my birthday celebration

With Matt back in town and the conference over it was time to celebrate ME :) 

Luke had been especially anxious for this day to come and we started the party early with gifts before breakfast!  He is smitten with me and I'm loving it!  

And this son, John Paul.  Recently I've been having "I can't believe I get to call this boy mine" moments and I think it just comes in waves, the crazy gift of this child.  Also, he knows I like chocolate. 

Older, wiser, more mature, yet still young enough to hold hands with his mama and doesn't fall asleep without a kiss.  9 years old is pretty perfect for this guy.  

Her gift for me was a key lime pie and I exercised all sorts of restraint to wait until dinnertime to dig in!  This girl is really turning a leaf, seems so mature and taking on all kinds of responsibility and handling it well and man, she is a treat!

Yep, almost as tall as me.   Maybe by her next birthday? Or mine? Or maybe a bit longer?  I think both of the girls will eventually pass me in height.  Being her mama is one of my favorites, even on the days when the tween-teen transition is in full force! 

and how did I miss a picture with my man?  Lunch date and all the ways he serves me every day!  I'm just happy to be his.  On my Happy Birthday. 

my birthday week

My birthday week was a biggie!  Matt was traveling, our dear friends were visiting, and the bi-annual homeschool conference was happening.  Whew!  It was a lot of juggling and irregular schedules and hugging and laughing and late nights and joyful smiles.

I'm so thankful that my girls have such great friendships!  These girls are special. 

Thursday before the conference started Friday (and the day of my actual birthday) I helped host the conference keynote speaker who held writing classes for our children!  It was amazing!  Andrew Pudewa is a big deal name in the homeschooling world and I CANNOT believe that our kids were in a class with him and that I got to host him that day!

I've used his curriculum with all three of the big kids and the little guys will start in the next 12-18 months!  Yay for IEW and the kids felt like they were meeting a celebrity!

Mr. Pudewa is truly a master teacher! I love teaching and I love teaching writing and I felt like I was an understudy in the classroom as I watched him Thursday. 

I got home late that evening and collected the kids from their various spots (yay for friends who helped cover me on the kids during the day! - it was a team effort) and then I got everyone in bed and a few minutes later heard footsteps in the hall.  

Without even looking up I said, "Luke, get back in the bed."

"But Mom, I have something to tell you."

"Well, you can tell me in the morning."  {we all have nights like this, right?}

"But Mom, I lost a tooth!"

"Ok buddy.  I'm glad you told me.  And let's get a pic of that sweet toothless smile to send along to Daddy and aren't you growing up faster than I wish!"

And then I launched into the conference and Matt got home Friday afternoon and I was relieved to have kiddo help and I loved every minute of the conference.  Mostly I'm just in awe that I get to walk this homeschool journey with such sweet friends who are IN IT WITH ME and I'm so grateful that I get to teach my children at home.  What a privilege.

oh, and Matt?  He spends a lot of his travel time back and forth to the same destinations. So it was special that on this week, though he was away, he was enjoying a brand new spot.  And it was a good one to be enjoyed!

curly heads and plates of noodles

Seriously.

As the weather gets warmer and the girls get sweatier these two just look more and more alike.  Without a height difference they could pass for twins.

And when they are both tucked over a plate of noodles?  Priceless.

new desks for the little boys

In our new apartment we will have a school room!  And in that school room the little boys will have desks!  This is a big upgrade from their initial spot at the kitchen table and everyone is excited for them!

We ordered little desks and - obviously - opened them up and put them together as soon as they arrived.  The boys were ecstatic.  We don't really have a spot for them in our current apartment, but I put them on the back porch (where the lighting isn't super great, but it's only for a few weeks).

I've loved watching their new excitement for school now that they have their own spot.  It also really streamlines the morning for me and they are so cute together, especially when comparing math work - ha!  Little bro is pretty motivated to catch up to John Paul and I'm totally ok with it because I like when siblings can school together, so much easier for me.

and in just a few weeks we will finish (mostly) for the summer, but the desks will be moving upstairs, and come this fall everyone will have their own spot in the school room!  yay

apartment update

Progress!  Interior doors were installed yesterday.  Next week is wall paint and then flooring.  The following week should be kitchen (countertops, cabinetry, etc) and bathrooms (toilet, sink, the works).  We set a tentative move date of June 9th.  And I think we will make it :)

Whew!

