February

 Last week we had school off on Friday for a teacher work day and then Monday was Presidents Day. 

We spent all day Friday with Malachi and Elias. In the morning we were all at our house, and after an early lunch, we headed to their house for the rest of the day. We played games, read books, and they played lots of soccer. In the evening, Kyle and I went on a date and Kim watched the younger two while Annaliese had a sleepover with a friend. We went to the Mount Baker Theatre and watched the Netflix documentary Our Planet on a big screen with a live orchestra playing the music.

Malachi reading to Lydia

Playing games!

Saturday morning, Kyle took Haleigh out on a date to the library and coffee shop. They played card games and learned a few new card tricks. In the afternoon, Lydia had a birthday party and we ended the day with a potluck at church to meet a prospective pastor candidate. It was a full but fun day!

Monday was Presidents Day so we were home from school again; we invited Mallory and Owen over to play. Owen decided we weren't very fun, so he and Auntie Kelsey didn't stay very long but Mallory hung out with the girls for most of the day. 

The rest of the month has been pretty normal. I helped out with class pictures in the middle school so I took a quick not-great picture of Annaliese's class. 

Valentine's Day was pretty uneventful. I had good intentions for doing something special for the girls, but when I went to the store the weekend before, all I found was Easter stuff...the Valentine's stuff had all been cleared out already! We did have heart-shaped waffles for breakfast and a heart-shaped pizza for dinner, so I guess it all worked out!

Ladies Craft Night at church!

Just like that, another month is just about over. This upcoming weekend Kyle is going to be gone at the men's retreat with church. Hopefully, us girls will come up with something fun to do, although it's supposed to snow and the windchill is currently 2* which makes it hard for me to want to get up and move away from the cozy fire I've had going!

Lydia...

Lydia has always had her own sense of style and has been rather particular about what she wears. But lately, she has had a style all her own. And really, I just want to remember how ridiculously high she wears her pants. I realize that high-wasted pants are in style right now, but she just kills me with the way she dresses. Pants pulled up, shirt tucked in, a short cropped shirt (that's the purple thing in the picture), and at least one more jacket. 

We went out for donuts the other day while Annaliese and Haleigh were at piano lessons. (And we ended up getting a cinnamon roll because the donuts were sold out.)

She also likes to take selfies and I find lots of videos of her (and Haleigh) talking about all sorts of things (but really nothing in particular!)

 

Basketball

 Annaliese is playing on a basketball team for the first time this winter. The team is made up of other fifth graders from LC and plays teams from across Whatcom County. It's been a real learning experience and it has taken several weeks for her to start enjoying the game. The coach has said that it's really hard to coach basketball because there are so many rules to the game, especially compared to soccer (which they are all used to playing!) 

I've discovered that it's hard to take pictures...I never seem to be in the right place at the right time, but I'll keep trying. 

She made the basket!

Annaliese, Esme, and Emma (two of her best friends!)

These girls played mostly sixth-grade teams all season, which was rather frustrating for everyone, and seemed quite unfair. But it was fun to watch the girls improve over the season and become more confident in what they were doing. 

By the end, Annaliese seemed to catch onto the game a bit more and was sad when the season ended.