School's Out For Summer

 We are one week into summer break and I'm still using the quiet moments here and there to process the end of the school year. Paul and Elise are done with middle school.  No more school buses.  They are now freshmen in high school and will be starting at Lincoln with Lily at the end of August.  Paul is more eager and ready to leave middle school behind than Elise but both have excitement for high school even if it is masked by the high excitement for no school summertime for the next 10 weeks.  

Lily is now a 17 year old senior with her first job working at a local restaurant opening up in July around the corner from us.  She has had her drivers license for about six months now and just recently is starting to have the confidence and interest to drive on her own.  Her summer is looking to be quite full, continuing to compete with her club volleyball team into July, working, and adventuring with friends.

Paul had a rough spring, breaking his hand and needing to sit out of baseball for well over a month.  He finished his school year riding one last time with his biking crew of friends to school and back, played percussion with the band for maybe the last time (not his top elective choice in high school), and finally got the chance to eat the famous Reuben at Goose Hollow Inn on 8th grade promotion night.  His summer is looking pretty free.  A few more club baseball tournaments, maybe some tennis here and there, and lots of chill time.  He is motivated to earn money and is walking the talk, taking on special yard and house projects to earn a little bit.  

Elise finished up middle school with a couple really special moments.  She accompanied the choir at the end of year performance, playing Hallelujah, a song well above her skill level, beautifully.  She worked so hard to get it right.  She also created a beautiful art montage for the promotion ceremony piecing together various 8th grade art projects into an eye-catching large collage that served as an effective backdrop for pictures. We are proud of her.  She has dealt with quite a bit of sickness on top of having a hard time staying on top of her homework.   Her summer is also looking quite open and she is not motivated to work special house projects for money.  Getting her to eat right, exercise, and limit screen time is a daily battle.  She will continue with Girl Scouts into high school, and they are working on their silver award project focused on mental health resources in the community, volunteering, and doing fun things together throughout the summer.  

We said goodbye to Oma and Opa who are now enjoying summer in Chicago.  Nate and I celebrated 20 years of marriage with a weekend in Seattle.  First time we left the kids home alone.  We'd do it again.  

So here we are at the start of summer, living in our 12th year in our home on Irving Street with our 3 teenage high schoolers.  Our parenting is more listening, supporting, and trying to connect with them in the moments they give us here and there.  It's a big win when we get in some life coaching tips these days.

Pictures from late Spring 2026

Happy Hour with Oma and Opa on our porch before they headed back to Chicago.

Paul in a cast for all of May.

For Mother's Day, I requested pictures of my kids together outside.

Celebrating 20 years in Seattle. Spent most of it exploring various neighborhood street fairs.

Lily is 17!

Lily wanted family dinner at Din Tai Fung for her birthday.  Please note - Paul is in jeans!

Paul and Elise at 8th grade graduation.  

Elise in front of her community art project displayed at graduation.

Elise with her piano and German teacher Juliet who played such a big role in Elise being able to play Hallelujah with the choir.

Rose Festival weekend fun included competing in Dragon Boat again after a 20+ year break.  A lot more fun than I expected, even though I went in knowing it would be fun.  Nate also had the genius idea to watch the Rose Parade near a movie theater so we could enjoy fresh movie popcorn.  

Moose, Travel, TV

 

Given all the travel we have done so far this year, we are very grateful for how smooth it has been overall.  Lily's club volleyball has kept us on the move the most with trips to Seattle, Kansas City, Louisville, Las Vegas and this weekend in Spokane. It's always a treat to watch her in action on the court and see her work through the challenges of being a competitive athlete.  She's getting to the level and age where what's going on between her two ears is becoming more and more of a differentiator.  

Paul's club baseball season kicked off with a family trip down to Phoenix.  7 games across 4 days in the hottest recorded Phoenix temps ever in March (106).  Paul played a lot of third base and had some solid hits.  I'm so impressed by the boys playing through such tough conditions.  The camaraderie amongst the team is fun to watch.  Aside from baseball we had some nice pool time, visited old town Scottsdale re-living our Biegansky family trip from a few years ago, and Nate and Paul spent a day up in Sedona mountain biking with Portland friends.

A big highlight for me was taking Oma and Paul to Indian Wells to watch tennis.  Seeing Paul watch professional tennis in person for the first time was SO MUCH FUN.  He was blown away. We all had a blast cheering on the underdogs and watching the big stars strike the ball so cleanly and watch their mesmerizing footwork up close.  We had a blast.

Of our two cats, Moose is by far the most needy and loving.  His purr, cuddles, and desire to play fetch with us and a hairband bring us a lot of joy and calm.  Moxie is more chill, hanging out in the window bed and always looking for a lap to sit on.  

