The Hazard Chronicles

Our weeks have been very full lately, and our weekends have been very active. We are approaching the end of the school year, and that comes along with a lot of programing and tests and due dates. Rach and I are both pretty busy at work as well, so it seems sometimes like it never stops. And, to be honest, I kind of prefer it that way.

This last weekend we spent time close to home, hiking, rock climbing, gardening, and barbecuing. Rach and I did a quick jaunt up to the Wallace house on Sunday afternoon to do some little maintenance chores, and the drive itself was kind-of like a date. It's not every day we get to just talk with each other for hours at a time without interruptions. It was nice.

The weekend before that we went a little further off the beaten path. Originally it was going to be a climbing trip, but road closures forced a change in plans and we made a quick pivot to a nearby hiking spot. This was actually a really fun day- especially when the four oldest kids and I climbed a dicey little gully to end up on top of the plateau, and then had to explore our way back down and around to the lake again. I don't think I'll ever get tired of these little side adventures, and it makes me almost hope that the day never comes that everything goes exactly according to plan. So many memorable moments in my life- mostly good ones- come from things going off-script a little bit. 

Here are some pictures.

Evelyn: "This week I went to my school's art show, played our spring concert, and went to a party. It wasn't very eventful because I was dying sick or training most days"

Ok (this is Logan again), I have to admit that I became a little emotional at this concert. It was a Jazz concert. At the very beginning of the school-year, Ev asked and pleaded with the band teacher to do a rendition of "Zoot Suit Riot," a fun little 90s song that we listen to sometimes around the house. He finally gave in, and they performed it, with her on the kit, as the last song of the set on the last day of her getting to play in a high-school concert. Man- I guess context is everything, because didn't know that song could be so dang bittersweet.  

All the seniors in band did a poster presentation on themselves, got special recognition at the end of the concert with short bios and a description of future plans, and were given a vinyl record selected by their friends (Nazareth for Ev, which, if you know her, makes a lot of sense).

This is the party that Ev went to. I asked who's party it was and she said "I don't know, but I was invited because she showed up to my clothing swap." And then she went, and she left with a bunch of new friends.

This is one of the many reasons I don't worry too much about Ev. I was never the person to just show up at a party knowing that I would make friends. Frankly, I still don't even know where I would start if I were to try. The thought alone is terrifying to me. Which, I think, is why the thought of her going down to Boise makes me a little nervous. But then I look at this, and so many other examples, where she just shows up and seems to thrive. She's a cool kid.

Band seniors. Ev is toward the left, holding one of her best friends in her arms. This group!

Traditional after-concert celebration at Denny's. I think.

The art show she went to. These were actually drawn by Ghost- the person in the front of the previous picture.

Addy: "This week I participated at the Youth Water Summit, which was a presentation of a project my friend and I have been working on for the entire school year. It was a ton of fun and definitely a relief to get it done. The fish was the mascot of something. I'm not actually sure. Oh yeah, I had a concert too."

As an end-of-the-year project, Jackson and his class partner headed up a reforestation service project where we planted about 60 trees. It was well-organized and the work went quickly. Pretty cool.

Maren spent like $40 ordering individually wrapped snacks from Japan...just because. Some of them were pretty good. Some were familiar. Some were definitely NOT very good (like the dried and salted little fish in what was supposed to be a sort of Chex mix).

Just a picture of Maren and Addy on skateboards

Lindsey: "I went to get boba and had a sleepover with Gracie this week."