Hey everyone,

So, I've been SUPER busy lately. I feel like I'm keeping about ten balls in the air at the same time, and some things had to give, and I made the conscious decision to step away a little from the blog. Thing is, I look up every day at our bookshelf that has our past yearbooks all printed out, and a part of me just can't let that go. It's too important. So Rachel is going to help, and some of the kids will help, and I might poke in from time to time. Things will probably resume their normal cadence again sometime in September.

As far as exactly what the "busy" has been, I'll save for a different post. It's kind of a lot of things all at once- good things, but things that deserve more space. For now, I want to focus on our last few weeks, because we've been out enjoying a beautiful North Idaho Summer.

Let's start with last Saturday. Rach and I woke up well before the sun and made a quick breakfast of coffee and oatmeal. We then grabbed some stuff out of the car where we had been sleeping and started up the trail. A few hours later, we were roped up and climbing the beautiful granite of Chimney Rock.

Oh, granite, how I love you! Climbers will get this, but the rest of you are just going to have to bear with me. Climbing on granite- especially in the alpine- requires almost an emotional connection with the rock. To start with, there is the movement- big movements requiring the full body. None of this little grab-and-pull nonsense. No- we're gonna push and pull and squeeze and hug our full body around and then delicately tiptoe into the next bit. It's full-on vertical yoga. And then there is the commitment. Much of granite is featureless, with nothing really to stand on or pull up on. It's more an execution of position- of leaning all of your body weight in one direction, while pushing the other half a different way. It can be scary at times, because it requires total confidence in the rock in order to work. If you hesitate or try and hold something back, then you quickly find yourself some air time. But if you give it everything then it accepts your offering and gives back to you tenfold in the form of security and an amazing experience above the ground. It's an exercise in trust that feels, at times, like the rock itself has a personality. I. Love. Granite.

After the climb we hiked back to the car and made our way to a brewery in Sandpoint in time for lunch. It was a great little overnighter with Rach and we held a continuous conversation throughout the entire time.  What a climb- what a day!

Next, I'll talk about the river trip we did the weekend before. We did this one as a family and I have to say that spending three days on the river with no internet or cell coverage was extremely refreshing. With the exception of one class II rapid in the beginning (which was actually pretty intense in a canoe filled with gear) the river was calm, the weather was perfect, and the vibes were chill. We camped along the shoreline and saw lots of wildlife and for the most part all cooperated well in just spending time together. As our family grows up and people get busier these "together times" become more precious, and this trip was just really good for that.

"The rafting trip was super fun and will be remembered for going through the rapid on a paddleboard with Maren. We were very quick to flip over, and clutching onto the board for dear life was quite enjoyable. The peaceful mornings were also nice, and gave me time to read and relax in the beautiful nature." -Adalie

"The river trip was really fun and my favorite parts were the rapids and reading in the morning with Addy. I also hung out with friends this week and went to the mall and a show. I also played pool with some friends and then got Taco Bell. We've all been really into pool recently apparently and we like the vibe of Sunset Bowling. We also surprised Anthony for his birthday. I also went to a barbeque with Josh, Zoe, Ben, and Crystal, which was fun" -Evelyn  

"I had a birthday party and I got some rally cool presents. The river trip was really fun and I got to just sit in the back of the canoe and didn't have to paddle too much. I also found a ton of raspberries (they weren't completely ripe yet though), and got my nails done professionally with Maren" -Lindsey

There is a bunch of other stuff that we could put on here. Maren went to NYC and Washington DC and hopefully she'll get on here are write about that. Sometime soon I'll update my own crazy situation when I get some time. Lindsey had a birthday and Rach brought her and some friends up to the Wallace house for a sleepover and I think they had fun. I'm sure there is other stuff as well. Hopefully we're able to record some of this stuff before it goes down the memory hole.

For now though...


Have a good week!

There are very few times in life where you go through a shift and everything changes. Graduating high school and moving to college is one of those times. Right now, everything Evelyn knows and is used to will soon change. This is definitely an exciting and scary time! As her mom, this is a bit of an exciting and scary time for me as well! As I watch her prepare, I can't help but wonder what she is going to learn, how she is going to change, and how family dynamics will shift. 

Last weekend, Logan, Ev and I went down to Boise for her school orientation. The more I get to know the school and the area, the more I feel that it is a PERFECT fit for Evelyn. Starting with the campus- there is a thriving outdoor club with multiple weekly trips, an active climbing club, a daily bus to Bogus Basin for skiing during winter, an awesome dorm with a great roommate, and a river that runs right through campus. Zoom out to a fifteen minute radius of the school and you will find a thriving music scene, Black Cliffs climbing area, and multiple hikes. Take another zoom out and you can easily make a day trip to City of Rocks, the Sawtooth Range, and Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles. Knowing Evelyn, she is already making plans!

