On my way home from dropping a van load of 6 kids off at FSY in Tacoma on Monday July 20th, I hiked to the Kendall Katwalk on the Pacific Crest Trail. It was my first time on this section of the PCT, so it was extra exciting to explore and add a new place to my list of best hikes within 2 hours of Sunnyside.
This week was hot and dry with triple digit temperatures more than twice, but somehow the weeds kept growing, while our vast backyard grass keeps looking crispy-er. The weeds always know when I am away from home, because they grow fastest when I'm gone. During my recent 3 week absence, for example, an alarming quantity of thick noxious weeds popped up all around the borders of our front yard and driveway. I sacrificed body and soul to pull those evil thick tormentors: on Monday, I sweated and weeded for over two and a half hours. That massive effort thrashed my muscles after my 3 week vacation from yardwork, and I was sore for the rest of the week.
When everyone else went home after our family reunion, I got to stay in Denver an extra week with my Mom! We started this tradition five years ago, and it is one of my favorite weeks of the summer. We do all of our favorite things all week long and since we have so many shared interests. As the second of five siblings, I especially relish one on one time with my Mom!
Our annual Brown family reunion was from June 27-July 4, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. This was the first time in nearly 10 years that we were missing people from our family. The last time we were missing a someone at our family gathering was when my youngest sister Melody was serving her mission in Cambodia 9 or 10 years ago! As the oldest grandchild, Steve was the first of the next generation to go. He began his mission on June 24th with two weeks of home MTC, so Steve stayed home in Missouri with his dad/mission companion Jesse while the rest of us gathered together in Colorado. We missed them, but Steve was in the right place and it was cool being able to see him wearing his missionary nametag on video calls a few times during the week!
When we got home from our trip to Virginia and Pennsylvania, we had almost exactly 36 hours at home before our next trip: we got home at 1am on Friday morning (June 26th) and left again at 1pm on Saturday afternoon (June 27th). The next trip was to Denver for the Brown family reunion. But before that, let's talk about our 36 hours at home. It was productive.
Part 3 of 3: After Virginia, our family adventure continued in central Pennsylvania and Washington, DC! Journal excerpts, edited for coherency and interspersed with pictures:
Let's be honest: aside from showing our kids where we met and went to college, one of the main draws of this trip was the gorgeous nostalgic running routes! I went on 3 memorable morning runs in Buena Vista, Virginia and felt all of the nostalgia and love of that Appalachian beauty in my soul. This place will always have a piece of my heart. I took almost as many pictures during my runs as I did during the rest of the trip, so I organized the running pictures separately here.
Long post alert! Even though I already hit the highlights of the trip, I'm doing the special blog extended edition of our family trip to Virginia and Pennsylvania because I like keeping track of my memories. The 3 parts of this extended edition are:
Our family roots are deep in Pennsylvania, where Jeff grew up, and Virginia, where we met and went to college. We took our kids back east on a family trip during the first week of summer break. It was so much fun showing our kids our beloved Southern Virginia University! And the rich rolling greenery of central Pennsylvania! We wore ourselves out running, driving, hiking, and exploring this cherished pocket of the country.
Concerts, recitals, performances, speeches, projects, celebrations, activities, birthdays: the end of the school year is always full to bursting! Here is a photo album of the end of the school year, with captions for details.
Jay's one and only birthday present was a trip to visit his cousin Steve before Steve leaves on his mission to Mexico City in a few weeks. The last time Steve and Jay saw each other was last summer at our family reunion, so without this trip they would not have seen each other for four or more years, thanks to overlapping missions! Since Steve is 18 months older than Jay, they won't see each other for three or more years after this visit. It was a sweet "last visit of childhood" for these cousin friends. I feel a little nostalgic thinking about it all, because my sister Em and I used to get our kids together every year when the kids were little. Visiting when our oldest sons were on the verge of leaving the nest was bittersweet!