We have loved watching The Pitt, Shrinking, 30 Rock, Company Retreat, and even Love is Blind Germany Season 2.  Sitting in front of the TV under a blanket with cats sleeping on our laps while we all watch a show is simple bliss.

I started a new role at my company focusing more on employee and intern experience and less on actual recruiting.  We are very much still in a transitional phase post acquisition so time will tell.  I'm grateful to be employed.  Nate continues to be super busy in meetings what feels like all day every day.  I wish he could have a bit more of a reprieve between what is asked of him at work and all he does for his family.  I know it takes a toll at times.  Hopefully Michigan doing well in March Madness and some more summer travel yet to be planned will help.  

Here are a few more moments from 2026 thus far.

I showed Lily where Nate and I babymooned when she was in my belly over 16 years ago.

                                        

Watching Tennis with 2 cats on my lap and Paul next to me - happy place

Elise snapped this hilarious selfie with Moose 

Palm Springs for Indian Wells Tennis action with Oma and Paul.  Paul's first time

4 days of tennis action and fun in the sun.

Vegas weekend with Lily for her volleyball tournament.  

Phoenix. Eating In-and-Out.  Elise's first time.

Sunset hike with family in Phoenix, Papago Park

Family shot after Paul's last game. Girls were troopers too, watching so much baseball in the heat.

Nate and Paul had an epic mountain bike ride in Sedona with Portland friends

Oma and Opa all dressed up for a night out of dinner and dancing with friends.  We are looking forward to celebrating Easter with them next week.  Lots of traditions.  Solleier!

                                                        

Hello 2026! Glimpse back at 2025

Hello 2026!

Overall, 2025 was a touch more turbulent than we would have liked, with work being a big reason why—but we ended the year still employed, so that’s something. Elise started the year by receiving an ADHD diagnosis, which definitely helped explain some of her challenges. Navigating next steps has been challenging at times, but we are committed to figuring out how best to support Elise so her strengths can shine while we find ways to manage what’s especially hard for her. I won’t even get into the political climate 2025 brought—just acknowledging that it was frustrating and full of way too many WTF moments.

We had plenty of moments of pride for our kids. Paul has become increasingly conscientious about his responsibilities, especially with schoolwork. He really hit his stride during cross-country season, setting PRs and having fun with his fast friends. Lily made a verbal commitment to play volleyball in college. She also found a close connection with a special someone who brings her a lot of joy—he’s a great guy. We’re proud of Elise for continuing with piano, improving her German, and getting a lot better at ping pong. She’s a fast learner, and it’s fun to watch how quickly things come to her when she’s truly into something. And the way she handled her fourth surgery to address her leg-length discrepancy showed that even though her anxiety can rear its head, she is also incredibly brave.

December 2025 highlights included Oma and Opa celebrating 60 years of marriage (with Lolo surprising them), Paul and Elise turning 14 and reaching Lily in height, playing and cuddling with our new kitten Moose a lot (and Moxie too, when she allows it), Lily spending part of the holidays in Sunriver without us and having a blast, Nate turning 49 and enjoying a little getaway to the Gorge to help usher in a new age, and of course, fondue with Oma and Opa on New Year’s Eve.

It’s pretty amazing how full our December was, considering sickness hit us hard in tag-team style. Poor Elise was extremely sick starting Christmas morning, and Paul’s illness lingered throughout winter break. Still, all that downtime meant our holiday season overflowed with cat cuddles, cat-play entertainment, Gang Beasts, and ping pong. Lots of movies and shows were watched too—Elise and Nate got into Stranger Things, and Paul still loves the quick laughs 30 Rock brings.

By this time next year, Lily will be in the middle of her senior year and close to turning 18. Elise and Paul may very well have their driver’s permits. Nate and I will be tired—but also incredibly proud of our kids and of 20 years of marriage.

Here are just a few highlights from the last month in no particular order

Decorating the Christmas Tree together

Paul playing the Chocolate Game at his 14th Birthday sleepover.  Warms my heart that they requested to keep playing this family game tradition.  Lots of soccer fans in this group of friends (matching jerseys)

Siblings on P & E's 14th Birthday - catching up quickly to Lily in height.

Dinner at Portland City Grill for Oma and Opa's 60th wedding anniversary.  Lolo surprised them!

Elise's 14th Birthday party sleepover. She also requested to play the Chocolate Game.  Go figure.

Get together with good ol' friends before the Holidays kicked into higher gear.

We are so proud of Elise and how well she performed both her piano pieces but also her German Psalm reading.  Proud Oma and Opa too.

Decorating Christmas cookies together

Obligatory Christmas sibling pic

Christmas Eve meal - Moxie was ready for it.

Christmas morning.  Paul woke up feeling unwell but then perked up later in the day. Elise threw up shortly after this picture and was down for the count for several days. Ugh.

