Evening at the Bradley Ranch

My good friend Becky lives on a legit ranch in Queen Creek. She and her family moved out there from Chandler a few years back because they wanted land to start building their menagerie. Becky had a few horses that she was boarding, but they really wanted to be able to keep them at home. They've done an amazing amount of work at their house, and since they moved in, have acquired quite the variety of pets. I'm sure I won't get the numbers right, but they have 7 dogs, 4 horses, 2 donkeys, 3 pigs, a cat, a lizard, fish, and too many chickens to count. Oh, and they also have twin 12 year old boys and an 11 year old son who they adopted from foster care. To say that their household is....exciting, is an understatement.

If you've been around awhile, you know that we have had some great times with our group of 4 families. Heather, Becky, Kelly and I all became friends through work (well, Heather has been a friend since college) and met while we were working in Student Life. Our four families have had great times over the years, most notably through the weekend trips we used to take as a group to a cabin in Munds Park. With the kids all getting older and all of our lives getting busier, our times to get everyone together have been very limited. This trip out to the Bradley farm was actually the first time our entire group--all 4 families (16 people) have been together since we did a staycation in July 2018! It doesn't help that we're all very spread out throughout the Valley. Kelly is in north north Phoenix, Heather is in central Phoenix, I'm in east Mesa, and Becky is way down near San Tan Valley. It took Kelly almost an hour and a half to get to Becky's house!

We managed to find a weekend that worked for everyone, and we all made the trek out to the ranch. Ava was most excited to meet Becky's newest puppy, Cora. Isn't she adorable?! Yes, the non-dog person in me can still recognize a cute puppy when I see one, I just don't want her to come home with me. I mean, well, maybe....no! No dogs! She's cute though, right?!

We met some of the residents of the Bradley ranch and heard some of their stories. The two donkeys were both rescues, as was Becky's first horse. Becky loves her horses, but the pigs are a close second favorite. She has one pig that even gets into their bed! And no, it's not one of those cute little teacup pigs. It's a full blown pig pig. She loves that damn pig!

After we ate, Becky saddled up Sport and Cupcake (the pony). Olivia and Lila rode first, and I walked Sport around for Olivia while she was getting comfortable. They got a quick lesson on riding and then wandered around the yard on their own. Lila even got Cupcake to trot for her. The girls did great!

Once they were done, I had a chance to jump on Sport for a ride around the yard. When I say that I was instantly propelled back to my childhood, I mean it. As I've recently written about, I was ObSeSsEd with horses when I was a girl. Getting on or around a horse to this day instantly brings me back--the smell, the feel, the sounds.....it's like my favorite memories from childhood come flooding back. I didn't get much time to ride and there wasn't really anywhere to go, but simply being near this beautiful horse was enough to make me want more. I'm hoping to get out to visit Becky once in awhile and get a ride in here and there. It's truly a joy for me, even all these years later. Isn't this just the most beautiful animal? He's so sweet too--I can see why Becky loves him so much. 

For those of you who remember the Munds Park trips, you may recognize this pose. We had our kids stand in a row by age on the same log near the cabin for three years in a row. We couldn't get them all together this time without getting a photo! Let's be honest, who knows when we'll get a chance to do this again. My old kid is a hot second away from being an adult and out of here. I know he didn't want to come tonight, but he humored me by joining us for awhile. From left to right we have Lila (10), Jacob (11), Colton & Dylan (12), Olivia (12), Ava (13), Nate (15), and Tyler (16). It's crazy to think of how long it's been since we took that first log picture in 2014. Time sure flies!

Speaking of the log pictures, here they are from the 3 consecutive years we took that summer trip. We laugh so hard at these photos knowing the chaos that went into capturing them! It was not an easy feat to get 7 kids between the ages of 1 and 8 to stand on a log and look at the camera. Olivia is crying in this first picture because Colton took her flowers. Ava is hiding her left arm in the second picture because she had a cast on her broken arm. Things we realized we should have done for the most recent photo--Olivia should have been holding flowers, Ava should have had a shirt on that said 13, and the Bradley boys still don't seem to know which twin is older. What a wild adventure this parenting thing can be. I'm grateful to the friends along the way who have helped make these wonderful memories. 

And to end this post, I'll show you that I don't actually hate dogs. Puppies that fall asleep snuggling in your arms are pretty dang cute. But, shortly after this photo, the puppy pooped on the coffee table, so I left for the evening without feeling a strong need to get one of my own. 

