Getting caught up

I’m getting so far behind on blogging that I feel I want to give it up…but I am not going to. I know that this is the way I am “scrapbooking” and it is the way that memories are being preserved right now and so I will press onward!!

Bethany & I planted lots of seeds for the garden…some came up, some did not.

Before spring break I bought playdoh. I haven’t had playdoh in the house in years. I don’t think Elise even knew what playdoh was. Poor, neglected, fourth child. Anyway, it was definitely a worthwhile purchase as they had lots of fun being creative with playdoh for a few days during spring break. And you know what, big kids don’t make such messes with playdoh! They don’t squish colors together, they make cool stuff, and they clean it up well!

One of Elise’s friends had a spa party and they actually went to a spa and had pedicures, facials, and cucumber eye treatments! What a hoot!

Sarah was gone on band tour to New Orleans over spring break, so one of the days we decided to hike part of the trail around Lake Whatcom. It was really fun!

Elise decided she would take Sarah’s place as our rock climber/adventurer extraordinaire! She did great!

While Sarah was gone, we had another TV/dinner night. We’ve been watching Brain Games on Netflix as a family – pretty interesting stuff!

We had some friends over during spring break and rode bikes to Edaleen for a treat!

Ed worked late one night, so we went out to the Rusty Wagon and then went to see a local theater performance of High School Musical!

Becca’s 5th grade invention was “The Smile Maker” – a little toy that pops up on the lens of a photographer’s camera to help little kids smile!

Self-portrait from Art Club!

Becca sang in chapel not once, but twice!

Baby Kinsey from across the street.

See, look! Some are growing‘

King’s Invitational Meet – all Christian schools from WA, OR, ID. Sarah placed 2nd in the 3200 and 4th in the 1600!

Bethany & her friend Ashley always have fun at the meets together!

My parents came home from Hawaii (where they were over Easter) and the girls insisted on having a post-Easter egg hunt!

We have had the most beautiful spring, weather-wise!

Most days after school you can find Becca & Elise reading outside in the sun while they eat their snacks.

Sarah turned 17! Yes, it’s true. Only one more year where she must do exactly as I say, when I say it, and how I say to do it.

She’s planning to run in the Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage race this summer with her Aunt Susanne and her coach and a bunch of other people that all have two things in common: the love of running and some connection to Aunt Susanne! (Well, except for her coach, whose only connection to Aunt Susanne is that he’s Aunt Susanne’s niece’s coach…)

I was on the transition committee at church that helped with the arrival of our new pastor. It was a great committee to serve on! Loved every minute! One of the things we did was a “Welcome to Lynden” night at the school…we had a bouncy house, served dinner, and played games. I cooked the food under the great direction of my friend, Dee, and I did the table decorations. I bought the white tablecloths and used the red/white checked tablecloths leftover from our GEMS Mother/Daughter Night, and then borrowed various Lynden items like tractors, wooden shoes, ferry boat models, & tulips, to use as centerpieces. I thought it turned out really well.

More pictures from the Welcome Night can be found here.

Me & mom on her birthday!

GEMS Sunday!

The slideshow from our year can be found here.

Our GEMS also had a taco dinner fundraiser for the girl we sponsor at the Esther School in Zambia! It was so great! We hoped to make $600 (enough to support her for one year) and our prayer was that we would not run out of food. Well, God answered those with a big YES! We raised almost $1200 and this is how much taco meat was left:

Seriously! Loved it!

Twin/Triplet Day in Elise’s class!

Concert time! This is the 5th grade orchestra…Becca is just left of the flagpole. We could hardly see her because they left that flag up the whole concert!

Bethany’s orchestra had the highest GPA in the state, so they all got medals! Bethany is in the flannel shirt, receiving her medal from the principal. (Her section dressed in a western theme.)

Bethany’s orchestra…really can’t see her…she’s way in the back.

Now you can see her a bit – right there in the hat.

All the kids in 5-12th orchestra played a song all together. I LOVE when they do this! What great sound!

Band concert! Sarah’s last year in band. This is good and bad…it’s good because band can be pretty frustrating and it requires a lot of time outside of school for pep band, but it’s bad because it’s hard to give something up in your Senior year after doing it for the past 7 years. She just doesn’t have room in her schedule for it because she is taking some tough college prep classes, plus she wants to try being a Teacher’s Aide in the elementary school, an art class (which she’s never done, even though she loves art!) and a psychology class.

She is gonna miss having time with her stand-mate – such fun they have together. I was good friends with my stand mate in band as well. So many memories.

These girls made memories over spring break as well…they traveled on band tour to New Orleans! You can read about it and see Sarah’s pictures here. She has about 100000000 more pictures, and they’re so good, but you can’t post them all!

Neighbor time!

Mother’s Day! I received a Fitbit Flex and I really love it! It’s helping me with my weight loss program and I have lost 4 pounds! I was hoping for 8 by now, but my body was a little slow to start. Hopefully I’ll get to the full 10 I am trying to lose by early July.

I requested smoothies/milkshakes and family game night for Mother’s Day and we had a great time!

Track ended for Sarah a week earlier than she had hoped. She placed 2nd in the District meet in both the 1600 and the 3200. Unfortunately, the following week, at Bi-districts, where only the top 3 advance to state, she placed 4th in the 3200 and 6th in the 1600. It was heartbreaking, but she was strong and managed to run a PR in the 1600 and is only one second off the school record!

 

She went to state this past weekend as an alternate for one of the relays. She didn’t get to run, but our school girls’ team actually WON THE STATE MEET!!!!

#STATECHAMPS!!!!

So proud of them all, but especially Sarah, who is learning through her disappointments, being a leader in spite of them, and continuing to go for her goal.

Uh. I don’t know. But I love them.

I took Elise on a coffee date a few Saturdays back. I know, there’s no coffee in that picture…but I had coffee.

Like mother, like daughter. My mom washes library books when she brings them home. I wash books from garage sales. Why am I buying books at a garage sale? Well, because I am GOING BACK TO TEACHING!!! Yep, that’s right! Next year I will have my very own classroom of Kindergarteners on MWF! I am SUPER excited, but I have LOTS to get ready!