Catching our breath!

 Wow, it has been a whirlwind of activity!  First, Ashton completed his freshman year at Linganore High School.  Overall, I think he had a great year, made some good friends, and did well in most of his classes.  Unfortunately, due to the chaotic nature of the last days of school, I did not get an end-of-year picture of Ashton. He has grown so tall and is showing signs of maturity more and more!

Ashton missed the last day of school to go on the first of our summer family trips to South Dakota.  Like anything a teenager has to do with their parents, Ashton has a love-hate relationship with it.  He did not want to fly (he mentioned anxiety about it), and he did not want to be away from his girlfriend, which is understandable, but overall we had a really great trip!!!!  Ashton camped in his tent; we rented him an e-bike so he could explore the area; he went to Crazy Horse, Mt. Rushmore, hiked Black Elk Peak,  saw wild bison, prairie dogs, burros, and Lake Sylvan in Custer State Park, and the Needles Highway and the Badlands and our course hung out with my biological father, my step mom and her kids and their spouses.

My biological father and his family

Our home away from home for the week!

Visiting Mt. Rushmore

Pondering the secret room at Mt. Rushmore

Climbing Black Elk Peak

A view on the hike

Family joy!

Crazy Horse Monument in the background

Custer Wildlife Loop with Bison and their calves

Exploring the prairie and seeing the prairie dogs in the Custer State Park Wildlife Loop

My personal favorite memory with Ashton was the day we went to the Badlands.  It was towards the end of the trip, and we were all feeling weary.  Ashton was interested in the Badlands because they are also in the Minecraft game.  We drove a scenic loop which included several pull-offs, and after a few, Ashton was done and wanted to stay in the car.  Towards the end there was this infamous hiking trail called the Notch Trail; we all were exhausted, and at any point any one of us could have said we didn't want to go, and all of us would have said okay!  We decided we would get some caffeine and then make a decision.  So we found a store nearby, and I bought Ashton a Monster (which I never do!) and Lily a Celicus, both of which are energy drinks, and I had a Coke.  We had the best hike ever!  We had so much fun!!!  We were laughing, and everyone was getting along.  Not to mention it wasn't crowded because the weather was overcast, so it felt like we had the place to ourselves.  As soon as we finished the hike and got in the car, it started to rain.  Such a wonderful memory!

Preparing to hike the Notch Trail

                                                

Enjoying the Notch Trail

                                                            

Classic Ashton

My mom made me take this stupid picture!

In between, we got a surprise visit from Frederik!  Ashton humored me and allowed me to take the obligatory photo!

After South Dakota, we were home for 7 days before we repacked and headed for Norway for Olav's family reunion and his brother Bjonar's 70th birthday party. For a kid who hates flying, over the course of the two family trips, he was on 9 different planes!  He really did amazingly!  Again, Norway was a love-hate experience as well.  Bjornar (Olav's brother) lent Ashton a bike, and Ashton had a great time exploring with the bike as well as making friends at the local skate parks.  He biked all over Risor, at all hours of the day and night (especially since it never really got dark there and it's much safer than here since it's a small town).  I am sure Ashton learned a lot of the ways in and around the town! Probably the highlight for Ashton was the day he and I went to Urehia Fortress and Bunkers high in the town of Risor near where Olav grew up.    Apparently, German troops were stationed there during the occupation of  Norway during WWII.  Ashton was so happy exploring the bunkers and trenches!  He was so funny; he wanted to explore some of the ones that went underground but insisted I go first because he saw spiders and he is terrified of spiders!  I wasn't worried about spiders, but I sure was hoping a mouse or rat didn't come scurrying across.  We really enjoyed our time exploring the bunkers and I am sure Ashton returned to that spot many times on his bike throughout the trip.

Exploring downtown Risor with the family

Exploring an underground bunker

Trapped?

More exploring

Dodging spiders!

Above ground exploration

Testing the water before the jump

Psyching himself up to jump in the cold lake water

Out on Magne's boat to Magne's summer house

Hanging out at Magne's Summer Cabin
 

Fishing with his cousin

Summer Cabin Crew

Paddleboarding at a local swimming lake

A last afternoon dip in the lake with the family

Hanging with Tante Clara

Ready to be home!

Now we are back home, and Monday starts reality.  Ashton will be volunteering at the Buddy Project in Frederick, where he will be working with his peers to re-image and reprogram old computers.  I hope he doesn't hate it and hopefully makes a new friend or two!