Grad Season

Over in Durango, Drake's cousin Gabe was getting ready to make his own leap into the big world of adulthood. We traveled over to share in the celebration of this rite of passage. I can't believe these little boys have now graduated from high school!

Under Foot

While we were busy having a party weekend for Drake's graduation with our family and friends, lots of great things were happening over at the new house. Tile floors were going in and concrete was being poured. Fabulous!

Graduation Day

I have been looking forward to this day for almost 18 years. Our oldest don Drake is graduating from high school.

Drake is absolutely brilliant, one of the smartest people I know. When he started pre-school in Aztec, NM as a three year old, his teachers thought that he was unable to speak. He wasn't super shy or unable, he was just not interested in falling in line and doing what he didn't like. Of course, he eventually showed his teachers that he could indeed talk and do lots of other things.  Drake likes to do what he wants when he wants. Sometimes that did not always coincide with the things he needed to do for school. Sometimes he struggles to stay organized. Sometimes he just didn't want to do the work. He had some awesome teachers and some that were less than awesome. There were times that I wondered if both of us were going to make it through his school years. But he did it. Not only that, he did it very well! So proud of this kid as he moves on to the next phase of his life. Congratulations graduate!

Treasured Delivery

So Rex turned 12 about a month ago. As I mentioned, 12 is a momentous birthday, a big deal. One of the traditions we have when a kids turns 12 is grandpa Ross presenting the birthday child with their very own treasure box. Grandpa makes these treasure chests himself, so they are very special. Rex has watched each of his brothers receive their treasure chest one by one, and he knew there must be one waiting for him. When his birthday came and went without the any sign of the special gift, he was somewhat deflated. He tried to play it cool when he asked me about it a few days after his birthday. I told him I wasn't sure when it would arrive, but that I would check into it.

After talking with my parents, apparently they had planned to bring it with them when they came down to Page for Drake's graduation in mid-May. I explained this to Rex, and being the mature young man that he is, you know he is 12, he took it in stride.

And so, the box has arrived. The kid is happy.

The Rains Came Down and The Walls Came Up

This has been a wetter than usual spring, which can be nice, but can be, well wet. We had some leaks that needed to be addressed in our house. We did feel fortunate that the rain revealed these issues when it was still relatively easy to fix. With sheetrock being hung, we are getting closer all the time.

Beautiful Beams

Theo was really determined to add some custom features to the house. He has a very artistic streak in him which I love. He purchased some big raw beams of wood to go in the entryway of our house as well as for the mantle over the fireplace. He started out by using a router to get the general shape and then finished the designs by carving with a chisel. I got the assignment to slather on some wood stain. I'm in love!