Four Sisters Mountain

We live right on the edge of the world's most impressive mountain range.  And you'd never know it.  Roads are bad (but improving!) and most of the area is remote and isolated and national/provincial investment in creating and preserving natural areas is limited.

But we are getting out more.  And loving it.

Monday we bought a car top carrier.  It arrived Thursday late afternoon and we loaded it that night!  Matt was going to be out late on Friday and I didn't want to load the car at midnight, so we decided to just leave it parked in the parking garage (which we can barely squeeze out of with a loaded car top, but if you drive just right you can make it!).  Then Saturday morning we were on the road at 7:15.  We were expecting a 4 hour drive and made it in just a bit less, which is always a nice way to start a trip.

Oh, and the car top carrier meant we could bring some camping gear!  Our van is pretty small, and without the car top carrier we can each pack a few changes of clothing and that is it!  Exciting for us to have more packing options now!

We met our friends up there and did a little hiking before an afternoon rain storm sent us running indoors.

We had a room at this guest house, and also a tent on the lawn.  It was perfect!   The guesthouse is at 10,000.... so it was good to get a short hike in on Saturday because we wanted to try something a bit more aggressive on Sunday morning.

There are a lot of goat herds in the area, and also yaks that are grazing at higher elevations during the summer months.

The trails were nicely maintained and the bridges were super cool!  We crossed the river multiple times :)

Saturday night we decided to axe our first plan (hotdogs over the fire) and drove into the little town for dinner.

By the time we got back the rain was gone and the mountains peeking out of the clouds and just the right spot for S'mores!

Saturday we started our hike with gobs of energy and snacks and excited children!  It was a perfect day!

We had a blast!

We were back at the guest house in time for a mid-afternoon lunch of roasted hotdogs and a second round of S'mores.

This was the view from the guest house, looking towards the hike.

Wherever we went we enjoyed the company of Huan Huan, the guesthouse dog.  She was amazing, and charmed all of us.  I'm not much of a dog person, but if we lived out in the sticks I would want this dog for my own.

Hanging out around the guest house was a treat too.  Rivers to wade in (but not too far in, it was icy cold snow melt and flowing fat!), and rocks to throw and sticks to gather.

Happy Happy Happy.  Everyone was just so happy.

Sunday evening the weather was dry and Matt and these little guys slept in the tent that night!  So fun for them! Their first tent camping and it was a huge success.

Monday morning NO ONE wanted to go home.  NO ONE.

We sat by the river, and sat by the river, and sat by the river a little longer.  But eventually the vans were packed and we started the road back home.  First up was crossing a 12,000 ft pass - we crossed it on the way in but it was overcast and cloudy.  On the way out?  Well, the views did not disappoint!

The highest peak below is 20,510 feet!  That is crazy high!

I could have spent the first two hours of the drive home hanging halfway out the window taking pictures.  I'm not sure we could ever have a day so clear or so beautiful again.  It was perfect :)

Big city life isn't a super great fit for either of us.  Honestly, I think most of our kids would be happier living out in the sticks.  But that isn't in the plans for us right now, and in the meantime we are making plans to head back out to the mountains at the end of June!

my baby joined the big kids club

Luke lost his FIRST TOOTH!!

He wiggled and jiggled and twisted this little tooth all day long and it finally fell out when Matt was reading to them before bed.  Whew!  It was so loose by that point that I wondered if it would fall out in the night and he would swallow it :(

He is beyond excited!  This was definitely the highlight of his day, maybe the highlight of his week!

I haven't done a recent count, but of the 100 baby teeth that originally filled my kiddos mouths we've got to be about halfway through the tooth-loosing game.  Julianna's are all gone.  Lydia's are close.  Isaac and John Paul are still in the thick of it and now Luke is dropping teeth too.

and speaking of teeth, I think braces are in the future for the girls.... as soon as the move is behind us we need to get orthodontist appointments for both of them, but I just can't even imagine starting that journey until we are through these next few weeks.

homeschool swim team

Three years ago Julianna swam for the first time.  The only other girl on the team was her friend Kayleigh.  Two girls!!  The following year Lydia was old enough to swim and Xan joined, and we doubled our numbers! 4 girls!  And then 2018?!?!?  We had 8 (!!!!) girls swimming!  It's so fun to see the homeschool community grow (mostly we are just growing up! minimum age to swim is 9 and there are not many homeschooled middle schoolers in the entire city!)

