Rapp Strategies Rundown – July
Here’s what we did, read, watched and thought about this month.
Todd R.: Watched a lot of Bluey and Miss Rachel on television this month. Most of the plots seemed similar, but I enjoyed the nuances of the relationships. Had multiple good meals of peas, carrots and closely diced chicken, with the occasional small peanut butter sandwich square. Read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, which seems to have many parallels to the Ottoman War. The children’s museum was fabulous, as always. Did I mention my two granddaughters came for a 15-day visit?
Rich: July began with a week-long family vacation in The Hamptons. We were at the house rented by my sister-in-law Cynthia, and her wife Laurie. It was one month since Cynthia died and it was so nice to be together as a family. Lots of great remembrances of Cynthia and the wonderful experiences we shared. Plenty of tears and joyful laughter. We all have more grieving to do, but every day it gets easier.
A few days after we returned from New York, I came down with COVID. A reminder that we will all have to live with this virus for a long time. Luckily, I was not too sick and back out within 5 to 6 days. Emma and Andy came from New York to celebrate the marriage of one of Emma’s best friends, Martha Polacek. We all had a great time. It was fun to see so many of Emma’s and Martha’s friends and families.
Of course, I got some golf accomplished. With all the rain and other things going on, I have not played as much as I’d like to. Hope to catch up before the snow flies. Finally, our family is celebrating the Olympic Games. We all love the Olympics and have spent fun nights gathered to watch the competition.
Todd S.: The Stone family has rediscovered its love for the series, Arrested Development, as both dudes are old enough to appreciate the rapid-fire humor and clever looping of ridiculous plot lines. Of course, no summer is complete without a superhero movie, so we checked out Deadpool & Wolverine during its opening weekend. Lots of f-bombs and one-liners, though perhaps straining a bit in this third chapter. We are very excited that my mother-in-law recently moved to Minnesota from East Texas. The 90-degree days felt familiar to her; I doubt she’ll feel the same in January.
Jodi: July was a busy month with family and friends and full of summer activities! The mosquitos have vacated the premises and been replaced by various species of woodpeckers consuming massive quantities of suet (and pecking many holes in our cabin). Grilling, reading, and relaxing were this month’s goals. Mission was accomplished. I’ve mastered this awesome arugula watermelon salad with a grilled pork tenderloin. I finished Lessons in Chemistry and The Art Thief, and worked as a tag team duo with Jim on a Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle book. We each bring a different knowledge base to this activity, and together are pretty unstoppable at conquering the best of Will Shortz. I closed out the month with an annual Girls’ Weekend at the lake – nearly a dozen years now, and it remains a highlight of my summer.
Sean: As we enter the home stretch of summer, I can’t help but lament the time passed, while still trying to make the most of what we have left.
We had an amazing July that was once again filled with trips to the cabin, family bike rides and an ever-expanding vocabulary from James. His mannerisms continue to astound his parents, who are in awe of the little things he picks up from watching us and others. My current favorite? Learning to kick a ball around the house. I’m sure I will regret this when the ball starts leaving the ground and finding objects around the house to smash into but until then, watching him actively decide to kick a ball rather than pick it up brings a tear to my eye.
We tried to get out of the house as much as possible, but still made time for some rest and relaxation indoors (especially now that we’ve got the air conditioner back up and running). This home time included binging The Bear, finally finishing Three Body Problem (which Rosie reminded me she had read during every episode that aired) and taking in House of the Dragon. Wrapping up the summer with a family reunion, one more trip to the cabin and dragging James out to watch his old man try to keep his athletic skills intact on his men’s league soccer team.
Anna: This month included lots of playground visits, popsicles in the backyard and Owen’s new favorite food – corn on the cob. Our family had a blast on our mini staycation, where we visited the Minnesota Children’s Museum, biked, swam and played in the sand at the beach, picked out some books from Red Balloon Bookshop, and enjoyed a lovely meal on the patio at French Meadow. Ike and I watched Gladiator together. It was too brutal for me, but Maximus is certainly an impressive character. I’ve also been an avid listener of Jeremy Camp’s latest album, Deeper Waters. I appreciate how real his music is about the struggles and comfort of faith.
Meredith: The best word to describe July for the Mitts household is exhausting. I have no idea how we accomplished everything we did in July. We were able to see friends and family from a total of seven states (FL, IL, MO, IA, AZ, TX, MN), and were thrown two baby showers. Outside of that, some highs from the month include setting up the nursery, seeing family, attending the water lantern festival and doing a massive purge of the house. The lows – needing to buy a new AC and furnace system and spending a week worried about our kitten’s health/providing her with around the clock care. Though I loved July, I hope August calms down a bit so we can relax before the baby comes.
Cullen: Most of my July weekends were spent at the cabin or enjoying walks and bike rides through Madison. The best of them featured a weekend-long bachelor party with 27 holes of golf, poker and bags tournaments, lots of fishing, and an 18-mile canoe trip down the Brule River. Despite the packed schedule, reconnecting with my closest friends and spending plenty of time outdoors was extremely rejuvenating.
Before returning home to Madison, I joined a couple of friends at the final day of the 3M Open where I learned that golf is an extremely underrated sport to watch in person! Getting to walk around and see your favorite athletes up clos sure beats sitting in a stadium seat for hours – plus the beer is much cheaper!
Other highlights of the month included a fantastic date night at Graze, followed by Moulin Rouge at the Overture Center, and capped off with drinks at the new and improved Mint Mark. I also had the opportunity to visit Rapp Strategies’ new office for the first time! I’ll miss downtown, but as a mostly-remote employee I’m excited for our in-office team to have a new space to make their own as our business grows.
Julia: I spent much of July on the water. In just a few weeks, I am doing my first sprint triathlon. So, I finally ordered a swim buoy, strapped on a swim cap, and have been out in the lakes practicing my open water swimming. I also celebrated a friend’s birthday on a pontoon on the St. Croix, took my first ride on the Minneapolis Water Taxi off Boom Island and have been spending as much time on the beaches that are not closed for E.coli as I can (what a weird summer for our lakes!). I am also running a half marathon in September, so my warm weather runs continue!
I can’t believe how fast summer has been going, but I have a great August planned, including seeing T-Pain and Ludacris at the State Fair Grandstand. I find this is a strategic move for a Minnesota summer—end it with a bang. While I have not had time to watch many new TV shows or read new books, I am going to try hard to see Twisters in theatres while I can.
Alida: I can’t believe July is over! I’m glad to report that I spent quality time outside throughout the month, swimming, biking, walking, picnicking etc. I even took my cat outside for a couple of “walks.” I also had a great long weekend with family and friends in Northern Wisconsin over the fourth. I ended the month with a lovely weekend in Chicago, helping Jacob’s mom move out of her house and up to Minneapolis!
