The high today 93 – that’s record breaking heat for us. I was surprised last night when Jason asked if I wanted to play tennis today, but I love that he’s enjoying it enough that he would want to play on his birthday and in the heat. We only played for about 45 minutes but it was lots of fun. I still beat him and joked that maybe he can beat me on his next birthday. In truth I don’t think it will be very long before he becomes a stronger tennis player than me.
Justin took Jason out to lunch to redeem is free Red Robin burger and then Jason choose to spend the rest of the afternoon watching TV shows. He’s been really into the Avatar series on Netflix. Katie and Drew played with the neighbors most of the afternoon and the girls were off with friends, as usual.
Jason requested kung pao spaghetti for dinner which is one of the meals Justin makes. After dinner we all watch Narnia which was Jason’s activity/movie of choice. We took a break half way through to enjoy some Oreo Madness and sing Happy Birthday to our new teen.
I love the little smirk on his face as we were singing to him. Justin took this picture of Drew who decided to eat his dessert while laying on the island. Nobody said objected so I guess that’s perfectly acceptable?
As Jason was heading to bed he thanked me for making the dessert and seriously that felt amazing to this mama. Covid hasn’t been easy for this kid – he has missed school and friends and sports. I loved seeing him in such great spirits today. I sure love my boy!
Tuesday, July 28
Today ended up being a food field trip day. This morning I was talking to Katie and Drew about a possible lunch date this week and Katie mentioned she really wanted to go to Café Rio. Our local Café Rio has been closed since March so we’ve all missed it. I looked online and found that the Café Rio in Lynnwood had recently reopened and is conveniently located near several stores I needed to make returns at. Justin overheard the conversation and jumped at the idea of an excursion and said he could work in the car. So we drove 40 minutes north to eat lunch at Café Rio.
Lunch didn’t disappoint and I loved that I was able to get some other errands done as well. We also stopped by two different Chick-fil-A’s to get in their rewards system. Not a bad day at all. With my Chick-fil-A purchases today I finally reached silver status on the Chick-fil-A app which is the first tier above just a member. I posted a screenshot on my Instagram stories which led to some fun conversations with friends including some who have achieved red status. Justin is red status but that’s only because he picks up catering orders for work. Sure red status would be nice, but I’d rather keep my money and eat lots of Chick-fil-A for free and stay in my low tier.
I was wiped out when we got home and didn’t have much energy for anything. I guess I ate too much and drove too long? Everyone else was pretty full as well so we didn’t have dinner, but we did polish off the oreo madness.
Wednesday, July 29
Today was another hot day. Katie and Drew have been itching to get out our little swimming pool for the backyard. I came downstairs to find it half blown up in the kitchen and there is stayed for the next several hours with Justin coming in every so often to blow it up more. He didn’t seem to mind but seriously we need to find an easier way to inflate large things like this. And the logic of doing in my kitchen was questionable – ha!
Justin’s blowing up the inside benches here
I spent some time in the kitchen today using up some ingredients that needed to be used. Lemons and yogurt => lemon bread.
I strongly persuaded Carly to play tennis with me this afternoon. I had a lot of fun and got in a good workout. She wasn’t really into it, which is probably the only reason why I won, but I was grateful she stuck to it. I’m hoping we play lots of tennis in Sunriver next week. The schools are shifting sports seasons around this year due to COVID so there’s a possibility girls tennis might in the fall instead of the spring so Carly might be on the courts much sooner than expected.
I hung out in the hammock after tennis watching K&D play in the pool. They were out there all day long and had so much fun. Justin even joined them for a little while after he finished work. They wanted Justin to video them “wrestling”
After dinner we finally played Ticket to Ride tonight so we can move that to the upstairs cupboard and then we polished off the last peach pie – yum!
JD & I legoed a bit before bed and then after they went to bed I kept going – finding even more sets that we potentially have to put together. Before I knew it it was after midnight – time flies when you’re having fun!
Thursday, July 30
Today ended up being a working day, well for a few of us. Jason and I were able to play tennis this morning for about 30 minutes before Justin and I took Katie to MOD pizza for her lunch date. Tennis was fun, but Jason got discouraged by losing so he left pretty grumpy about it. In contrast, on the way to the courts he was saying that he definitely likes tennis better than soccer and might even like it better than basketball which is really saying something.