Isaac barely met the age requirement (he turned 9 a few weeks before the meet) and he was reluctant to swim but in the end he had a blast!  He's totally on board for next year and I'm proud of him for trying!  

One highlight was coaching!  ha!  I know, I know.  I have no competitive swimming experience!  But I do love kids and and teaching, and coaching is a lot like teaching.  I relied on some expert advice and helpful youtube videos to fill in the many gaps in my knowledge!  

I mostly coached the 11-12 boys and they were so much fun!  Nothing like a lane full of competitive tween boys to get everyone fired up!  ha! and I loved loved watching my girls enjoy these moments of sweet fellowship!  One of the reasons we pulled them out of local school was to give them opportunities to interact with other foreign girls their age, and swim team was amazing!

the mamas of these lovely ladies are the kinds of people you want to spend all your free time with!  

And the day of the meet we brought home some ribbons! 

Lydia anchored the 9-10 girls relay.  She had an incredible meet... swam the 100 IM, won the 50 breast and got 2nd in the 25 fly.  

Our entire team, with head coach Michelle and me.  Next year Michelle will be busy working with all CISA athletics, and I'll be head coaching swimming :) 

with my favorite three swimmers right alongside!

rain on a Wednesday. Can I start this blog again?

Well, it's happened again.  I'm so far behind that I don't know how to catch up.  Maybe I'm done blogging?  I'm not sure.  I loved it, and still love it, and I'm so so so thankful for the books of memories.  That's my favorite part, so maybe I need to figure out a way to put our year into a book? I'm not sure.

Regardless, here I am.  A rainy Wednesday morning.  And I'm motivated to get a few more pictures and a few more stories on this page.

I think I'll try to squeeze April into one post? Or maybe two?

April was gorgeous, so many sunny days, moderate temperatures, and lots of outdoor play.  We transitioned into shorts (though this morning it's shorts and sweatshirts) and dirty knees are everywhere!

We've filled our mornings with school.  I am thankful to be in a good groove and though we are working on some kinks (every day, right?)... mostly the schedule runs smooth.  The girls are working hard on math and writing and we read piles and piles of books.  A spring highlight is definitely having EVERYONE home all day long!  It's a full house, but I just love it.  We eat lunch about 12:30 and after a quick clean up it's read aloud.  Our recent favorites are The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Tucket's Travels series and yesterday I started Tuck Everlasting and if the rain keeps falling we just might finish it today!

Luke is making great progress with his reading!  It's fun to see him engaging with the words in the world around him!

And, well, everyone is reading (also this picture is notable because the girls had just cleaned their room!!  hallelujah!)

And we are crazy about card games.  Crazy.  If there is a maximum number of hours a child could possibly play Rummy, well, we've hit it.  I like to think this doubles as math class - lots of patterns and adding and it does involve sitting still (which is a school skill we are still polishing!)

When I'm not schooling, well, the hours get filled quickly.  I helped coach homeschool swim team (more on that in a second April post) and the new apartment renovations require more decisions than I care to make.  But, I'm making them.... with a lot of help from friends who are more wired for that sort of thing!

We moved some walls (tore out a closet and reduced the sized of the utility porch) and in our new apartment we will have a school room!! I'm thrilled!  The doorway for the room is awkwardly tall (2.4 meters!!) and there's no natural place to put a swinging door.  So... barn doors were the answer.  I can buy the frame to hang them online, and the only other piece was to find an antique door that would fit.

But we did :)  Antique is actually way cheaper than having something custom made (I got a pair of antique doors for less than $100!). But it did take a little searching.  I'm looking forward to seeing them hung in our new apartment... but that's a few weeks away, as we are still waiting on flooring, and tiling and kitchen/bathroom cabinetry.  Sigh.

At the antique market Julianna spotted a pile of newspapers and asked if she could have them.  "I've been thinking of trying some paper mache," she explained.  This girl ALWAYS has a craft idea rolling around in the back of her brain!  So she started right in, and it was a messy fun way to fill several afternoons!

And speaking of filling the afternoons, Luke spent hours assembling this Lego RV!

Ok, that might be enough for April (when I throw in a post about homeschool swimming!)

Hopefully I'll miss fewer everyday moments in May!