End of an Era

by lizdeanski

Thanks to all of you who have come here for SO long. I’m done blogging for now. Maybe I’ll be back and if I am I’ll be sure to let you know where. Thanks for reading about our life and adventures for so many years!

16Nov2021

by lizdeanski

I’ll start blogging again after the new year. For now, this blog has lived it’s life and I’m so happy all of you were here for SO long! I’ll update after January 1, 2022!

12Sep2021

Remembering my Dad, Mike Van Dorn

by lizdeanski

Two weeks ago my Dad, Michael Kaye Van Dorn passed away. When Ali called me I was taken aback but at the same time very ready and knew this was coming. I’m thankful for the good memories I have of him, despite his 40 years of addiction. I’m thankful I saw him in the spring at a soccer game and spent time with him last fall for Halloween. Sam got to spend several hours with him at that time. And even though I’ve gone to therapy to work through my issues with him and we are all SO thankful he is out of the grips of misery in this life with addiction it’s still so sad. He is my dad and everytime I talked to him or saw him I told him I loved him back. He faithfully read this blog and I know how much it meant to him to know what was going on with us and our immediate family.

A beautiful celebration of life for him last week. Thank you Swendy for making this happen. Swendy and my Dad were married twice and were absolutely best friends forever and ever and ever 🙂 We are incredibly thankful and in debt to her for checking in on him and making sure he was ok week after week after week.

And my beautiful, strong and brave Mom was there. She and my Dad were married for 23 years. And although this event was about my Dad and my Dad and Swendy, she had a very HUGE part in this and his life. I’m forever thankful for both of them because I got these siblings and best friends. Justin, Jenn, Matt and Ali.

The last picture I took with him. He came to visit me two weeks after my knee replacement and we had a wonderful visit.

And we got to see Jenn for just a bit Wednesday night! Covid is SO lame and she’s had to cancel a trip out here next weekend so I’m very glad she could come just for24 hours.

Some time on my bike has had me reflecting on my thoughts about my dad and how I’ve dealt with things. I had a good cry one day while riding and it was incredibly theraputic and left me happy, peaceful and calm.

And super fun ride over Labor Day weekend with friends Re and Austin. Dan took us around Solitude and it was so stinking nice!

A little bit of hike a biking involved but I loved it! I was telling Re we could try and pedal it but…why? 😉

He was a trooper despite some complaining. He shredded the downhill, of course.

And welcome back short hair! He LOVES it. Looks fitting for a middle schooler 😉

And we celebrating 16 years married on 8/31! That was a delicious meal and a very handsome man to chat with. Beyond thankful for him and our life together. In many ways it just keeps getting better with age 😉

24Aug2021

Sam is off to Middle School

by lizdeanski

We have a sixth grader! I’ve been telling him I’d cry when he goes to Middle School but, I did not! I was mostly overwhelmed with how much MORE there is than elementary. More checking in, more updates…just more. Getting him ready for LIFE 🙂

Double checking his schedule to make sure he knows all his classes. I remember checking mine over and over when I went to 7th grade 😉

He had a great first week of school. A bit tired since he has to be out the door around 7:30am so we’re adjusting to an earlier bedtime to make sure he’s all good. Made him pedal with me over the weekend last week. He hated all of the uphill but then said how much he loved our ride when we rode the long downhill. Typical Sam 😉

Trigger doing well. He tore a bunch of his paw pads on trail run with Dan two weeks ago. Doing much better now though!

Got over 3.5 inches of rain earlier last week. He was stoked for the cool weather, always keeping watch!

He started a new school, another season of soccer, adjustments to daily life schedules and I hope he knows how much we love him and I HOPE and believe everyday he’ll be a good human and treat others with kindness, love and respect. Here’s to growing up just a little bit more this year!

13Aug2021

A trip to Oregon!

by lizdeanski

What an awesome week exploring Hood River and time with the Dean family in Bend. I love this family SO much!

Stayed at Mike and Ellen’s in Bend where Jane and Kelly met us there for two short days. We need more time together but thankful to even see them this summer

These two cousins share SO much love for each other!

