All Dressed Up

And somewhere to go! That hardly ever happens these days. Last week we got to go to the Larson Gross Christmas party. It was so nicely done. We have never experienced anything like that before. A company that actually cares about their employees and wants to celebrate the year...and Rob hasn't even started yet! My Dad so graciously watched the kids, and Rob and I had a great time mingling with people and just being out together.

I need to stop taking pictures with my iphone! They're so blurry, but it's just so easy...

Marathon Club, Rob's New Job

Last night Jack ran the last 1.2 miles of his "marathon". It's a program the elementary school PE teachers in Lynden put together to encourage kids to choose exercise for life. It started in the end of September, and works like this...students can choose to run during their lunch recess two days a week. They have a track set up around the playground at school, and 5 laps=1 mile, 5 miles=1 card, 5 cards=25 miles. Students who complete the 25 miles are invited to the Lynden High School track to run under the lights and receive a medal for completing a whole marathon. When Jack first started, I was concerned he wasn't going to make it to the "final mile" at the high school. He started pretty weak...running only 4 laps at first. We gently reminded him that if he wanted to make it to the high school, he'd have to run at least 5 laps each time. Boy did he show us what he was made of! His average was 6 laps a time, but twice he did 7, and once he even did 9 laps (almost 2 miles). We thought that was pretty impressive for our laid back 6 year old. Fitness-type activities have never really been Jack's strong point, but in the last few months, we've really made this more of a family goal, and he's turned into quite the active boy. He's leaned out a bit, and it seems like on the days he runs, he's happier, which I can certainly relate to. We're very proud parents.

As for the latter part of this title, yes, starting in January after our Maui trip, Rob will have a new job! He was offered a job at LarsonGross, a local accounting firm. He was hired on as a staff accountant, and has said goodbye to Semiahmoo! They part ways on December 16! We are so excited, and feel so blessed for this opportunity. The hard work Rob has put forth to finish his accounting degree has paid off with this job offer. Rob is very excited...in fact he's been giddy with excitement since he got the news.

Spokane, Wenatchee, Friends

I could post these all separate, but come on, let's be honest. That would take me over a month!

To continue on with my "October Trips" here is Part II...

A fun-filled family trip to Spokane. Rob had a Seminar there, so we all packed up one Friday afternoon and headed out. We got to the Davenport hotel at 1:00am Saturday morning, but it was well worth it! The kids and I just laid around the hotel room and swam while Rob had his seminar at the WSU Spokane extension. Then later when he got done we hit up River Park Square for some awesome shopping and PF Chang's for a yummy dinner. The only pictures I got the whole weekend...the kids outside of PF Chang's enamored with the huge horse statue. I love downtown Spokane. So laid back, people are friendly...nothing like Seattle! Rob and I miss it from our college years. We'll definitely be going back to the Davenport again soon.

On the way home from Spokane, Rob and the kids dropped me off in Wenatchee for my annual Washington Association of Family and Consumer Science Educators conference. In other words, I get to take two days off of work, stay in a hotel, and catch up with all my awesome teacher friends. It's always a great time. No pictures.

I got home from my conference Tuesday evening, and began preparations for our friends Jason, Sydney, and their baby Tate to come visit. To say we had the most wonderful time with our dear friends would be an understatement. Words cannot describe how happy my heart and soul is after a weekend visit with them. We packed in all sorts of fun and tradition. Sushi, games, a Halloween horror film, and lots of great conversation and playing with the kids.

What a month! It was so nice to reward ourselves for our hard work. Even though October seemed crazy at times between work, school, flag football, weekend trips, friends, pumpkins, halloween...and the list goes on...it was such a fun month for us!

October Trips Part 1

October has been such a fun-filled month! With Rob's job finally slowing down enough for him to take some weekends off, we've taken full advantage of it. Towards the beginning of the month we took our long awaited trip to the Great Wolf Lodge. We had rescheduled this trip twice previously...so it was much anticipated. The kids had a great time! We left early one Saturday morning, and made a stop at Cabelas on the way down. I had no idea that would be an attraction in itself! The kids loved all the animals and ducking into all the tents that are set up all over, which apparently you're not supposed to enter. What's the point of that? Once Cabelas wore off, we headed on down to the Great Wolf! We took advantage of their early park check-in. In other words, you can't check into your room yet, but you can use the water park. When our room was ready, so were we! After the long drive down and then playing in the water, we were wiped! The kids were so excited to check out their "wolf den" bunk-beds. Rob and I were glad to be able to sit down and open a bottle of wine. The most priceless moment...Jovie fell asleep at the dinner table in the restaurant. She all but face-planted into her macaroni and cheese. Fortunately Rob intervened seconds before that would have happened. The second day we took full advantage of the park again, and then sadly had to turn around and come back home. What a short, but fun filled weekend!

They've been howlin' like a couple crazy wolves ever since this trip!

What a set-up! After a long day, they were so happy to have their own special space in our room! Every family hotel room needs a "wolf-den"! We put on Smurfs for the kids, and Rob and I got to watch The Hangover 2!

Welcome Fall...Translation Busy-ness

I love fall so much and hope to capture some great pictures soon, but for now, this is all I have. Jovie is sporting our typical Sunday attire...outfitted in Cardinals gear from head to toe...literally. Thanks Aunt Syd for the adorable Cardinals hair clip. It goes great with the jersey and looks so cute. We're just hoping it brings the team some good luck soon. It's been a pretty rough start with only 1 win and 3 straight losses...close losses, but losses nonetheless. 

Our weeks continue to be busy, and the weekends just aren't long enough! Jack is playing flag football and loving it, and between my new job and getting used to our new routine, I feel like the day is over before I even have a chance to get on top of anything. My new job has been very challenging. The schedule, the amount of preps I have (different classes), and feeling like I don't want to disappoint anyone leaves me absolutely exhausted at day's end. However, I'm able to get Jack from school most days and then after we get Jovie, we're home by 3:30 at the latest. This is a major improvement from my days at MV, and while it doesn't feel like anything has really calmed down (in fact my job feels busier) at least I don't waste 2 hours of my life in the car every day, and I have an extra hour of sleep every night.

1st Grader

This past week was a huge week for all of us. First and foremost, Jack started 1st grade! He was very excited and took to the new routine like a champ. When I picked him up after the first day he said it was the "Best day ever!" On the second day when I asked him he said "It was great!" On the third day he said, "Why do you keep asking me that? Every day I go to school is going to be a great day!" We'll see how long that lasts...hopefully until the end of the year!

It was a big week for me too. Even though I've been working for weeks in my new classroom at NVHS, my first day with students was Wednesday. I was so nervous and anxious. I hardly slept...thinking about every detail and everything I wanted to say. Wednesday was a blur, Thursday was a little more memorable, and finally Friday I felt like I accomplished something. My students are great, and I'm so excited to be a part of the Nooksack community. The staff is so wonderful and supportive.

Jovie had to begin a new routine too. Prior to me getting the job at Nooksack, we had no idea what we were going to do about childcare for her. Our wonderful nanny from last year took a different job (one that she could have year-round), so we were back to square one. Little did I know that I wouldn't have to do any looking or figuring at all. God's hand were at work orchestrating a schedule that I couldn't have dreamed up. My friend Brooke (who also works at NVHS) was looking for someone to do a nanny share with, so there you have it. Problem solved. I was a little nervous about how Jovie would handle going somewhere she had never been, playing with kids she had never played with, but so far so good.

September and October will continue to really busy and fun-filled for us, and since fall is tied with spring as my favorite time of year, I'm so excited for lots of family fun and excitement! Stay tuned :-)

Family

Nothing brings our family together like fresh caught and prepared food! Last weekend it was crab, and hopefully if all goes well, this weekend will be full of crabbing too. We all (except for one of us...I won't expose you) love crab!!! And what is better than catching your own and eating it fresh? I HEART these pictures, and my heart was filled to the brim with love and happiness last Saturday night. 

Jack is 6!

Here's a random list of pictures from the 4 little birthday gatherings we had for Jack. It was a week full of setting up, preparing food, cleaning, taking down, and cleaning again to cram in all these get-togethers, but it was totally worth it. We had such a nice time with all our family and Jack's friends.

The grand finale was the best salmon dinner I think I've ever had. My Dad and Adam caught a couple Kings on the Fraser River, and were kind enough to share them with all of us. They did a little pre-smoke on the fish before it went on the grill, which resulted in this amazing smoky-flavored crust. I made a wasabi-avocado-shrimp appetizer, some mango salsa, and a potato dish to go along with the meal. We finished our wonderful meal off with raspberry filled and topped chocolate cake. Truly a Northwest dinner. At the end of the night we discussed how lucky we are to be able to "live off the land" and have such wonderful, fresh food. There's nothing that says summer in the NW better than salmon and raspberries...we are truly lucky!

Round 1, with Mom, Dad, and Jovie

Getting ready for Round 2 with friends

Silly birthday party boys, plus Jovie. Clockwise from Jack...Crew, Eli, Logan, Kobe, Jovie

Trying to get four boys to sing happy birthday is impossible!

Round 3 with the Days...He's been waiting for a long time for this Lego set.
Thanks Grandpa & Grammy Day!

Tackling the 7 bags of Legos that contained the "Pirate's" ship.

Round 4 with the Van Diest clan...the present on the floor is Jack's very own crab pot
from Grampy Van Diest! Lucky guy!

Yummy chocolate raspberry cake with trick candles!!! :)

Congratulations, and Stay-cation

Congratulations to Rob! He just finished his coursework, and has obtained a bachelors degree in accounting. It's been over a year of rigorous coursework, met with long hours at work...especially in the last few months, but as of Friday, he is officially done with the coursework for his degree.

Because of Rob's school and work, and because we're going to Maui in five months (yahoo!) we have decided to stay very local this summer. In fact, we don't have one single vacation planned. I was really itching for a vacation earlier this summer, but now as the summer seems to be dwindling away very quickly, I have no desire to leave home. The kids and I have been enjoying a very simple life lately. We mostly just hang around the house, go for a walk here, head to a friend's or sister's house there...just wait for Rob to get home so we can enjoy the time we have with him. Even though there's a strong part of me that wants to pack up the car and head on another road trip, I have finally come to terms with the fact that it's not the summer to do so. Good thing we have a wonderful trip coming up in a few short months. I can't wait go to Maui with Rob and the kids!

I have been neglecting my camera lately, but here's a cute little photo of Jovie and her friend Emerson taking a movie break while us adults and older kids were outside having a 4-square tournament in the alley.

We Love Summer

What a life! This kid knows how to relax, and is so happy we are less on the go these days.

Happy Independence Day!

Ta-Da! Whimsical and full of it lately!

Wine with friends! This is the evidence of a really, really fun night...even if we did both pay for it the next morning. Sydney, there is nothing like your company. Thank you so much for the impromptu visit! We love you and miss you guys so much!

You'd think that since it's summer break, life would be settling down a little...quite the contrary. Rob has recently been "blessed" with a promotion at work. I say "blessed" because while this is a great opportunity for him, and a blessing for our family, it's made for an interesting last couple months. Rob is trying to finish the last 3 courses of his accounting degree, in addition to his new demands at work. He often gets home between 7-8pm, and then has hours of accounting to do. I don't share this to make anyone feel sorry for him or us. This was a choice he made a year and half ago, and quite honestly, he never complains...I do! However, his course work will be done in less than three weeks, which means at the end of July he'll have finished a second bachelor's degree in accounting!

The most recent change in my life is that at the end of August I won't be going back to work at Mount Vernon High School. I left my teaching position there for a position at Nooksack Valley High School. I have had a lot of mixed feelings about this change in my life. I've been at MVHS for 4 1/2 years. I was just about to start my 5th successful year of teaching there. My coworkers have been amazing, my students have been so important to me, yet it was never supposed to be a long-term placement. I mean really, how much longer could I have handled that commute? Driving 2 hours a day with two young children at home and school has been challenging to say the least. When the position came open at Nooksack, (the school is 6 minutes away from my house) I had to apply. My interview went great, and obviously they liked me because they offered the job to me right away. Even though I was slightly hesitant, I knew it would be the best thing for me, my career, and my family. Now my "relaxed" summer has turned into a summer of cleaning out my office/rooms at MV, moving into NV, and preparing for all new classes, new students, new faculty & colleagues! I'm nervous, but very excited. I can't imagine what it's going to be like to be home when Jack gets off the bus, get an extra 45 minutes of sleep, and just be more invested in my community!

For now, I am soaking up every moment of time with the kids. We enjoy our lazy days around home. We don't have any family vacations planned until winter, so we will be very homebound...probably exactly what we need.

Countdown is on!

To the end of the school year, that is. After tomorrow I'll only have 8 more days left of school before summer vacation. Mount Vernon had so many snow days that we are in session until the 22nd! Jack on the other hand only has 2 days left as a kindergartner (tomorrow and Tuesday)!

In less than 2 weeks I'll have more time to devote to blogging.

Is it May...Really?

I'm feeling majorly behind on blogging as of late. It seems like we've had so much going on that I've wanted to blog about, but no time to do it.

All I can say about life (as complicated as it is sometimes) is that I am so happy and grateful to have my family...Rob, Jack, Jovie, Dad, Sisters (and some very close friends) to help every milestone, every hard moment still seem manageable. I "Keep Moving Forward" (Walt Disney's motto, and my new favorite saying) to accomplish, live, and record all the wonderful and important things that keep me sane and grounded.

To finish off my spring break, I chose to tackle the job of potty training Jovie. She was just a bit over two, but I knew it was either now or during the summer, and I really thought she was ready. My was she ever!!! Anyone who knows us understands that sometimes things don't come very easy with Jovie...however she proved me wrong with this one. It literally took a day to potty train her. I think she had MAYBE 3 accidents in her underwear, and we took the diapers away cold turkey. I'm so happy she was able to have such success. I love your little undies tush Joves!

Yay! No more diapers!!!

Easter was full of tradition and fun, yet empty of the one who put together the tradition. It was so hard to celebrate Easter without our Mom, not to mention Easter was only a few days past the one year anniversary of her death. It was hard not to think of what we were doing last year this time. We were coming off of funeral arrangements, going through flowers and cards, constant reminders of her scent as it was still everywhere in the house. I tried my very best to remind myself that my Mom got to spend her first Easter in Heaven with Jesus. The one who bled and died on the cross for her sins. The one who sacrificed himself so that she could make Heaven her home. What an amazing scene Easter in Heaven must be! Someday we'll see. Jack and I talked about that recently. He misses his Grammy so much, however as each month passes I can see his memory of her fading further and further into the past. What a lovely reunion they will have one day. Lord, I pray that Jack's heart remains yours and that you give me the strength to encourage his faith. Easter pics:

No sooner was Easter over that it was time to start preparing for opening weekend of fishing at Silver Lake. Another tradition that my parents started years ago. We had the best sights ever this year! A nice grouping of three large campsites with hookups that fit my Dad's trailer, Lisa & Corey's camper, and my Grandparent's trailer which they so lovingly brought up there for Jack and I to use. Since Silver Lake is just a short 30 minute drive from our house, it wasn't a big deal for them to bring it up there for us. Jack and I arrived at 5:30 on Friday evening and the trailer was all set up with the lights on and furnace running. What a welcome!!! I had to take a picture of the twin beds Jack and I got to sleep in all weekend and him all decked out and ready for fishing (they didn't catch any by the way). Despite the nice weather, it was still a little cold and the fish just didn't want to bite. We still had a wonderful time. Lots of sitting around the campfire. Lots of talking and laughing. Lots of eating!!! Seriously needed time away. Jovie and Rob went to visit Uncle Jason & Aunt Sydney for the boy's 6th or 7th annual NFL draft party, so we missed them a lot, however Jack and I got some much needed quality time together and Jack got to pretty much be free the entire weekend.