June into July

It was CSI basketball camp the week of June 22-24. Casey was gone a lot and coaching the games every afternoon. His little JV team (mostly Freshman that he'll have this coming school year) pulled out a few wins, and were dealt some losses by true JV age teams, which gave them some great growing experience.  

Kendal had her foot appointment on the 22nd to trouble shoot her continuing foot problems. The Dr. did an ultrasound of her foot and learned that after her foot fracture a few years ago the bone healed a bit off and so the tendon in the ball of her foot can get caught in it while she runs and walks. It's especially bad when she's barefoot at home or not in her orthotic shoes. We bought her some squishy home shoes (that she's neglecting to wear most days), but hopefully they'll be a help. 

We had extensive grub damage on our lawns this year. So we spent some time that same week in June aerating and de-thatching the lawn and then prepping a large area of the back so we could reseed. It's been quite the chore to keep up with watering with some very hot temps the last couple of weeks but we got some grass growing and hope it continues.

It was Pete's year for a birthday party, and he wouldn't commit to a date because his friends were in and out of town so much so he decided to randomly pick a Wednesday and have them over to hang out and watch a movie. They played ball and games for a bit, and Casey took them all out for ice cream before they came back and watched Indiana Jones. 

We took Suzy (blue car) in to get looked at because it's been shaking and rattling for awhile. They told us the transmission is pretty damaged and would need to be fully replaced (not what we hoped for). The price to replace is crazy, so we've been looking into other cars, but decided to check out another shop to see if they could repair or replace the transmission for any cheaper so we can get a better turn in price, or prolong the car life. We've been trying to save up for a third car so to have both of our main cars on the not so good end of things has been a challenge. 

Alice continued to work on her swim skills the last few weeks finishing up using her passes from swim lessons. We finally got her to pass the swim test on her own so she could play on the water toy and hang out in the deep end. She's flourished and had so much fun since she's gained the confidence and continues to grow in strength and skills. We had Pete and Austin, and Kendal go with us one day which was fun as well. 

Pictures: Fort reading for Alice - why not. Alice is on a brownie kick this summer and is determined to sell them at a stand at some point. Kendal plunking at the piano (she does this randomly throughout the day this summer / especially when she's avoiding other tasks like right at this moment when she needs to get her bag finished packing for tomorrow morning).  

  

We went down to Logan on the 2nd to celebrate the 4th with family. We had a pizza night that first night with David and his crew as well as Katherine and my parents. Friday we went to the Logan pool to swim after lunch. We were there for most of the afternoon, having fun and getting crispy in the hot sun. That night we ate together and the kids played games outside while we played card games. Saturday we went out early to the Lewiston parade. We finally made it early enough to park closer instead of treking into town for over a mile. We had a cookout lunch together with everyone and the kids played away the afternoon together and making croquet courses and did some water balloon fights as well. We went out to Smithfield that night to watch neighborhood fireworks around Davids house. We could see down into the valley from his street which was cool to see.

 

 

 

   

We joined some friends on the 7th at Dirkies. Pete loved having Austin and Trevor there to hang out with. They paled around, jumped off the cliffs and played around with Tayven too. Alice wanted to stick to the sand and beach area mostly and once she warmed up had a great time playing with Meilani and building a sand castle and village with her. Right before we left she donned a life jacket and went into the "deep" end to see what it was like - she regretted her choice, but I was proud of her for doing it. (Kendal spent that day with her cross country crew of friends - which sadly she got stung from a wasp early that morning running with them at Dirkies, and it swelled up and still isn't back to normal). 

Because I have new / different classes this coming school year I'm trying to get ahead of the game and have spent a lot of time putting together my classes. Up to this point mostly working on my 6th grade class that will focus on their brain and the many things they do. Casey was awesome and up for the challenge of making a 3D brain for me. I'm hopeful that the class will go over well with the students this fall. 

