The first day of school rolled around and brought much delight and order to my life, but the feeling was not mutual with the kids. I think summer brings about a great balance. Memorial Day hits and the excitement of trips, freedom, and family time is palpable. Then, Labor Day rolls around and the excitement for order, home cleanliness, and finally having a reliable schedule kicks in. Everything in balance—and I am settling in with my cleaner house, enjoyable work schedule, and being home for the kids after school.

The new school year also brings back after-school activities for everyone, and we are switching it up this year! To Maren's delight, she began horseback riding lessons yesterday. Many months ago, she approached Logan and me armed with a PowerPoint presentation to convince us of the myriad reasons why horseback riding would help her develop skills to prepare her to be successful in the future. Her presentation persuaded us, but there were no horseback riding lessons available within 45 minutes of our house. About a month ago, that all changed. A friend of mine gave me the news that a stable in north Spokane was moving to Post Falls! After a few calls, Maren was in! She has stepped away from formal voice lessons for the time being, but was recently accepted into the audition choir, Women's Select, at the high school. She definitely still has singing in her future! For now, she is ecstatic to make a few new four-legged friends, who may or may not be named Douglas.

Enter Adalie. This girl just became a licensed driver! Her first "to-do" item was to get a climbing punch pass at Coeur Climbing. The gym just happens to be located 10 minutes from the stables. Adalie will be driving Maren, then heading to the gym. She is excited about this because, instead of paying half for her climbing, I am willing to pay for her punch pass (that is a great after-school program as far as I am concerned!). I am happy to pick Maren up, and I just may head to the climbing gym early to get a session in. It's a win-win situation!

This year, Lindsey has decided to discontinue Irish dancing for the time being, and instead will be taking voice lessons. She loves to sing, and was recently accepted into the Titanium Choir at River City Middle School.

Jack is gearing up for all of his after-school clubs. This year, he has a Dungeons and Dragons club in the works. He has found a teacher to sponsor it, as well as a day of the week. It is now time to advertise. He will also be active in the anime club, and, and... he will probably find some time to get climbing in as well.

Weekdays are for schedules, and weekends are for fun. True to form, we took full advantage of this weekend and had one of the best family climbing days to date. We headed up to the Tum Tum climbing area to a "new-to-us" wall. Terminal Wall has everything our family could need: a wide range of difficulty levels, varied climbing styles, and the bonus of an incredible view! Everyone climbed (including Lindsey, who has been sidelined since she broke her elbow), and we just enjoyed being together. It sounds cheesy, I know, but sometimes time together can feel like "forced family fun." This outing was also notable because we had enough belayers that Logan and I were able to climb hard as well. I had some good sends and a rewarding lead, and he top-rope flashed a burly 5.11+ along with a handful of other enjoyable tops.

Back to school pictures for 7th, 9th, 11th, 11th, and Boise freshman.

Family climbing day

Picnic lunch at the crag with beautiful views

Logan jumped on and tested his metal- spoiler- he's still got it

Other happenings

Happy birthday to these two! Marissa had a surprise celebration- she made cheesecake and these cute little guys!

Besties going to Hoco together!

The final few weeks of summer were relaxing and chill. Logan and I went back and forth with ideas for Labor Day weekend, and we decided an at-home weekend doing fun things around here was just what we needed. Everyone brainstormed local activities that often get taken for granted.

The final list included the Museum of North Idaho, mini-golf, tacos at Taco Works (thanks, Amanda and Byron, for the recommendation!), tennis, Spider-Man: A Brand New Day, an at-home painting afternoon, baking together, and a BBQ at Marissa’s house. Every day was memorable, and we had a great time together.

Here are a few pictures from the week and a few other recent goings-on.

Adalie is now OFFICIALLY LICENCED TO DRIVE!

Painting together

Marissa had a little party with delicious homemade cheesecake and these adorable animals she crocheted for Adalie and Jack.

Jackson DM'd an exciting Dungeons and Dragons game with the family

Maren and I snuck away to a cute little tea house

An exciting cooking challenge

Maren, Lindsey, Adalie and I went to Lookout to find huckleberries. We hiked up Marmot to Black Bear and we didn't find any trace of berries! It was a lovely hike and a good reason to get out. Lindsey and Maren were hanging out together and missed the photo op.

Gracie and Lindsey have a great time at Silverwood a few weeks ago, and they recently had a party to celebrate their 7 Year friend anniversary!

Evelyn's update:

I've been doing like everything ever this week. I went to that Psychedelic Porn Crumpets show, and it was so much fun. I actually got pretty close to some people as friends, the crowd was hype, and I actually crowdsurfed to the stage.

I've also been hanging out with friends a lot, and a group of like 4 or 5 of my friends and I have actually been going to the gym almost every morning, so that has been fun. I made it to church, and I liked it a lot, and I definitely think it'll be the one I choose. Since I only have classes Monday and Wednesday, and I had none today because it's a holiday, I had like a week off from school basically. Other than that, I've been dilly-dallying a lot. I went to a really cute store downtown after church just because I passed by it and it looked cool.

I've been hanging out with friends like every day basically, and we do all sorts of stuff, and I can't even remember it all. Today we had a picnic and the gym ofc, and then we did a study group and all got food together. Earlier this week, I also went to an alpine club hangout, and I tried the slackline and also did some very poor hacky sack.

