Memorial Day Weekend

 Last weekend was Memorial Day weekend and we took full advantage of the beautiful sunny weather and long weekend. 

For the majority of the school year, the kids had to play in specific zones at recess, with only the kids in their class allowed in their specific zone so that they weren't all mingling together. However, a few weeks ago, the rules changed and the zones went away! Haleigh started talking about some new friends that she was playing with and then we met them (and their parents) at a birthday party shortly after that. We invited them over for dinner on Friday night and started our weekend off by having friends over!! 

Hard to get everyone to look and have a good smile at the same time...but between the two pictures I think we did it!

On Saturday morning, we met up with Kim, Thane, the boys, and Grandpa and Grandma and hiked the Chanterelle Trail, overlooking Lake Whatcom. 

Saturday afternoon Kyle put together a swing set for the girls. They asked for a swing set and monkey bars and we finally sat down and ordered all the parts! They were so excited to wake up Sunday morning and see it outside. We don't have the monkey bars together quite yet, but the swings and a pull-up bar have already been well used!

On Monday, we spent most of the day out at Birch Bay. It was gorgeous out and we played corn hole, grilled hamburgers and brats for lunch, and celebrated Kim's 40th birthday! 

Apparently there were whales out there...we never saw them.

It was such a good weekend! As we drove past the cemetery on the way to Birch Bay, the girls commented on all the flags, the flowers, and all the people who were gathered there. We talked for a bit about Memorial Day, what it means, and how grateful we are to live here.

May

May was filled with soccer games, piano lessons, Mother's Day, and a few park days. We had a good balance of sun and rain and made sure to get outside whenever the sun was shining! Annaliese and Haleigh both started piano lessons at the beginning of the month and seem to be enjoying them.

Annaliese has 2 soccer games left for the season and is loving it. It's been really fun watching her learn how to play and improve. I had to work this past weekend and couldn't make it to her game, but she scored 2 goals! I've done a poor job taking pictures, but hopefully, I can get a few at their next game. 

Haleigh has been asking to get her hair cut for quite a while; I was holding off to see if it was a temporary wish or something she really wanted and since she consistently asked for it over quite some time, we went ahead and had it cut. We actually had someone who we knew from a previous church come over and cut it and Haleigh loves it! Plus, now she can actually brush her hair because it's not nearly so tangly. 

Haleigh also got to go to a birthday party for some girls from school. She was so excited about it and had such a great time! The girls are twins and are in a different class at school, but they changed the rules about recess so they can all play together now.

We celebrated Mother's Day at Kim's house; we did an afternoon get-together with an early dinner since I had to work that weekend. Kyle and the girls went over about 3:00, and once I woke up, I headed over as well. It was a nice, relaxing evening (followed by a busy night at work!)

Annaliese's class made a video for Mother's Day. It had the kids outside, running past the camera saying "I love you," climbing on the playground, and standing in front of this sign talking about their moms. I had to have Annaliese translate some of what she said, but I was able to understand most of it.

The sign the girls made.

Flowers from our yard!

Here are a few other pictures that I came across. 

Lydia and Owen making rhubarb muffins.

We have 4 deer that come through the backyard pretty consistently. This was the first time I've seen them out front though.

A little of this and a little of that

Sometimes I sit down and think about how quickly this year is going by. After all, it's already May! But when I think about things that we've done within the past few weeks, they seem like they happened so long ago. The girls have had a lot of days off school for various reasons, and I've tried to take time off work whenever they are off to eliminate the need for a babysitter, so our schedule has been fairly inconsistent. We try to get outside as much as we can and have been frequenting Berthusen Park on a regular basis. 

Annaliese also started soccer a few weeks ago so we've had either practice or a game twice a week.

Soccer practice.

The school where Annaliese practices has a fantastic playground!

Malachi came along one day to play at the park!

Kyle had a birthday last week; we had a babysitter on Saturday evening and went out on a real date for the first time in a really long time! We had dinner at Steakhouse 9 in Lynden, walked around Peace Arch Park, and sat and watched the sunset from Marine Park in Blaine.  

We didn't have school today so Grandma invited the grandkids over to paint rocks. She had the table all set up and they eagerly painted rocks and then played together. Grandpa and Grandma were gone all of April, so it was fun to hang out together at their house!

And here are a few random pictures that I came across.

I have no idea what was making Lydia so sad, but it was very cute to see Annaliese consoling her!

Water balloons!

Lydia is getting better and better at biking! She'll be able to join me when I go running pretty soon!

A nice sunny day at Birch Bay

All dressed up to play outside!