Memorial Day 2021

 

As we create space to remember and honor those who have sacrificed everything for our freedom, may we never take any of it for granted...

He is finished with elementary school...

This last Wednesday was Ryder's fifth grade promotion.  We started the morning with doughnuts and photos and having Kit take the day off...

He gave a speech at the promotion and absolutely killed it!

I absolutely love our school and our teachers.  It was so fun to be on campus!

I can't believe that we are headed for middle school!

Eden wasn't able to come to the promotion, but she was able to be on campus with her teacher, which made it feel like she was there! 

We then drove to the Victory Diner in Orange for lunch, per Ryder's request:

It was a really sweet day, remembering and celebrating the last 6 years that Ryder has had in his elementary school experience.  We are so proud of this kid and we are over the moon thankful for our school and out teachers.

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Today is the last day of school and so we are planning to take full advantage of being off together as a family and welcoming summer together! 

Last games and closing ceremonies...

 This last weekend, Ryder had his last season game and Eden had her last soccer game.  Eden played goalie and blocked over 15 goals.  It was her first time in that position and LOVED it! Then we had closing ceremonies for baseball.

I got my pin! Let's be honest, it's why we play sports...

This season was a hard one for our baseball family.  We ended the season with two wins.  We learned so much about ourselves as character was built on and off the field.  Man, the way a person handles losing tells you so much about that person.  Ryder is such a stud.  We have always encouraged him to find the people on the field that are better than he is, whether on the same or opposing team.  That can do two things: keeps you growing and keeps you humble.  He learned so much about himself, how he evaluated and made changes, and kept moving forward.  His attitude was always up and positive.  His perspective was always in check.  He is such a leader and such an amazing teammate...  We are looking forward to All Stars, continuing to find the people that encourage us to grow and stay humble.  His eyes are open to all the ways that he can be a better athlete o and off of the field. To our baseball family and community, we love you all so much! 

While I was away...

 ...I really missed these three. Kit was so sweet to send me photos of their adventures...

It's so nice to all be home together!

An Idaho adventure...

 Last week I got back from my trip to McCall, Idaho... We had so much fun!  Flying with my sister was such a treat... even if it was in pandemic style:

Palm Springs airport was so pretty:

As soon as we landed and got to be with our cousin, we grabbed food, which of course involved fries and sauces at Boise Fry Company:

The two hour drive to McCall was just so beautiful!

All of the old homes and barns along the way were just so beautiful!

We went for a walk after we arrived and found our first morel mushroom!

The next day we started our day at Stacey Cakes for breakfast before our hike to Goose Creek Falls:

We headed out for a 7 mile hike to see the water falls and to hunt for morels!

My new boots!

Then we had lunch at a town favorite!

Then we got to stay in our cousin's aunt and uncle's house on the lake... But first we headed to their hangar to grab paddle boards for the next morning:

The house is incredible and we were able to spend two nights there!

We went paddle boarding while we looked for moose!

(We didn't see one, but we did see a bald eagle, otter, and a white fox... Next time we will see a moose for sure...)

After our paddle boarding, we made another trip to Stacey Cakes:

(And we got to be wit Miss Stacey herself!)

Then we headed to the Smoke Jumper Base where my cousin Todd has worked for close to 20 years:

We had so much fun learning about this base and what all the smoke jumpers do!

This is my cousin jumoing...

This is what is in their packs...

They sew their own parachutes and inspect them with this machine:

Their sewing room:

There are 4 bases in the country.  The first was in Washington, built in 1939.  The McCall base was built in 1943.  Smoke jumpers taught Army Airmen in the 101st and 82nd for World War II on how to jump out of planes...  I took lots of notes for Ryder and we loved it all...

We ended our day with dinner with the family, an evening walk where I found one more morel, then played sorry.  We woke up the next morning in the beautiful house, drinking coffee, enjoying the view, then ate lunch at the Bistro before our 2 hour drive back to the airport...

We had an amazing trip, with intensely beautiful conversations and fabulous adventures.  

We are already planning our next trip!