Ann Baumgardner
My sister and I had a girls’ weekend with Mom over the July 4th weekend. I also made my annual pilgrimage to my hometown later in the summer for a long weekend during our Carnation Festival and met up with high school friends, cousins, and spent time with Mom. My husband Erich and I spent a big part of the summer grandparenting our 4-month old grandson. Our backs, shoulders and wrists are sore from hoisting him to our shoulders, patting his back and swaying on his favorite squeaky floorboard to lull him to sleep. It’s been fun to see our daughter and son-in-law as parents, and we delight in spending time with all of them any chance we get!
Lauren Burke
My summer felt fast and slow at the same time. It was filled with lots of down time for relaxing with my family and then things moved quickly when my friends came into town and my family took a beach trip to Hilton Head.
JJ Brady
I really enjoyed having some time this summer to visit friends from near and far in various places in the U.S. and abroad. Early in the summer, I spent some time in Michigan and worked in Columbus on a small job with food photography and got caught on the way back home in Taylor Swift concert traffic! I helped out for a bit with a local summer camp and then toured around Europe seeing old friends in various countries. I visited Brussels, Berlin, Rome and Paris. One of the highlights was I went swimming in the Adriatic Sea every day for a week!
Rob Clark
We took a family camping trip to Stonelick State Park where we kayaked, fished and enjoyed the outdoors.
Audrey Cobb
This summer, I had my first trip by myself since I was in high school. Just a quick trip to Cleveland, but it felt like such an adventure! I also lost my dear friend Lucy this summer. He was my 21-year-old beautiful kitty cat and he lived a long and very happy life. He passed very peacefully at home with us, and I was so very happy to have that precious time with him. Many happy days of gardening and family. What could be better?
Ceara Comstock
I spent some time this summer gardening and tried some new melons. There are 17 feet of watermelon vines! They are just flowers at this point, but I hope to have lots of melons to share. I enjoyed my time with my adult children. This summer was the fastest one yet, but I am glad to be back and happy to be here.
Mandy Crouch
I went to see the Taylor Swift concert and really had a good time. Our family took a trip to Turks and Caicos where we tried a new water sport called “snuba.” It’s a mix of scuba and snorkeling. You can stay underwater with a hose that attaches to a little boat, and you can go deep and see the ocean life. It was in Turks and Caicos.
Liz Ellis
I took a long weekend trip with some friends to Philadelphia to see the Disney 100 exhibit. We also enjoyed visiting museums, eating cheesesteaks, and touring independence hall.
Jean Eschenbach
This summer, we took out some time to visit the beach and reconnect with old friends, including Winston here, who visited the (6-9) for a day, back in 2020. I also reconnected with some of my favorite authors and novels. My favorite new reads this summer have been The Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson, The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers, and Early Warning by Jane Smiley. The best re-read was by far Brave New World by Aldous Huxley; if you haven’t read that one since high school (like I hadn’t), it is worth revisiting today! Tutoring some of our awesome students throughout the break kept me growing as a teacher, in between all that reading. I’m excited to see everyone soon!
Ximena Flores
Going back home, Quito Ecuador, it is always a great opportunity to reaffirm that family is priority #1.
Even though Ecuador is going through terrible times. Mafia has taken over, thanks to an ex-president, Rafael Correa, that in the name of equality took advantage of the people that believed in him.
Jeff Groh
Took the kids to summer camps and worked in the 33 garden with Rob. Went to CostaRica with the family. Saw Springsteen at Wrigley Field.
Taryn Harris
I’m originally from Maryland – just outside of D.C. – and my husband of 6 years and I have been traveling in a tiny house school bus, living in various parts of the country, following my dance career. We recently lived in Las Vegas where I have been a cheerleader for the Vegas Golden Knights NHL Stanley Cup winners. I have a degree in Health and Physical Education and look forward to working with TNSM students this year in Specials PE. My husband and I are looking forward to putting down roots in Cincinnati where he has a wonderfully large family that we enjoy being with. We are excited to be in a close-knit community again.
Kara Hill
My family had a very magical summer! I enjoyed spending more time with my kids, traveling, and adding a new puppy to the house. She is a 9-month-old mixed-breed rescue named Jovie.
Ryonen Ignatius
I had a great summer that seemed to fly by more swiftly than usual! We had a lovely visit from close family as we settled into our new house. It was lovely to have both our boys at home again. The highlights of the season were spending time in my new garden, seeing Beyoncé in Louisville, and a fantastic trip to Pittsburgh to see the Reds beat the Pirates, and a fabulous afternoon at the Andy Warhol Museum.
Holly Lottman
I volunteered all summer at the Cincinnati Animal Care’s shelter. Everyone, go get a dog or cat! I painted the (3-6) hallway and took a ceramics class with my daughter, Brynnlee.
