hi ho, hi ho

it's off to school he goes.

caleb was very ready to go back. he does his best concentration and learning in a school environment (out of my four, he is my one for whom the structure and expectations of a classroom is an educational game changer) and was so excited to see his amazing teacher in person again.

he had his backpack and mask on a full thirty minutes before it was time to leave for the bus. 

a smattering

 of a few more snowy baptism pics to remember the day.

not pictured: brian collinwood who came down early in the cold morning to fill the font (and also shoveled the walk!); james pace who trekked out to attend in person (bringing our total physical attendance numbers up to five); marcy candland who quickly popped on her boots and dropped off fluffy, warm towels (after a frantic phone call) because we forgot ours; all our loving and dedicated family members who participated via the wonders of technology; and summer and dallin who had to zoom in to the baptism from home because, well, that was just the hand the morning dealt us.

caleb, for his part, took everything in stride as he is wont to do. it was a good day. 

michael caleb

after waiting nearly a year, not even a pacific northwest snowstorm could keep us from the church building yesterday (bryan putting grandpa mike's off-road fj cruiser to good use), and our mr. caleb, sir, felt very loved on his zoom baptism day.

"If we give our heart to God, if we love the Lord Jesus Christ, if we do the best we can to live the gospel, then tomorrow—and every other day—is ultimately going to be magnificent, even if we don’t always recognize it as such. Why? Because our Heavenly Father wants it to be! He wants to bless us. A rewarding, abundant, and eternal life is the very object of His merciful plan for His children! It is a plan predicated on the truth 'that all things work together for good to them that love God.' 

So keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever." Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

snow capped mountains white

a few more snaps of dallin's birthday snow day.

this crew might look like they're all laughing and smiling and having a grand ol' time in these pics, but most of them did NOT care for the forty minute hike in the snow (some of it deep snow) to get here. unfortunately, their daddy loves him a hard hike: the stress on the body and the mind and the views that make it oh so worth while. 

so, sorry kids: this won't be the last mountain you climb (whether you like it or not). 

but see? worth it. 

then there was this!

and as if turning seven wasn't enough, dallin got to celebrate 2021 with an extra special bonus of attending his first day of in-person learning in almost a year. 

cheers to the teachers(!!), staff, community members, and families for their hard work and dedication in making in-person learning a possibility for our youngest learners.

dallin was one of those who had to switch teachers due to the necessary reshuffling of kiddos based on in-person/remote options, BUT! the first grade team had done such a phenomenal job of integrating their learning across classrooms throughout the year that he was undeterred and super excited to be in person with his new teacher and classmates. we love our first grade teachers!

he had a great first (half) day.

masked up, washed up, and ready to learn.