Back home Katie and Drew helped me with some straightening up as we need to start organizing and packing up to leave Saturday morning for Sunriver. The girls were off with friends, per usual. Carly’s usual Tues-Thurs babysitting gig was cancelled this week and she has for sure made the most of that extra time with friends. In contrast Abigail took today and tomorrow off to play. She down to only a few days left here before leaving so school so I can’t really blame her for wanting to pack it full of fun. Katie and Drew were back outside this afternoon playing in the pool and Jason ended up napping for hours this afternoon after I asked him to get off electronics.
Friday, July 31
Prep day today. We really don’t have too much to do since we’re not doing any meal prep before we get there, we can purchase anything we need and tax-free to boot, and we have a washer/dryer at the rental house so we’re not planning to bring a lot of clothes with us. I prefer to come home from vacation to a clean house though so that means we have to actually clean it before we leave.
Drew walked down with me to the mailbox – I thought he outfit was pretty funny, especially considering we were in the high 80’s today. I loved that he wanted to take his backpack with us so he “could get used to wearing it” and that he double checked that his little hand sanitizer was still attached.
JKD spent the day indoors though so it was a cool 72 in the house. I ran some errands this afternoon and picked up $8 worth of Baskin Robbins for myself thanks to several $2 rewards given to T-Mobile customers this week. Back at home we finished up the laundry and most of the packing. Hopefully we can get it all into the car pretty quickly tomorrow morning. I’m looking forward to this next week with my crew!
Today was non-stop. When Jason woke up (at 10:30am!) we went and played tennis. So fun. Afterward I had to get cleaned up for my lunch date with Abigail. She chose Red Robin – I still had my birthday burger to redeem so that sounded good to me. Unfortunately, my chicken sandwich was disappointing – good thing they have great fries. She wanted to look for something new to wear tonight for our family pictures. We picked up some options at Nordstrom Rack and Old Navy and then redeemed a BOGO at Cold Stone for an extra treat before heading home to get ready.
We met our photographer at Flaming Geyser Park about 40 minutes away. Today was 87 degrees – the hottest day of the year yet. Thankfully she kept us mostly in the shade so we didn’t get too sweaty.
We gave the kids the option of dinner afterward at Chick-fil-A or Papa John’s – they chose Papa Johns and we ate it in a nearby church parking lot – so yum!
Justin and I had free peach shakes at Chick-fil-A to pick up – more yum!
To treat the kids Justin ran into Walmart and let them pick out a $1 candy through facetime. I’m grateful that it was a low stress night. Figuring out what to wear for a family photo and getting everyone ready and smiling normally is usually pretty stressful but tonight went really well and I’m hopeful that we will end up with some great photos.
Tuesday, July 21
Last night before Jason went to bed he asked me if I wanted to play tennis in the morning. In truth I was looking forward to an exercise-free day, but I can’t say no when Jason asks me to hang with him. Today was another hot day, but we were out a bit earlier and finished up by 11am. Katie and Drew dug out the slip-n-slide and spent ALL afternoon in the backyard sliding around.
I don’t remember much about the evening so it must not have been too exciting. This photo was on my phone so I guess we did some Legoing. Here Katie is inventorying a set I had already made but it is a 2-in-1 so it was easier to break it down and inventory it and then let her make it in the new form.
Justin also tried to remove his botched up patch job on one of our paddleboards so we could get it fixed and take it with us to Sunriver next week. Unfortunately he hasn’t been successful. It’d be a bummer to lose a paddleboard because of a tiny hole.
Wednesday, July 22
This morning I went grocery shopping with Sommer. Sommer is on a big emergency prep kick so she wanted to go to WinCo and stock up. This was my first time shopping with a friend and I thought it might be a bit weird to need different things but it was fun and a good excuse to catch up. We also stopped into Walmart for a few things. Oh man, the Renton Walmart is a scary place and this was in the daytime. They have extra police equipment in the parking lots monitoring people and lots of additional security measures in the store itself. Crazy how different a place can be just 15 minutes from where we normally shop.
