It has been a full week here at the Kladder household. Between busy work schedules, teacher conferences, fundraising events, after school activities and the commotion happening at Steelcase right now (more to come on that in a second) … I am very much enjoying this relaxing Friday afternoon at home with the time to blog-it-out.
First, about Steelcase. Last week our CEO announced a reduction to our North American budget by $20 million, totaling the amount of 180 jobs which begins next week. The mood around the office has been, to say the least, very somber. Despite the news, work continues and my team is busier than ever preparing for the fall campaign set to unfold later this month. We’ve tried to keep a cheery tone by cracking jokes on set, eating lunch together and remembering that with change comes opportunity.
One of the brighter parts of the week was the Grace’s Gala celebrating Grace’s Table - the nonprofit where I serve as part of the board of directors. This was my second year acting as the chairperson for the event and I’m proud to say that we raised over $57,000 through our live and silent art auctions, ticket sales and sponsorships. The event was hosted at the Downtown Market again this year and we had a great time drinking wine and bringing more awareness around the need to support teen moms in our community. Jeff and I even came home with one of the art pieces which I look forward to finding place for in our home later this weekend.
Another bright spot in our week included teacher conferences were we got to hear about how both kids are doing in the classroom at school. We love our teachers and are extremely grateful for the guidance and education they bring to our children. Both Natalie and Thomas were described as kind, funny and ‘friends to all’ - which down right melts my heart.
Natalie continues to show interest in the ‘girlie’ sports like cheerleading and more recently gymnastics. We just signed her up for weekly classes at GR Gymnastics and she’s pumped about her new sparkly blue leotard. Natalie wraps up golf next week which means ski season is right around the corner!
Thomas has two more weeks of soccer and has recently shown a ton of interest in football. He asks to play catch nearly everyday after school. It’s likely a result from both the fall football season all over our television screen these days, but also, a product of the neighborhood boys leading the trend.
Last week I joined Thomas and his class for a field trip to Robinettes and we came home super ready for fall. The kids (and me too) learned about different kinds of apples that are grown there, how to make apple cider the old fashioned way, enjoyed a wagon ride and ate donuts! It was my kind of morning.
This morning the kids at Grand Rapids Christian ran laps around the track at the high school for the annual Eagle Dash fundraising event. In weeks leading up to the event each kid secures donors for money that goes towards the PTO budget. The dollars from the PTO fund things like school field trips, teacher appreciation and more. The kids love it because they get rubber bands for each lap completed (and snacks) and the parents love it because it’s just plain cute.
For the first time ever Jeff and I went to Ford Field with a party bus full of friends to see the Lions home opener last month. The stadium was incredibly beautiful and despite the Lions losing (surprise!) we had a blast.
The Watermark Womens Association hosted our final outing of the year with a super fun Vegas theme. We played terrible but had the best time! And while golf season is pretty much complete for me, Jeff continues… he has made it to the championship round for the Watermark President Cup and will play for the title this weekend. Go, babe, go!
Last weekend Jeff enjoyed more golf with his high school friends on their annual guys golf trip. At the same time, our kids hung out with my parents for the weekend and I headed over to Chicago for a girls weekend to celebrate one of our besties Cassie! We had entirely way too much fun together grabbing drinks, shopping and getting pedis. The highlights for me included our Saturday morning SoulCycle class, the gnocchi from Valore and dancing our faces off until early Sunday morning. So. Fun.
Jeff and I also enjoyed the Bid & Benefit Art of Health event raising funds for University of Michigan Health. It’s always fun to get out for a night on the town and run into familiar faces. The event took place at The High Five GR event space which is perfectly located across the street from a local favorite, the Cottage Bar, where we ended our night with a night cap and some chips and salsa.
We also met up with friends downtown a few weeks ago for ArtPrize with the kids where we reminisced about the ‘good ole days’ when ArtPrize first came out. We walked through the Amway Grand, the hallways of DeVos Place, the Ford Museum and even the BOB - which is back, by the way. Good news, or maybe not, nothing’s changed inside. The kids had a blast running around together and after two hours of art-walking we grabbed tacos at Luna before calling it a night.
And tonight is date night with reservations at Nonna’s in Ada which is, outside of soccer tomorrow morning, our only real plans this weekend. I foresee a crockpot of chili in our near future. Have a great weekend everyone.
POSTSCRIPT… another thing worth mentioning:
Our house was featured at the Ottawa Hills Library celebrating the 100 year anniversary of our neighborhood with a fun write up and photo on display last month. We love the history that surrounds our community.
