Lake House 2023

Posted on July 29, 2022 by Tessa

Welcome to the Hoff House!

For our lake house this summer we found a sweet little place in Vermont, not too far from home. The house was really nice, the view was beautiful, and the wildlife was abundant! There were a few little flaws (slippery pine needles and noisy bunkbeds), but overall it was a beautiful week.

Our craft project this year was painted pots. Arts and Crafts director Rosy did a great job organizing and I made vinyl stickers to mark the occasion.

My goal for the week was to try the paddle board. I did it once before, many years ago, with Eve, but with the two of us on the board together it got silly and neither of us could stand up. This week I gave it a more honest effort and did it!! Multiple times! I am pretty proud of myself! (and love all the support and encouragement I got from the family 💖

I’m not sure it was the perfect house, but it sure was an awesome week!

Community Wildflower Garden

Posted on July 4, 2022 by Tessa

Last year Eve came up with the idea for a beautiful wildflower garden. Because we live in an area with shared common grounds, I floated the idea by the neighbors and everyone loved it. Eve, being Eve, went no further with it.

This spring one of the neighbors reached out to Eve and asked if they could work on the garden together, starting with a simpler plan. The neighbor also has a little more garden knowledge than us, or at least a little more garden ambition! She rented a rototiller and the two of them dug up a large patch of land in the side yard. Two weeks later (today), they re-tilled and planted seeds. A few other neighbors came out to join in the fun as well. I popped in and out for moral support and to take pictures. :) Eve wasn’t excited for the hard work and hot sun, but I think she will be excited when the garden starts to grow. I’ll let her get some decorative stuff for it as well, which is the part she really wants. :)

Camp Update

Posted on June 26, 2022 by Tessa

I got my babies back today. Yay! They had a *great* time at the Governor’s Institute. This morning there was a whole presentation where the director talked about the experience and showed a slideshow of everyone’s final projects. Then we had time to walk around and check out all the final projects. They ranged from digital designs, to video games, to physical robots and “makerspace” projects. They were all pretty cool.

Eve made a really neat wooden box with her drawings engraved in the side. She also created the graphics for a video game that Lex programmed, and a screen printed poster of the game logo. They had fun working together. They also both joined a Dungeons and Dragons group and are now fully addicted. 😄

Eve also made cool/weird/pretty earrings and a little mushroom out of clay and paint. They are adorable, but the earrings are huge. :)

After we were packed up and checked out, we headed to Church Street for yummy bagel lunch and Lake Champlain Chocolates ice cream. We also made a stop at the local game store to buy D&D dice. Yep, they are hooked!

Alan took Lex and Eve back to his house for a bit while I dropped B’Lake off at his Governor’s Institute mathematics camp. It was a very different drop off experience than last week with Lex and Eve. For the math camp they were disorganized, lax, and extremely informal. I hope it ends up being as much fun for him as L&E had.

Em the snail went to camp to keep B’Lake company. 💙💛

After dropping him off I stopped at Alan’s house to pick up the other two and we headed home. Huxley was VERY glad to see the kids again! He slept in his crate every night this week and is definitely missing his cuddles with Lex. 🤗

Tomorrow we’re off on another adventure! Life is good.

Governor’s Institute

Posted on June 19, 2022 by Tessa

Eve and Lex are spending the week at a fancy tech camp called the Governor’s Institute. The camp is held at Champlain College, a beautiful location on Champlain Lake. I dropped them off yesterday, in the rain. I was a weird nervous person trying to be double sure on the parking and plans. I think I drove Lex crazy. LOL. The camp is a super cool camp. Lex and B’Lake did it last year, but it was virtual due to Covid, so it was fun, but not AS fun as in-person. This year Lex and Eve signed up for the “technology and design” session and B’Lake signed up for the “mathematics” session, which is next week.

Eve was up at 4:30am, feeling anxious, I think. She didn’t say as much, but she said she had a stomachache and worried she might have Covid (she tested negative before I even work up). She was excited and nervous, so I knew it was all ok.

I helped them both get packed, ran a few errands with Eve (she needed headphones and Lex needed laundry detergent –he’s planning to do laundry!), then we headed to college. It was a super weird experience.

First things first — Covid tests. One poor camper who had driven 2.5hrs tested positive and was sent home. It was a nerve wracking – yet boring – 15 minutes.

I don’t think I was too much, but by the end when I wanted one pic of the two of them together, Lex was done with me. :) I jokingly said something about Lex being ready for me to leave and he less jokingly said yeah, he was. :) That boy is exactly where he should be for a rising senior!

Eve, on the other hand, needed extra hugs, texted me before I was even home, and called me at night. She said she was having fun, but that there was a lot of people and activities and she was very tired. I’m hoping she’s having a good day today. She texted me a picture of the clouds this morning, so that’s a good sign.

