2023

On a trip back from Texas we stopped at the Arch in St. Louis and went up the arch in the little cars. It was a tight squeeze for all five of us 🙂

Grandma Alexander passed and we went to Jackson for the funeral. We went to the Parlour to relive an old family tradition!

Park tried wrestling during 8th grade. He was really good at it – partially because he was so tall. He decided it was a little too aggressive for him so his wrestling career came to an end.

This year we picked back up on our family tradition of going to a Cubs / Reds game…and were joined by family from Indianapolis. Solomon’s favorite Reds player hit a home run!

Jackson took a great leadership role for robotics for the 2023 season. Robotics pushes the boys in many ways, but they seem to really enjoy it.

Parker did year 2 of Space Camp with James Douglas.

8th grade graduation!

I did a spring triathalon. This was the first one I had done and my goals were to not drown and not stop running…which I did. Yay!

Jackson officially got his drivers license this year and has been a great help for carpooling family around and is a very responsible driver.

At my family reunion we went to a family fun center and Sarah got the high score for the pop-a-shot machine. Did anyone think she wouldn’t?

Elly finished her first year of club volleyball in the spring and started a new season in the fall. She’s super dedicated and practices all the time and is so good!

Our Indianapolis family came up to Michigan to see the colors with us in the fall. It was a cold weekend, but the hot tub helped keep us warm.

On a summer trip to Michigan we visited Sleeping Bear Dunes and decided to make the trek down (and more importantly back up). It was soooo hard!

On our Alaska trip we went on a dogsled ride and got to hold the puppies.

Our Alaska trip was epic.

We also visited New Mexico this year and got to see so many things while spending time with Maria’s family. This is at the Hot Air Balloon festival, which was super amazing.

White Sands in New Mexico – one of the amazing things we saw there.

Steve’s family came up for Thanksgiving and this year we put the kid in charge of making Thanksgiving meal.

2023 – Books I’ve Read

Non-Fiction

The Bomber Mafia, Malcolm Gladwell

The Good Life, Robert Waldinger & Marc Schulz

In Praise of Wasting Time, Alan Lightman

Romney, A Reckoning

We Need to Build, Eboo Patel

Justice by Means of Democracy, Danielle Allen

The Anthropocene Reviewed

Dearly, Margaret Atwood

Fiction

Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan

Death’s End, Cixin Liu

Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Tress of the Emerald Sea, Brandon Sanderson

Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn

Outlawed, Anna North

Scythe, Neal Schusterman

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin

Dark Matter, Blake Crouch

The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Survival, Brandon Sanderson

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, Brandon Sanderson

The Sunlit Man, Brandon Sanderson

The Midnight Library, Matt Haig

Spirituality

Siddhartha, Herman Hesse

The White Stone, Esther de Waal

Seeking God, Esther de Waal

The Naked Now, Richard Rohr

The Name of God is Mercy, Pope Francis

Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine, Alan Lightman

The Transcendent Brain, Alan Lightman

Probable Impossibilities, Alan Lightman

There are Place in the World Where Rules are Less Important than Kindness, Carlo Rovelli

Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life, James Hollis

Soul Boom, Rainn Wilson

Build the Life You Want, Arthur Brooks & Oprah Winfrey