2019-2020 School year

Another school year has started! Geez it doesn't seem possible that summer is over already. I hope my brain catches up with the new routine. Amelia is in 2nd grade this year. Of course she is amazing and smart and will do great. This year she has Mr. Lugo as a teacher, her first man teacher. So far she says he is super nice. Jack has Mrs. Brinkley, who he wasn't too excited to get since he heard she is strict, but of course when he came home on the first day of school he was super excited to have her as a teacher. He said she was really nice and had tons of rewards to give out. Jacob has Mrs. Williams and he is in 6th grade!! Holy Cow! He said Mrs. Williams might be his favorite teacher so far and is looking forward to school each day. I just pray that they learn, grow with responsibility and kindness, and their teachers encourage them to be lifelong learners and good people.

Family Vaca - Bay View and Moran

Our family had a great time discovering some of the San Juan Islands this summer. We rented a cabin at Bay View State park and a tent spot at Moran State Park. For a couple of days at Bay View Josh, Beth and the boys stayed in the cabin next door. The kids had a blast playing with Burton and Dane. They rode bikes, went to the beach and played with other kids. The day after they left Jack told me, "well, we might as well go home; Burton and Dane left so we have no one to play with." -So dramatic
That day we did go walk around Deception Pass State Park. We all walked across the bridge and then played on the beach. We also found an old steamboat museum that the kids thought was real interesting.
The other fun thing we did was take the ferry. Moran State Park is on Orcas Island so the only way to get to the park is on the ferry. Oh my on the ferry ride out the kids couldn't stay still enough. We wandered all over the boat checking it out and looking at different views. They were so excited to be riding a ferry! The only thing that worried them was that Skipper stayed in the car. They wanted him up with them and was concerned if the boat sank he would drown. I had to assure them Skipper would be just fine and let them check on him once (he was sleeping when we looked).
At Moran State Park the kids fell right in with a big group of kids playing by a fort made out of logs and sticks. It was right next to a little creek that had some logs over it like a bridge. We hardly saw them after that! They loved playing down in the woods.
The other fun thing we did at the park was that Jacob, Jack and Dad jumped off a tree that hung out over the water and off a bridge into the water. Jack was a big talker, as usual, about jumping off the tree at 4:00 but once he was in the tree looking down he quickly got down. LOL  It took him a bit but he finally did it. The drop was about 8 to 10 feet so pretty high. Jacob, though, jumped right off, he loved it! After the tree they jumped off the bridge, which was a shorter drop. Jack said he liked the bridge better. Amelia almost jumped off the bridge but didn't in the end.
It was another great family trip, one to remember and cherish.