Robby Lewis
I spent this summer being with family, working on various house projects, and traveling to Michigan for a week. Our daughter, Josie (5 months) is a very happy baby and has her first two teeth! Lucile (3 years) is starting school at TNSM in August and couldn’t be more excited! My wife Beth returned to work in early June as a nurse at Children’s Hospital. Overall this summer has been low key and has been full of quality family time.
Lydia Neiheisel
We did a lot of swimming and the kids were on swim team. Went to Ireland (Guerin took a soccer ball with him as his carryon.) Maureen and Marissa took my daughter, Mae, to the Taylor Swift concert, and she had an amazing time!
Nadja Nether
This was a special summer break for me and my family. Ian, Lucas and I were able to go back to Brazil together to spend time with my mom and some of my favorite people from my childhood! Lucas loved running from the waves on the beach, eating popsicle and drinking coconut water every day!
Emily Olexsey
We did so much that I’m exhausted and am ready for school. We spent most of the summer in Michigan with adventures. The kids are so big and active and learning to do new things. They ride bikes and kayak by themselves.
Catherine Pray-Bollmann
The beginning of my summer started with me being asked to manage our summer swim team and teach myself how to create and run swim meets. I learned a lot of cool technology on how to create things like heat sheets and swimmer event lists. We ended up undefeated for the summer and my girls had a very successful swim season. Julianna ended up coming in first place in all her events for her championship meet! Then, on June 23rd, I played in my weekly soccer game and ended up fracturing my tibial plateau, which has put me on crutches for the last 8 weeks. I’m down to one crutch now and found out I don’t need surgery, so I’m on the up and up!! We took our annual summer vacation to our cabin up on Lake Superior in Wisconsin and had a wonderful time balancing playing on the beach and watching the women’s World Cup!!! Now we are knee deep in club soccer for all 3 kids and preparing for my oldest child, Michael, to start a new school at SCPA!!
Casey Rodriguez
To kick off the summer, some of my family and I stayed in WV for a long weekend of hiking, rock climbing, and white water rafting. The majority of my summertime was spent reading, playing games and enjoying time with friends and family. Near the end of the summer, my husband Jon and I traveled to Croatia and explored beaches, waterfalls and historic towns. It was exhausting, but very beautiful!
Maureen Simon
Our older son had an internship, and we saw him for 14 hours before he headed to college. He was offered a full time job when he graduates. We are thrilled! We got our other son set up in college too and look forward to a quiet house and happy sons.
Laura Slanker
I did a lot of cooking and swimming this summer, and I’m ready to be back!
Sally Soderlund
This summer, my big activity was ANOTHER trip to Salem, OR to visit my son, Lars, his wife, Laurel and their baby, Lloyd.
Emilie Spatz
This summer, my husband Michael and I went to Cancun, which was our first real vacation since we got married (almost 4.5 years ago). It was nice to just relax and get away for a week. We decided to do one cool thing while we were there – something we couldn’t do at home. We chose to go to Chichen Itza, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. We took a tour and learned about the Maya people and community. We also got to swim in a cenote (a natural wonder of the world), which was also a very cool experience. I also took some summer courses, napped, explored more of Cincinnati, and binged lots of TV shows. Oh, and we also visited our family back in NJ – which I don’t count as a real vacation because we get so busy seeing family and friends. To be honest, it’s more work than a vacation haha.
Cam Squire
I helped with a summer camp at Norwood High School this summer. I had a big family reunion in Massachusetts and went with a friend to Chicago. It’s been a full summer but was very fun.
Sarah Strietmann
This was an exciting summer for me, as I got married! David and I had the most perfect day surrounded by our family, friends, and loved ones. For our honeymoon we got to explore Edinburgh, London, and Paris!
Phil Swenson
Bears, owls and strawberries. (Life at home with a toddler). Flowers, strawberries, strawberries, strawberries.
Lisa Tompkins
A toddler-filled summer with trips to the pool and the zoo. My husband and I got away for a weekend in Chicago. It was amazing!
Johnnyé White
My summer was filled with all kinds of volunteer work at “The Oasis at Grace” with meals prepared every Wednesday night and a special production called “Door Exhibition / Bitter Fruit, Social Justice and the Art of Conversation” The exhibit showcased actual doors that were used to keep people out, but we used them in a positive way. I received an award and will be accepting it this fall.
Marissa White
Went on a few family trips this summer and went to Michigan. I also went to the Taylor Swift concert with Mae and Maureen and would love to talk about it.
Polly Wilson
I spent the break focusing in studio, listening to records with friends, swimming, reading, and working at the Price Hill Community Garden. A few highlights: spending a long weekend biking & camping with friends & joining a book club at the Peaslee Neighborhood Center. I unfortunately broke my arm in July, but it’s shown me what a kind and generous community looks like.