 

Pete went to an airsoft gun night at Gage's house Friday evening. He and Austin were under-dressed and under prepared for what they walked into, but had a fun time nonetheless. After they were done we joined the Dansies at the city pool for their late night swim (9-11pm). The tower was up in the deep end which was fun, but the crowds and crush of people was very overwhelming at times. All of the kids claimed and enjoyed the tower and had a great time! 

This weekend was Good neighbor days. Casey was up bright and early to go and do the disc golf tournament. I needed more sleep and so he went solo. He got paired with another guy and they went around the course in about 45 min. Kendal and Pete were up early to go help with the fun run. Kendal ran a water station and Pete requested lawn chairs for him and Ryder's spot. Casey spent the last couple of weeks running with Alice to prep her for the one mile race. She's grown a lot and did a decent job in the run. Casey followed her and ended up being Naomi's partner to finish the race. We stayed at the park and ended up with a big box of books from the library fundraiser area. The kids got a barrage of Candy from the parade. Afterwards Casey and Kendal went home while I stayed with Pete and Alice. Pete hoped to find friends again, but just trailed around with Becca for a bit. Alice and Naomi had an absolute blast in the water and blow up area of the park. We stayed for about an hour and a half for their fun! Yesterday evening we went out to Lake Wallcott to join the end of the Darrington reunion that was going on. (Kendal stayed home to go to Violet's birthday party). The kids went out on the lake with Ashley, Jaxson, and a second cousin (Van) that's the boys' age. Brett and Vanessa's crew joined them a bit later and the kids had a great time playing the evening away. Casey did a bit of disc golf with Nicole and Jordan and we caught up with Casey's extended family. Many of them had soccer games going on their phones and it was fun to watch their enthusiasm for the whole thing! 

The kids have been in Trek Prep for weeks now. Both Kendal and Pete joined the Trek choir at Becca and Collins requests / insistence. We've bought the outfits (which neither are thrilled to be dressing in "pioneer" garb - to quote Pete "This shirt! How do people move in long sleeves. I can't bend my elbows - rolls his sleeves up - now I can't move my shoulders!!") We made cushions for their buckets and they decorated (aka stuck duct tape all over them) them this past week. As of tonight everything is packed on trailers and they have their color assignments for early tomorrow morning. 

Casey and Peter's DC trip!

 The week after school got out Peter and Casey went on their trip to Washington DC. Here is the adventure as told by Peter  [and Casey] (with corrected spelling)

"Wednesday, June 3, 2026

"We go the the school at 12:30 [in the morning] to get on the bus that would take us to the Boise [Airport]. We were waiting for an hour and a half for the bus. Dad kept calling the bus, but eventually we were going to miss our flight if we didn't leave soon. [The bus driver miss-read the time and thought he was supposed to be there at 12:30 pm instead of 12:30 am.] Some of the parents took us to the airport. [Thank heavens for those parents!] We all slept in the car. 

"When we got to the airport we had to wait for everyone to get there. When we got on the plane I sat by Teagan [Taylor] and we watched Phineas and Ferb, and slept. When we got to Denver we got on a train to the docking platform that our plane was at. When we got on the plane there were screens. I watched some of Top Gun then slept. 

"When we got to DC we rode a bus to Mount Vernon. We got to see George Washington's house and grave site. [It was a really fast 20 minute stop before we had to go to our next place.] When we got back to the bus we met the other groups and our guide Blake. We went to We, the Pizza for dinner and ate pizza. After dinner we went to the Twilight Tattoo Military Show. It was really cool. They reenacted things from the past, sang songs, and did acts. After that we dropped off our guide Blake, then went to the hotel. The hotel was nice. Then we slept.

"Thursday, June 4, 2026

"We woke up Thursday morning and wend down to breakfast. Me and Teagan almost got lost going to the breakfast area. We ate breakfast. There were MUFFINS! We got on the bus and went to Arlington National Cemetery. We walked around the cemetery. We went to the [John F.] Kennedy Memorial and grave sites. After that we went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. When we were there we for tot see them switch out [the changing of the guard] and the changing of the wreath. [We lost Nathan Myers there as well. We also found him too.] 