Thanks for a fun night filled with laughs and good times, Bradley fam! It's as chaotic as ever when we get together, but I wouldn't change a thing. Love you all!

Mask Memory Lane

Am I the only one who still had a giant bin of masks sitting in their house? I'm trying to make more of an effort to de-clutter my house, and the project for today was to clean out the cabinet by our garage door. When I started going through the bin of masks, my plan was to just throw them all away. I know the pandemic isn't over, and there may still be times we need to wear masks, but we don't wear any of the cloth masks anymore. We can keep the box of disposable masks, but there's no reason to keep all these various cloth options. 

When I started looking at the masks in the bin, it brought back so many memories of the crazy time that was 2020-2021 and the Covid Pandemic. In some ways, it seems like it was so long ago, but in other ways it's still very fresh. It both seems like it lasted forever, but also that the time passed in a blink. Since I went back to work in-person much earlier than a lot of people, I feel like I'm pretty far removed from those remote work days. It was about 16 months of working exclusively from home, and when I think about it like that, it seems pretty unbelievable. What did I do at home for that long? My job simply does not work in a remote environment, but what options did we have? We had to try.  I did go to campus once a week to run my mobile Mesa Market throughout the fall 2020-spring 2021 semesters, but the experience was much different with so few people there. 

We, as a family, were much more fortunate than so many others during the pandemic. Dave and I were able to keep working and providing for our family. We have smart, adaptable, capable (older, thank goodness) children that were able to power through online school and continue to succeed. We were both able to maintain our hobbies and our health/fitness, still getting the important social connections that come with it. And best of all, we didn't lose any loved ones to the virus (no one we know really even got very sick).  I can admit our privilege and good fortune throughout the entire experience. It will be interesting to look back on these times in future years to see how our perception of this time changes. I am glad, yet again, that I have this blog to look back on the memories, feelings, fears and uncertainty we all experienced. 

That brings me back around to the point of this post. It was so crazy to go through this bin of masks and have very vivid memories of what was happening with each of the masks in the bin. It was almost like I could tell the story of the pandemic through the various masks. The very first ones I purchased were from a fellow trapeze artist, and I bought them for both me and Ava--mostly just to support her. I never even wore these out of the house more than maybe once (it never did fit right). Here is a post I wrote about those masks. The next masks I remember buying were homemade and purchased from our neighbor kids across the street that were selling them for $5 each. They were reversible, and I love anything reversible! We used those primarily on our summer trip to Colorado in 2020. This trip was also when we started wearing the neck gaiters, which was especially handy for that trip (although I doubt they protected us much). Then there were the masks I got mailed by our health insurance company, the green ones below (some are still in the bag) as well as all the MCC masks I collected. I spent so much money on some of these, getting suckered into thinking the next one would be the best. I felt like I was always on the hunt for the "perfect mask," but ultimately realized that the disposable ones were really the best option. We wore them all through the hot summer at trapeze, which was very challenging. But, if it meant that I still got to fly, I was willing to do anything. We've talked at trapeze about how lucky we were that we were able to keep flying during that time. So many people lost the connection to their communities, but for us, it was one thing that we were able to keep consistent. I think the pandemic would have been much more devastating to me (and my trapeze friends) had we lost that important connection to another another. 

I think I'm starting to ramble right now, and had only meant to throw this post up here to memorialize the bin of masks that has sat in our house for almost three years. I couldn't get myself to throw them out just yet. As weird as it is, these are a physical reminder of what will likely go down as one of the wildest times in our life. I will be interested to ask the kids in 20 years what they remember from that time in their lives. What will you remember?  

Our new Mesa Market

I don't share much about work on here anymore, but I'm pretty proud of this update and wanted to brag a bit. 

In 2014, we started a food pantry (which would eventually become known as the Mesa Market) at my college to be used by our students who were in need of the help. The number of students who indicate they are food insecure is shocking, more now than ever. If there was something we could do to try to alleviate even a small amount of that struggle for our students, we wanted to do it. We have one at both of our campuses of MCC, but of course, the Dobson campus has a much larger (and more frequently used) space. When we started our food pantry at Red Mountain, and for the next 7+ years, it lived in three cabinets inside of a kitchen area next door to our office. This space was not visible or accessible, and certainly wasn't very welcoming to the students who were using the resource. We had one cabinet with hygiene/household products, and two cabinets of food. This was the Mesa Market at Red for many years. 

