Wrapping up the school year

 It seems like the past few weeks have been full of fun events at school. They had Creative Arts week where they studied different countries and made some sort of craft or had an activity based on what they learned. This included things like an international picnic, a giant water fight, and special art projects. Haleigh's teacher took a lot of pictures of all the fun activities!

Hallway decorations

Everyone had a squirt gun...and there were several of these water trucks on the field!

Haleigh and Mallory...I have no idea what's happening here..

They learned about a lantern festival in Germany and made their own lanterns.

The following week was the Mother's Day Tea in Lydia's class. The other girls made some special presents for me at school as well. They are so creative! 

Annaliese started swimming lessons as part of the fourth grade swimming program. Twice a week they walk down the street to a local gym and get lessons! 

They had a Spring Concert with the entire elementary school. They've been practicing for weeks and were so excited to perform. It was fun to see all the kids together and I was shocked at how many people attended the concert (especially since it was at 1:00 on a Friday afternoon!)

Haleigh's class (with other 2nd graders) She's wearing a teal shirt, fourth row down.

There have also been field trips; Annaliese's class took a trip to Bellingham Bay and learned about marine life. They identified sea cucumbers, clams, and barnacles among other sea creatures. Thankfully, it was a beautiful day and it sounded like the trip was a lot of fun!

Haleigh's class went to Maberry Farms and Edaleen Dairy. She came home with stories about pruning berries and all the things they make from the milk they get at the dairy (besides ice cream!) They also had a lovely day and a great time. 

There are still a few fun activities coming up over the next two weeks. Hopefully, I will be able to get a few pictures, but we'll have to see how the schedule works. In the meantime, I attended a parent meeting for incoming fifth graders- we're able to transition into middle school life! 

Spring Soccer

Annaliese and Lydia were both very excited about the Spring Soccer season; we signed up for it several months ago and Lydia told everyone she knew that she was playing! They were both signed up with Rebel Rec, so all of the games and practices were at Bender Field in Lynden, which was very convenient. 

Lydia was on a team of 5 yr old/Kindergarteners. They play 4-on-4 with no goalie. Her team had lots of enthusiasm but not a lot of natural talent. They scored a few goals throughout the season and maybe won one game. The very first day Lydia preferred to stand by her coach and 'rub' her soft sweatshirt and when she went out on the field, she didn't move. I was a bit worried about how the season would go, but it didn't take long for her to get into it. 

Still figuring out what to do when you get the ball...

Annaliese was on a team of 3rd and 4th graders. They played six-on-six plus the goalie. Her team played really well together and they had a great season. Unfortunately, they lost in the semi-finals of the final tournament, which they were all very disappointed about.  

Haleigh was an amazing sister, and while she didn't spend much time cheering for her sisters, she kept herself entertained during the many hours spent at the soccer fields. It helped that Malachi and Elias were also playing soccer so Malachi was frequently around. And between an abundance of snacks, doing gymnastics, and even just hanging out in the van with a good book, she was a good sport! 

Blue Sky! We haven't seen much of it lately.

Practicing cartwheels!

Mother's Day Tea

 Lydia's class had a Mother's Day Tea yesterday and she has been so excited about it for quite some time. Thankfully, I was able to get the day off work so I could go. There are 18 kids in her class and I only recognized a handful of the moms, which is such a sad reflection of how the school year has been as far as activities in the classroom. Senora Polinder even mentioned how this year has been so hard because she wasn't able to have parent volunteers in the classroom nearly as much as she would have liked. 

The kids sang a few songs, recited several Bible verses, and gave each Mom a little craft they made. We had tea and snacks and watched a cute slideshow of activities throughout the year. It was so fun! 

Showing off the butterfly we made1

After school, we decided to go get ice cream to celebrate that she has gotten stickers in her sticker book for ten days in a row! She can get three stickers each day: one for following directions the first time, one for following the group activity, and one for doing her work at her table when she is supposed to. The counselor and Senora Polinder have put a lot of time and effort to find out what works best for Lydia and earning stickers and getting positive reinforcement has been a game-changer this year. 

Spring Break

 We just wrapped up Spring Break and I have very few pictures to show from it! We were supposed to start the week off with a trip to a cabin with friends. Unfortunately, they all got sick and we ended up having to postpone that adventure. 

I was able to take a few day off work, so went to the park, went out for ice cream, and went to the park again. 

We ran into Sawyer at the park...Sawyer is Lydia's best friend from school and is moving to Arizona next week. 

Kyle went hiking and weathered rain, wind, hail and even a bit of snow as well! His preferred trail is Exelsior Pass but they got A LOT of snow up at Baker so he decided to try the Chanterelle Trail this week. It's a bit longer but not as steep. And not nearly as much snow. 

I discovered mold growing on a few windows so I put the safety goggles and N-95 mask to good use and tried to take care of that problem. The mold is now gone...we'll have to see if it comes back.

We ended the week with a walk out to Pt. Whitehorn, a birthday party for a little girl that hangs out with Lydia, and a wedding for one of Kyle's friends. But...no pictures to prove we did any of it!! 

Despite the fact that there wasn't any big adventure, it was still a nice break. We all enjoyed the more relaxing mornings and by the time today rolled around, the girls were ready to go back to school. 

March

Here are a few of the other things that we did during the month of March (while we weren't celebrating Haleigh's birthday or hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma!)

We cut down a small tree that was growing awkwardly in the corner of the yard and ripped out a holly bush that was overtaking it's area. We decided to dig a firepit and have ourselves a little fire to get rid of the tree! The holly is still sitting in a pile on the grass, waiting to be loaded up and taken to the compost/yard waste place. 

Playing with fire! I wasn't prepared for the fire, so we didn't have any marshmallows to roast. 

We went to the playground at Fisher Elementary School several times; they have a covered basketball court, tetherball, and fun playground equipment!

Haleigh and her friend Emory