   

"Then we went to Iwo Jima Marine Memorial. When you walked around it you could see the flag rising. Then we went to lunch at the Ballston Quarter Market Food Hall. I got a crepe that was rolled up in a cone shape. After lunch we went to the WWII Memorial. We found both Kilroys, the drawings WWII Americans would write during the war to make Hitler mad. Then we went to the Washington Monument. I tried to find the pothole that was covering the mini-Washington Monument. I couldn't find it so I took pictures with the monument.

"Then we went to the Holocaust Memorial Museum. We got passports that had a story of someone during the Holocaust. [This was actually one of the favorite stops for the kids. It is pretty emotional, eye-opening, and solemn.] We went through it, then went to the Museum of American History. At the Museum of American History there is the flag that inspired the US National Anthem. There is also a bunch of things from America's history, like Captain America's shield, Hamilton's clothes from the play, C3PO, R2D2, etc. 

    

"After that we went to dinner at Nandos Peri Peri. It was good food. [We had chicken; it was good.] Then we went to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. Our guide told us to find his favorite quote. [I do not think anyone did.] Then we went to the Franklin D Roosevelt [Memorial]. There were lots of quotes and waterfalls that show how America was doing at this time. Then we went to the Jefferson Memorial. After that we went back to the hotel. 

"Friday, June 5, 2026

"We went down and ate breakfast. I got a chocolate muffin. After breakfast we got on the bus to Gettysburg. On the bus we slept and played games. We got to the visitor's center and we looked at the cool things on display. When it was time we went into a theater and watched a short film about Gettysburg. Then we went up escalators and saw a really cool and really old painting. While we looked at the painting there was audio telling us about it. [It's called a cyclorama and was a sort of performance piece before movies were a thing. It was pretty cool.] After we looked at the painting we went to the souvenir shop and got pressed pennies. 

   

"Then we got back on the bus and a guide came on and showed us the battlefield. He told us where people were and about cannons and the war. We got to go up on a tower and see the battlefield. We got to see some of the monuments of where people were. We dropped off the guide at the visitor's center and we went to lunch at The Upper Crust. [Another pizza place with some arcade games.] After lunch we went to the Shriver House. It was there during the battle. There were bullet holes and we got to learn about what happened there and about the Shrivers. 

         

"When we left we were going to go to the Museum of Natural History to pick up our guide, but there was a lot of traffic so we didn't get to go. So we picked up our guide and went to Qdoba for dinner. After dinner we went to the Lincoln Memorial, Korean Memorial, and the Vietnam Memorial. They were all really cool. The reflection pool was filling up finally while we were there. [It was being redone and was empty until that day. We did not get to see it full, but it was reflecting.] We dropped off our guide then went to the hotel and went to sleep.

      

"Saturday, June 6, 2026

"We woke up and had to pack because we were leaving. After we packed we went down and had breakfast for the last time. Then we went to the bus and left our luggage with Sam the hotel guy. Then we went to the Capitol and walked around the grounds. Then we went to he visitor's center under ground. We spent an hour looking around and I got the Constitution. I found the two Idaho statues and Brigham Young. We watched a show about the Capitol then got a tour. 

"After the tour we went to the Library of Congress and looked around. I saw the first book printed on a movable printing press [the Gutenberg Bible]. I got a picture where most of the book [in the Library] are. Then we went to lunch at Reagan International Trade Center food court and I got a meat hoagie. It was good. We ate fast then hurried to the bus that took us to the big cars that took us to the airport where we waited for our luggage. We went on the plane that took us to Las Vegas. There were a lot of casinos. I got a Lego set there. Then we flew to Boise where we drove to the middle school. [The bus picked us up this time!] Everybody went home and we all had a good time."