Sometime towards the end of the fall semester last year, I started looking around for a new space where we could potentially move our Market to allow it to be more useful and inviting for our students. Long story short, I found the perfect space, and was given approval to move forward with the project. In one of our classroom buildings, there was an underutilized space that would be perfect! It was a study space for students, but was rarely used. All it needed was some new flooring, the glass wall to be extended and a door. Seems easy enough, right? Well, if you know anything about the way our college system operates, you know it took a long time to go from the idea to reality--but guess what? It happened! That alone is something to be proud of. Here's a look at the space before I took it over. 

Most of the work was done over the summer, and now the space is ready to welcome students who are in need of a little help. Introducing, the new Mesa Market at Red Mountain! 

We bought some new shelving and a desk, moved all the food from the old space to the new one, and bought some more stock to get it filled up. As you can see, there is plenty of room for more! 

In addition to the non-perishable food, we also have hygiene products and some household/cleaning supplies. Students can get up to 10 free food items and up to 5 free hygiene items per week. 

We have an iPad set up as our check out system, where students enter some information for our tracking purposes. They put some great signage up on the glass (I designed that logo), and it looks fantastic! 

We started our fall 2022 semester a few days ago, but we held our official Grand Opening of the Mesa Market today. We did a ribbon cutting, and it was open for business! We have a new president of our college, so it was great to have her here for the occasion (she's to my left in this photo). 

One of our biggest challenges is keeping the shelves stocked, and I know that it'll be an even greater issue now that we have a larger space that more students will know about. We primarily stock it with donations from our campus community, as well as some partnerships we have with organizations who help stock food pantries. An easy way to make a donation is to order items off of our Mesa Market Wish List on Amazon, and they'll get sent directly to campus to be put on the shelves....so hint, hint to any of my family reading this who might want to make a donation. Here's your chance!  It's a pretty great feeling to see a project like this go from what it was to what it is now. I can just imagine the number of students we'll be able to help with this new and improved space. 

Staycation at Sadie's

My friend Sadie invited me over for our own little Jimmy Buffett themed staycation at her amazing, resort like home this weekend. When Dave and I made plans to go to Vegas for the Buffett concert in memory of my dad, I invited Sadie to go with us. Sadie wanted to be able to go with us, since she was there at that very first concert with my dad in 1998 (and a few more after that), but they'll just be getting back from Italy and she doesn't think she can make it happen. Instead, she planned a special staycation at her house for the two of us instead. It was so thoughtful of her, and we had a great time. 

Sadie and I go way back--all the way to junior high! We lived only a few blocks away from each other in Williston, and have been friends since we were about 14 years old. We ultimately moved out here together in 1997, went to community college together and became "collegiate golfers." I use that term very loosely, for obvious reasons. We shared an apartment for awhile, and we have too many memories together to count. She is one of my friends that was there during those most influential memory-making times in college, and is one of the greatest friends a person can have. She is one of my oldest and best friends, and even though I don't see her often enough, I always know she's there for me. A simple search on this blog for "Sadie" will bring up all kinds of great memories. 

Most of these photos are of Sadie's beautifully unique home. Her husband is an architect and designed and built this amazing place. They have a main house, which has two bedrooms upstairs as well as a full basement with an additional guest room and game room. Yes, I said it has a basement! You don't see that very often out here. Her husband's style of architecture is metal and stone, super modern and industrial. It's so cool!  

Last time I visited Sadie, it was shortly after she had her double mastectomy for breast cancer, and she was on leave from work to recover. She was very fortunate to find the cancer at "stage zero," and she didn't need to have chemo or other treatment. It was fun to be back there after Sadie is past her cancer scare and the pool was ready to be enjoyed (it wasn't done last time I was here)! See the building at the far end of the pool? That is part of the original home that was on the property. After they were done building the new house, they turned the original house into two guest houses. One is a two bedroom, and the other is a studio, which they rent out on AirBnB. 

One of the surprises that Sadie had in store for me was that she coordinated a FaceTime call with all of my best friends from high school-Dana, Robyn, Kayleen, and LeAnn. We haven't all been together since...probably high school! She had them all dress for the tropical theme, encouraged them to have a drink ready, and they were all there to toast with me to the memory of my dad. It was so very special, and I am so grateful to Sadie for arranging that. 