I've been having a great week, and next week looks fun, too. Tomorrow I'll be going to the gym at 6 with friends, and then doing lots of homework, and then there's the ski club meeting, and I'm trying out boxing. On Thursday I might go bouldering with the alpine club, but I'm scared so idk. One of my friends is also a swimmer, so on Thursdays we're doing her swim workouts apparently, and I'm scared. And then I think this weekend I might be camping, and then on Sunday I have goth night with friends.

Also, I saw The Odyssey with friends, and then we hung out and walked around downtown, choreographed a dance, and showed it to random people on the street. I got a $5 Canadian bill, and then we made friends with the gas station clerk, and then I found a branch, and then we scootered home, and it was scary again.

Stay tuned for Adalie and Jackson's birthday and the first day of school.

Jackson's favorite recent shot

Have a good week!

Evelyn is currently settling into her first week in Boise. We dropped her off on Wednesday, and she had a large handful of new friends and a few new text groups before we headed out on Sunday. She seems to be adapting well and is getting used to the newness of everything. Her dorm has been decorated to reflect her and Nellie (her awesome roommate who moved down with her), classes began last Monday, she has been applying for jobs, and she is getting into the rhythm of college life. There have definitely been emotional ups and downs, but she is on a great trajectory! We are all rooting for her and love hearing her updates.

Before the official move, there were a lot of emotions about leaving friends and not having enough time to see everyone. During our family camp, I decided to plan a surprise party for Ev. I was shocked by how many people were able to make it a priority on such short notice! I love all of these people, and it was difficult to say goodbye knowing that they would not be coming around every week now that Ev was moving. They are a really great group of people, and I will miss their weekly drop-ins. 

Our trip to Boise was filled with activity- some of it all together, and many things where we broke into groups and did separate activities. It is nice to have a family of older kids that affords flexibility for this. 

This visit to Boise solidified for me that this town is a perfect fit for Evelyn. Before we left, she had been out with two new friend groups, had gone to a show at The Shredder (one of the many local music venues within walking distance of her dorm), was figuring out how to find climbing and ski partners, and was signing up for all the outdoor and interest clubs that the school has to offer. Boise offers a vibrant music scene, a great gym on campus, outdoor climbing within 15 minutes, Bogus Basin Ski Resort, and nearby mountains to play in. Ev is going to thrive.  

Ev's party was wonderful. Thanks to everyone who came!

Ev has a new set of wheels! Goodbye for now, Sexy Red.

Allison, Courtney, and their families came up for a day to tour the campus, see Ev's dorm, and hang out. I am excited that Ev has family who lives a quick car ride away! We had a great time together.

We enjoyed the Boise Art Museum (BAM) while we were there. Can you tell which submissions are from our family? This made me laugh.

Ev won the lottery with her dorm because her window opens up to the roof- definitely useful during college when spaces are tight!

We are excited to watch this girl spread her wings! Love you, Ev.

Have a good week!

Right now I'm sitting in an airport on my way to Boise. Evelyn and the rest of the family got there yesterday. Starting now, Ev has officially moved out of the house. That's going to be a big adjustment for everyone, but I'm going to save that post for next week. Just know that this week has had a lot of emotional highs and lows for us. I think we're all in a good place now though.

Last weekend, however, was a very nice change of pace when, for five days, we attended a "family camp" with a lot of built-in activities and very little internet or cell phone reception. All we had to do was show up and go to our assigned cabin. From there, we had all our meals served to us, lots of planned events, and lots of things to do in the down time. It was a good refresher.

Maren getting ready for the ropes course

Addy showing how to do it with no hands

I had to one-up her with the no hand thing, because I'm petty like that

Lots of water activities. And snow cones.

They had this big squishy thing in the water and Addy thought it would be a nice place to relax and read her book...until she rolled off into the water with all her clothes on. Unfortunately, not many people got to see the glory of that moment.

Turns out, Jack can be pretty dangerous with a bow and arrow. He's a pretty good aim.

It's the simple things.

They asked me to be in a skit with "twins" from camp- strangers who look alike. I have no idea who that guy is, but he looks like he could be my brother.

I think that's all I have for you this week. Have a good week!

I don't remember when we first heard about it, but there is this mountain tea house located in the heart of the Canadian Rockies that you can hike to, and it sits on a lake, and it is a little bit of a tourist thing, but at the same time it looked really lovely and like something we would enjoy as a family. It's been a long time since we first came across this, but though the trip has come up multiple times in conversation over the years, we just haven't been able to find a time to actually make it a reality.

Until now.

This last weekend was spent at Banff National Park. The weather was cool and beautiful and we did several bucket list hikes in the area. We also spent a full morning and afternoon exploring the town of Banff, browsing shops, galleries, and restaurants. It was a great trip. Here are some photos.

The Lake Agnes Tea House

The chipmunks were massive- you could tell they were used to people. "These chipmunks take the cake... literally." -Maren

Just hanging out on what seemed like the edge of the world

We stayed at this campground in Banff. The rangers there put on a show about alpine animals- we went in order to pass time, and were expecting a little info session with maybe some furs to touch or something. We've done enough of these to know what they're like. But not so at this campsite! Instead of the dry didactic spiel that we were used to, we were greeted with full-on musical theater with costumes and stage effects! Probably mostly due to how unexpected it was, this little show quickly became one of the highlights of the trip for us. 

The views were a little bit obscured by smoke, but not too much. It was breathtaking!

Picnic lunch

Beaver Tails and Poutine. Because, Canada.

A few other things from the week:

Lindsey spent a day at Silverwood with a friend

Rachel and Addy went to see a play that Addy's friend is in.

Have a good week!