Cienna - 18 Years 7 Months Old! ... Kaylee - 16 Years 2 Months Old!

Had the cool crew over for world cup to start off the month. Big work week for mom but enjoyed having Oakley to play with us and Roaklee : ) for the week. Dad had been planning trip up to Bend Oregon with Uncle Joe to surprise Uncle Matt. They started in SD and flew out from there. After a tour of Deshutes brewery, organized by Stacey, they went to the pub where they dressed in costumes so that Matt didn't immediately recognize them. It took more than costumes for Matt to realize that his two best buddies were at the table next to him and ordering him a fruity drink after making Stacey take a picture of them before he finally came to and recognized that his two besties were there for a weekend to all stay in a townhouse together! They got caught up, did some fishing, hiking, tubing, and enjoying each others company.

Meanwhile we got to watch Lexie as a main character in the Outsiders, and then enjoy Ashley's baby shower next door celebrating ..... We then got to luckily have Oakley over again for a few days in preparation for the next month to come. Cienna went to her first of two concerts for the summer that she had been planning since spring with Shawna. They went to San Diego and go to stay with Shawna's aunt before seeing Zach Bryan.

We finally got to use our Pint Life Passport and enjoyed a couple of breweries in Orange with Roman and Steph. The yearly Gymnastics Team Banquet was held before we all left to bring Cienna to school in NY. They girls had fun with all the littles and represented what being a top level gymnast is all about. Plus there was good food and fun activities with the Diamonds and Denim theme.

Kaylee had spent as many days as possible with friends at the beach and hanging out having fun anticipating the two week trip together as a family. Cienna then drove Shawna to the Crypto Center for there next concert seeing Megan Moroney. Meanwhile they also fit in some line dancing and axe throwing with friends as well. They both had a busy fun exciting summer. We finished with brunch with the Marshall's before Cienna and Lexi both leave for school at Crema Cafe in Seal Beach and then Callum's 1st Birthday at Cobi and Bri's farm.

Next up, one last gymnastics practice on Monday and a Chrysler Pacifica rental later and we were off on our coast to coast road trip! We can't express enough how much this was looked forward too and completely not looked forward too, and still it turned out to be the best choice and opportunity for all of us to enjoy together before letting Manhattan University get the opportunity to have Cienna as a part of their community! Go Jaspers!

We worked out pretty much every morning together in many different hotel fitness areas, had playlists for every state. We pulled over on the shoulder for each border crossing we could physically make happen, saw every attraction along the way as we could without departing too far off the route, lots of laughs, drive time, unexpected experiences, and most importantly time together.    

The Road Trip

Day 1 (7hrs 1min) - Mostly driving to get a good start

• Gym/ Pack
• Leave LB 12
• CA to AZ border
• Flagstaff IHG
• Northern pines flighty nice server

Day 2 (4hrs 24min) - Unexpected beauty in the forest and a family owned ice cream shop.

• Corner of Winslow
• AZ to NM
• Petrified forest National park
• Albuquerque IHGy
• Ponderosa brewing Co
• Old Town Albuquerque
• Ay Chihuahua ice cream

Day 3 (4hrs 12min) - Crazy natural swim hole that is always 60 degrees even though it was 90+ outside and the entire hole water reservoir replenishes quickly due to the water flow 300ft under ground. 

• Blue hole Santa Rosa
• NM to TX
• Cadillac ranch spray paint
• Big Texan (home of the 72oz steak challenge)
• Amarillo IHG

Day 4 (9hrs 50min) - 3 states in a day for the first time. Still enjoyed OK with a stop at U of O and the Lake.

• Drive by U-drop
• TX to OK
• U of O
• Lake Eufaula state park quick stop
• OK to AK
• Little Rock IHG
• BJ’s

Day 5 (5hrs 23min) - Toured the morning in AK and the Memphis before surprising Uncle B that night

• Little Rock Junction pedestrian bridge
• Nexus cafe
• AK to TN
• Memphis Beale Street walk
• Jonathan’s take out
• Uncle B’s Brentwood surprise
• Touring and hanging

Day 6 (0hr 0min) - Celebrating Uncle B's (and Uncle RJ's) Birthday with lunch in Nashville, tour around town and dinner with family

• Uncle B birthday
• Fix pinball and vending
• Nashville walk
• Jason Aldean’s lunch
• Downtown Franklin
• Swimming with kids
• Mexican dinner w/ Papa G and Dotty
• Cake
• Tiki speakeasy lounge

Day 7 (7hrs 5min) - Headed to an unknown territory which ended up being amazing with a thunderstorm and an amazing excursion the next morning

• Workout
• Say goodbye
• Knoxville sun sphere
• TN to VA
• VA to WV
• Fayetteville storm
• SSS dinner
• Fayetteville Quality Inn

Day 8 (4hrs 35min) - Great excursion in the Appalachian mountains (which West Virginia is the only state that is occupied completely)

• New River gorge River bridge walk
• WV to VA
• 50/50 tavern historic district old town Winchester

Day 9 (5hrs 3min) - States got closer together toward the east coast. Amazing lunch meeting Cienna's roommate and family and some unplanned stops along the way! Upon Arrival there was a collaborative sense of excitement to see city life and the coastline!

• VA to WV
• Lunch in Sheperdstown with Cora and mom walk
• WV to MD
• MD to PA
• Auntie Anne’s (thanks T-Mobile)
• Hershey PA chocolate world tour
• PA to NJ
• NJ to downtown NY
• Arrival!
• Yonkers brewery
• Yonkers Marriott

Day 10 (0hr 0min) - We puzzled our way through move in with the space and furniture that was provided along with the vision and extra stuff that Cienna brought. We had fun building everything together and Kaylee was quite helpful with making sure she was leaving Cienna with a some style with her decorating and organization skills. She had her roommate, Cora, on face time through the process. Ended up with a great space for Cienna to call her home away from home. Had a last dinner and night together in the hotel.

• Workout
• Move in day
• Salvatore’s of SoHo Pizza
• Cienna tour around campus
• Last night together in hotel

Day 11 (0 hr 0 min) -  Mark and Kaylee got to get familiar with the campus and we appreciated the sense of being part of the Jasper Family.  Walking through the buildings and paths along the campus with Cianna gave us the warm feelings that she belongs there. She has such a great roommate and Cora's parents were super amazing as well. Their room together is better than they expected and the friendship is going to last a lifetime.

• Orientation breakfast and speeches
• Informational activities throughout the day
• Last minute target trip
• Meet back up with Cienna and Cora/parents as she finished moving in
• A quick rainy goodbye as she used her first swipe in the food hall for dinner
• Meet back with Cora’s parents at the hotel (turns out they were the room across from ours!)
• Early rise for an early flight back home.
  

This emotional month brought a joyful summer full of family milestones, an unforgettable cross-country road trip and a bittersweet goodbye as we dropped off Cienna at Manhattan University (Man U).

Check out the photos/videos:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kyjF3pEVMNMzYpvs9