As if this weekend wasn't fun enough with just me and Sadie, Heather joined us for an afternoon at the pool! The three of us go way back. You've all probably read about my friendship with Heather, but what I might not have talked much about is how close Heather, Sadie and I were in the late 90s during our time at PVCC. Sadie and I met Heather when we were students and she was working in the PVCC Fitness Center. Heather was a trainer, Sadie worked at the front desk, and I worked out there (and my aunt, who I lived with was the manager). We had so much fun together those few years--trips to Rocky Point come to mind, along with all the fun things we did through the college. Sadie and Heather lived together for awhile too. Ultimately, Heather is the person who had the most influence on the career path I ended up taking, and I'll always be grateful to her for helping me get my first job in Student Life. The three of us haven't hung out all together in a very long time, so this was a really special afternoon. 

Sadie sent her husband and 5 year old daughter away for the weekend, but her sweet dog Lola was still there. If you know me well (and my feelings towards dogs), you know that I usually do not allow a dog to lick me. This was funny for a second but you better believe I was pushing Lola off me after this photo. She is pretty sweet though...

I can't imagine if this was my backyard. How does she ever get anything done? 

Here's another look at their guest house, with the beautiful Phoenix Mountain Preserve behind it. The south side of their house is all windows, which allows for wonderful views of the mountains. The entire glass wall also slides open (for the nicer months) using this giant wheel and what looks like. This photo is from my last visit to see Sadie back in August 2021, in case you're wondering why the yard isn't done. 

Here's a photo of the living room/dining room. The hallway on the left leads to two bedrooms, and the opening on the right leads to the stairs to the basement. The kitchen is behind me in this photo.

Here's the awesome kitchen. There's a 1/2 bath on the left and the space on the right leads to an large pantry/laundry room, as well as another door to part of the yard.

The last photo I'll share from the inside of the house is of their super cool basement. It's very rare to see a house with a basement out here! They even have an outdoor patio with a fire pit down there (you can see the natural light coming in from the patio). 

This image on the left is one of their outdoor entertaining areas and fire pit, and on the right you see the other half of the guest house and the fun decorations Sadie put out in honor of our tropical themed weekend. 

They have an outdoor pizza oven, which I hope to be able to try, as well as an outdoor TV in the case on the left. I hear Matt is quite the pizza chef, so I hope to bet invited over for a pizza night sometime this winter. 

After our fun day in the pool, we headed inside to order some food, play our ukuleles (I also use the term "play" pretty loosely since I only know about 4 chords), and chat all night long. There's something pretty great about getting to spend time with a friend who has known me almost my entire life. Sadie and I have been through some of the craziest times in our lives together, and even though we don't get as much time together anymore, she'll always be one of my best friends. I'm so grateful to her for putting together this fun weekend for us to celebrate my dad, catch up on life, and reconnect. 

When we got up the next morning, we went for a walk around her neighborhood. A perk of living at the base of a mountain preserve is an abundance of hiking trails nearby. Heather actually lives in this same neighborhood, so she gets to use these trails regularly as well. How crazy that the two of them ended up living less than a mile away from one another after all these years. Their kids even go to the same school!

One last look at this awesome backyard, and one last thank you going to out to Sadie for making this such a special day. It's hard to lose a parent, but knowing I'm surrounded by such loving and supportive friends makes it all just a little easier. 

10 years of trapeze

Ten years ago today, I took my first ever swing on the trapeze. Ten years ago today, my life changed forever, yet I wouldn't know the full effect of saying yes to that invitation for awhile. 

How do I even begin to write about an experience that so profoundly changed my life? Any of you that have been around for even the last month of my life, or the last ten years know how important trapeze is to me. It has led me to a community of friends who have become family, a determination to becoming stronger, opportunities to travel, accomplishments I never thought possible, and friendships around the world. Simply because I said yes to an invitation to try something new. 

This seems like a great opportunity to tell the story of how I started trapeze. I get asked the question all the time by people who find out that I am a trapeze artist, "how did you get into this?" I tell various versions of the story depending on who I'm talking to, but in general, it goes a little something like this. 

My boss at the time, Meredith, was chatting with her doctor about their hobbies. Meredith is an endurance athlete, competing in marathons and triathlons. George (her doctor) pulled out his phone to show her videos, and to tell her about his hobby and side business, the trapeze school he ran out of his backyard. Somehow, the idea of a trapeze class as a team building activity for our MCC students came up, and George invited Meredith to bring some colleagues out to give it a try. I was one of those lucky colleagues that was invited. It's too early to say that the rest was history, but it definitely peaked my interest. 

