Ever notice that the first letters of the month July through November spell JASON?
...Which is only half appropriate for this post but ah well...
Three summer 'events' that were in the front of my mind were our Downer Days party -- annual tradition of an early dinner/party at our house and we all head up to Downer Ave. for a pro bike race around a couple city blocks. Before that, all of the kids bring their bikes and do age group races -- so much fun and excitement for the kids...and super cute to watch for the adults.
Second was my Mom's estate sale. She sold many, many antiques, collectibles, housewares, etc. It was a really fun success. All of her prep work paid off and we had fun together working it and seeing neighbors and watching nice things walk away to appreciating others...thereby lightening my Mom's load.
Thirdly, Jason's company, JaCor, had a booth at the Oshkosh AirVenture show. I got to plan and design the booth. My Dad, living close to Oshkosh and being adept at this kind of thing, worked the booth for the week which was really special. Really interesting and fun experience.
And the biggy and much anticipated trip for us was to Paris in August in celebration of our 10 year anniversary last October. We have a list of things we want to do 'next time' already. It was blissful. Unending gratitude to Mary and Dave for taking care of Graham and Estelle while we were away.
Pictures got scrambled a little bit...
 |
| From scratch crust with mini pepperoni, spinach and freshly shredded mozzarella -- grilled -- yum |
 |
| At the tradeshow - Dad and Stelly |
 |
| A little pride there -- I had fun planning this! |
 |
| Joe and Estelle |
 |
| WinePlayDate gals went on a sunset sail with Sea Dog Sailing for Kari's birthday -- crazy fun and beautiful. |
 |
| PARIS! The beauty, the romance...lives up to all of the hype! |
 |
| Tulleries Garden outside of the Lourve |
 |
| Ooooh, french onion soup. Tried it everywhere. So good. This was my 2nd fave. |
 |
| That lovers lock bridge... |
 |
| In Saint Sulpice |
 |
| Delacroix mural in Saint Sulpice cathedral -- he painted it to look 3D...incredible. |
 |
| This screams SUMMER -- had our share of BLTs with Jason's garden tomatoes -- delicious |
 |
| State Fair! |
 |
| Our Paris apartment's staircase...gorgeous |
 |
| Charcuterie...so special |
 |
| The view from our apartment -- dreamy |
 |
| A fromagerie -- don't see one of these everyday -- all cheese -- only in Paris |
 |
| Champagne cave in Reims -- incredible. |
 |
| Summer dinner -- grilled salmon and potatoes with roasted broccoli and grilled bruschetta with tomatoes and basil from Jason's garden |
 |
| Ravioli with J's garden basil, zucchini and tomoatoes |
 |
| Needs a clockwise rotation but this is uncle Joe playing baseball with Graham in the backyard -- which is done almost every time we're there! |
 |
| This time was for our 'Lac Vieux DePoygan' trip (we usually go to the UP border on Lac Vieux Desert but opted to go to Papa's, Kacky and Joe's house on Poygan) |
 |
| Needs a counter-clockwise but one of our yummy family summer vacay dinners -- Kathy & Graham |
 |
| Uncle Tim -- what it's all about ( : + time with family |
 |
| Estelle 'walking' a rabbit at the Eau Claire County Fair |
 |
| Jason took the kids camping on his own! Kudos. I couldn't do it. |
 |
| Lake Michigan chill at Harrington Beach |
 |
| Estelle will hold most bugs and fish -- still wants to hold everything -- here it's an alewife, I believe, dead maybe. |
 |
| Graham had a nice baseball season and at this game they announced each player and sang the national anthem -- real cute. |
 |
| Graham mounted one of the sculptures from the Eau Claire city exhibit |
 |
| Estelle and blueberries! |
 |
| This poor, poor chipmunk. |
 |
| A stringer from Gilmore Lake |
