End of summer meant the beginning of a new era for Cade! I flew him out to Cleveland where we rented a car and stayed in a hotel for a few nights. That gave us one day to shop and check out the area, and one day to get him moved in. I flew back home the afternoon after he moved in so I could be home in time to start off the school year too!
Saying goodbyes
Found a little corner in the airport to sit with multiple instruments and food before boarding
You get our crazy faces because we BARELY made our connecting flight! We were delayed leaving seattle and they held everyone else's flight except ours. We would've gotten food and used the bathroom but we literally went from one plane to the next.
Here's cade's dorm
Where the music majors live
Such a beautiful campus!
One of the many buildings for performances
A koi pond right outside the conservatory!
After touring the campus we did some frisbee golf. It was a great course! Since he doesn't have a car at school I didn't think he'd ever make it back there, but he has several times :)
We miss culver's!
Sunset at Lake Eerie.
All moved in!
His roommate Noah, who is from Seattle! He plays string bass and they get along really well.
I felt really rushed getting him moved in and then just leaving. I could've done with another hour or two and I would've felt better about leaving. Obviously those were just mom feelings and he was fine. He has been thriving at Oberlin. I've heard the improvement in his sound, he's made great connections and seen amazing performances already. Can't wait to keep watching him learn and grow!
After the cruise both Dan and I were sick for quite some time with Covid, yay! I'm glad I had the time to recover but it's a bummer to use your time of for illness instead of fun!
When I was finally feeling better I decided to get at least one house project done this summer. Both boys bathrooms and the laundry room need the update that the house got when we moved in. I tackled Alex's first!
Fresh white paint, fixed imperfections in the walls, new mirror, light fixture, painted the vanity and spruced up the decorations!
Alex and I did a day-date to Seattle. This was a birthday present that took a bit to redeem :)
First up was the Museum of Illusions. Lots of crazy photo-ops and mind bending things to figure out. It was a lot of fun! Go check it out.
These next two you turn your phone upside down after you take the picture so it looks like you're doing amazing acrobatics while riding the subway.
One of my favorite spots was a room that had murals on the walls that changed based on what color was shining on it.
Next up was the Museum of Flight near the Boeing hub. The space was HUGE and had a really impressive display of planes inside and out. He even talked me into going in a flight simulator. We were upside down for way too long, lol!
Alex was stoked to see the Blackbird and get a picture of it!
Just a few other summer goodies. I did some axe throwing with the church ladies- it was fun!
And I took the pup and surprised Dan at one of his many summer concerts!
This summer we set out to combine a graduation present with a family reunion and arranged a Cruise to Alaska! We always try to take advantage of things that are local to where we are currently living, and Seattle is a harbor for Alaska cruises, so why not?! :)
We extended the invite to both sides of the family and whoever was up for the adventure planned right along with us!
Here's the whole crew that was with us on the cruise!
We spent the evening before the cruise in Seattle where my Mom and Brother met up with us. We got some dinner and played some games.
Next day it was time to board the ship! The embarkation was smooth and quick and we started finding family all over the place!
One of our favorite things about cruising is doing the formal dining each evening. Here's the boys with their signature 'escargot'. On our last cruise they ordered this every night!
Sea days = game days! We commandeered this small room on the ship and let the games and candy begin!
Our room!
Our first stop was Sitka. We decided to do an excursion with just the 4 of us for this stop and we had a private tour guide and his truck to take us wherever we wanted, or with his suggestions of course. We did some hiking, sightseeing, got to see the bears at the bear sanctuary, and then walked through the totems back to the ship. It was VERY rainy and cold so the views were somewhat obscured but we tried to make the best of it.
Gotta do a ship shot!
Second stop was Skagway. Here we planned an excursion with my Dad and brother Kevin. Unfortunately my dad's health prevented him from joining us on the excursion. I think he would've really enjoyed doing the dog sled and finding out all about Skagway. Skagway was my favorite spot for shopping, I think they had a lot of unique items where a lot of the other stops just felt uber commericalized.
This was the monster vehicle that took us up steep, muddy inclines
And this is the 'dogsled' that our team of dogs pulled us in!
Puppy snoots!
Here's a few videos! First is showing how excited the dogs were to get started. And second is us gliding across the mud. It was very wet and rainy and cold for us, but almost too hot for the dogs!
After that part of the excursion we got to meet and hold future dog sledding puppies! Can't go wrong with puppies!
A lot of people did the train ride in Skagway but the weather was not great for it. I'd do it if I was ever there again!
Our next stop was Juneau! We split up our parties for this spot. Kevin stayed on the ship with my Dad. Dan and the boys and some cousins borrowed our nephew's car (who lives in Juneau) and went to the Mendenhall Glacier. They also got to catch up with his college roommate and their family who had just moved to Juneau a few months prior. My mom and I took a ride up the mountain on a tram. The views up top were spectacular even with the clouds. I did a little hike up top that was lovely.
Juneau is known for its king crab!!
And then of course there are on the ship shenanigans.
Formal night!
It's a small world sometimes! We ran into some good friends of ours from our time in San Antonio! We actually hung out a fair amount and got to catch up and have a good time!
Piano in the elevator! Fun but inconvenient- elevator space is at a premium!
Dan chilling on the balcony
More games!
There was one more stop in Canada, but I had started not feeling well so Dan did his own little self-guided tour.
And it turned out I had Covid! Yay cruises! A good amount of our party ended up with Covid as well, including Dan. Took a good 3-4 weeks after the cruise to feel normal again! :/
Here's some formal pics from the cruise
As a family we decided this may be our last cruise for awhile. Not sure if it's the post-covid world, the inflation costs or what, but the quality of the cruise just seemed to be lacking what we had felt in previous cruises. The food was good, but not great. The entertainment was good, but not great. The service of the ship was good, but not great. And then the weather was definitely not great- which is to be expected in Alaska- but it still contributed to the overall enjoyment of the trip. We had a good time! Wish it had been great!
