Since my parents sold their house this summer, which is where we’ve celebrated Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember, we had a venue change this year and Vicki and Doug hosted. It was the full Rainer gang with a few additions and it was perfect. Everyone brought a dish and Doug kept the fried turkey tradition going. Everyone fit for a sit down dinner divided between two tables in the kitchen and living room.
The next day Julia and Madeline hosted everyone at their house in South Philly for leftovers and games.
As is our tradition, we headed to Yaeger’s Tree Farm to cut down our tree. It was the first very cold day of the season and the hay ride out to the tree field felt especially chilly, but we found the perfect one, so worth it!
Lauren with the winning treeAnd after the fallSophie was a passive participant this yearLauren after decorating the tree
Lauren and I decorated the tree when we got home. Petunia tried her best to help as well.
We still have one kid who is into Halloween and we’ll take it! Lauren leans more gory and frightening and did not disappoint this year. She went trick-or-treating around our neighborhood with her friends Noa and Maddie (who also leans toward gore). As usual, our street didn’t get my kids, but there are a few other blocks that are busy, so that’s where they headed.
At the end of October, my family came up for the weekend to celebrate the engagement of Hayley and Tim and to see all the Savage cousins who were in town. My grandfather’s youngest sister, Carmela Savage, had five kids who were all in town. My mom and the rest of the Rainer clan were invited to Steve Savage’s house for a cousin reunion. I’ve met everyone at some point, it’s been a while. It was fun to catch up.
The next day Hayley and Tim hosted an engagement party at a cute farmhouse they’re renting in Chester County. It was a beautiful day and the house was a perfect setting. No date set for the wedding yet.
At age 11, Lauren has finally decided that she wants to get her ears pierced. Up until now, she hasn’t wanted to and just a few weeks ago started talking about it. I waited a few weeks just to make sure that she was serious and she was, so we headed to the mall and did the deed. She was brave and it was quick. And I think she already owns more earrings than I do!
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!!”).
At the end of September, Shannon and Mike got married at a beautiful place in Stroudsburg, PA. It was a perfect night and the ceremony was held outside in the woods followed by a reception in a building that had a log cabin feel. It could not have been more them. The girls stayed home and watched Maddie while the adults all drove there and back. It was the perfect night for the perfect couple!
Here are the fall school pictures for Lauren, 6th grade a Bala Cynwyd Middle School and Sophia, 9th grade at AIM Academy (picture also referred to as “this is 14”).
The Maryland State Championship triathlon is always held in Rock Hall, which is super convenient for us. Last year I placed 3rd in my age group in the State Championships, which qualified me for the short-course Nationals this year, which were here in Atlantic City in the middle of September. When I decided that I was going to compete in the Olympic Distance (I could pick Sprint or Olympic) I also hired a coach because I was super nervous about competing against all of the other state champions. Honestly, I was having nightmares about coming in last! I started training with her April, and was ready when September rolled around. It was a pretty amazing experience. There were thousands of competitors in 35 heats. The first wave started at 6:30AM and mine didn’t go off until slightly after 9AM, so there was a lot of time to stand around feeling my nerves. The swim was in the back bay, which was not the cleanest water and was also salty, which I was not used to. Per usual, it was my weakest leg, but my whole goal was to just get it done without freaking out, which I accomplished! The bike, my strongest leg, was along the New Jersey Expressway. They closed two lanes of traffic for the bikes, which was nice. Going through the toll booths was a challenge because of the rumble strips, but otherwise, it was flat and smooth sailing. Finally, the run was along the boardwalk. By the time I was running, it was almost noon and hot. While it was cool to run along the water, unfortunately, the boardwalk was pretty crowded and thick with weed smoke. I know I wasn’t the only runner wishing for some cleaner air. All that said, I did well, top 1/3 of women, which I’m really happy with. It wasn’t my fastest Olympic distance, but all things considered, it was just perfect!
It’s here – the dreaded and much anticipated first day of school! Lauren is starting 6th grade this year at Bala Cynwyd Middle School and Sophie is starting 9th grade at AIM Academy.
