One of our bucket list items this month was to re-visit the make-our-own holiday jar we made last year. Last Friday, we decided to draw 8 slips out of it, and fortuitously, two of the slips we drew were "light candles" and "dress up fancy." Abby had the great idea that we should have a family Shabbat dinner that combined those two elements. Since we were all dressed up, I decided we should have some pictures:
I took Thursday off to hang out with Abby. We had a super chill day, binge watching XO Kitty on Netflix and consuming some treats:
Abby flew back to Dulles last Wednesday afternoon. Alex picked her up and brought her to their house in Herndon to relax before Steph took her to the train station in the evening. we picked her up from the Cville station around 8:30pm (in the pouring rain). Here she is showing off her new Dartmouth shirt:
We had a fun day celebrating Kevin. We started with Dunkin Donuts, followed by mini-golf. Kevin then watched the baseball games in the early afternoon before we headed out for dinner at Christians and a viewing of Guardians of the Galaxy at the Violet Crown theater downtown. Not much to photograph, but I did take this picture at the putt-putt course:
In lieu of a graduation party, Benji's friend Josie wanted to take her closest friends for a day at Busch Gardens. They started with breakfast at her house and then spent the day in the park together. Benji, of course, took no pictures, but Catherine's mom insisted she send selfies, so there is some photographic proof he was there:
Josie's mom sent me a non-selfie picture!
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| Ananda, Sam, Catherine, Everett, Josie in back; River and Benji in front |
The Cville Band had a special Friday night gig at the vineyard. Since Benji had to be there more than an hour before the concert to set up and warm up, we got a great table on the covered porch with a view of the band (and the mountains):
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| We also ordered dinner :) |
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| There was a beautiful sunset during the concert |
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| Bows |
Kevin and Benji had Friday off and I decided to take some time in the morning so that we could hit the cherry orchard before the end of the season. We left straight from Benji's swim practice and arrived in Batesville before the little store even opened. The owner let us in just at the stroke of 10 and we browsed a little while she made our egg biscuits:
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| Full baskets |
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| A kind passer-by offered to take a picture of all three of us |
Held at Glenmore Country Club. Benji had a TON of races because there are only 4 boys in his age group (IM, free, back, fly, and free relay):
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| On the blocks for his last race |
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| His relay team won heat winner ribbons |
It was nice to have Abby home for a few days before she flew to Poland. I had to work during the week, but she was able to spend some relaxed time with Benji and then we all went out to dinner the night before she left for Europe:
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| Abby, Kevin and Benji playing MarioKart on the Switch |
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| Fun outdoor dinner at Tonic |
She had to vote early because she is in Europe on primary day (June 20), but I waited for her so we could vote together at the city hall annex:
Benji's clarinet teacher asked him to join the Cville Band (the city's municipal band) this summer as a student member. He was reluctant/nervous at first (there are only a few student members) but decided to give it a try and is really enjoying it. They played their first summer season concert at the Paramount Theater on the downtown mall last week:
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| Benji was very excited to receive a band shirt to wear to the concerts |
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| And also to receive the code for the back door on the Paramount so he can enter like a real musician |
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| No photography during the performance, but I snapped a quick picture before they started, You can see Benji on the left side, second row from the back (four seats in, although there is someone standing next to him) |
Kevin kindly took a picture of Abby after her last final amidst her now-empty dorm room:
Kevin left straight from work on Friday to head to NY and then on to NH to pick Abby up from Dartmouth. That left Benji and I at home for the weekend, but he had a full social calendar, including a birthday outing for a friend on Saturday night. Because they were meeting at Violet Crown on the Downtown Mall for a 6:15 movie, we decided to have dinner at Christian's before that. It was a beautiful evening, so we enjoyed the outdoor seating:
Since we had company over the weekend, followed by all sorts of busyness, we did not get out for a celebration dinner until just before Abby came home. We enjoyed some cocktails and good food at Bang, though, at our delayed celebration:
