Ann Baumgardner
Watermelon, peaches, blueberries! Who needs Paris when you have such amazing fruits in season? My husband Erich and I picked and processed many pounds of blueberries and peaches for our basement freezer. In addition to my foray into fruit, I spent a week with Mom in her retirement community in NE Ohio where I played piano duets, pickle ball and card games with Mom and her neighbors and friends. My husband and I celebrated our 35th anniversary with our daughter and son-in-law in Indy for a weekend, and we went to a late-summer Reds game. I took lots of walks in the morning before work and enjoyed getting together with friends and family.
Lauren Burke
We went to Vermont at the beginning of the summer and enjoyed the lake and cheese. We also went to Outer Banks and then hung out together at home the rest of the summer.
Rob Clark
We took a vacation to South Carolina with family and extended family. We had a good summer at the pool. On a personal note, I had an awesome show with my band this summer, and we have another one coming up at Halloween.
Audrey Cobb
Justin and I had a great vacation in Maine this summer along with his parents with lots of camping and hiking! Much quality time gardening and spending time with family! I’ve included a photo from our vacation.
Ceara Comstock
Summer was busy, great and quick. My son, Kellen, graduated this spring from college and his graduation gift was a trip to California together. We explored San Francisco and drove along the coast. We were amazed at the size of the Redwood trees, and I enjoyed having that unique time with him. We went whale watching and had other adventures together. It was rejuvenating, and I am glad to be back.
Mandy Crouch
We have a new puppy named Piper, and I have never had a dog in my whole life! My daughter has wanted a dog forever and has been leaving hints for years with powerpoint presentations and pictures in cupboards. Our family is thrilled with this new wonder in our home.
Margaret DeMichelis
My summer has held two momentous, life-changing events. 1) Joining the TNSM team: I’ve been working for two years to reach this milestone—classes at Xavier, substitute teaching, interviewing for jobs–and I’m so, so, so excited to be here. 2) Spending two weeks in a cabin on a lake in the Adirondacks with a rotating cadre of family members, including (drumroll, please…) My 14-month-old grandson, Elliott—an amazing, incredible, magical new person, who lives in Vancouver, so I don’t get to see him very often. We got to play and play, make up games, get started on a lifetime of canoeing, ponder the difference between throwing a rock in the lake and throwing a ping pong ball in the lake and that sort of thing. And, of course, the delight of handing him back to his parents when he got fussy or needed a diaper. The world has held many cute babies, but I defy anyone to show me a cuter baby than Elliott. So, it’s been a busy summer…and I have the impression that the pace of my life won’t be slowing down any time soon.
Liz Ellis
I spent most of my free time this summer crafting and reading. I embroidered, knitted sweaters and blankets, and sewed a pirate dress for this Halloween. I also took a weekend trip to St. Louis with my boyfriend Lucas. We explored all the touristy places: the zoo, museums, Tennessee Williams’ childhood home, etc. We also made time to go to a Reds game (or is it a Cardinals game?) at Busch Stadium.
Marin Emanuel
I stayed in Cincinnati this summer and spent a lot of time picking up trash around Price Hill.
Jean Eschenbach
My daughter, Noa, is in 6th grade this year, so we’re pretty excited about her senior year. We got to go to the beach in South Carolina for some relaxing. We got Kings Island passes this year with the goal to ride the Beast but ended up loving all of the rides!
Ximena Flores
This summer, I went back home to Quito, Ecuador at 9000 ft. above sea level for more than two months. It was wonderful, sharing the incredible variety of landscape, weather and diverse environments that Ecuador has to offer with my family. In a matter of minutes, the temperature can change 5 to 10 degrees. You can go from the mountains to the coast to the jungle–and even the Galapagos Islas. We went to the middle of the world where scientist measure the equator line and of course we stood on the balance, standing an egg right on it. Anywhere you go it can turn into an amazing adventure. We went to Mindo, a place in the way to the jungle where you can enjoy the perfect weather, cacao beans, humming birds and incredible vegetation. Even in the busy chaotic Quito, you can find the beauty of the colonial architecture, the singularity of special food and old fashioned sweets and the numerous delicious fruits. The truth is that no matter where you are with family is the best place to be.
Let the pictures tell: Ecuador full of “encantos” (charms).
Jeff Groh
We spent time in Louisville, KY and went to Germany to see family there. We enjoyed evenings at the beer garden and enjoyed all of the food. We are excited about Jakob going into the (9-12) for the first time and Lena being in 2nd grade.
Kara Hill
We have four children 11, 9, 3, 2. We spent a lot of time with family out of town and went to the beach to celebrate our parents’ 50th anniversary.
Marissa Johnson
I’m getting married in October, so I did a lot of planning over the summer.
Robby Lewis
I had all these plans to build projects, but the summer got away from me. We had family from England who came to visit and my father-in-law moved to Cincinnati and helped with our 2-year-old.
Lydia Neiheisel
Went to Tennessee and went to Florida.
Nadja Nether
Splash pads, hikes, bike rides, weddings, new babies, family and friends. Our summer was filled with small special moments. The highlight was when my mom from Brazil came to visit us. For the first time, she saw Cincinnati glowing in the summer. We had so much fun touristing, and showing her our favorites sites in Cincy! In the picture Lucas, my mom, and I are riding the train at the zoo.
Emily Olexsey
Enjoyed the time with the kids and summer adventures, biking and hiking in South Carolina.
Catherine Pray-Bollmann
Somehow, the Bollmann family schedule got even busier than it typically is during the school year!! While our son, Michael, was finishing up an amazing spring baseball season, and our daughter, Julianna, an incredible year with the Cincinnati Marlins swim team, we jumped right into daily summer swim team practices, weekly swim meets, 3x a week tennis classes, and weekend soccer training sessions, making June a pretty exciting month! For most of July, it was pretty much the same until it all came to an end. The kids participated in an intense weeklong soccer camp at Xavier University, and then it was finally time to pack up and head north to our cabin on Lake Superior in the northernmost part of Wisconsin. There, we spent a relaxing, wonderful two-week vacation with the Bollmann and Pray (Catherine’s parents/siblings) families. Swimming, kayaking, hiking, playing charades, doing puzzles, and catching frogs and toads (my children’s favorite thing to do – see the attached picture), was a great way to end the summer.
Casey Rodriguez
Highlight is babysitting some student and their friends over the summer. I played sand volleyball and enjoying the town.
Gina Sabato
I spent the summer teaching yoga and a mindfulness and yoga camp in Loveland.
Maureen Simon
I went to Montana with the hopes to spend time in Yellowstone, which closed, but luckily opened up for 1 day at the end of our trip. I went with my sons and husband and extended family. It was beautiful. One of my sons headed off to college and I had all of the emotions that go along with that. I spent a few amazing days with all of my siblings in Indiana in a cabin.
Laura Slanker
I went to the pool a lot and swam laps. I helped my mom celebrate her 90 th birthday, and I read a lot of books.
Sally Soderlund
I worked the summer program at TNSM, which was amazing, and didn’t know what to do for 2 weeks and did aqua aerobics. I spent time with family and learned the importance of reconnection. I went to Michigan and am looking forward to a trip to England.
Emilie Spatz
Boxes, boxes, and more boxes! This summer has been crazy with trying to pack for a 9 and a half hour move from New Jersey to Ohio. My husband faithfully finished out his job as a youth pastor at the church he grew up in and I spent my time packing as much as we could before summer events took over. Summers get quite busy with our youth group, as we had our summer camps and other summer programs. Also in the midst of the busyness, I took my first class (online) at Xavier University. Trying to pack and do school when you’re so busy was definitely not easy. Saying goodbye to friends and family was also not easy, as this is our first time being that far away from home (besides college), but we are ready for our next adventure.
Sarah Strietmann
This summer I spent about a month up north at my family’s cottage enjoying time with my parents, sister, and cousins. We boated, went berry and cherry picking, and spent hours laughing. While in Michigan, I also got engaged! David and I went hiking on one of our favorite trails and while looking over Lake Michigan he got on one knee and proposed! We were able to spend the summer celebrating with family and planning for a wedding! It was a summer to remember!
Phil Swenson
I enjoyed the extra time with our 5-month-old who is on the edge of crawling.
Lisa Tompkins
This summer was filled with a lot of home renovation projects.
Johnnyé White
We finished up a coffee and tea room and an outdoor amphitheater. The coffee shop should open up in the next month.
Sophia Dugan (3-6) Intern
I spent the summer at Xavier and spent time with family. My mom interned at The New School Montessori in the 90s when she was a Montessori teacher.