Seattle and School

We're off to Seattle.  It was a late night flight with a layover so we didn't get to my moms house until 3am (our time). We're grateful to my sister for picking us up and driving us around so late!

Sleeping in the airport- the kids did really well despite how late it was.

Hanging out with cousins





A fun day at Silverlake

Grandma took them on a ride






The giant waterslide at Ensign Ranch.  The kids had so much fun!

Someone else took this picture- such a difference in quality from my camera









They were excited to go horseback riding

I love the mountains in the background

Its nice to have a brother to sleep on when you've had a long day of play.

All the cousins

MAKE (Matthew, Mason, Andrew, Karter, and Ethan)

We were excited to see Uncle Chris and meet his girlfriend Erika.  I'm sad I didn't get a picture of them both but I'm really happy for them!

The three girlsies




My kids love "castle park"...St Edwards

The girlsies again

Hannah's baptism day! We were so excited and so proud of Hannah for the good choices she makes.



Thanks Kelsy for taking the cute pictures.



These pictures kind-of remind me of the pictures I've seen of my mom as a kid.  I think its the braid and freckles.

The girls love their big brothers/cousins

(I stole a lot of these pictures from my siblings) Hannah and Grandpa

Eliza getting her nails done at Lucy's birthday party



Picking wild blackberries was one of the highlights for these two

Eating ice cream with my mom and Gary

Andrew was looking forward to eating crab in Seattle

Yay for seeing friends

Eliza was 15 months old when we moved so she doesn't remember any friends but it didn't take her long to find them.

I just love this picture of Mel

The Pike Place Market pig



Seattle Waterfront



We had to get some Seattle cultural experiences in



The mountains and the Puget sound were good for my soul

Karkeek park, one of my favorite places

Catching tadpoles in the Stillaguamish River



Getting ready to jump

The mountain water is FREEZING, especially compared to the water Andrew has been used to.

writing with clay

And we're home! Ethan had an eye appointment so he had to keep Dads sunglasses on.

He got glasses.  I think they are so cute on him! This is when he picked out his pair at the eye clinic, he didn't get his own pair until a couple of weeks later.

Playing at the school playground on meet the teacher night.



This is about a month ago. The school year is going great for all three of them so far.

I can't believe he is a fifth grader.  That is the grade I taught so it is especially weird that I have a kid that old.

He has an awesome teacher and I'm so grateful!

Sidewalk chalk rocket ship

She was very excited to start preschool



I have 8 kids in my class and they are all really sweet!

 

Hannah and neighbors painting nails. We had another girl Hannah's age move in behind us.

 

 

Double rainbow that looks like it goes into our backyard



I won't add a bunch of preschool pictures but if you're curious you can see them at preschoolatjillshouse.blogspot.com

Playing in the creek for playgroup





Our bunny was acting really funny for a couple of days and we weren't sure if he'd pull out of it.  Hannah had to hand feed him.  He's fully recovered now and doing great!

Andrew and Daniel joined a table tennis club

We pulled the kids out of school and brought them to Aunt Martie's to watch the solar eclipse. Their school was just outside the zone of totality and this is only about 10 minutes away but had over a minute of totality.  It was super cool!



I love this downtown St Louis park



Ethan loved playing dodge ball with Andrew at Rockin-Jump



Hannah loves rock climbing




Eliza decided to give it a try



Fishing and camping in preschool

Swim team ended but I was so proud of Andrew for how hard he worked.  His efforts weren't overlooked and he received this special award.

We missed the swim team end of season party because it was on a Sunday so our friends with a backyard pool had their own end of season party. Eliza and Ethan loved this treehouse and climbing on the ropes.



That's it! We had a wonderful vacation and now we're getting back into the routines of school. We're grateful we got to see family and can't wait to see them again!