Category Archives: kieron

Benson Boone & Ice Cube

We took our middles to a couple of concerts this fall. My girlfriends and I got tickets to Benson Boone at Climate Pledge. It was Silas, a couple younger boys and a few middle school girls his age. Benny puts on a fantastic show and we all had a great time!

We got Kieron tickets to see his favorite rapper, Ice Cube, for his birthday, so he and Jonathan went to the show together. He played all his hits and then some!


            

Jonathan took Kieron to see his favorite artist, Ice Cube

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Back to School

Obligatory front porch Back to School pics, in order of departure…

Avery and Jacob heading out on Section J of the PCT, 75 miles from Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass. The moms tried not to worry too much.

They finished in three days!

Layla lucked out and got the best teacher, Mr. Harper!

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Summer Swim

Kieron, Silas & Layla participated in another season of summer swim. Unfortunately, Kieron fractured his arm right before competition started and then we had our Europe trip, so his season was pretty short, but once we returned he got a few meets in. Layla and Silas made a lot of progress this season. It was fun watching all of them grow and improve.




Look at her butterfly form!






Kieron’s relay team, Matthew, Owen &  Josh

Jonathan in the parents relay

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Munich

We decided to tack on a trip to Munich for my birthday since we were already in Europe until the 26th. I’m so glad we did. It’s a birthday I’ll always remember! Here we are celebrating at Augustiner Beer Garden. The vibe there is SO Bavarian!

We bought Avery his first beer here

Don’t worry, that’s not a dark lager, Kieron opted for root beer


First meal in Munich  at Zum Brunnstein

Our first meal in Germany had lots of sausage, sour kraut & German-style potato salad.

The Glockenspiel

Frauenkirche

Inside Hofbräuhaus, where Hitler gave speeches

National Theatre

Odeonsplatz

Views from atop the Cathedral

Here’s what happened the morning of my birthday. We originally planned to go to Neuschwanstein on my birthday and Dachau the following day because who wants to go to a concentration camp on their birthday? Well, we had some trouble with the trains and ended up in traffic in a taxi, and arrived at the tour company literally one minute late. By then our bus had left without us! Fortunately, the tour company worked with us and was able to switch our tours so we could do the camp on my birthday and the castle the next day. I’m so thankful we were still able to do both, but it made for a somber birthday. I was on the verge of tears half the day!






Solitary confinement

Neuschwanstein! I love the crazy story about this castle and it’s creator.






Uncle Scott, same place, 44 years earlier!



1981

Don’t ask me what he’s playing!

Taking a carriage to the castle in 1981

I always thought this picture of me was taken of me looking out the little window at the top of the castle – but I just learned it is not! It’s from some other castle in Europe.

At Kinder Paradise, 1984

Downtown Munich. I love that my birthday falls on Pride Weekend

 

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Sorrento & Pompeii

We stopped in Pompeii on our way to Sorrento and had a small guided tour of the ruins. It was incredible and sad to imagine the final moments of its citizens. If I’m being honest, we were coming off three days of tours in Rome and we were all tired, hot, “ruined out” and ready to relax. I think we all trudged through the tour, anxious to get to our hotel. It was however, interesting to learn that 1/3 of Pompeii remains uncovered, and to see what a city from that time really looked like.

Carriage tracks



A cast of a teenage girl

We made it to our hotel in Sorrento, the Hotel Riviera! Time to relax!

We liked the Beach Club!


   

Getting White Lotus Season 2 vibes!










Had the BEST dinner of our trip here at this little seafood restaurant!

A cool model boat in our hotel

We took a private boat to Capri one day. On the way, we stopped for a little snorkeling. Once there, we ate lunch, rode the chairlift to Ana Capri, got gelato and did a little shopping.

Here’s a cave we passed on our way.






We took the chair lift up to Ana Capri



At the top

















Headed back down


Someone learned to shave on our trip!

Our favorite thing we did in Sorrento was a private cooking class with a local chef, Guglielmo (William), on his family farm, which has been in his family for more than 500 years! He picked us up in his Ape Calessino.

The farm included a veggie garden, lemon grove and animals. They produce olive oil and balsamic vinegar.



Chef Guglielmo (William) is passionate about using only the best and purest ingredients. We made bruschetta, gnocci, and chicken piccata.

We made Kieron’s favorite, gnocci!

Jonathan helped make chicken

Avery helped make the bruschetta

With his wife, Maria



For dessert – lemon sorbet & limoncello

Barrels of balsamic




Last night in Italy

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