Rolling in a little late with this monthly round-up. We prepped for vacation and left for vacation at the end of June, so some things got pushed to the side. Better late than never?
Anyway, June is usually a transition month from school to summer and this June was no different. School ended early in the month and then we filled our days with some fun. Here’s a quick peek at What We Did, What We Ate, What We Watched and What We Read this month.
What We Did
Our son finished his sixth-grade year, and his elementary school holds a “clap-out” for students moving on to the middle school. I went to the clap out then collected our daughter so we could meet our son’s friend to play mini-golf. (We ate before and after. See below).
Later that night, we went to a high school graduation party in the city. I love a good backyard party in the city. It was the perfect night for it.
We put our garden in, finally, and planted some flowers. The improvement to my mood because of this is unmeasurable. I’ve spent the rest of the month weeding said garden and hoping we weren’t too late.
One day in early June we went strawberry picking at a local farm because I couldn’t remember ever doing it before. The kids had fun.
Family video game night. We played some games on Jackbox.Tv and a partial round of Golf With Friends on the Switch. Actually, this has become a little more regular. I’ve played MarioKart and Golf With Friends with my son several times. I’m not the hugest fan of video games but when I spend all day reading for my freelance job, it’s an okay way to unwind.
Haircuts! The kids and I were all overdue and got some fresh summer cuts all on the same day.
I preached a sermon at our church. What?!? Then the following week, Phil shared on Father’s Day.
Hiking has returned! On a Tuesday morning, our friend Odette accompanied us to Texter Mountain Preserve so I could write about it for a blog post.
Later in the month, our family led our church’s first summer hike of the year on the Rhododendron Trail at Susquehannock State Park. it’s been so good to get back out into nature.
Our dear friends who live in Arizona now were back in the area so we had a short visit with them.
And late in the month, I woke up before dawn to see the moon and planets in alignment.
We got back to Long’s Park for summer music, too, although our second concert had some rainy weather that sent us home early.
We had the pleasure of having family visit us this month also and our time together was packed with the following fun events:
A free outdoor concert in the city by Haitian band Lakou Mizik. The band was formed after the Haiti earthquake, and there was so much joy and energy exuding from them into the crowd. I love a good outdoor music option, too.
Our weekly visit to Central Market was enhanced by music from the Street Beans Band playing fun tunes outside the building.
We took the whole family to PrideFest this year. (Last year Phil and I volunteered at our church’s table.) It was another joy-filled event.
Our family wanted to check out the Turkey Hill Experience where one of us ate more than 7 scoops of ice cream. (Free samples? You might want to rethink that, Turkey Hill.)
Then we had a picnic lunch at the Columbia Crossings River Trails Center which had an amazing view of the Susquehanna River.
We also took a day trip to Delaware. We started in New Castle where we got a tour of the courthouse there as part of the First State National Historic Site.
We learned a lot about Delaware’s role in our nation’s independence. New Castle sits on the Delaware Bay, and I insisted we walk toward it so I could see the water. I’m drawn to big water.
We walked out onto a pier and discussed our lunch options (see below). After lunch we drove up to Wilmington to the Dupont Environmental Education Center which had a boardwalk path through the marsh. It was a lovely day of exploring.
On the days when we weren’t out having adventures, we hung out around the house, playing board games or basketball.
What We Ate
When we played mini-golf on the last day of school at Scoops in Mountville, we ate tasty food like burgers and fries and a salad before golf and ice cream after golf.
Our end-of-school year celebration meal was at 3 Sisters Park. I took no photos. I had pad Thai. Others had various create-your-own noodle and/or rice bowls
Strawberries. Lancaster Central Market had a strawberry festival early in June and we ate some delicious treats. I had waffles topped with strawberries and fudge. The kids had strawberry crepes.
Chicken shawarma over mini-naan, potato salad and ice cream at Long’s Park for our first trip to the Long’s Park Summer Music Series.
After our hike at Texter Mountain, we stoped at Kountry Korner Drive-In in Reinholds, PA for diner food and ice cream. Club sandwich. Fried foods. Burger. And flavored soft serve. My salted caramel was DELISH.
At the outdoor concert in the city, we wanted takeout so we ordered from Norbu, a Bhutanese/Nepalese restaurant nearby. It was close and available and everyone enjoyed their meal except our son who ordered spicy noodles that lived up to their name.
At PrideFest, we ate spicy chicken sandwiches and fries from Blazin’ J’s, another local restaurant.
I already mentioned the unlimited ice cream samples at the Turkey Hill Experience. Cotton candy was a flavor I didn’t expect to enjoy but it definitely tasted like cotton candy.
Our son loved the Graham Slam flavor that had chocolate and marshmallow and graham crackers.
More ice cream! I’m sensing a theme here. We had some friends stop over while our family was in town and they brought a couple of half-gallons of Fox Meadows ice cream. Brown Butter Almond Brickle might be my new all-time favorite.
In Delaware, we picked Nora Lee’s, a French-style Cajun bistro, and everything we ate was amazing.
I had a crawfish salad that was worth every penny.
Phil had a fried oyster Po’boy.
The kids had some cheesesteak style sandwiches.
What We Watched
SNL clips. The season is over now, so this was our last laughs from Saturday Night Live for a while.
Ms. Marvel. Whoa. We’ve only managed one episode so far, but I think I’m gonna like this.
Space Force. End of season 2. Sad there won’t be more.
Jan. 6 hearings on the news. Uh … I vacillate between angry and sad.
All Creatures Great and Small on PBS. I read James Herriot’s book about his adventures as Yorkshire veterinarian and convinced Phil to start watching it, too.
The Lost City. It was no Romancing the Stone, which is one of my favorites, but it was enjoyable. Sandra Bullock is always a treat. Channing Tatum is eye candy for some, but I thought he was kind of funny in this.
Richard Osman’s House of Games. This is a British series whose episodes are on YouTube. It’s a more chill version of game shows that we have in the States.
Grace and Frankie. I’m laughing my way through this last season.
Spider-Man: No Way Home. We’re trying to catch up so we can watch the new Thor later in the summer.
What We Read
Books I finished:
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. A YA book I finished just after school got out that helps inform my attitude toward my students.
The Optimist’s Daughter by Eudora Welty. Ann Patchett writes about Welty in her new essay collection. I’d never read an Welty, so I tried this one. I have mixed feelings about it but mostly enjoyed it. I think it would make a good stage play.
A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole. This Reluctant Royals series is fun, and this Scottish one is a favorite.
We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu. Celebrity memoirs are like chocolate for me–I can’t resist! This was moving and honest and makes me appreciate Simu Liu even more than I already did after watching Shang-Chi.
Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith. These cozy mysteries set in Botswana are just light and fun.
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley. Another new favorite. Set in Scotland with some contemporary and historical threads. Outlander fans will probably enjoy.
Books in progress:
Spy School British Invasion by Stuart Gibbs. Spy School in Britain? Fun!
A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole. Another of the Reluctant Royals series.