As I started putting away supplies I got motivated to organize under our bathroom and laundry sinks – mainly making sure each bathroom had the necessary cleaning supplies and organizing all the other bathroom items. Katie was a big help. I also cycled through several loads of laundry and cleaned up the house a bit. It’s amazing how quickly everything can get disheveled. Even after hours of cleaning I still feel like we could use more. We still have lots of boxes of DI stuff in the upstairs hall. The closest DI is 45 minutes away and you can only drop off by appointment so we’ll need to do some planning to get that taken care of. Hopefully soon.
It strange to document our lives and leave out Abigail and Carly most of the time, but I suppose that just comes with their independence. Carly was supposed to be at cross-country camp this week, but at the last minute it got cancelled. She’d already gotten off of work so she was home all day today. Carly and Jason went to the park tonight to watch a movie together – I love it when my kids choose to hang out together. So much so that I let them stay out until 11pm so long as Jason promised a happy, cooperative attitude tomorrow… we’ll see. Abigail hiked Snow Lake with friends after she got home from work and then was off with friends until late.
Thursday, July 23
Our lake day from Tuesday was postponed until today, but the weather today was only in the 60’s so we bagged the idea. Jason and I played tennis in the afternoon and Katie and Drew met us at the YMCA on their bikes and were able to hit around until someone else showed up at the courts to play.
I skipped out at 6pm for a GNO where we watched the first two Twilight movies while eating massive among of sugar. Such a fun night. I’m not sure I’ve watched the movies since they were first released many years ago. The author has a new book coming out next month to go along with the Twilight series so it might be a good time for me to revisit the books. I think I’ve only read them once.
Friday, July 24
I had my annual mammogram appointment this afternoon. This was my first time having my temperature checked which was necessary to enter the hospital. They have bypassed having patients change in the locker room and instead took me straight back to the exam room. I was in and out in less than 20 minutes. Easy peesy. Since I was in the area I popped into Costco and then home to find the entire family home. Rare.
Abigail went camping last night and napped all morning/early afternoon at home. Carly went running/bike riding this morning but was home the rest of the afternoon. Jason had made cookies while I was gone and to my surprise and delight had cleaned up his dishes and started the dishwasher. I wish I could say we took advantage of the family time and did something bonding, but instead the girls settled on their bed on their phones and Jason lost his cool when he lost his TV privilege due to some tension between him and Drew. Parenting is fun – ha!
Carly picked up our holds at the library today – now to decide what to read first!
Justin wanted to get out of the house so we went into Issaquah and bought a few cheap eats for dinner. We got some frozen yogurt on Main Street in Issaquah where they had the entire road closed off so that restaurants could expand their outdoor dining capacity by taking over the street. It was actually pretty cool as some restaurants had outdoor lights and music playing. Cool vibe.
After getting the kids off to bed Justin and I finally got around to finish watching the first episode of Friday Night Lights – there was a lot more football in the episode but I’ve heard it’s a good series so we’ll give it a fair try.
Saturday, July 25
This morning we decided to go on a bike ride with JKD. No surprise that Jason wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but he didn’t fight back too hard. We unloaded the bikes along Tokul Road thinking we could head to North Bend that way, but soon learned that there is a break in the Snoqualmie Valley Trail due to some private property so we had to turn around, reload the bikes on the van and drive out to Centennial to start there. We were on a bit of a time crunch since Abigail needed the van at 1pm to head into Seattle so we were only able to bike out five miles and back. It was still a good ride. Drew sure tires quickly though which could be rough next week when we’re biking around Sunriver.
We past his first grade teacher and I chatted with her a bit about school in the fall. Word on the streets is that we’re going to end up all online instead of having a hybrid option. Several school districts announced that this week and I fear ours will follow suit. My friend Sommer is enrolling her kids in K12 – our local homeschool option. The K12 program is filling up fast so I’m feeling the pressure to make a decision quick. Keep them at the school district – likely entire online – and hope our untrained teachers can pull it together and teach effectively online or go with an established online program but lose the connection with the teachers and students my kids are familiar with and missing. Another drawback of going with K12 is that I think it’s a full year commitment so if the district is able to have in-person teaching we’re stuck with K12 until fall of 2021. I want the best learning situation for my kids, but I also want minimal involvement on my part. I have no clue which option is best for my kiddos and if I don’t make a decision soon I won’t have options. So tough!