I had some nerves, but no hesitation. I've never really had any fear of heights, and I trusted the safety lines and the coaches. I was the first one up the ladder to do a knee hang, and I nailed it on my first try. Here is a photo of George holding my belt for my very first trick. In case you're not familiar, a newbie always has their belt held by an instructor to help ensure they don't peel off the bar when they jump from the platform. The person holding your belt also serves you the bar so you can get both hands on it before you take off (the one handed take off comes later).

What did I think of my first swing? Well, you tell me. This smile says it all, don't you think? Yes, that's me. I was a little, um, fluffier. Oh, and I had braces. 

Our group consisted of Kim, Meredith, Samantha and me, and here we are with Colby, who was the main coach and catcher for what used to be known as Arizona Trapeze School. Fun story, I ran into Colby a few years later when Dave and I were in Turks and Caicos for our 11th anniversary. 

I didn't know it at the time, but this photo would become so special to me. It's my very first picture with George, the person who would be the catalyst and compass for the change in trajectory my life would take. I am eternally grateful to this man, and the profound impact he's had on my life. 

It wasn't immediately after this first class that I became a regular flyer at George's rig. I did go a month later with a group of friends, which included Heather and Craig, Becky and Brian, Meredith and a few others. It was a fun date night, but even then, I didn't think it would be something I'd do regularly. It was about $50 per class, if I remember right, which didn't seem like something I would be willing or able to do very often. Shortly after that second class, Meredith shared the bad news with me that George closed down the school. I didn't know why at the time, but I would find out later that it had to do with zoning and his neighbors. It's a longer story than that (especially the piece about the neighbor), but that's enough for now. I was bummed to hear that I wouldn't get to try trapeze again, but I was glad I had the opportunity to say I'd done it. 

Fast forward a few months to the end of January of 2013. I got a message at work from Meredith that just said "do you want to fly again?" I said "of course I do, but I thought the school closed?" She told me that she had gone to see George for an appointment, and he invited her to come out again. He explained that he closed the school, but that he still had the trapeze in his yard and used it with friends. He couldn't charge any money since it wasn't a business anymore (again, the zoning thing), but we were still welcome to come out and try it again. This is where I can say "....and the rest is history." 

This time out there was quite a bit different than the other two. Instead of being in a class with a bunch of newbies, I was getting to fly with people who had been doing it for awhile, both at the other school in town and at George's place. I was blown away at how good everyone was, and felt very new. Everyone was very welcoming, encouraging, and supportive, just like we still are when someone tries trapeze for the first time. We all remember that feeling! Little did I know that some of those people would become some of my best friends, teammates and trusted companions. After that practice, I was told "we're out here twice a week, you're welcome to come back anytime." I'm not sure if they meant it, or expected me to take them up on the offer, but I took this invitation very seriously. I was there the following week with Meredith, and the week after that on my own (she never really came back after that time). From that point on, I was fortunate to become a regular member of the group, and it was truly the invitation that would change my life forever. There's much more to the story, but that's the gist of it. I think that one invitation will go down as one of the most impactful moments in my life. 

So, here we are, ten years later. I could go on and on about the amazing experiences I've had, the memories made, the accomplishments, and more than anything else, the friends I've made. If I had to quit doing trapeze today, I would be filled with a lifetime of amazing memories and the greatest feeling accomplishment. I am the person I am today because of this place, these people, and this sport. How did I ever get so lucky to have stumbled on this magical backyard? I don't know, but I am forever grateful.

I asked George to take a 10 year trapez-iversary photo with me tonight. What do you think? Do we look ten years older? I think it's safe to say I'm in better shape than I was at at age 33 when I tried this for the first time. Other than my husband, I'm not sure there's another person who has had a bigger impact on my adult life than George. He's the kindest, most generous person I know and I know he'll be a friend for life. 

I had to put these two photos side by side to really see the difference. Somehow, I got taller or George got shorter. I think it's probably more likely that I have more confidence and stand a little taller ten years later. I know it's just one of the many things this sport has given me. Here's to ten more years of flying with my wonderful friends! 

For some more history, here is the post I wrote about my first and second trapeze experiences, and then the one I wrote after I went back in January 2013. The videos from back in those days are pretty bad--very dark and we had some noisy safety lines! It's so crazy to see the progression from where I was then to now. What an amazing ride it's been!

Happy Birthday Dave & Claire!

