Our Magnum Opus

Regina Earned Her WFR

Affectionately called 'woofer'.  Wilderness First Responder.  Regina was on campus at WCC when Blaise's class returned, having just earned her certification.  We're very proud of her, few 17 year olds have completed this course.

Blaise takes on WCC

Arriving back from the freshmen COR expedition, Blaise was looking a little pirate-y.

The student body begins the 2018-2019 school year with Matriculation Mass

 

Farewell to Blaise

Off to Wyoming Catholic College!  We are going to miss him so much!  Blaise is the fourth child to leave home for college, and it does get easier, but not much. 

Our traditional Dairy Queen farewell.  Kevin J. phoned it in.  :)

Regina is 17

Regina spent her 17th birthday in the Denver airport waiting for a delayed flight to get home from PEAK. (Wyoming Catholic college's summer program for interested highschoolers.)  In spite of a nasty cold and missing a few of the activities, (she was evacuated from the backpacking trip) she had a great time.  We celebrated the very tired birthday girl the day after she got back home.  Monica baked pasties and Celestine baked a layered sponge cake with cream and berries.

So There Was This Solar Eclipse...

It's a long story but Kevin, Blaise, and Regina drove to Wyoming to see the solar eclipse and bring back a van load of Inshal and Monica's stuff.  Then the guys drove back home but Regina remained on campus with Monica while Monica completed her WFR (Wilderness First Responder) certification.  Then Regina came back with Monica, Inshal, and a couple other Wyoming Catholic College grads. Regina loved being on campus and clearly her heart is there.  I think she found her place.

Missing My College Girl

Monica is my oldest daughter, and one of my best friends.  I cherish every chance I get to talk to her.  I am so happy that she has the opportunity to attend Wyoming Catholic College.  It's quite a trek across the country, and she has only been home for Christmas break.  She may not be home for summer!  Students cannot have cell phones on campus so a phone call is rare (though she messages me most days) consequently phone calls are especially precious.

She continues to bake and sent this photo of a baptism cake she made for a professor's new baby.
A friend who shared their ski cabin with us one year, recently sent us this poem after reminiscing over their cabin guest book. _{(can't get the pic to turn)}

On spring break the Wyoming students headed out to the mountains for a week of caving and canyoning. are they not adorable?!

breathtaking 

November Culture

At Wyoming Catholic College the students take a trip to Salt Lake City to the ballet or opera.  They dress up and pair off with dates.  Fun.  This year they attended the ballet and Monica went with her pumpkin head from Halloween, Inshal. They clean up real nice!  Happy 20th Birthday Monica!

 

Monica's Freshmen Trip

In the age of communication we are not used to being out of touch with our loved ones.  On WCC's Freshmen trip there is no communication except snail mail going in or out with the weekly re-ration supply, carried on horseback of course.  :)  So the letters than came from Monica while she was out there in the mountains were more precious than gold to us!  She arrived back on campus tired, dirty, fit, healthy, and with a fresh, happy confidence.

The wonderful books the freshmen class will explore!

And... all cleaned up for convocation!  God Bless their school year!

 

Summer's End

It is still hot but football practices have begun for Dominic, volleyball practices for Regina, and we've gotten a jump on our homeschool school work.  St. Augustine's classes begin in early September.  So summer is over.  But the pool is still up.  And did I mention that it's still hot?  Ugh.  Actually the forecast predicts cooling to begin tomorrow.  Yay!  Out in Wyoming, the temps have already dropped to become quite fallish. Monica is still out in the Wind River Range on the last day of week two of her freshmen COR Expedition with Wyoming Catholic College.  We got a letter from her.  They can get mail in and out once a week when the horse people bring up the re-rations to the mountains.  We have never been so happy to get a letter.  We gathered around to hear it read like a family in the old days.  As in before the internet.  of course, she sent a sketch.

Regina and Lydia

How mom spends her summers

pile of kittens on the tractor seat (the coveted spot for all our cats)

Dad, KJ, and Aunt Kari took a crowd to the water park while Mom was in Wyoming

Regina (not looking at the camera LOL) and friends at the Miles Christi girls camp

the Vacation Bible School helpers on the last day, Regina is on far right.  After the kids age out of VBS, they love to come back as helpers.

 

To the Mountains

Last year Monica was accepted to two excellent Catholic colleges, but neither one struck her as just the right place for her and she was having some health problems.  So she wisely took a gap year.  At Thanksgiving she had an opportunity to visit Wyoming Catholic College.  That was it. 
She applied, was accepted, got a job to help with tuition, and trained hard for the freshmen outdoor leadership expedition.

Our little family tradition, the day before someone leaves for college, is a visit to Dairy Queen.    (I probably had a coupon or something the first time and it became tradition.)  We aren't all together that much, so it's a fun goodbye ritual and we make sure it happens. 

Our local DQ has this brick wall my kids always climb.  I'm sure they love us there. Could these two be future Wyoming Catholic College students?

Monica has never been that outdoorsy.  She wanted a larger school. She wanted to be closer to home. No one, including her mother, would have picked WCC for her. She and I traveled to campus for the freshmen orientation and move in. It's a young college, the campus is a bit... rustic. The strength of the college is in it's people, their faith life, it's natural, rugged, breathtaking surroundings, and it's curriculum.  We feel very confident that she made the right choice.  It will be challenging, both the academics and the outdoor program.  But if her first few days on campus in the outdoor training is any indication, she will thrive.

 

In the kitchen of the apartment she shares with three other girls.
Her wonderful roommate

M n M studying their wilderness first aid training

Ha ha ha.  Like mother like daughter....

our last evening with our girls

the beautiful rainbow God shared with M's mother and I on our drive home after saying goodbye to our girls

As I type, the freshmen class is out on day one hiking up the mountains of the Wind River Range: about 50 students, a dozen leaders, and half dozen priests.  For 21 days.  What an incredible adventure.