.Lots of paddle boarding in Bend and Sam was a rockstar taking Gunner all around. I ended up loving being out there, too!

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First night spent at Ellen’s home in La Grande, OR. Just a short stay before we headed to Hood River for the week.

Stayed out our long time friend Laurent’s home right in HR. This deck is THE thing here. Amazing.

Sam LOVED playing in the hot tub and going out to the spit on the river.

Looks like the beach but it’s the Columbia River Gorge

Always looking at kite boarders and wind surfers

A little SUP in Hood River. Pretty windy so we didn’t stay long. Sam still loved it. And, that’s a good view 😉

And so much GOOD biking right near HR. SO good. This particular view of Mt Hood was pretty awesome! This day we did some climbing and 4,700 foot descent and it was some of the best riding we’ve done.

Rode in Post Canyon a bit. They definitely know good trail building there. Epic!

Sam sent it! So did Dan and I reminded him his brain is finally good and to just be aware. He was and he sent it, too!

Went to a cool swimming hole. The water was FREEZING though but of course the boys got in a bit.

Really hope we’ll go back and ride adventure some more. What an awesome way to close out summer before school started…today!

8Jul2021

Happy 4th!

by lizdeanski

One of THE best things that’s happened in the last 18 months is this! Got to be with Jenn last week and it was so great!

Happy Birthday to Max! Got together with Jenn and Dave’s family for a fun swim party to celebrate this kid. Happy 11th!

Super fun family party at Ali’s. I love these cousins so much. Grandma in the middle 🙂

And a happy 4th of July spent at the cabin. A quick 24 hours up there with Trigger for the first time.

Spent a few hours with Ali and fam up there before they had to jet.

All the crafts out and people reading. VERY common scene while up there 😉

8pm rolled around and some very ominous clouds rolled in as well. Didn’t think much of it until the thunder started…

Quickly had to get inside. Wind, rain, SO much lightning and thunder. I’ve been going to the cabin since I was born and this was one of the most epic storms I’ve seen! Went on for a good two hours with lots of rain. We desperately needed that.

Eventually we turned all but on light off and just watched natures 4th of july fireworks until bedtime. THE best!

Sam and Siri lifted in the kids class this week at F45. Snow cones were a must after. We’ve been at 100 degrees or more for a while and not much changing on that in future. Just…HOT.

Trigger and I out for a hike one day last week. It was almost too hot already at 9am. He LOVES being out there on the trails though.

And I’m still desperately and patiently waiting for this bicep tendinitis to go away. I’m definitely getting better but certain things still really bother it and hurt. Faithfully doing my PT mobility, icing and not bothering it at all..AKA no lifting weights of any kind or pushups/pull ups/planks. I should be good to go to ride bikes on our trip to Hood River, thank goodness!

And just one more. Had to take this of Annie and Trigger last week. We got to watch she and Ruby one night and Annie just couldn’t hang, so tired from doing fun summer things all day! Love it.

23Jun2021

A happy Father’s Day!

by lizdeanski

These three are just the BEST! Sam is happy here, promise. He just woke up though so…;) And we are SO thankful, grateful and lucky to have Dan. The best Dad in all the world and a strong example of a GOOD father to Sam.

Father’s Day morning scramble with Sam and Trigger last Sunday up near the West slabs of Mt. Olympus. I had to coach at F45 so I wasn’t able to go but they had a great time!

Summer nights before bed look a lot like this. Favorite time of night and we’ve seen lots of awesome sunsets. And FYI, we’re going to bed a bit later these days. Not right at 9pm, too light! 😉

Had Annie over a bunch last week while all of her sisters were out of town. She called it, “Camp Trigger.” LOVE her.

It’s no secret that Trigger LOVES Dan.:)

Another way to beat the heat here with 95-100 degrees daily being normal now, UGH. Bought this pool for Trigger and he liked it for five minutes. It’s fine, Sam has been loving it!

Sam and Siri worked out together yesterday in our kids class. So proud of him and his willingness to come 1-2 times a week. He absolutely didn’t not want to start coming but he’s had such a good attitude because I know he KNOWS that this is good for his body and mind.