Abigail was planning to head into Seattle today to pick up my camera she was getting repaired (that she damaged in Sunriver and is planning to take with her to college) so thinking of productivity and progress I suggested she tack on a stop at the Deseret Industries to drop off our bounty of donations that we’ve been collecting in our upstairs hall for 4 months. She obliged but wasn’t thrilled that we had so much stuff that she’d have to take the van into Seattle. But she got it done and I’m so glad to not have to look at all that stuff anymore.
Back home K&D got out the slip-n-slide and invited the neighbor kids over to play with them. They had a blast. I chilled in my hammock a bit and enjoyed some Doritos and a Mountain Dew that Jason brought out to me (at Justin’s request). I made come tikka masala for dinner, but we only had K&D at home since the three oldest were off with friends. While Justin picked up Jason and his buddy Matt from the Gibbs house I listened to the Don’t Miss This episode for this weeks CFM lesson while enjoying a bowl of ice-cream.
Then Justin and I watched a couple episodes of Friday Night Lights (FNL).
Sunday, July 26
We enjoyed a LAZY morning today. Nobody was in a rush to do anything, except perhaps Drew who was begging me to get up out of bed so we could Lego. We Legoed a good portion of the day. Had sacrament and CFM in the late afternoon which Jason prepared. Justin made a late curry lunch and then for dinner we cooked up two batches of French fries in the air fryer – so yum! Katie and Drew also helped me make two fresh peaches and cream pies for dessert. Peach pie will always remind me of growing up when we always had a bounty of fresh fruit and veggies in our garden (which we kids didn’t appreciate nearly enough, but that’s probably because we had to weed it).
After a late night walk to close my circles (my 143rd day), Justin and I watched another episode of FNL.
COVID Update: Washington State Governor announced new restrictions for restaurant dining to go into effect on July 30th. Under these new rules restaurants in phase 2 and 3 can only seat parties indoors if they reside in the same household. No guidance was mentioned, though, regarding how restaurants should enforce the rule. Table size for dine-in in phase 3 will be reduced to five individuals. Additional restrictions were placed on gyms, weddings, funerals, etc… During a Thursday press conference, Governor Inslee referred to dining indoors with people from outside your household as 'the most dangerous 3-feet in the state right now.'Stats as of Sunday, July 26:Confirmed cases in Washington state – 53,321 with 1,518 deaths.USA total cases over 4.2 million with over 146k deaths. Globally over 16 million cases and 650k deaths.
We were planning to go to the lake this afternoon with the Reynolds family however they had to cancel. Instead we decided to go on a hike. Jason was pretty reluctant but in the end he decided to join Katie, Drew and me. I decided to venture up Poo Poo Point . I've only done this hike once before and it was with some girlfriends a few years ago and I thought it would be a good hike for the kids. It is a pretty steep hike but only four miles round trip. What's awesome about this particular hike is that at the top you can often see paragliders taking off . Fascinating!
The kids did fantastic. Drew only fell once on the way down which is usually expected. He’s not klutzy, but he tends to lead the pack both up and down any mountain and keeps an incredible pace. Thankfully, he’s also tough and popped up and continued on without Katie even noticing he’d fallen.
We saw three different snakes, a chipmunk and evidence of a woodpecker. I like hikes like these that we don’t have to worry about predators.
Afterward we headed to Burger King to redeem some free fries with a $1 purchase. Then we headed to Fred Meyer to pick up some groceries for the week. This was the first time I have had more than one kid with me inside of a store. They're easy to take along with me, but I'm sure we catch some eyes as the smallest one of us, Drew, pushes the cart as he follows Jason, Katie, and me around the store . Jason was in charge of keeping track of how much money we were spending so that we could get to our $40 amount in order to use my final $10 off coupon. He did a pretty good job and was only off by a few dollars. We picked up some sandwiches for dinner from Potbelly on our way home so we wouldn’t have to make anything for dinner.
