Whew, graduation is over and now it’s time to celebrate! We threw Avery’s party the day after, while we still had family in town and before we left for Europe.
Henry, Neil, Hayden, Elijah, Jacob, Preston, Ben, Natalie, Dalton and a few others!
Dalton, Nate, Rowan, Natalie, Lizzy, Logan & Matt
Lynne and Duke travelled up from Vancouver
John and Jill Bainbridge came to visit from B.C.
The moms at Hayden & Jordan’s Party – Jacqui, Leslie, DeAun & Joanna
We went to Jackson Kokich’s party. These two hadn’t seen each other in more than ten years!
Another special tradition we gained from Covid is the Senior Car Parade. The poor 2020 Seniors really got gypped, but I’m thankful the schools came up with meaningful ways to celebrate them (and that they stuck around and became new traditions). The last Saturday before graduation the Seniors decorate their cars and have a parade. Our small community shows up and cheers them on. In past years the route went up and over the Snoqualmie Parkway, but the traffic lights broke up the parade and then cars would go faster than safe to catch up. This year the parade route was around the block by the High School. It was nice to keep the parade together and to have Mount Si and the high school in the background.
It was a lot of fun decorating the car with Avery and Erika that morning. We’d blown up a balloon arch, but it was so hot out that when we put the arch in the car to drive it to the school, they all started popping from the heat! We frantically worked to save what we could. which turned out to be enough. Jonathan brought his drone and got some incredible pictures of the event, which we shared with the district. Then he hopped in the car and drove Erika and Avery in the parade while the kids and I cheered in the crowd.
Avery & Erika representing WWU and OSU
We found the Lott’s and the Dickenson’s and watched and cheered with them
I had so much fun doing cap and gown pics with Avery! We did sessions with Dalton and Erika and they turned out so cute! I can’t believe these kids are about to graduate!
Avery jammed his index finger tossing a football with Jonathan minutes before, hence the expression on his face.
We now have another adult living under our roof! It’s hard to believe eighteen years have come and gone since we became parents, but it’s true! Avery’s birthday was an emotional day for Jonathan and me. We woke up before any of the kids and each wrote Avery a heartfelt birthday letter, then looked through old pictures together.
We couldn’t be prouder of Avery. At eighteen, he is a good friend, a hard worker, driven to do his best, and a lot of fun to talk to! He balances school with sports, work, a girlfriend, personal interests and spends a lot of time with friends.
Avery’s favorite band is the Red Hot Chili Peppers, favorite solo artist is Kendrick Lamar. He enjoys following football, and of course, roots for the Seahawks. He doesn’t care for TV much, though he does play some video games with friends. Avery spends a lot of time in the gym or outdoors hiking, skiing, running, swimming and backpacking.
He is excited for college and has not decided what he wants to study yet, though he’s giving a lot of thought to the medical industry.
Happy birthday, sweet Avery Liam. We love you so much!
French toast for breakfast
Dalton stopped by to hang out and wish Avery a happy birthday.
We took Avery to 12 Moons Sushi at the Snoqualmie Casino, for birthday lunch, thinking he could do some slot machines on the way. We didn’t realize you have to be 21 to gamble at this casino because of all the bars, but he loved the sushi!
It’s ironic that Avery work his Red Hot Chili Peppers shirt to lunch. Kieron took a bite of the Thai Chili Pepper on his plate, and then Avery decided to eat his whole pepper, seeds and all. He subsequently started sweating, sniffling and drank all his water. Fortunately, he had creme brulee on the way to cool things down!
It’s crazy to think Avery turned seventeen this year and has less than a year until he’s an adult. I feel like we were just bringing our first-born home from the hospital not so long ago. At seventeen, this kid makes us so proud. He is such a hard worker and really pushes himself academically. He’s a great teammate, and participated in cross country, swim team, and track this year. He’s got lots of great friends who we also enjoy having over, and he helps us with errands and driving his siblings around. Avery is also great to talk to and is known for writing the sweetest things in cards. Senior year is going to be a whirlwind, but we intend to soak up every minute of it before this boy spreads his wings and flies!
With Erika
An All Blacks jersey from Nana
Doing one of his favorite things
We celebrated with a party/sleepover with a few of Avery’s closest buddies
