 5 of her team of about 30 5-8th graders. She really enjoys it and is also very much looking forward to joining the track team when she’s in 7th grade (track is only 7th and 8th).

And Sophia had a cool experience with the Philadelphia Girls Choir. She was one of just a few singers invited to sing with The Philadelphia Orchestra in their performance of G. Mahler Symphony No. 3. They performed twice at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia and once at Carnegie Hall in NY! The most exciting part of the NY performance for her was running into Alec Baldwin in the hallway, who then took her phone to take a group selfie (“he touched my phone!!”).

June 30, 2022

End of School Year Activities

Amazingly, another school year has come to an end! The girls wrapped with some final activities before the summer break.

Sophie had her Philadelphia Girls Choir spring concert at Temple Performing Arts Center in June. It was their first concert without masks. It was great to see their smiling faces and really hear their singing voices again!

Sophie also went to her first school dance!! I can’t believe it either. She had a good time, but we heard about some girls drama too – I guess it wouldn’t be a middle school dance without it.

Sophie with her friends Jojo, Camille and Rachel.

Sophie also did band again this year, continuing with percussion. This was the first in-person concert we got to see since they were either recorded and shared with families, or submitted via zoom over the last two years.

Lauren did Girls on the Run again this spring and their 5K was held at Montgomery County Community College. There were a ton of schools participating this time and many runners. We’re not sure how many, but one of the coaches told us it was over 1,000 girls. Dave was her running buddy again and they killed it. Lauren came in 10th out of the girls running! She loves it and we’re so happy about it.

We also attended our first Bat Mitzvah for Sophie’s preschool friend Rachel. The party was held at Germantown Cricket Club and there was a special candle lighting ceremony for all of her preschool friends, which was really sweet.

Dave and I got away one night for a night out with the college crew, most of whom we haven’t seen in a long time. It was a really great night!

And finally, at the end of June, Dave, Don and I did the Rock Hall sprint triathlon – my first since my leg injury. I hadn’t planned on doing it, but decided to just give it a go – I’ve been feeling good – and ended up taking 2nd in my age group! Booyah! Actually, I was totally suprised and super excited about it. I’ve spend the last 11 months doing so much PT, strength training and mobility – I felt like it really paid off. I’m really looking to training throughout the summer to compete in an Olympic Distance in the fall.

The girls both had a great year, we all had a great spring, and we’re looking forward to this summer!

February 7, 2020

January 2020

So far 2020 has been treating us well!

We began the year with a New Year’s Eve sleepover with the Devine’s at our house. We had a “game night” theme, where we played board games and Dave prepared four courses of game meat. It was delicious and fun.

On New Year’s Day we all went for a hike in Wissahickon.

The girls with Ava and Emma Devine in Wissahickon on New Year’s Day.

It’s been an unseasonably warm January – in 40s, 50s, and a few days of 60s! One of the warmest days was also a day off from school, so I took the girls to the zoo, which was not expecting the crowds that it had. Note Lauren wearing shorts in the pics!

Dave and I went to the annual Union League Commodore’s Ball again. He’s not in yacht club leadership any more, but we went to support some friends who are. It’s always a fun, somewhat ridiculous evening.

Sophie is in her school’s choir, called Levering Mill, which is just for 4th and 5th graders. She’s also in the 3rd-5th grade all student choir, which held a combined concert in January. There were so many kids that they had to do it at Bala Cynwyd middle school, which has a large auditorium.

And then a few days later Lauren had her 1st grade musical, which was called Pirates, The Musical. It was very cute. All the kids do the singing and the teachers do the dialogue.

And we had a weekend visit from Shannon Boyle and her boyfriend Joey. They stayed over and we took them to the Flyers game, where they finally won one! The girls were very happy to be reunited with Shannon 🙂