Tennis Senior Night

We celebrated Senior Night for tennis on September 15th. Graydon ended up playing a marathon three-hour match that evening against a friend of his who attends Edinburgh. He ended up losing, but the kid, Braydon, and his family were so nice that the whole thing was still very enjoyable (well, for us, maybe not for the boys who were utterly exhausted after playing so long in the heat!) 

Graydon and his good friend, Damyon.

A handshake from Coach/Dad.

Our Seniors: Graydon, Brady, and Joel. (Can you tell that Joel is also a basketball player!)

Brocktoberfest 2026

Two weeks after my parents' anniversary weekend, we were back up in WI for another family celebration: Brocktoberfest! Bella and Graydon couldn't make it this time, but Andy, Curtis, and I were free.

Aunt Bia brought wine for tasting.

Curtis and Andy challenged each other to wagon basketball.

We let Curtis have a small glass of beer. Technically, he'd be of legal age in Germany.

Kristen made commemorative Brocktober Fest glasses for everyone to bring back year after year.

My mom's cotton candy machine was a hit with the kids!

Nothing like a good brat with sauerkraut and mustard!

The animals were nice enough to share their farm with us for the day.

Andy running toward the ball in a competitive game of kickball!

Catching up with Mary. If you zoom in on my face, you can see the exact moment I was bit by a mosquito!

My cousin, Matt, takes us on a hayride each year. I always love this portion of the evening.

Brocktoberfest Bingo!

Tired but happy.

August Randoms

Andy had to work at a golf outing for his company. Here are some pics he took from that event.

Sorry for the gross foot pics, but my feet were attacked by chiggers after a hike. (I'm assuming it was from the hike). This was significant enough for me that I need it documented. In addition to my feet, I had bites on my legs. I counted 87 bites. They were SO itchy and wouldn't go away. They just turned to bumpy blisters and were still itchy a month later! This pic is from when some of the inflammation went down. 

The main reason I still update this blog is so I can print out the book and have documentation of our family stories. It's always an exciting mail day when a new book arrives.

My friend Jen sent me this lounge set for my birthday. I sent her this photo to show that it fits perfectly. I think comfy clothes are my new love language.

Curtis and I went out for burgers on my birthday and the restaurant had a Happy Birthday banner in the entryway. I decided to take a selfie in front of it. Naturally.

I don't fully know the context of this photo, but it had something to do with Curtis helping out with our youth basketball program.

I'm starting to tell myself that mess is the boys' way of saying "I love you, Mom." Because if that's the case, they love me SO much! 

50th Anniversary Weekend

My parents celebrated 50 years of marriage on August 28th, 2026. Our family all came together that weekend to celebrate with them. 

On Friday evening, our immediate Benetti family had dinner together at Birchwood Grill. Here is the happy couple!

Bella and Uncle Jeff accidentally showed up twinning!

The following day was the big party with extended family and friends on the rooftop of The Apis in downtown Kenosha. 

Bella painted this sign.

Before all the guests arrived, we snapped a quick pick at the original Benetti 9. 

Reading the list of our signature cocktails for the event. Each name had significance to our family in some way.

Here is the list.

The "San Antonio" was my favorite.

Mom, Lori, and Aunt Cindy (my mom's sister).

I arrived early to help set up. Shortly before the start time of the party, Andy called me and, long story short, I had our van keys with me while he and the kids were 20 minutes away at my parents' house with the van and no keys. They ended up needing to take an Uber! I did feel bad about that, but it all worked out.

This is a mixture of grandkids and great-nieces and nephews.

Grandma Helen and my cousins, Bridget and Matt.

Zoe and Michael. 

Kilps boys.

Nora and Rose.

Me, Lori, and Bridget with Bridget's girls, Emery and Evelyn (Lou).

Rose and Bella.

My brothers! Scott and Jeff.

Aaron, Andy, Branko and Michael.

The rooftop was the perfect location for this party.

Pat, Lori, Conrad, and the Kilps kids.

Grandpa Mike and Michael.

Jeff and Jodi shared a few words about our parents along with some family stories.

Kristen made this family tree as their gift. The leaves at the bottom lists the names of pets we had throughout the years.

Then my dad got up and shared some words about his love for my mom and their relationship. I just tried to soak in the moment of almost all the people I love most in the world gathered together for such a happy celebration.

Kristen with Ann and Tom Ouradnik. My mom and Ann have been friends for decades and we grew up playing with their kids.

Rose and Nora.

Four Generations: Grandma Helen, my Mom, Me, and my kids!

All the Michaels: Jeffery MICHAEL, the original MICHAEL Benetti, MICHAEL Donovan, and Curtis MICHAEL!

The party is starting to wind down,

Gathering all the flowers and vases back together. They look pretty like that.

I loved this day and will travel back here in my mind when I need a little dose of joy.