Reid and Stefani Adopt

This year for my family reunion, we went to Utah.  Day 1 was "This is the Place" Monument.  Then we ended up at a park, singing happy birthday to my brother, Tim, and hanging out at the Airbnb.  There were people all over the place.  Two of my siblings have grandkids now, and 2 more have children who are married or are getting married.  So there are people of all ages at my family reunions.  Isaac's closest cousins are my brother Tim's and my sister Kati's kids.  At first he felt a little lost, but found cousins to hang out with finally.  Esther palled around with Tim's youngest daughter, and Jaydon with anyone who would play with him.  He didn't seem too bothered by any age gaps.  We spent two nights at each place we stopped, and by the time we left Utah, I was totally ready to be in the same bed for at least a month.  I don't get that though, because the Archibald reunion is coming up at the end of July.  From L-R.  Isaa...

For Isaac's official "friend birthday party", we allowed Isaac to plan the party.  He reached out to his friends on his own, and set up the time and place.  When his friends were 45 minutes late, he was ready to go home feeling defeated.  But finally everyone showed up, and those 5 boys had a good time in some rough waves.    

The first summer vacation of 2024 was thus: biking in Bentonville, AK.  Except that Bentonville got hit by a series of tornadoes right before we got there...and most of the biking trails were closed.  So we had to invent a few other things to do besides biking.  Here are a few of them: This is a chapel built as a memorial for Mildred B. Cooper.  It is super pretty there.  Right after this picture was taken, we got kicked out so that a wedding party could start practicing for the wedding. The Crystal Bridges Museum of Art was another place we ended up visiting.  We got into their special exhibit for free because of the tornadoes. One of the exhibits at the art museum.  This was part of the special exhibit we got into for free. Showing off the loaves and fishes at the Great Passion Play area in Eureka Springs, AK. The giant statue of Jesus at the Passion Play area. Jaydon enjoying the full sized truck we got to carry our stuff and bikes. Literally eating...

Isaac is graduating from elementary school. The school had a 6th grade dance, where everyone dressed up fancy. Isaac took his dad on a wild goose chase at every goodwill and second hand shop to look for a tuxedo or a vest he could wear. Alas...there were none to be found. So he just went in his sunday best. And all that so he could stand around talking to the boys about soccer and Fortnite. He told me that he would have NEVER asked a girl to dance. Besides that, apparently no 6th grader actually knows how to dance. But he tells me the food was good. So in a few months, Isaac will be entering West Shore Jr/Sr High school, which I am pleased to report is a nationally acclaimed school. Here is a link to a web article about it and other schools in Florida that are highly sought after. We'll see how he does there. I'm excited to have him there with me. I'll have a driving buddy to and from school every day. Florida Today: Top Brevard Schools

Reid and Stefani went to iFly in Orlando to try indoor sky diving. Reid was awesome at it.  Stefani was not.   Dad and the kids outside the restaurant we ate dinner at for his birthday. Reid cake choice was "dirt cake" which consists of pudding, crushed Oreos, and gummy worms.  

  Ready for the Egg Hunt.  This may be Isaac's last year of doing the egg hunt.  Next year he graduates to helping hide the eggs. Esther examines our cement pile carefully for eggs.  The cement pile is remnants from us taking down our fence. Jaydon find one of his eggs in the tree.