SO many kids yesterday for a super fun kids workout party Ali put on. It was a huge success!

I get to coach the kids with Ali every Tuesday, the best! Unfortunately I’ve been dealing with some very painful tendinitis in my bicep…the long head of my bicep which goes up into my shoulder. I haven’t lifted anything upper body for over 15 days now and it still hurts! I’ve been going to PT, resting, icing and doing some mobility work to just keep my shoulders moving. Even just ONE pushup is out for now, just too painful. Really hoping in six weeks I’ll be recovered enough for some biking in Hood River. Crossing my fingers A LOT.

I keep telling myself, this too shall pass. I know it will but this is a big bummer!

Sam loving the summer life with friends and cousins usually everyday. I’m trying to keep him busy, but not too busy that he gets too tired. He very much likes his quiet and alone time as well 😉

13Jun2021

Some hiking and biking

by lizdeanski

Beautiful hike up Bowman Fork this morning. And, all four of us hiked up AND downhill. This is huge for me and I’m SO thankful for this new knee. No pain and we even ran a bunch of the way down 😉

Trigger is becoming quite the trail dog and it’s the best! Millcreek Canyon is awesome for dogs on odd days so we bought a yearly pass up there since Dan has already taken him several times. We also go to show Sam where we got married…almost 16 years ago at the Millcreek Inn!

Typical summer scene. We have limits on how much he can play and it’s been a learning curve for all of us to follow and keep the rules but I think we’ve found a good balance. He has a checklist of things he HAS to get done before any Nintendo can be played and he hasn’t complained once about it thus far. But, there’s lots more summer left 😉

More hiking. Last week we took the neighbor boys Behr and Parks with us and they loved it! If it’s not too hot I’m going to try and get them out weekly. We’re going to be between 100-103 for the next seven days for sure. UGH.

Awesome crew at Sundance yesterday. Dan and Sam spent most the day there riding lifts with Rivers fam and another bike friend and had such a good day!

And Sam has been coming to our kids class that we offer once a day. I usually teach 1-2 of them a week so it works out perfectly to bring him. Ali here with him going so fast on the agility drills!

We had a an EPIC sunset one night last week. SO good.

Hope you have a wonderful week! Love, Trigger 🙂

4Jun2021

It’s Summer!

by lizdeanski

Kicked off summer by swimming the very next day after the last day. Sam was stoked! And his foot is doing so much better. Just a little healing and he’ll be good to go. He can ride bikes, run and swim fine at this point.

Congrats to Sam! Last day of elementary school for this kid. He told me I cannot cry when he goes to middle school 😉

Thankful for all of these school friends. Water balloons, pizza, tramp sprinklers and more on the last day!

Getting Trigger out before it’s just too hot. Tried to go to a more shady spot on Memorial Day but the parking lot was beyond insane. They both lasted here almost an hour even though it was toasty. The views though! So pretty.

Dog Mom. Definitely never thought I’d be one of those but I’m telling you, I love this dog so much already!

Dan has been getting him out a bunch as well. We bought a pass to Millcreek Canyon so they were up there last weekend. Lots of trail running and biking for Dan, I’m so happy about that!

Ferguson Canyon is the place to be when it’s hot…not just for Trigger but us humans 😉 Shady, creek right on the trail. Sam had a blast.

Been riding with Matt and Emily most weekends I can. It’s been SO fun riding with Em. She’s getting so good after just one year of riding. Such a proud aunt 🙂

NOT wearing black or dark colors so I documented;) I’m still coaching 4-6 classes per week at F45 and LOVE my one spin class I teach every Wednesday. I was telling Ali last week that I finally, finally feel like I’m DOING my thing the way I want. My following at Vasa spin is bigger than I’ve ever had in the last seven years of teaching and it’s because I’m no longer nervous about if I’m teaching the way people like. Is my music ok? Am I good enough? I AM GOOD ENOUGH! And honestly, I’m SO GOOD at this job! I love teaching spin but never at this level of happiness. Only took this long to find my groove and not care what others think I look like or whatever it may be. The 20+ people showing up every week speaks volumes to the fact that I am doing exactly what I should be!