Stitches

We made it many years without ever having to take any of our kids to the Emergency Room, or anyone needing stitches, but today that streak was broken. Brinley was mowing the grass in the backyard and tripped, and fell on a metal agave plant. It sliced open her leg, so off we went to the ER. The cut was about 2.5 inches long, but luckily the cut didn't go deeper than the fat layer of her leg. She ended up with 9 stitches, and she's bummed she'll have to miss out on swimming for the next few weeks!

Alaska

Cahl was asked to help take Mike's boat back up to Alaska, so he headed over to Tacoma earlier this month. They spent a day loading up and getting everything ready for the trip, before heading out for Wrangell. The second day on the water, they ran into a pretty crazy storm, and once they were through, they discovered that one of their hydraulic lines had been broken and they couldn't use their thrusters to park the boat. They managed to make it through customs, before making their way over to Vancouver for a few days, while the lines and pump were repaired.  Once everything was fixed, they headed North again. They made it to Wrangell in about a week, without further incident, and Cahl finally made it home after 10 days. 

8th Grade Celebration

Today was the last day of school, and our family's last day of middle school. I was able to go over and help out with the 8th Grade Celebration and hang out with the kids for a while, and it was a lot of fun. It's definitely weird knowing that we'll never have a kid in middle school again, but Brinley is so ready for the next step, and looking forward to the change of high school. 

Award Ceremony

This morning the middle school held it's end of the year, 8th grade award ceremony, and Brinley was the recipient of the Presidential Academic Achievement Award, meaning she has kept her grades above a 3.5 GPA for all 3 years of middle school!

Dance Recital

This evening was Brinley's dance recital, and the official end of the season. The competitive teams all danced together for the opening number, then performed all of their routines throughout the show. It was really well attended, and it was a super fun time. This is the 10th year that Brinley has danced, and she just finished her 5th year competing. I had to get a photo of her with 3 of her friends- they have been competing on the same team all 5 years, and danced together for several years before that! She also had to get a quick photo with one of her favorite coaches, who has been with her all 5 years too, since she is moving soon. It's been a great ride, and she is looking forward to continuing!

Birthday Campout

This weekend was Hunter's girlfriend's birthday, and all she wanted was to go camping. So Hunter put together a camping trip with a group of friends, and they spent a few nights up at Boiling Springs. They had a great time adventuring and swimming, and they are looking forward to more camping trips in the future!

Strongman

Even though Tristan is exhausted from his Spur Ride earlier this week, today he competed in another Strongman competition. There were 3 guys in his division, and he won 1st Place! 

River

Cahl's newest project included building a river in our backyard. He's been wanting to put in a water feature of some sort for a while, and when he found this waterfall for sale, he just had to have it. He turned it into a beautiful little creek in our backyard, and it is so amazing!

Spur Ride

Because Tristan is part of a Calvary unit, he had the opportunity to participate in a Spur Ride- which is an event held over 3 days, during which they must pass a series of physical and mental tests relevant to the Cavalry. Some of the tests evaluate leadership, technical and tactical proficiency, physical fitness, the ability to operate as part of a team under high levels of stress and fatigue under both day and night conditions. Tristan completed the Ride, and earned his Spurs, and we are so proud of him!

NJHS

This evening was the NJHS induction ceremony, for the new class of NJHS members. As a current member, Brinley was able to help with the ceremony, and was also the closing speaker. She did a great job, and has really enjoyed her time in NJHS!