 

Dave and his mom share a birthday. She always says that Kathy (with her Christmas Eve birthday) was her best Christmas present, and that Dave was her best birthday present. They don't always get to celebrate together, but this year, they did. Tina hosted a party for the family to celebrate the three family birthdays that happen in the first 9 days of August (including Jen's). We don't seem to get the whole family together much anymore, with as busy as everyone is, but when we do we have a great time. Tina's two boys will be leaving soon for college at NAU, so this is our last time to get everyone together for awhile. 

We ate, the kids swam, and we celebrated with cake. We also played Five Crowns, one of our family's new favorite games. We had so many people that wanted to play that we had to send one of the kids to Target to get a second deck of cards. It was a really fun day hanging out with family. Claire doesn't get in the photos very often, so I'm glad I managed to get this one of the two birthday twins--even if Ava is making a goofy face in the background. It was a great day! 

We celebrated together on Saturday, but today was their actual birthday. We met Claire and Ed at Oregano's for a birthday dinner, and of course, pizookies. Happy birthday to these two wonderful people! 44 for Dave and, a few more than that for Claire. Here's hoping it's a fantastic year for both of you!

First day of school!

How is it the first day of school already? The summer break goes way too fast, and if I'm thinking that, I know the kids are too. Whenever my friends from other parts of the country hear that my kids go back to school the first week in August, they're always surprised. I have friends in the midwest who's kids don't go back until after Labor Day! As early as it seems though, it kind of makes sense. It's so hot here in the summer, they might as well be in school (where someone else can pay for the air conditioning). I know my kids don't agree with that assessment, but here we are.

Today is the first day of 11th grade for Tyler, and 8th grade for Ava. How.Is.That.Possible?! Also, can you believe my kids STILL humor me by taking these first day of school pictures with these dorky signs? I started this tradition when Tyler was in Kindergarten, so I'm obviously not stopping until they both graduate high school (here's Ava's first "first day of school" sign from pre-school). They roll their eyes at me when I make them get out there on the first day of school, but I don't care. Suck it up kids.....

The major change this year is that Tyler can drive himself to school! What?! I'm not gonna lie, I'm not sad about this. One less kid to worry about in the morning, yes please. I still take Ava to school because she starts at 8 am, and I have to be at work at 8. It works out perfectly for me to drop her off and then head to campus, which is only a mile away. When I had to drop Tyler off too, I was usually a little late for work every day. Now he's responsible for getting himself there on time every day. He will still pick Ava up from school most days, but I'll handle drop off. It's a little unnerving sending your kid off on his own, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. It'll be great for him to have the independence to come and go as he needs to this year. I distinctly remember that feeling that comes with having your own car. It's a pivotal moment in any kid's life, and I'm excited for Tyler to be living it. I just hope he's careful and doesn't do stupid shit! 

This is Ava's last year at Mesa Academy for Advanced Studies, and she is very excited about that. She is so ready to be done with this school and the rigorous coursework (and uniforms). I know that they're setting her up for a lifetime of high achievement in her academics, but she is still traumatized by the workload she had in 7th grade. I can only hope that 8th grade will be better for her, and she finishes middle school strong. Tyler is taking AP Language, Physics, Digital Photography, and College Algebra, and the rest of his day will be spent in the RMTV studio working on the podcast he started and other video projects. Physics and College Algebra are both dual enrollment classes at MCC too, so it'll be another 7 credits of college he'll have done after this year. He got 19 during his freshman and sophomore year, so he'll be at 26 credits by the end of his junior year (and it was free thanks to my tuition waiver!). Have I shared that Tyler started his school's podcast? Super cool, right? It's called RM Radio and you can find it on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. He helped the teacher order the right equipment, created the intro/outro music, the thumbnail for their channel, and he writes the description of each episode--oh, and he also edits all of the episodes. Someone else sets up the interviews (the teacher, I think) and other kids on the RMTV team do the actual interviews. They interview a variety of different people from the school, from the principal to the student body president to the various sports teams. It's pretty impressive! Check it out, here it is on Spotify. 

Tyler is in the home stretch for high school, which is pretty mind boggling to me. How is it possible that we're old enough to have a kid that is a junior in high school? Next year, they'll both be in high school, and Tyler will be a senior. You think I'm freaking out now, just wait. 

Have a great year kids! Know that we're always so proud of the amazing things you do, and the outstanding humans you have grown to be. We love you!