June 2024

Evie turned 12 in June and we had a party for her with her friends at a local place that has lots of tiny rooms with challenges to complete in 3-5 minutes.  Each room advances in difficulty as you conquer each level.  It's sort of hard to explain the concept, but I assure you, it's a ton of fun, especially if you're twelve.  Evie invited a mix of kids: boyfriend (yes I said boyfriend!) Desmond, girls from her former middle school, one girl from her new school, and dance friends.  She had a really fun time bouncing back and forth between the groups of friends, and then we had ice cream outside on a very warm day.

Allyson, Desmond, and Evie, trying to conquer one of the rooms

Evie continued going to karate and earned another stripe on her white karate belt.

Lydia came to spend the night and Evie enjoyed being "big sister"

Annalisa came to visit for a week.

Snuggles, even though Evie's getting hard to fit into a lap these days

Evie wanted to go to the arcade, and Annalisa, who is not a gamer, was willing to make an exception since the game involved dinosaurs.

On Jun 23, 2024, Annalisa and I drove Evie out for her week of sleep away camp.  When I picked her up on Jun 28th, I had to deliver the news to her that Daddy and I were separating and that we were going to have to leave our home for a little while.  She knew things were coming to a head before we went to camp, and she wasn't surprised.  She had a lot of questions, and I did my best to reassure her that of course we both love her very much.  

Evie got to share a cabin with one of her besties, Eden