Cadie's Mom Day

By Cadie Walsh, "This year‘s Mom Day was so much fun! We started off our day together by having a slow morning at the house and then headed to the nail salon. Every year Mom is so generous to let me get winter nails and I think this year‘s is the best iteration! I love having my nails done because it makes me feel fancy! After the nail salon we made our way to Dream Café, which was in the same area that the nail salon was. Mom and I split the most amazing blueberry muffin with strawberry butter. I got super fluffy delicious pancakes. Mom also let me get a very good chai latte. Being able to sit at lunch together and have conversation was nice. Once we finished our meal, we had to scurry over to a pressed flower art workshop! This was such a cool experience and we made beautiful pieces. We both love our artwork, and think the pressed flowers between the clear glass is very pretty. Every year my mom makes Mom Day special, and I could not be more grateful for her."

JR Ski Trip with Friends

By Jack Ranger, "For Truitt’s birthday this year, he invited Dez, Kai, and me to his family’s ranch in Durango, Colorado to go skiing. We left the Saturday right after exams, which made it fun because we were finally done with school. We got back on Christmas Eve, so the whole trip felt like a little holiday. We had three full days of skiing. Dez, Kai, and I all flew together on the same flight, and when we got to the Youngs’ ranch, I couldn’t believe how nice it was. It used to be a resort, so there are a bunch of cabins everywhere, and the main lodge is huge. They even have a giant kitchen and a chef who cooks for everyone, which made it feel like we were staying at the resort. The weather was pretty warm for winter in Colorado, so the snow wasn’t great. Almost all the snow at Purgatory Resort was manmade, and only about 30 runs were open. We still had a great time skiing though. The drive to the mountain took about an hour, and we would stop to get sandwiches for lunch on the way. Truitt and I ski a lot faster than Dez and Kai, so we split into two groups most of the time. It worked out fine because everyone got to go at their own speed. I also got to ski with Eli and Lawson, Truitt's brothers. Even though the snow wasn’t the best, the whole trip was really cool, and I’m glad we went because I had a great time."