Point Whitehorn

Last Friday, Kim and I decided to take the kids to Point Whitehorn, and since Dad is newly retired, he was able to come along! It's about a 3/4 mile walk on a flat, dirt trail and then you walk down some stairs to get to the beach. They kept busy counting slugs and looking out for cool plants. Once we got to the beach, the tide was out so we were able to look for sea creatures and play in the sand. It's one of the few beaches around here that actually has sand and isn't just rocks! There was a pretty cool driftwood 'hut' that someone had started building, so naturally, the kids decided to continue working on that as well. 

The beginning of summer vacation.

Summertime. The end of the school year, the end of distance learning and the end of slightly ridiculous amounts of screen time for all involved. I'd say our first few weeks of summer have gotten off to a pretty good start. There has been a lot of cousin time, strawberry picking, walks in the neighborhood, and even some beach time! The girls are learning how to do things like mow the grass (with a non-motorized push mower,) feed the birds, and water the garden with Grandpa. And Grandma has been teaching them how to paint some pretty incredible rocks!

Picking strawberries at Barbies Berries. We picked over 50 lbs and Grandma made 7 batches of freezer jam!

Picnic in the backyard!

Annaliese had her well-check at the doctor's office so we turned it into a little date. After her appointment, we attempted to go shopping for some new clothes but didn't find any good deals. So instead, we grabbed some lunch, a Dairy Queen Blizzard, and did some online shopping!

Annaliese's first time venturing out and wearing a mask.

Since Kyle had some time off this week (because he and Annaliese were supposed to be in Mexico,) we planned a family adventure. We loaded up bikes (thanks to Grandpa, Uncle Ben and Auntie Kelsey for lending us all the necessary equipment) and drove to Padilla Bay. There is a flat gravel path that is just over 4 miles round trip. It took a little bit of coaxing to get Haleigh started, but then there was no stopping her! She was much more relaxed during the second half of the ride and wouldn't stop talking the whole way back. We then went to a little hamburger place that was basically just a hamburger stand on the side of the road...it was pretty busy so we took our food to a nearby park and then ended our day with Blizzards. 

The End of another School Year

Obviously, the last few months of school were not like anyone expected them to be, but eventually, we settled into a bit of a routine where Annaliese eagerly started her homework every morning and Haleigh diligently powered through her assignments. Despite the challenges, the girls actually did a really good job and completed everything that was assigned to them. On the last day, we did a little drive-by at school to say goodbye to teachers for the summer and pick up whatever things were still at school. 

Haleigh wrapped up Kindergarten with Senorita Rawls. Doing school at home was definitely a bit of a struggle, especially trying to do things like math and reading. It's hard to teach math in Spanish! Thankfully, we were able to incorporate some Khan Academy Kids, Annaliese was able to help translate, and we found a few ways to make things fun! 

Annaliese finished second grade with Senora Wolters. She loves school and did an incredible job! She did most of her work on her own and even with distance learning still had weekly spelling tests and learned how to do multiplication! She frequently had videos to watch that Haleigh and Lydia were able to enjoy as well. However, it's not nearly as fun without friends and we are all hoping to have a more 'normal' school year in the fall. 

We were planning on wrapping up our time here at Evergreen with a big fiesta followed by Kyle and Annaliese joining a few classmates on a mission trip to Mexico. Instead, we have a week off to do things around home and are eagerly looking forward to what school will look like next year at Lynden Christian!

Good-bye Ferndale...back to Mom and Dads!

Once plans were in place for the girls' school to move from its current location in Bellingham and join the campus of Lynden Christian in Lynden, Kyle and I started tossing around the idea of moving to Lynden. I am not a fan of the drive and the thought of doing it multiple times a day for the next 15 years was not appealing. Plus, it seems like it will be nice to live closer to school when it comes to things like sports, hanging out with friends, and simply being more involved in the community. We started looking at houses and have narrowed down what it is we are looking for but I struggled with the idea of buying a house and simultaneously having to sell our house. It seemed stressful to have to sell within a specific timeframe in order to be able to move ahead with the purchase of a new place. Plus, there are the details of keeping it clean with three kids and a dog, being able to leave anytime anyone wanted to see it, still do school, and work night shift and have to sleep during the day!! 

So it made sense to sell it first and then move ahead with buying something. Once we made that decision, my mom and sisters came over, we packed up all the clutter and staged the house. We moved back into my parent's house and that's where we are living for now! In this time of social distancing, it's been really nice because once we decided to live with Mom and Dad, it became okay to give them hugs, to go inside their house, and to enjoy being together again. 

I thought we did an excellent job getting the house all cleaned up and ready for pictures. We put it on the market on a Friday and within a week we accepted an offer. We are now in the process of packing up everything else and moving out! This process has gone so smoothly; it is clear that God's hand has been orchestrating it all. 

And now, for the past two weeks, we have been adjusting to living with Grandpa and Grandma. 

Kyle's new office

Teaching Grandpa how to play Maki Stack

Painting with Grandma