Fall Sports

 The beginning of the school year also means the beginning of fall sports. This year both soccer and cross country started the week before school, which was a bit of an adjustment. 

Annaliese is playing on the JV Soccer Team. She's been playing 'center back' and has really improved a lot in just a few weeks. It's been really fun to watch her get faster and more aggressive each game. They've had three games so far and are 2-1. Most of my pictures aren't very clear, but she's number 16.

Haleigh is running cross county. They had their first meet this past week at Bellewood Acres. Unfortunately Kyle and I both had to work and weren't able to be there, but Auntie Kim, Auntie Kelsey, and Grandpa and Grandma were there to cheer her and Mallory on! They ran the whole race together and Haleigh finished with a time of 13 minutes. 

Back to School

 School officially started on Sept 1, but soccer and cross-country practice started the week prior, so it felt like we were getting back into things a bit sooner. This is our only year where we have one kid in each building-high school, middle school, and elementary school and it's a lot to keep track of!

Annaliese had freshman orientation the week before school started. She got her schedule, found her locker, and discovered that she doesn't know how to work a combination lock (and thus can't get into her locker!) The high school operates on a block schedule and has a complicated schedule to figure out. Now that we've completed the second week of school, I think it's started to make more sense. Next week is Parent Night so Kyle and I will have the chance to see who her teachers are!

Not able to get into her locker...

Haleigh is in 7th Grade; she has Auntie Kim for her homeroom teacher! She's still in band and has Debate for her other elective. She's really enjoyed having different teachers for each class and seems to be getting the hang of the schedule too. 

Lydia is in 4th grade and has Maestra Hernandez for her teacher. The past two years she taught in the middle school, so this is her first year teaching 4th grade, but I am so excited for Lydia to have her. 

Last night was parent night for the elementary and middle schools; Kyle and I were able to meet all the teachers, as well as hear a little 'State of the School' update from the superintendent. It was so good to hear all of the teachers talk about how much they love teaching and love our kids. They genuinely care about our kids, value the time that they have with them, and want to them to know that God loves them and how through each subject, they get to learn more about God and who he created them to be. It was a good reminder of why we continue to choose to send them to LC!

One last summer adventure

 Naturally, we filled up every available moment of August to make sure we ended summer tired and happy. Our last big 'event' was a trip to Seattle to the Museum of Illusions. This was actually part of last year's Christmas present from Grandpa and Grandma, but it took us this long to coordinate the trip and find a day when everyone was available!

We all drove down to Shoreline and then took the light rail the rest of the way. We got off just a few blocks from the museum, but first found a little park to eat lunch. The museum was fascinating...it is basically an assortment of optical illusions, mirrors, and things that alter your perception of what is happening. 

Hang on tight!

Playing cards with herself

Auntie Kim, Lydia, and Mallory

The top half is Haleigh but the bottom is Annaliese!

Annaliese is towering over Auntie Kelsey

Once our brains and eyes were tired and we'd made it through the entire museum, we decided to head to Pikes Place Market. It was only a few blocks away, and we all decided that if you don't have to drive and find a place to park in Seattle, it's not such a bad place to visit!

The famous fish market!

By the time we made it back to the light rail, we were all tired and glad that there was room to sit! Except for the girls, who decided to do pull-ups on the train!

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for a fun day! We would definitely recommend checking out this museum.

The Fair

 Our calendar for the month of August was a bit ridiculous...we went from one fun activity to the next, with a few days of work tucked in there! The Fair was no different! We came home from camping at Deception Pass on a Wednesday; after unloading the van, I had to go to work and worked Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday was the first day of the fair and Annaliese spent the entire day at the fair with her friends. Friday through Sunday we went camping with church. 

Monday was our day at the fair! I took the girls and met up with my mom and we saw all the shows and all the animals. 

Giant Turkey

Annaliese telling us why this is her favorite quilt

Tap dancing

Clydesdale Horses in the Grandstand arena

Lydia's friend Kenna showing off her cow

Animal Races

Baby Donkey (was born on the first day of the fair!)

Trapeze artists...they actually messed up more often than not, but it was still incredible!

High Divers...they were incredible!

The platform is 80 feet high...and the pool is only 9 feet deep!

Monday evening we went back for the rodeo! I don't have any good pictures, but we had a great time! Annaliese thought the roping was the best and Haleigh loved the barrel racing. We actually saw one of the cowgirls set an arena record for barrel racing!

Annaliese went back on Thursday for another day of rides and hanging out with friends, and Kyle, Annaliese and I went back Friday night to work at the LC food booth. And now the fair is done, which means it's almost time for school to start!

The Second Annual CrossPoint Church Campout

 Our final campout of the summer was back to Silver Lake, but this time to the group campground with our church. We headed out on Friday evening and spent the whole weekend playing and relaxing. Kyle and the girls brought their bikes, so they did several different bike rides. Saturday morning, Kyle and I took our paddleboards to the lake and went paddleboarding while the girls stayed at the campsite. It was rather smoky, but also so nice to be out on the water together. 

Saturday afternoon several people who weren't camping overnight came up and the kids had a water fight, we played badminton and Kan-Jam, and Kyle, Annaliese, Haleigh and I went for a hike. We wanted to hike Red Mountain Trail, which I had seen when we were here several weeks ago and wanted to check out. We made it about a mile on an overgrown trail, covered with lots of spider webs and stinging nettle, before Haleigh got stung by a bee and we realized that Kyle and Annaliese, who were in front of us, had disturbed a whole hive of bees and there was a huge swarm on the trail! We decided we would not be going any farther, so after they settled down a little bit, Kyle and Annaliese ran back down and we made great time down the rest of the trail! We had one or two bees following us all the way down and Kyle got stung once, but overall, we were very lucky that we didn't get stung more!

Lydia, John, and Haleigh

Our hike!

The bee sting

Rose and Lydia, just chillin'

We are so grateful for this church family. It was good to be together for the weekend, and we look forward to all that God is doing at CrossPoint!