We kicked off July with a literal BANG two weekends ago with the annual Lake Bella Vista Fourth of July Celebration. While the majority of Independence Day events were cancelled due to Covid-19, Lake Bella Vista was still able to host their annual fireworks and boat parade. The fireworks are launched from a barge in the middle of the lake while residents watch from their lawns or from their boats parked around the barge. Families were still able to gather as well as follow the social distancing recommendations currently in place. The fireworks were spectacular this year and felt like pure magic with the kids watching in awe each time one was launched.
Throughout the rest of weekend the Kladder Family sat lakeside enjoying one another’s company and soaking up the hot-hot sun. We grilled, played corn hole and birdie ball, watched the kids play in the water, played in the water ourselves and took boat rides. This annual weekend at the lake is one of our favorite family traditions.
While we are on the subject of the Kladder Family, we celebrated Jeff’s parents 15 year wedding anniversary this past weekend with a fancy dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse followed by a night cap on the J Deck at the JW Marriott. During dinner the family shared fun memories from the past 15 years and, specifically, we discussed how Mari joining the family has made our lives whole: everything from how Dad’s wardrobe changed (for the better!) to how the dinner menus changed at home (for the better!), and more seriously, we talked about the giant impact both have made on our lives and the lives of their grandkids. It was a very special night and was made even better by the fact we all felt extremely grateful for a night out on the town - something that’s become a rarity. As a gift, we ordered a corsage and boutonnière from New Design Floral in Cherry Hill. They were adorable!!
Natalie completed her first tennis camp last week through East Grand Rapids Parks & Rec. Her review: “It’s boring.” - Not very surprising because I was equally as bored watching. The camp was run by the EGR high schoolers and while they were really sweet with the kids they weren’t the most efficient of leaders. In other words, there was a lot of standing around and waiting which is probably the biggest reason Natalie got bored. Yesterday we were able to get on the court to hit a few balls with the kids. Jeff played in high school so there’s a bit of knowledge and skill he can share with Team Kladder as we continue to develop this new sport together.
Last week Natalie hosted her first slumber party with our neighbor girl, Vienna, from next door. The girls were living the dream in their matching PJs, baking pink cupcakes and playing with their dolls. They even got to stay up late and watch a movie with popcorn. I was in my ‘mom’ element trying really hard not to be Amy Poelher from Mean Girls, “I’m not like a regular mom, I’m a cool mom!” The girls got strawberry Toaster Strudels for breakfast (something we never do) and decided they wanted to spend the rest of their morning together coloring before walking Vienna home.
We are also thrilled with recent news from Grand Rapids Christian Schools who sent out word this week that our school doors will reopen as planned on August 19th for in person classes. GRCS has outlined their plan on the new ‘reopening plan’ lander on their website and includes a series of 10 videos for parents and students to watch before school begins next month.
Thomas, who will attend Grace Church Preschool for the first time this year, is also expected to return to in-person classes next month. The school director has shared new safety protocols as well as including reduced parent entry protocols, masks for teachers, additional sanitation measures and spacing out recess times for each of the three classes. Thomas is very excited for his first day of school.
It is no surprise that Jeff and I have been doing our fair share of golf this summer. Jeff and his partner Nate qualified for the Audi Cup and will compete for that next week. In addition to my usual women’s league on Wednesday nights I joined my friend Shantel at her home course of Blythefield for their Annual Women’s Invitational and had a great time. We came in third and walked away with $160 in skins!
I still very much miss my usual routine of early morning workouts at The Dailey Method. For the last few months my high energy spin classes have been replaced with walks around our neighborhood - not the same type of workout, but it does provide me a lot of time to listen to podcasts. Right now I keep toggling between The Daily from the New York Times, which is a daily deeper dive into current newsworthy topics, as well as The RobCast which is Rob Bell’s podcast.
This morning Rob was joined by his wife Kristen as a co-host and part of their discussion focused on the fragility of life. Pretty heavy stuff for 6:30am. My thoughts immediately steered towards a friend from my past who recently lost his incredibly adventurous (a nicer way to put it) battle with brain cancer. It’s hard to pinpoint the first time I met David Wenzel but if I had to guess it would have likely been a vision of him dancing on the bar top on the second floor of Rockies on a Friday night just before closing time. I imagine him looking similar to the image below (with the red pocket square) which was taken at my and Jeff’s wedding, on the dance floor… David’s wife Lori (then girlfriend) was his date that evening -she’s the hottie in the lower left hand corner.
A lot has changed between those late night bar moments and now, for the both of us. We went from singles to married with kids and moved East of downtown into homes with those families - like you do in Grand Rapids. But unlike me and unlike most, David had a constant reminder that life is fragile and it took the form of cancer shaped like chicken wire that spread throughout his brain. The reminder was harsh at times, gradual at others but always constant.
David will be missed.
The remainder of July will bring more time for golf, slow days at the lake and we are looking forward to our annual U.P. trip at the end of this month. If you missed our latest camping trip you can read about it here. Wishing you fun filled days, lazy summer nights and plenty of popsicles poolside.