March for Our Lives

Posted on June 11, 2022 by Tessa

The gun violence in this country is so out of hand and I struggle to make sense of it. Every time there is a school shooting my heart breaks for the families and children and communities. It impacts ALL of us. Going to school the next day and trying to reassure students (and ourselves!) that it will all be ok is becoming more and more difficult. I don’t know what to do, but I need to do something. I started small today by attending a March for Our Lives rally in Montpelier, organized by GunSenseVT and Moms Demand Action. I signed up for their lists. I held a sign, wore their buttons, and tried not to cry as speakers discussed how school shoots have impacted them and their communities. It is scary and terrifying and infuriating. There were a few moments of levity when the annual naked bike parade came pedaling by, but even that could only do so much to quell the somber mood. I wish we could do more.

I did not take any pictures of the naked bikers who then moved into the park was the March for Our Lives rally was ending. They sprawled out on the state house steps and posed for group (team?) pictures. We left and got some pizza before driving home.

One of these things is not like the others…

Posted on June 3, 2022 by Tessa

DBS had a spring concert tonight. We had to break it into two concerts this year, K-2 and 3-5, which is better than the no concerts from the past two years. The K-2 concert went off without a hitch, but the 3-5 concert the following week had to be rescheduled when our music teacher tested positive for Covid. The concert was pushed back a week and now on a Friday night, so not everyone could attend.

Our music teacher is super awesome and super cool, but also gets super anxious about stuff and when she found out she would be missing one or more percussionist she kinda freaked out. She was debating having her fiancé (a fellow musician) step in, but worried about the look of that. So I volunteered Lex! :) He took the news very well and put on concert attire and came with me to the concert without any fussing.

The music teacher introduced him to the band before the show started and he was a shining example of how practice pays off. They were impressed with him. We’re all pretty impressed with him. The boy who would barely do his own elementary school concerts is now happily helping out six years later. 💗

Boston Museum of Science

Posted on May 29, 2022 by Tessa

We wrapped up Lex’s birthday weekend with a trip to the Boston Museum of Science today. It was a beautiful day for a road trip. We got there by mid-morning, explored the museum, watched the cool lightening show, had some expensive cafeteria food, and generally enjoyed ourselves immensely.

The wave machine and a beautiful view of the water.

All about Lex

Posted on May 28, 2022 by Tessa

This handsome fellow had a birthday recently. He is thriving in all ways. We had a quiet birthday celebration with just a few gifts — cookies, books, Legos, and money — just what he wanted! :) Here are a few pics of my favorite 17yr old!

Spring brings concerts and plays as well, which Lex has been rocking. He had his spring concert, a district music festival, the high school musical and the middle school musical – both of which he ran the lights for. He even went in early before the spring concert so he could program nice lighting for the concert.

He won a few awards this spring too! At the spring concert he was given the Spirited Percussionist award, in celebration of Armand Zildjian. It came with a nice certificate, a personal note from a guy named Damian Poludin in Texas who manages (runs? is in charge of?) the award. It also came with a check an a cool laptop backpack with drumstick holders for percussionists. It’s pretty cool. He was pretty proud of himself. I am too!!

Yesterday I got a text from Eve saying “Lex just won an award.” I was confused because it was the middle of the school day. Lex replied, saying it was a “come to this college” book award and he was mostly just excited for the book. Apparently they announced a bunch of “college awards” over the loud speaker. So random! :) When I got him he showed me the certificate and note that says he can get his application fee waived and qualify to apply for an annual scholarship. Yep, definitely sounds like a “come to this college” recruiting award. Sadly he didn’t actually get a book. They gave him a paperweight instead. I’m not sure what the deal with that is. I told him to ask the counselor, but he said no. :)

I’m so proud of this kiddo. I miss the tiny baby and curious toddler (though I don’t miss the tantrums!), but I love seeing how well he has grown up and how happy he is with life in general.

💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙

Weekend day trips

Posted on April 25, 2022 by Tessa

Most weekends we do not much of anything, yet somehow still stay busy. This weekend my friend texted me on Saturday morning and asked if I wanted to take a day trip. I deliberated for a moment and then said, Yes! Of course! So we headed down to an independent bookstore that I’ve never been to before. Apparently it’s very popular and known. It was beautiful. We stopped at a deli for lunch then moseyed over to the bookstore.

On Sunday Eve and I went to a Sci-Fi/Fantasy Expo with her friend and family. Eve has wanted to go to a cosplay event for a few years now and we finally found a good starter expo. Not too far away, not too huge, not too expensive. Eve wore her Toga outfit and had a blast! We wandered the vendor section, attended a “how to make comics” session, admired all of the cosplay outfits we saw, had lunch, and went home very tired.