Summer Happenings

It’s been a jam packed summer. I almost don’t know where to start. I have no regrets or apologies for the break in posting, but now that we’re approaching Labor Day, the itch to resume some sort of normal schedule is setting back in. I always regret when I don’t detail life’s happenings around here, so let’s shake off the rust and get writing!

July

We spent the 4th of July with my extended family in Lancaster, but made it back to Jersey in time for fireworks that we could watch from right down the street. I kept thinking it was the grand finale and queuing up the 1812 Overture on my phone, but then the fireworks would just keep going, and I’d restart the music five minutes later (at the part with the canons) thinking it was finally done, but nope! I also wouldn’t shut up about the fact that, “By this time next year, Addie will be married!” She picked a date, Friday, July 3, 2026, and I’m sure it will be here before we know it.

The 150th Our Lady of Mount Carmel festival kicked off on July 13 with a sandwich race outside the local Sons of Italy club. If you’re familiar with the sausage race that happens at the Milwaukee Brewers baseball game, you’ll understand the concept. Four people dressed in large sandwich costumes, raced up and back a local road in the blazing sun. Two sandwiches represented those sold during the fest by the Sons and two represented sandwiches sold by the Our Lady of Mount Carmel society. It was fun to watch despite sweating profusely the whole time, and later that night the society also hosted a drone show at the local high school football field. Tony and Edie went and enjoyed it. I feel like only in our town is it still possible to hold big public events honoring Our Lady and the patron saints of all the local Catholic churches.

The festival was a lot of fun as usual, and the weather was hot and muggy the entire week. We ate a lot of greasy carnival food, lit candles and attended special solemn novena services as well as the yearly Italian mass, stayed out late listening to local bands, and Tony and I even bought two commemorative cigars. Because it was the festival’s 150th year, and it had received a special papal blessing, the bishop came to celebrate mass on the feast day (July 16). The mass went much longer than expected and we sat downtown waiting for the procession for two hours before it finally arrived at our usual viewing spot. Thankfully, it was cloudy that day, so we didn’t burn to a crisp. (And we were next door to Domino’s Pizza so we didn’t starve.) The procession got held up and the bishop came over and talked to our family for a bit. He’s only been our bishop since March, and while he had been at our parish recently this was the first opportunity any of us had to speak with him. (Side note: I think he will be a great advocate for disabled Catholics and their families within the diocese.) Byron and his girlfriend came and visited during the festival too, which was the first we’ve gotten to see him since he moved out and started his new job.

At the end of the month, I drove out to Cleveland for some wedding dress shopping! I had a great time visiting with Addie. In addition to trying on dresses at two shops, where we found one solid contender, we also took a few nice walks down to the waterfront as well as ate at a restaurant owned by Carthusians. On Sunday, she also took me to the outdoor reception venue and I got to walk around and survey everything (while checking for wheelchair accessibility). It was even nicer in person than I imagined.

Addie drove back with me and spent the next week visiting with us (minus Byron) as well as Tony’s parents. The kids finally got in the trip to the bowling alley (and its new arcade) that they’d been asking about. All the ladies visited David’s Bridal just for fun, and Addie wound up finding her dress there (though it was a tough decision between this dress and her other selection). It’s so beautiful and it was my first choice (and I think Edie’s) as soon as I saw the gown on her. I’m excited for everyone to see her in it on the big day. I don’t want to give much away, but her dress doesn’t resemble a Madonna outfit from the late 80s so, it’s very different from 95% of the wedding dresses currently popular.

August

We started the month with a trip to Lancaster on Saturday, August 2nd, where Addie’s fiancee Adam joined us for lunch with my dad and a trip to the Buck Motorsports Park for a corn combine demolition derby! It was our first time back under the new ownership and while I was initially miffed by the handicap seating situation, we ultimately wound up in the ideal spot to watch all the derby divisions. Fulton thoroughly enjoyed his birthday present, as did we all. This is the Lancaster County they don’t advertise in the tourist brochures. Adam and Addie went back to Ohio on Sunday and the rest of us headed back to NJ.

I’d finished painting Byron’s bedroom and ours, but work on the closet doors is ongoing. They’re slatted and it’s just hard to get good coverage on all the slats. But I got new curtains, switch plates and outlet covers, light fixtures, and art all installed. Tony and I still need to pick out flooring, but I already love both rooms 100x more.

Co-op planning is in full swing and I’ve been doing much more detailed lesson plans. It’s a good thing. Future Kelly will be super grateful. And I know I shouldn’t be flying by the seat of my pants every week with loose outlines, especially when I’m teaching other peoples kids, but it’s making planning for the upcoming school year a much more arduous process. Plus, even though I’m doing a lot of the same things with Teddy that I did with Edie for her freshman year, I of course need to improve and tweak everything. Thankfully, a lot is going in Google Classroom this year so its easy to copy and move around coursework. (Learn more about using Google Classroom in your homeschool!)

And then last Sunday we dropped the boys off at MDA Camp, which of course kicked off Mama Papa Week 2025! I haven’t gotten the link for camp pictures yet, so those will come later, but the boys had a great time as usual. There were pranks, D&D games, funny AI generated songs, lots of snacks, and because it was Fulton’s last year, heartfelt speeches. Tony and I visited wineries, went to Ocean City, ate at all our favorite local places and binged Breaking Bad episodes (which we just started watching a little while ago). Edie flew out to Cleveland for the week and she and Addie also had fun, though I don’t think they made as much progress on wedding planning as I expected they would.

We’ve got two more weeks until we start school back up (post Labor Day), and a few more fun things planned. And a reminder, I’m speaking at a great homeschool conference on September 13. Register for tickets ASAP!

I hope your summer isn’t flying by as fast as mine, and that you’re getting a few relaxing days thrown into the mix. A steady fall routine, cooler temps, and “field trips” to OCNJ when it’s not peak season are sounding very good to me right about now.