Cuddle time with Moose

Treehouse at Skamania to help celebrate Nate's Birthday for a 1-night getaway with Paul and Elise.

Taking down the Christmas tree and decor on New Years Eve

Family tradition of going through our jar of 2025 memories.  

Watching the ball drop East Coast time on full stomachs of cheese fondue

Fall 2025

Before a Christmas tree takes its place in our home today, I wanted to reflect on some of the moments the last couple of months served up.  

With Lily starting to drive more and more, Nate back at work 4 days/week, and Nate and Paul REALLY making it clear how much they love Toyota 4Runners, we bought their dream car.  It's fun to drive but the most fun was seeing just how happy Paul and Nate were and still are about getting to drive it.  Elise, Lily, and I like it a lot too but on a different level.

From an activities perspective, Elise continues to row with Rose City Rowing Club on the Willamette without much complaint and is super active with her Girl Scout troop.  She also really likes taking German lessons and asks me a lot about going to Germany.  I need to make that happen.  Paul had a lot of fun competing with his mountain biking team, running x-country, and continuing his tennis training.  He continues to be a super fun teammate and really enjoyed the improvements he saw this season while competing. 

Lily continues to really love volleyball and it shows with just how dedicated she is to improve.  It's fun to watch her hit the s*it out of the ball and only get smarter on the court.  She puts in the time to get stronger and smarter and her dream to play college volleyball continues to take shape. She made the team she wanted for club season too so her volleyball journey is about to kick into higher gear.  

  

I had a really good start to October visiting family in Chicago. I was spoiled with summer-like weather the whole trip.  Visiting my brother's grave, his new memorial bench overlooking Lake Michigan, hanging with family, and going to a UofM tailgating party with the friends and family that really knew my brother was what I came for. My sister and I laughed and cried so much together on that trip.  

One of Lolo's happy places is going to Cubs games and she took me to the final wildcard playoff game.  I get it!  Super fun atmosphere.  

A family picture on Eric's memorial bench recently installed near their Lake House in Fennville, Michigan at Pier Cove Park.  

I was most distraught at Eric's grave.  I was a bit blindsided by the intensity of emotion I'd feel being there.  It didn't bring a level of comfort like the bench did.  The finality of it, like the biggest punctuation period at the end of a sentence of the last line in a great novel can bring.  I didn't like the feeling one bit and I made the mistake of fighting it instead of leaning into it.

We had fun together exploring Holland Michigan too.  What a fun little town.

Family picture with Opa doing the signature Eric signal.  

A picture of my brother Eric exploring the beach near his bench.  My sister reminded me of this picture and I'm glad I found it.  

Elise underwent her 4th surgery this Fall in relation to her macrodactyly condition.  For the first time, it wasn't an operation on her special foot.  Instead, it was addressing her leg length difference.  The doctor said to Elise that she was putting Elise's growth plates to sleep in the tibia and femur of her longer leg.  This will hopefully give the other leg time to catch up during Elise's expected final growth spurt...and yes hopefully stop at the right time and not overshoot it.  This was a preventative surgery to have a lower chance of future pain related to mobility.  Elise made it clear in "Eric" fashion how she felt about it but overall she did great.  

Birthdays and Thanksgiving is what keeps us the fun kind of busy in November every year.  My Dad turned 88 and my mom turned 84!  I know it's kinda weird to say as a daughter but I'm simply super proud of them and what they do and endure on a daily basis.  It's great to have them back in Portland.    I'm inching closer to 50 too and felt the love.  Sharing a meal with friends of over 25 years was a highlight.

Thanksgiving with my parents and neighbors brought some fun laughs thanks to Elise and the secret dares everyone had.  I had to speak in an accent throughout the meal and Opa had to bring up the penny in conversation every chance he could are some examples.

Opa/Paul - soccer time

From a work perspective, the company I work for, Ampere Computing, was acquired by SoftBank, a Japanese conglomerate, and the deal officially closed this past week.  The CEO has an AI vision that we are now a part of.  I like to think the work we do designing technology for AI solutions will help solve humanity's issues and help empower humanity rather than replace it. From a personal perspective, it was nice to see my 5 years at the company get a bit of a reward and be part of a start-up that reached this point.

Nate's work has been more rocky, as his manager who he's known for 25 years was let go and he now has two new layers of management above him which are unknown quantities.  At least the company is now on more solid footing than it was a year ago.  Hopefully the seeds for a big turnaround have been planted.

Nate and I were spoiled with an overnight at Silcox Hut on Mount Hood celebrating one of our favorite friends turning 50.  Silcox Hut is part of Timberline Lodge, about a 30 minute hike up closer to the peak.  You can see that ski season is definitely not underway with how little snow there is.  Stunning views.