Cousin Johnna's Graduation

Last weekend we had a special visit to Leavenworth for Johnna's graduation from Cascade High School. It's hard for mommy to believe she, too, graduated from Cascade 20 years ago this month.

We enjoyed Johnna's graduation party at the Icicle Ridge Winery catching up with family.

 My sister and I ate yummy sherbert with our cousin Lola and Todd Smith's kids (Miles and Kate).

 Uncle Kevin and his longtime friend Elia (he will become the new head principal at Cascade HS next year and was also the keynote speaker at Johnna's graduation).

 

Left to right: auntie Amy, cousin Johnna, cousin Violet, cousin Dakota, auntie Teddy, cousin Lola, Mama, and Karen.

Left to right: uncle Kevin, Holden, cousin Carson, and Papa.

 Johnna's boyfriend (Jacob from Ephrata) giving me a push. They will both be attending WSU in the fall. Jacob will also be turning out for the football and track & field teams.

 The motto at Johnna's graduation was: "Once a Kodiak...always a Kodiak!"

 My sister hung on tight to Papa during the amazing fireworks display at the end of the graduation ceremony.

 We always love playing dress-up and jumping on the trampoline at our cousin's house!

 We made our traditional stop to sit on grandpa John and grandma Karen's memorial bench in downtown Leavenworth.

 We then went to sing, clap, and dance with the German band playing at the gazebo. My favorite was the Chicken Dance!

 We went on a hike up the Icicle Canyon. It was beautiful! We were still in our clothes from church, but that didn't stop us from hiking almost 2 hours.

 Karen actually ran much of the trail.

 After our hike, Mama showed us the plot where our grandpa John and grandma Karen had their ashes buried at the Mountain View Cemetery up the Icicle. It was an emotional and special visit!

 Then we went to visit Anne and Bob Smith. We had a blast riding around their parking lot in a train/wagon Bob made for Dave and Todd over 30 years ago.

 We stayed with Connie McCauley during our time in Leavenworth. My sister absolutely adores Connie's two Golden Retrievers, Sadie (pictured) and Carly.

 Papa helped hold a tall ladder for Connie to climb up and grease her classic old swing that hangs between two trees outside her house. Thanks for your amazing hospitality, Connie!

 We had a wonderful visit with family while sharing a picnic by Smallwood's Harvest in Peshastin.

We miss you and love you all!

Field Trip to the State Capital

 Waiting patiently on the steps of the state capital building with some of my friends from pre school.

 My sister and I have driven by the capital many times and we've often asked what it looks like inside. So we were very excited to finally go on a tour with my pre school class as an extension field trip last week.

 It was a beautiful day to have a picnic and explore the area outside the capital building too.

New Trails to Explore!

 It's been an extremely busy week for our family as we just moved to Delphi Hills southwest of Olympia. But with this gorgeous weather we've taken several breaks to explore some of the trails and streams just 3 minutes from our doorstep.

 We've heard there are over 166 miles of connecting trails in the state forest.

  We had fun exploring, wading, and skipping rocks in Waddell Creek.

End of School Year Circus & Carnival

My preschool class hosted a circus and carnival at the church to celebrate the end of the school year. You'll see below why I had the balloon artist make me a tiger!

 We played several carnival games and won tickets for prizes.

 I was a tiger in our circus performance for the parents. We sang songs and did all sorts of stunts like somersaults and jumping through "flaming" hoops. There were also seals, acrobats, horses, elephants, and clowns that performed!

When I accepted my certificate, the teachers commented they appreciated my excitement for learning, my polite "please" and "thank you's", and my joyful attitude.