May

 I think the new normal is getting to the end of the month and thinking "Wow, this month went by really fast." And May is no exception! 

Annaliese wrapped up her 7th grade soccer season. Her team improved so much over the six weeks and it was fun to watch them grow as a team. Annaliese primarily played defense, which was new for her. It took a little bit of getting used to, but by the end of the season, she said she might like it more than playing forward!

She played goalie for one half of one game!

We also had their spring band concert. We didn't get to school early enough to get good seats, which means I don't have very good pictures. We were able to see Haleigh because she was on the end, but I was only able to see a part of Annaliese's head!

Lydia's class went on a field trip to the Greater Vancouver Zoo, which is only about 10 minutes across the border. I love this zoo! I feel like you can get closer to the animals than some other zoos, and they have a random assortment of animals...like buffalo, Japanese deer, and caribou. We had a short guided tour and the tour guide gave the presentation half in Spanish, half in English, but the kids all asked their questions in Spanish!

We also had a late Mother's Day lunch at Kim's, played kickball at Bender, had special shows at gymnastics, and spent time just hanging out at home. 

Mallory, Annaliese, Aleyah (from church) and Haleigh are all now Red Cross certified babysitters!

Kickball

Gymnastics Showcase!

5th Grade Invention: The PFCF-Press For Cat Food automatic feeder

Family game of Qwerkle. Annaliese ended up winning.

That was all packed into the month of May! (In addition to Jay and Kelley's visit and continued work on the shed.) No one is seems to pass by so quickly. We have a few more end-of-school year activities coming up, but we are eagerly looking forward to the more relaxed pace of summer break.

A Quick Visit from Grandma and Grandpa

 It's a been awhile since Grandma Kelley and Grandpa Jay have come to visit, but they were able to make a quick trip up here last weekend. We were hoping to be able to do some hiking, but Grandma was dealing with a sore foot and Annaliese had a bit of a cold, so instead of hiking we spent most of our time at home. 

That doesn't sound super exciting, but it actually turned out to be a very nice, relaxing weekend! They were able to join Lydia at school on Friday afternoon for Grandparents Day and then we invited my mom and dad and sisters over for dinner that evening. 

Playing kickball in the backyard

The rest of the time, we played games, looked at pictures from their trip to Chile and Argentina, and worked on the shed. Kyle and Jay spent most of the day working on it and made a lot of progress!