All together on Mother’s Day

We had beautiful weather for Mother’s Day this year, warm and 83 degrees. Marcy wanted to spend the day in the yard, like she so often does. So, I went out to get mulch and then we both attacked the back yard garden, with Marcy doing most of the work. For dinner, it was Basil Docs pizza with champagne.

Anna was out most of the day, volunteering at church and then she started a new job at Dunkin’ Donuts. She has been looking for a summer job, having applied to 50 or so before finally landing this one. It was just the first day, but she liked it.

This coming week is Jude’s last day of high school. Hard to believe we are here. His graduation present is a three-week trip to Nepal that he starts at the end of the month. He is volunteering at an elephant shelter there through IVHQ.

Pickles doing what Pickles does

Anna and some teammates with their Peak Performance award, meaning they hit zero on Day 1 of Summit

Marcy and Anna spent most of this week in Orlando for “Summit,” the prestigious end-of-season international competition. Teams have to be invited to compete at Summit, and Anna’s team, Avalanche, was one of those teams, along with around 1,200 other teams from all over the world.

Celebrating with Mom

In cheerleading, there is this concept of “hitting zero,” which basically means you perform a routine with no major mistakes (no falls). Anna’s team had not hit zero all season, but in the last and toughest competition, they had their best performances. That means they qualified for the final day, which Anna had never done before.

Anna with the Bronze Champion banner

Then, they performed even better in their last performance ever as a team. This meant third place, which is a really, really big deal. It means third in the world for your division. Anna and her teammates were over the moon.

On White Ranch’s Belcher Hill Trail

Meanwhile, back in Denver, Jude and I had a good week. Jude did a lot of refereeing but took the day off today, so we went for a hike with Olive to White Ranch Park. It was a gorgeous day here, and it was good to spend some time on the trail.