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Finishing the 22-23 school year

Coming back from Singapore late Tuesday night and jumping back into school the next day was *fun*. :p We actually did a decent job of getting back into the right time zone by staying up all night in the airport and then trying to sleep on the flight home. But we were still really tired for a few days!! 

The rest of April went flying by, especially with Outdoor School at Camp Mivoden [again, not enough sleep!]. We enjoyed the flowers on the Sage Hills trail and Ezra came out to the loop trail on his scooter while I rollerbladed. Otherwise, we were working hard or recovering from work. It was a busy month.

May came quickly and I had just a few days to finish my #40before40 list. I didn't have time to go parasailing and it was too late in the year to ride a snowmobile, so I put some kind-of lame things on the list like eating peanut butter pie [so yummy though] and visiting 40 states [Alaska was #40!]. 

Here is the complete list for memory's sake: 
1. Watch sunset/sunrise on the longest day of the year in Fairbanks, Alaska
2. See whales on a wildlife cruise out of Sitka
3. Try an escape room for the first time [Anchorage]
4. Bike camping along the Iron Horse Trail
5. Enchantments --18 mile thru hike [where the idea for this list started]
6. Ride the Wenatchee city bus [free] all the way to Chelan
7. Ride the Lady of the Lake to Stehekin [only accessible by water or air]
8.  Eat at Stehekin Bakery [huge cinnamon buns]
9. Visit Ohme Gardens
10. Ride the Olympic Adventure Trail [intense 30+ mile mountain bike trail]
11. Ride the Amtrak Surfliner train to Oceanside
12. Visit the San Diego Zoo
13. Jet ski in the San Diego harbor
14. Kayak at La Jolla with Tiger Sharks
15. Jet boat in the San Diego harbor
16. Eat a vegetarian California burrito
17. Fat tire bike rental, riding in the snow [Winthrop] 
18. Walk 40 miles in two weeks [Christmas break] 
19. Night ski Mission Ridge Chair 2 terrain 
20. Portland helicopter ride [city lights tour]
21. Ride Amtrak Coast Starlight [sit in the observation car] 
22. Quit my job : / 
23. Drive on the other side of the road [rental car in Johor Bahru]
24. ATV tour in Malaysia
25. Get a henna tattoo
26. Visit southernmost point in Asia
27. Ride the Skyline luge
28. Try carrot cake [Malaysian savory meal, mostly eggs, but no carrots!]
29. Try murtabak [layered savory pastry]
30. Try popiah [like an egg roll, but better]
31. Try cendol [shave ice with syrup, jellies, and sweet beans]
32. Try laksa [soupy, spicy noodle bowl]
33. Try egg prata [fried batter with egg]
34. Try durian ice cream sandwich [with actual bread]
35. Attend a Singapore Symphony Orchestra concert
36. Ride a bumboat [night lights tour]
37. Score 4 points in a basketball game [staff vs. alumni]!!
38. Visit 40 states [Alaska was #40!]
39. Eat peanut butter pie at McGlinns
40. Buy beer for the first time [in order to make beer bread]
I rode 40 miles on the loop trail for my birthday celebration and then enjoyed another long ride the day after! My first epic event of my 41st year was to ride the slowest uphill miles of my life, followed by the fastest downhill miles [up to Washington and Rainy pass on the North Cascades Highway, and back down]! 

Peter also had a birthday in May [16 -- hooray!] and hosted a super fun game of ultimate frisbee followed by a dunk in the river! I accepted an exciting part-time job for Horizon Air as a customer service agent/ramp attendant and then did my best to finish out the school year [one day at a time]! 

We recently celebrated Ezra's graduation from eighth grade and then the last day of school. We have completed another year and are ready for SUMMER!!!!! 
So, here we are!! We are STOKED to have completed this school year! We now have one kiddo in "college" [running start!] and the other one in high school [freshman]. That's pretty incredible. We're so proud of these young men. 

And my last contracted teaching day was June 9th, so I'm officially entering a new chapter in my life. The "great reset" has begun! My Horizon Air training starts right away and I can't wait! Soon I'll have a better idea of my work schedule and that will help me know how to plan the rest of our summer fun. :) 

Cheers to fresh starts and sunny days! Happy JUNE! 

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