October 2022 Newsletter
Hi everyone!
Welcome to the October 2022 installment of The Kartography Newsletter...
It seems like October flew by; but, we did a bunch of fun things together, made a lot of headway on laying the groundwork to join our respective households, and had some unexpected good fortune come our way!
Taylor and Riley each have straight As and Bs in school.
Unable to decide whether the pen is mightier than the rake, Kevin has been splitting his time between writing and gardening (although we sort of missed the window on planting a fall/winter garden; so, the "rake" half has been slowing down a bit).
And, Athennia left her job of five years to head for greener pastures after being headhunted and cold-called directly by the CEO! (She's still in the realm of optics, though she'll probably never touch a fiber again: It's lasers, mirrors, and scopes now.)
But, without further ado, here's the scoop on our adventures this month...
Rain on Our Parade
October started off on the soggy side; so, we had to improvise that first weekend. We tried our hands at being mallrats, and saw some wicked flooding at Tyler State Park...
Homework, Housework, Dark Park, Tex Mex
Riley finally got a long-overdue futon; then we introduced her to Dark Hollow Park, climbed a mountain, and had dinner at the wildly eccentric Mad Mex for the first time since Kevin's birthday back in February...
Stream Me Up, Scotty!
Athennia and Kevin walked a creek and cut their teeth on rock pizza at Tyler State Park. Also, have you ever been curious about Asian woolly hackberry aphids? (Let's be honest: you know you have.)
In Tyler Straits
Riley became a pumpkin head, and Kevin and Athennia confronted the Danger Dam! There was also a snake, a trip to the bar in the middle of the afternoon, and some tiramisu; but, not a picnic... NEVER a picnic!
Nature with a Bit of Nurturing
We went to the Churchville Nature Center and met our new niece Hannah! (No, of course not at the same time: Sheesh; she wasn't even a week old yet!) Then we returned to Dark Hollow Park...
Dark Hollow?! AGAIN???
We returned to Dark Hollow yet again, but this time at a new location we'd never visited before. (This is also the post where we discuss how Athennia's new job came about.)
Funnel Cake and Dodgeball
We ate dodgeballs and watched Funnel Cake! (That doesn't sound quite right; but, we did something along those lines.) Also, Athennia finally got to meet Kevin's long-time family friends Rick and Dee...
Let's Party, Then Let's Idle
We went to Athennia's good friends Emily and Orlando's Halloween party and watched Guy Fieri, Super Mario, and a few other goofballs compete in a hot sauce challenge. (Kevin dressed up as Athennia's ex, because he's classy like that.) Then we checked out Idlewood Park...
Happy Hallow—Wait; Why Is it Raining?
Athennia started her new job (and loves it!), and we took Riley trick-or-treating and visited a couple haunted houses for a memorable first Halloween together...
That wraps up October! Hopefully we'll get to see most of you at Thanksgiving in a couple weeks :)
Cheers!
Kevin & Athennia & Riley & Taylor