First Day of School

August 18, 2021

First day of SIXTH GRADE! I can't believe it.

First day of EIGHTH GRADE. I CAN believe that. She acts like an 8th grader. :) Ha!

Lainey had a great first day. Met new people, saw friends, likes her classes. She's already asking to go to Starbucks after school. ;) Walker had a tough first day. His hands hurt from writing, his backpack is too heavy, he didn't know anyone at lunch (they have assigned tables with assigned groups of people...thankfully this predicament changed though and now he knows one person who was in his class in fourth grade), his bus was an HOUR late AND it was really loud...he could go on. And he did. But thankfully, in hindsight, I think most of his issues are bus-related. The buses have been a DISASTER and the wait times out of control...so once that normalizes, I think we'll be okay. He doesn't get home until 4:00 p.m., and that's at least an hour (almost an hour in a half) later than he did last year. So that's hard. Walker likes his downtime between school and activities. :) (Side note: I pick up Lainey at 2:40 p.m. because she has an "athlete's schedule" - Walker doesn't finish school until 3:45 p.m. so he has to ride the bus!) Anyway - I think things will get better. If not, it'll be a great year for building some character. And grit. And perseverance. And adaptability. And flexibility! :) All the fun opportunities that middle school brings. ;) 

Walker is literally in Lainey's profile. :) She loves having him there; I think she wishes she saw him during the day. Their school is HUGE (1, 800 kids!) so they really don't have much of a chance to see one another! They are wearing masks this year - their school district is mandating it. And I'm okay with that. Anyway - good luck babes. We love you both! 

Random - the moon has been so bright the past few nights. It's been beautiful!

And here's our hunter dog. :) She loves ANYTHING that moves - bugs, moths, bees, small mammals, etc. She even brought me part of a snakeskin the other day! Ew!

Finally Home

 

After a delay, a canceled flight, and another 3.5 hour delay...the three of us finally made it to Miami from Colorado around 1:00 a.m. early Sunday morning. We were supposed to have gotten into Fort Lauderdale at 6:30 p.m. Saturday evening. However, due to a ground stop at DFW, our flight was canceled. Luckily, we caught a later flight into Miami. However, our bags didn't make it. We are still waiting on them (as of right now - it's Monday afternoon). However, things could be much, much worse for us. We're thankful to be home safe and sound and I'm thankful for the kids' attitudes - they did so well throughout our day o' travel. :)  

Colorado, Summer 2021, Part Two

On Thursday, we met our longtime Pagosa friends, the Mashues, to explore the Ice Caves! What an AMAZING experience and I'm here to tell you that had we not had our adventurous, daring, Colorado friends with us...there's no way I would have let my kids go explore those caves! However, going in them with people who are from the area seemed like a good idea! The kids had a blast - Lainey said it was probably one of the best experiences of her life. :) 

The first "cave" we saw...they are all more like fissures in the earth. We didn't go in this one.

The next one was a bit bigger; Lainey, Natalie, and Walker were the first ones down. 

Tucker followed.

I finally went down, as well...I took this photo while looking back at the entrance.

The cave was very narrow, deep, and long. And it was chilly down there.

Brave girls. They experienced periods of complete darkness, narrow entryways/exits and freezing cold surfaces. They were fearless! Walker went in some of them but not all of them; if he felt uncomfortable, he backed up and exited the cave.

beautiful view from the top

the adults (and Walker) taking a small break while the girls explored

one of my all-time favorite views in Pagosa

After a day of exploring, we decided to spray paint a pickle ball court. :) Ha! It took some cooperation and communication among all of us. It was a little stressful. But we did it! 

I saw a family of deer while running on Friday...this is a young buck. I'm always fascinated by deer and other wildlife.

Another hit this summer was the tetherball. So much fun, even in the rain. 

We loved our visit to Pagosa! Can't wait to do it again! We already have a list for next year...!

Colorado, Summer 2021, Part One

The kids and I are so thankful to have been able to make the trip to Colorado this summer. We enjoyed every minute!

My parents' puppy, Paco, is obsessed when my dad shoots. He just can't figure out where the arrows go; he knows they are shot, but he can't figure out where they "stop."

an elk leg in a tree

A rare sight of Paco in a bed...he doesn't ever sleep in this bed! He's more of a couch dog.

tubing down the San Juan

in front of Kip's...one of our favorite spots

Horseback riding! Lainey was placed on the same horse she was last year - "Itsy."

Walker rode a horse named "Laddago" or something. We aren't totally sure and the owners definitely weren't going to spell it out for us.

family photo

and again...

We played a LOT of Pickle Ball! It is such a fun game!

Paco LOVES Pickle Ball! He loves to retrieve the balls for us!

Oh, Paco.

The kids and I, along with my dad, made the trip to Mesa Verde this year. I'm so glad we went! It's not the Mesa Verde that I remember, but it was still pretty cool!

one of the kivas in the villages

Spruce Tree House (closed to the public)

Square Tower House

some of the structures are housed in buildings for further protection

a kiva

another kiva

Cliff Palace

so very cool

more dwellings...

the dwellings are sitting along the ledge - hard to tell with my iPhone camera

more dwellings

Mesa Verde was a great experience! I highly recommend it!

And, Ben sent us this photo of the sunset from Florida. So beautiful. I'll never tire of this view! The skies in Pagosa have been clouded by the Dixie fire in California; it's been so strange to not see the mountains in the distance. Some days have been better than others due to the direction of the wind, and I definitely prefer the not-too-hazy days! :)