Julia celebrated her birthday with friends at Kramarczuk's; check out the size of those pierogis! Benjamin sent her flowers AND to me as well... so thoughtful. Otherwise, she was working on her presentation.
Lisa and Ethan went to the Mubadala Citi DC Open. Mom is at the 2025 National Seniors Game, leading her basketball team to victory. It was good to catch up with Matt (Nieboer) and Carrie and touch base with many friends and family--birthdays are good for that. :)
Julia submitted her thesis! She FaceTimed us and Benjamin afterward. YAY! Even her watch indicated that the stress was too much. :) Her friends took her out to dinner to celebrate. Over the weekend, she attended a farewell party for Alejo and Nora; played pickleball with Matt, Anne, and Andy; and went on a walk with kitty Mark, Anne, and Matt. Next, she is preparing for the seminar presentation.
On the home front, we all attended a very disappointing performance of A Wrinkle in Time. It lacked action, humor, and catchy tunes. As a favorite childhood book, I should have left it to my imagination and memories. No way would I recommend it. BUT, it was good to spend time with everyone— including Don, who got a last-minute seat not far from us. Kudos to Tony, who had bad luck getting and parking with the valet at the theater but kept on smiling. Ooops, forgot to get a group shot. The pics below are before the show.
Lisa and I went to a meet and greet with tennis champ Jessie Pegula! She's currently ranked #3 in the world.
It's not that we need more cats, but Steven has made a new friend. He tells me the cat wants to join our family and is begging to come inside. Thankfully, Booberry is guarding the door.
Julia is in the home stretch. Over the weekend, she picked up her friend Megan from the airport, who was returning from interviewing at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. Julia and Megan may rent a house together (one option is pictured below). There is a lot still up in the air on the plan for the fall, so we'll see. Julia went on a walk with Matt and kitty-cat Mark.
We went to Deep Creek Lake with the Sarrges and Austins. Fun time! Tony and Lisa are generous hosts, and it was especially nice to escape the humidity of DC. 
For Julia, this weekend was all about working nonstop, with a few FaceTime calls with us and Benjamin thrown in. Also shown are Julia's batch cooking of chicken thighs (yum!). In DC, we had a family dinner with the Westfalls—met Sarah (Noreen's cousin from Ireland). Noreen cooked up a storm! I didn't do well with my candid photography—eyes closed, unfortunately. Steven captured a nice picture of me and mom.
