Highland Kid Olympic Culmination at Mt. Bachelor! Piper's event was the Biathlon where she competed relay style with kids of all ages from her school in xc skiing and shooting nerf guns into a fishing net! Everyone had so much fun participating, cheering and just soaking up the AMAZING day at the mountain. The teachers went over the top preparing and executing this Kid Olympic story line. Each teacher was a coach for a different olympic sport and had 2 kids from each class spread out between them. For example Piper's kindergarten teacher was the bob sledding coach and had kids from each grade as her team. Piper was on the 1st Grade teacher's team for Biathlon and she just so happens to be married to an actual former Olympic Biathlete. He taught the kids all about the rules, the history and even helped run the event on the big day. Piper had so much fun and I think she will remember this day for the rest of her life. Besides the actual Olympic event where half the school went to the ice rink in Sunriver and the other half went to Mt. Bachelor, they had all sorts of other learning and assemblies leading up to it all. They had Ashton Eaton the USA gold medal winning Decathlete from last summer, who grew up in Bend come speak along with interviews and visits from several other Olympians. Each class was from a different country (Pipers was Japan) and they learned about their country and became visitors living with their host families (us) during the events. Learning about understanding and respect for other countries. There was an opening ceremonies and closing ceremonies with songs and pride and flags and just a lot of excitement.
I feel lucky that Highland is our neighborhood school!
I love this picture of my dad!
Over spring break I flew up to Seattle solo to spend time with my dad and family. Uncle Paul came to pick me up at the airport and spent the day with us visiting and checking on one of my dads classic cars (50 Chevy) which happens to be in the same neighborhood that they grew up in as kids. I knew of the house my grandparents lived in that had a fire, but don't think I ever saw it. So we drove by and snapped a few pictures while they told stories of the playing in the neighborhood creek, the fire, the fast cars they used to have, why they went to separate high schools...all sorts of good stories I love to hear.
I spent the week following my dad around, going to his morning coffee club, running errands, checking on his classic Chevy car, and another stop to see the T bird. We went to doctors appointments and I even went to the auction with him. It has been hard to be so far away and not able to be the hands on support that I would like to be. I love my dad so much and just being next to him fills me up. We have great talks, he has great perspective and insight, I feel his love for me too.
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| Look at that beautiful car...nice white walls! |
This the F*** Cancer picture. I am so sorry this curve ball got thrown at him. He has fought this head on, my dad is brave, he is strong and he has such a good heart. I am thankful to have him as my dad.
One of the highlights of my time in Seattle was seeing my dad in action at the auction. I was so impressed with the royal treatment, the respect and the love that all the people had for him there. We drove up and he had a prime designated parking spot with his name on it. We walked in and everyone knew him, and wanted to stop and talk and make a point to tell me what a great guy my dad is. When the auction was about to start, my dad walked away for a minute, and I could overhear two other guys chatting about him with respect and about how he is going to buy tons of cars. I even took a few videos of him on the auction floor to see the subtle nods and blinks he uses to do his thing in the live auctions. He must have bought 40 cars that night, he even won a pair of Mariner tickets! I loved the cadence of the auctioneers voices and the excitement of 4 auctions going on at one time and just following my dad back and forth. He was so on it and sharp and in his element! I felt so proud of him and was happy to be by his side the whole night. As we left I was telling him how impressed I was with all the respect he was showered with that night. All he said was, "That's what 30 years of treating people right will get you."
My mom has been an amazing partner taking care of keeping my dad fed and comfortable as he takes on the next round of chemo. My mom is consistent and strong and so on top of all the details that go along with appointments and medications and everything else. As well as my sister has been a tremendous help in communication and keeping me in the loop every step of the way. I think about my dad all the time and wish I could do more to help during this this challenging time. I'll be back soon, but until then I am sending my love and positive vibes to surround my family.
When I got grade home from Seattle we had the treat of one of my oldest friends, Wendy Doyon, come for a visit with her husband Matt. They were on a road trip from New Jersey, Matt had Archeology lectures to give across the country, Wendy had PHD dissertation research to do and so they turned it into an adventure and hit up sights along the way, seeing us in BEND being one! Wendy and I grew up in the same neighborhood and even had all the same teachers at North Beach Elementary from Kindergarten to 6th. We went the the same middle school, but different high schools. We had so much fun catching up on our current lives as well as rehashing old stories. In particular recounting an intense adventure we had as kids in Sunriver (20 mins south of Bend) while on vacation here with my parents back in the day. I have such fun memories growing up with Wendy, all the birthday parties, back yard playing, early sport teams we did together, even all the family camps outs I got to join her on. We laughed about how I was always her moms favorite friend! The old picture above is "hat day" in kindergarten. When Wendy and Matt left, I literally noticed how FULL I felt on the inside. It was so great to see and spend the day and really connect to such an important person from my childhood. Thank you Wendy for taking the time to come by Bend to see me and meet my family. Love you friend!
Soccer boy Jett, loves to run fast! Jett is such a character, he has some intense feelings on his clothes these days, which consist of soccer uniforms and super hero outfits. Jett did a session of Soccer at the indoor soccer center and had a blast! He really was quite fast and had great ball handling skills, I hope this love of soccer is here to stay, I loved watching him!
For my birthday we rented a Tee Pee at Kahneeta resort which is in Warm Springs the Indian Reservation, a little over an hour away. It was such a fun time and always a good reminder about how much we LOVE these little get a ways as a family. We stayed 2 nights, the first was just our family, then the Grahams with their 3 kids joined for the 2nd night. The Tee Pee was huge, it had a fire stove, a picnic table and room for all 10 of us to sleep in sleeping bags. There were hot springs that they used to fill huge swimming pools with. We hiked around, mini golfed, swam, cooked and just hung out in the hammock. A great kick off to hopefully a summer full of camping!
We did lots of swimming, cooked great meals and even squeezed in the mandatory marshmallow burning as Harvey called it. I was unsure about how our 6 children sharing the teepee would do at bedtime, but I think we tired them out just enough that one story out of the Winnie the Poo book and all was quite.
At least for the kids...we had our own marshmallow/birthday brownie yumminess and chatted the night way. We just love the Grahams, just great people, such a fun and easy friendship. We both "get it" when it comes to life with 3 kids...the goodness as well as the pull your hair out frustrations. Thank you Grahams for joining me to celebrate turning 37. Looking forward to all the exciting adventures to come in this year.
We came home to our beautiful trees in FULL bloom! I love seeing our kids get bigger each year, but I also love to admire the trees that we planted...thriving and growing with our family!
As you can see from our beaming daughter, our little girl is LOVING ballet class. This is her first dance class and it has been so cute to watch her. Grandma Alice gave all the kids an activity for Christmas, Jetts was soccer, Piper ballet and Calvin has ZUMBA dance class. This individual time has been great for everyone, though made for some busy schedules this spring. =-) Piper and her buddy Harvey have quite a routine going and I am looking forward to the recital in June!
Thankfully the awesome hand me down Easter outfits from Pat Shaw still fit. It was actually their idea to wear them again, I had them all put away in a box, but they insisted, and I was so happy to see such cuteness again!
More use of the bunny outfits on Easter morning. Kids loved the egg hunt at home too!
What a beautiful day for lunch in the yard while enjoying the tulips and busy bees buzzing by.
The family outing to the Children's play "The Little Mermaid" was super fun. So cute to see how into it they all were. At one point Calvin leaned over to me and said "When I am bigger I am going to be in a PERFORMANCE!"
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| Fierce future Bend High Lava Bears! |