After dinner the kids filtered through the shower while I relaxed in the hammock outside. Justin came out and joined me for a little while and I was surprised how comfortable my hammock was with two.
A few moments of solitude also gave me an chance to catch up on some Marco Polo conversations with friends and share some fun videos from watching the paragliders. As usual, Justin was working tonight so I caught up on the blog and read some more of my book before calling it a night.
Tuesday, July 14
Raspberry season is in full swing and when I looked at the farm’s Facebook status on Saturday they recommended that people arrive right when the farm opens before they get picked out. Apparently with covid going on everyone is excited to pick berries so they have been much busier than in previous years. They are only open two days week and today was the day! I actually set an alarm so we could wake up and get out of the house around 8am. Abigail already had plans to hike this morning and Jason decided to pass since he already needed to mow the lawn today. Apparently he saw the raspberry picking as more of a chore than a treat. The farm opened at 8am and we arrived around 8:30am and right after we arrived they said that they were going to post that they were maxed out for the day. We were assigned a row for picking and we're able to get approximately 23 pounds of raspberries very quickly. That's $80 worth of berries! Yikes! It's so hard to walk away from vines filled with huge, delicious raspberries.
Back at home we made a batch of jam and then I did a little search in my recipes on Pinterest and decided to make some raspberry sweet rolls . They were very good; however, my family seems to prefer regular ole cinnamon rolls over fruity sweet rolls. I can't blame them. I think I agree. We froze a couple trays of raspberries and then planned to eat the other 10 pounds over the next couple days before they go bad.
I was down in Auburn tonight for a get together with my girlfriends. Two friends who’d moved away both happened to be in town and we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to catch up. We visited in Barb’s backyard and enjoyed a potluck dinner and smores until after midnight. Those six hours flew by. I love that these friendships are still so comfortable and valuable to me even after several of us have moved away since we most of us met nearly two decades ago.
Back home Justin got the guardrail and ladder installed on the boys’ bunk bed.
Wednesday, July 15
Again, we talked about the possibility of going to the lake this afternoon, but we didn't have any friends lined up to join us so we decided to postpone until next week and plan ahead better. I wanted to play tennis with Jason this morning instead. He has started sleeping in more and didn't get up until around 11am. We had a couple errands to run beforehand so Katie and Drew rode down to the Seahawks park on their bikes and Jason and I went to the post office and library while they played at the park. When we came by to pick them up to head to the tennis courts Katie's was excited to tell me that her best friend had just so happened to be at the same park so she wanted to stay there and play. They’ve had some facetime calls over the months but hadn’t seen each other since in-person school stopped in March. Jason, Drew and I went to the tennis courts by the YMCA and Katie stayed at the park until Sarah left and then biked to where we were. That gave the boys and I about an hour to play tennis. I felt badly because Drew wanted to play tennis but Jason wanted to have a serious game between just the two of us. I did my best to balance both of them. In the end I thought it went well and I had a good time; however, Jason might say otherwise. Typical teenage boy, I suppose.
Justin took this picture of his mid-day snack. So yum! Only once a year do we allow ourselves as much berries as we can eat.
Drew’s little neighbor friend with outside playing when we got home so Katie and I took out some comfy chairs and sat in the front yard and read while he played outside for an hour or so. I finished my book later this afternoon after I showered. Finally, my first book during covid – which seems so strange to me since you’d think covid would have been the perfect time to settled down and read more. I have missed reading. Starting today we can resume putting holds on books through the library and pick up the books at the North Bend library. I’m excited to see the kids back in books.
Thursday, July 16
Today was an odd mostly unproductive day for me. Carly and I were supposed to have an early lunch date before she had to work at 1pm, but she wasn’t feeling it and didn’t know where she wanted to go so we bagged the idea. Then Katie was especially excited for us to redeem our pretzel coupons from the T-Mobile Tuesday app, but we decided to wait for Carly to get done with work so she could go shopping with us, but then Carly decided to take another gig immediately afterward her 1-5pm gig. Come to find out one of the stores I wanted to visit closed at 4pm anyhow. So we stayed at home. Drew played outside all afternoon with neighborhood friends. Jason and Katie did some chores and then got some tech time. JKD and I were Legoing around 6pm when Justin declared he was done with work for the day – miracle! Abigail was already making cabbage salad for dinner, but Justin and I snuck out to our favorite local restaurant for a BOGO free dinner. When we got back Justin played spike ball before they headed to bed.
