On December 14 we lost my sweet Nana. She was 97 years old.
She had been sick for a few days with Covid, but was getting better and was actually back home at Bellingham. It was very sudden and a surprise to all of us.
I’m so grateful that we had just spent some good time with her to celebrate her birthday in October and at Thanksgiving in Virginia. She was a regular on the weekly Rainer family zoom calls on Sunday nights and I felt like I was closer with her these last few years because of that.
She was the matriarch of this family and will be deeply missed.
December has been filled with recitals and holiday celebrating. I decided that this year instead of taking the kids to see the Nutcracker again, we’d try the Philly Pops Holiday Spectacular at the Kimmel Center. It did not disappoint. The music and singing were great and it was a very entertaining show. Beforehand we did the holiday brunch at the Union League which was very festive.
Sophie had her winter band concert mid-December, which ends up being her last one because she decided she doesn’t want to be in band anymore. They were impressive for a 7th grade band, and Soph was smack center playing base drum.
The following weekend were two holiday concerts for the Philadelphia Girls Choir – one in a performing arts center in New Jersey and the other at Temple Performing Arts Center. As always, the girls were amazingly impressive. I’m continually blow away by how professional this choir sounds.
And finally we got together with the college friends at a Christmas party at Justin and Steve’s house. It was great to connect with everyone again. I hadn’t seen Erin in over a year, and Vahid even longer.
Holiday brunch at the Union League Sophie’s 7th grade band concertReunited with the college gang at Justin and Steve’s holiday party Philly Girls ChoirPhilly Girls Choir
I love December and everything leading up to Christmas. This year did not disappoint and we’re all in the holiday spirit.
On the Sunday after Thanksgiving we headed out to Yaeger Farms to cut down our Christmas tree, which has been our tradition for years. The weather was pretty crappy, with cold rain, so it wasn’t too crowded. But no hay rides either. We made short work of finding our tree, cutting it down, and getting it loaded up.
We headed down to Charlottesville for Thanksgiving again and enjoyed the regular festivities. The weather was pretty warm and beautiful and we got to spend a lot of time outside. Dave cooked the dinner, with Uncle Doug deep frying the turkey per usual. It was a delicious feast like always. This year Chris joined for the first time and Quinn came in from Arizona, which was great. Becky’s boyfriend CJ was also there. It was a great crowd.
the chef! Lauren and her favorite part of the turkey – the leg! The Thanksgiving gang!
The rest of the weekend we enjoyed activities around town including holiday lights at Boar’s Head, hiking to the quarry, and wine tasting at King Family Vineyard.
In November we all went down to St. Pete Florida to celebrate Dad’s 70th birthday. It was a nice warm break from the cold weather back home. We stayed in a resort right on the beach that had pools, a huge blowup slide on the beach, and activities for the kids like paddle boats and zip lines. It was a really nice, relaxing getaway and a fun celebration.
the beach babesLauren and AriCousins! Not the best family photo
For Dad’s birthday dinner we went to a seafood restaurant that had a huge aquarium in the dining room.
The birthday boyThe whole fam
I think Dad enjoyed the weekend having the whole family around and just chilling on the beach. Happy Birthday, dad! We love you!
In October Nana rented a beach house in Ocean City again to celebrate her birthday. The house was beautiful and huge and was right on the boardwalk. The girls and I came down on the weekends but most everyone else stayed the entire week. The summer season was definitely over, so there weren’t many stores open, and we went to Wonderland on the last night it was open, but we still enjoyed the time.
Kishore, Ari, Ashwini and Lauren on a deserted boardwalk Manco and Mancos! Last carousel ride of the season cool kids with their Kohrs Nana celebrating her 97th birthday!Enjoying some beach time and soaking in the sunOne day all 5 siblings were there to celebrate
After a summer of training, I finally competed in my first Olympic distance triathlon the first weekend in October in Rock Hall. The weekend also coincided with Hurricane Ian, which made conditions pretty miserable. But I did it and ended up taking first in my age group – which was a total surprise. It was definitely one of the hardest physical challenges I’ve done and on the last 1/2 mile of the run I knew what it felt like to be completely depleted. But it was also really fun and the training paid off!
On November 19th, Dave, Don and I did the Philly 1/2 marathon. This was my first half since 2019 and longest distance I’ve run since my leg surgery. It was a very cold, but clear day and the run was really fun. The course takes runners throughout the city and hundreds of people come out to cheer you on, which is really fun to experience.
We celebrated Dave’s 43rd birthday a few times throughout the week – as one should! First, the weekend before with dinner at the Guard House, on his actually birthday with a family dinner at home, and again the next weekend at the ULYC fall regatta with the Townsends, Joe, and ULYC friends.
