Time for a quick catch-up. For the sake of efficiency, let’s break this down into categories of people/things with a whole lot of pictures.

Cooper’s Birthday

Cooper turned 11 in May. We rented a movie theater for a private showing (it was surprisingly not that much more expensive than buying everyone individual movie tickets). Cooper invited his two best friends who he hadn’t seen since the fall. He was so excited to see them again.

Misc May

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Other things in May: it was a rainy spring and our yard was wet enough to be a haven for ducks. Noel took his first flight in over a year to move his grandma into an assisted living facility. While he was away, we did a movie night and got ice cream.

Finished the School Year

You can read about the school year on my debrief post, but we were all so glad to have it over. We literally had a bonfire and burned the school work from the year.

Memorial Day

Over Memorial Day weekend, we did a quick getaway in Leadville. We hiked through snow and spring run-off to see a gorgeous lake. When we went back home, we had Noel’s cousin, her family, and his aunt over for dinner.

Kid Activities

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In June, the kids began to do activities again. Cooper and Ellen are doing taekwondo. Ellen is doing a summer soccer league. Both kids also attended church day camp. It’s been really good for the kids to socialize more and be more active.

Reunited with Family

In June, we went to Utah and saw family we hadn’t seen in over a year. (Thank you vaccines!) The kids were so, so happy to spend time with their cousins. We also celebrated my dad’s retirement. It was really good to see everyone.

Family Fun

At home, we took our kayaks out and had fun at the local reservoir. We also volunteered at the Dirty 30 Ultramarathon (you may recall Noel and I ran the race a few years back). We did a Star Wars theme and almost lost our voices cheering everyone on.

Noel and I

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I’m really busy at work with people feeling more comfortable going to the gym and the rec center being short staffed. The change from mandatory mask wearing to not wearing masks was a rough one for me and my anxious tendencies, but I’ve mostly adjusted. I got my first haircut since before the pandemic. Noel and I went on an actual date and went kayaking just the two of us. We’ve also been ramping up our running mileage as we train for an epic Grand Canyon adventure this fall. In June, Noel was given permission to physically go to work again, which we does some days. (It’s pretty quiet though as only a small percentage of workers have been allowed to go back.) All things considered, we’re doing alright.