Friday, July 17
Today felt busy. Carly and l caught an early lunch date – she chose Qdoba which worked well cause I had free entrees. We popped over to Costco afterward for some groceries and we grabbed several options that Jason could possibly wear for our family photos on Monday. He’s the kid that always needs new clothes when we take pictures since his entire wardrobe consists of only athletic shorts and dry-fit tees. I think we landed on something that will work which is a relief.
Justin took JKD to Burger King for lunch today to redeem so free stuff. He had Jason take this picture while they were driving on the freeway. When I asked Justin why there’s a random RV picture in his camera roll he said he had Jason take it to show me that he would drive something of that size. Well all be! Perhaps my dreams of taking my family on an RV vacation might actually come to fruition!
There was some Legoing this afternoon – I’ve started working on a spreadsheet to organize all the missing pieces. We still have several sets to put together, but it’s going to take me many, many hours to get all the notes we took while building into the spreadsheet. In hindsight I should have created the spreadsheet from the beginning.
I snuck away this afternoon to get a pedicure. My first since COVID. It felt great to get a little pampered and walk away with pretty toes, but I wasn’t thrilled that they raised their prices from $28 to $35. When I opened my camera I was surprised by my mask-clad face. Will this ever seem normal?
Justin wrapped up work around 5:30pm so we headed out with JKD to redeem our pretzel deal from T-Mobile. Unfortunately, we got there shortly before they closed so we didn’t get the freshest pretzels and they ran out of original so Jason had to get a cinnamon one. We also had some free cookies to redeem at Chick-fil-A so we did that and also picked up some nuggets and fries to complete our dinner. We drove over the Wilburton Park to sit down and eat.
After eating we ventured down a little path nearby just to check it out (Jason was completely unthrilled with the idea). Turns out the path led to the Bellevue Botanical Gardens and we walked around in there for about 30 minutes. We’ve only been there for the Christmas light display so this was much different in the light and life of summer.
A fun little detour enjoyed by all – except Jason. And as if we hadn’t irritated Jason enough tonight we stopped by Target on the way home so Katie and I could run in and pick up some shoes for her. Ha! We declared it bedtime when we got home.
Saturday, July 18
We went to bed last night with a plan! We were going to hike to Snow Lake this morning. I hiked this last year with some girlfriends but this would be the first for Justin, JK and D. Justin gathered together things we would need to take with us last night and had even written down a list of last minute things to gather in the morning. We got a little later start than originally planned but that’s on me because I was hesitant to wake up the kids. I have no regrets letting them sleep a little longer. Tired kids are no good, especially on a long hike. The girls opted out – Carly was going on a run/bike ride with a friend and Abigail “doesn’t like family hikes” {insert eye roll}. Jason was reluctant, but in the end joined us and I’m fairly confident he’s glad he did.
When I hiked Snow Lake last year it was in June so I was only able to go to the first viewpoint of the lake due to snow still being on the rest of the trail. This time we were able to go all the way to the water. So beautiful.
On our drive to the trailhead I called our favorite donut shop to reserve a dozen donuts for us to pick up on our way back home. I totally underestimated how long the hike would take us, but I was able to call the bakery on our way back down and make sure they didn’t give them away. Made for a yummy post-hike treat!
Jason showered right away so we could lounge around and watch some shows on Disney. Katie set up our big umbrella outside and made bracelets with the rainbow loom. Justin joined her and napped. I relaxed a bit in my comfy hammock before heading up to shower and color my roots. We had a very laid back evening. Justin watched a movie with JKD while I edited photos downstairs.
