All the pics from June 2023…

Sarah got her black belt in recorder karaoke this year!

Blaine went to some 5th grade graduation parties.

We spent a night at the Jersey Shore on June 10 to celebrate Aunt Molly’s birthday!

Then there was the actual 5th grade graduation on Friday, June 16! But first, a few pics from Blaine’s final Capstone Project presentation (on the inventions of WWII).

Followed by celebratory ice cream and video games. And then a celebratory steak dinner with more ice cream!

On 6/21 we welcomed the Merchants into town, the first in a series of summer visits! Top priorities despite the jetlag: pizza, Minecraft, plotting and s’mores.

Then it was the final day of school!

That afternoon we set off for our long weekend in the Northeast — first stop was Hanover NH for a trip down memory lane at Dartmouth. Highlights included self-propelled vehicles in the Engineering school, an old typewriter in Baker library and getting lost in the stacks, and canoeing on the Connecticut River.

Next stop: Vermont! Our ultimate destination was the Highland Lodge in Greensboro, Vermont, for a Westbrook family reunion to celebrate Gram and Grand-dad’s 50th wedding anniversary. We had some wildfire smoke the first night but after that got to enjoy the beautiful scenery, boats, beer, and cheese, and we even saw a bear!

On the drive home we stopped again in Hanover for some brunch at Lou’s, which lived up to my memories.