When we were on campus, I couldn't help but feel freaking excited for Evelyn!

As any good parents would do, we naturally had to try out some of the Boise offerings while we were all out together...

We checked out Black Cliffs, the local crag. We approve!

I can totally picture Ev living here!

I had to throw this in there. If you know, you know!

We discovered this gem of a street! Live music in the evening, a variety of restaurants with patio seating, and a pizza eatery dive for college students. It doesn't get much better!

We visited Freak Alley. I chose artwork that reminded me of each of the kids. This was Evelyn's, and it is a perfect fit for this stage of life.

This picture is for Maren. If you know, you know.

Not pictured- During orientation we had lunch at Buster's kitchen. Let me just say that we did NOT eat like that when we were in college(ramen and pancakes). It was a pretty sweet set up with a lot of great options. We also had to try Lime scooters to see if that was a viable option, and Logan and I checked out Hemlock, a downtown restaurant with a smoky vibe, which was offering some Monday night live Jazz. We will definitely be back!

This is Evelyn now, and I wanted to share what I got out of this weekend. First of all, this entire trip has made me much more excited to move to Boise and experience the campus and city. That being said, I am still just as scared to move away from everyone. I will miss having "my people," especially my family, friends, and boyfriend, but I am happy that I get to live in such an amazing area. I get to enjoy the duality of having a cute campus and living in the biggest city in Idaho. The campus itself is amazing, and there are a ton of useful resources. The city is really cool, and there is so much life in it. There is an awesome music scene, as well as a ton of cool restaurants and shops to explore. Outside of the city, there are a ton of options for my outdoor hobbies, and I am really excited for that. This is an amazing place for me to live, and I believe it will be a really awesome part of my life, even if my current chapter is just as cool. 

These were some of the sights and sounds of Boise from Ev.

Jackson's photo highlight this week. Enjoy!

Stay tuned for Maren's NY/DC writeup. 

Have a great week!

What a crazy week!

Finals are over. Evelyn is officially a high school grad. Lindsey broke her arm and is getting surgery. Maren is in Washing DC and NYC for this whole next week. We had visitors from both sides of the family staying with us, and we did lots of things. And in the meantime, there were quite a few other things happening in the background just to add to the chaos.

It. Was. Nuts.

So...here are some photos to tell the rest of the story. Enjoy!

Honestly, I had no doubt this would happen... but it was pretty surreal.

Grandma and Grandpa Hazard joined us for the graduation

This is one of my favorite pictures of this group!

We had a mini family reunion in honor of Ev

We hiked...

We climbed...

We celebrated with Gooies...

We enjoyed Arbor Crest...

Thank you to everyone who came! It was a great week.

End of year band trip to Silverwood. Addy and Ev both had a great time.

Maren planned a backpacking trip with her friend Ireland.

Lindsey just got out of surgery. She'll be in a cast for a while, which kind of puts a damper on it being her first day of summer vacation.

Have a good week!

It's currently finals week and the stress is real. School is over next week though, and we'll have lots of family in town for Ev's graduation, and then a busy summer. Rachel and I have spent the last few days planning out our limited weekends over the next few months and I think we'll do some cool things.

As for this week, the biggest event was probably going to see Back to the Future (Broadway tour) as a family and watching both the play and the ASL interpreters. It was a fun show and it was done well. We also went to an awards night for the high-school music program where both Addy and Evelyn got their letters for the year, and the band played a few songs for us. Ev got to do Zoot Suit again, and Addy finally did a saxophone solo (hoping to see a lot more of these next year, but Addy doesn't seem convinced). Over the weekend we got a lot of work done on both our home garden and the landscape project at church that we're doing. Yesterday, Maren and Lindsey both sang in a choir concert, and both of them had solo parts. 

Okay- that was a nice list of things. Here are some actual photos. 

"I was aiming for the box and missed"

This is the kind of thing you get in a house full of immature children. I won't tell you who in our family said this, but I will give you a hint. It wasn't one of our kids...

...and it wasn't Rachel.

Back to the Future, the Musical!

Maren's last choir concert of middle school. She had a solo in "Dreams" by the Cranberries, which has some significance to our family, so it was kind of a neat ending for her time in middle school. She has already auditioned for and gotten into the select choir at the high school next year.

Addy with a little flare while playing the sax

This is Rachel and Marissa doing things with bees. Ok, wow.

Have a good week!