Sunday, July 19
I sure do love Sundays. The girls are hardly home anymore but on Sundays I can count on them being around. We don’t always do the best using that precious time together as a family, but it still feels different to not have anyone trying to go anywhere. We had a late sacrament and CFM. It was Jason’s turn to teach but he prepared based on the chapters for next week so I had to jump in and do an impromptu lesson to cover this week’s chapters. Thankfully, I had spent the morning finishing my reading and listening to the Don’t Miss This YouTube video that went along with it. I thought it went well. We discussed the idea of not just worshipping on Sundays alone and that we can worship anywhere anytime. We talked about the analogy of a seed to the word of God and I pointed out the fun acrostic key aspects from Alma 32:28…
S = Swell (it will begin to swell within your breast)
E = Enlarge (it beginneth to enlarge my soul)
E = Enlighten (it beginneth to enlighten my understanding)
D = Delicious (it beginneth to be delicious to me)
Drew built himself a “turtle shell” to nuzzle into during CFM
This afternoon we opened up a time capsule that we created and sealed up 10 years ago. It was so fun to read the little booklets that each of the kids filled out (or had filled out with my help).
Some things haven’t changed but some things couldn’t be more different. Here’s a few fun tidbits:
Abigail (age 8) wrote:
“Jason is a clever little boy and deffinintly sounds like a monster. His roar is a bit creepy. He cries and get is blanket when someone tells him no!!!”
“Carly is a great dancer. She is also a writer and gets it very quickly”
“Holly is my Mom and is a great one too. She has a big responsiblety to watch over us.”
“Justin is my dad and lets me have gummy bears for the day almost every day. He used to play the D.S. and he finished the world.”
Favorite meal: Chicken biscuits
I feel like these are my greatest strengths: “running very fast, drawing, writing, winning games, piano”
Class(es) I have struggled with: “I have not struggled with any classes.”
Right now, this is how I picture my life in 10 years: “I think I will be dating with boys. IIIccckkk!!!”
Favorite thing(s) about home: “My favorite thing about home is cleaning the house so we can enjoy it.”
If I could go back, this is what I would do differently: “I would tookn piano earlier”
Carly (age 6) wrote:
“Jasons favorite thing to do is play with cars and play outside and watch shows and my moms favorite thing to do is scrapbook. Abigail’s favorite thing to do is play outside. Katie is almost two months old. She is learning how to smile. Dad’s favorite thing to do is watch football.”
Favorite meal: cheesy putados
What I loved to do for fun: “tackle Abigail, at night Abigail and I get under a big blanket and hide”
Childhood bummers: “Jason pulled my hair”
Favorite thing(s) about home: “holding Katie and talking with her, reading”
Memorable Vacations: “My favorite vacation is going to Utah to visit my Grandma. I want to go there again for Christmas. We play with our cousins. We play in the snow.”
Other Childhood memories: “My favorite thing to do when I was a child was to play outside and play the ds and play the computer and do crafts and writing stories and sometime copying my sister on her stories”
Happiness is: “being with my Mommy.”
And the little things that make me happy: “Katie is small and she makes me happy”
Jason (almost 3):
Games I used to play: “Hike & Seek, I like to help lay down cards for Mom & Dad”
What I loved to do for fun: “playing outside, running in the house, I’d watch TV all day if my mom let me”
I got in trouble for: “yelling/hitting my sisters”
Katie (2 months old):
Current hobbies/activities: sleeping, eating, and getting attention
I feel like these are my greatest strengths: “I’m cute, I sleep a lot, I don’t cry much”
What I’ve heard about my birth day: “It was one of the best days of my Mommy’s life”
Favorite meal: Mommy’s milk
Favorite treat: Mommy’s milk
The Gibbs invited us over for games and smores tonight and it was so great to do something so normal with the entire family. We had so much fun and ended up staying until nearly 11pm. That’s one great things about these kiddos growing up – we no longer have to rush home for bedtimes or naps.
COVID Update:Washington State Governor extended the current pause of counties advancing to the next stage of the Safe Start plan until at least July 28.He also adjusted the rules for social gatherings during the pandemic to only allow gatherings with 10 people or less in phase 3.This was previously set at under 50 people.Phase 2 (which we are still in) allows gatherings with five or less.Stats as of Sunday, July 19:Confirmed cases in Washington state – 47,743 with 1,453 deaths.USA total cases over 3.7 million with over 140k deaths. Globally over 14.5 million cases and 608k deaths.
