Inevitable

This week it happened.  We got boxed in.  We knew it would happen.  In fact we hoped it would happen, but after living here for over a year alone on our little hill it’s more of an adjustment than I’d thought.  Had we moved here and already had neighbors I’m sure I wouldn’t feel even the slightest claustrophobic, but we’ve been spoiled.  Gone is the light steaming in from every window and the gorgeous 360 views.

The lighting is terrible here, but it’s impossible to get a picture nowdays without a couple dozen construction vehicles lining both sides of the street.

When we decided to build our home we picked the biggest usable lot they had.   It’s not huge, but in a Seattle suburb any land is hard to come by.  Our lot was near the end of a dead end street and no other lots around us had been sold or built on.  The park across the street offered us gorgeous mountain and valley views.  Of course we knew there’d come a point that we’d have neighbors, but until then we’d enjoy the solitude and soak in the stunning views surrounding us.   Only a few months before our house was finished we were told that our builder (Murray Franklyn) had sold all the land to a new builder in the area (Pulte Homes).  Ours was the last home completed by Murray Franklyn and since we moved in we’ve waited for Pulte to get settled.  Not much changed that first year, last summer there was a lot of excavating going on to prepare the land around us for future homes.

 July 6, 2011 - First they dug up the hillside west of our home.

August 5, 2011 – Massive equipment was brought in to reshape the land behind us

 

August 11, 2011

August 27, 2011 – Future plots began to take form

September 1, 2011 – This is our backyard – there would be times these trucks and excavators would be working so close to our house that the ground would shake

March 30, 2012 – Utilities seem to be in place, but it will still be awhile before we have homes behind us. 

In the last several months Pulte actually started selling homes on the finished streets leading up to our house – in fact this spring they sold 12 of the lots near us. 

 February 26, 2012 – In the distance you can see Pulte starting to put in a few foundations

March 30, 2012 – A couple homes in the works – the beginning of the end

We only have one window (besides a small laundry room window) on the west side of our house.  And thankfully the house on the west doesn’t have any windows in line with our kitchen window.  But the view isn’t quite as appealing anymore.

The east side of us though has many, many windows.  It was a little exciting for us to watch them this week as they put up walls on the second story of the home next to us.  

But it was painful for me to watch them put up the wall right next to us.

Gone are the forest and hillside views.  And walking around downstairs feels completely different.  Like someone put a filter over our house and suddenly the light pouring in through all our big windows was cut dramatically.  Like I said we’ve been spoiled.

Thankfully, we will always have the mountain views from the front of our home.  Though it’s beginning to look a little more like a neighborhood. 

March 30, 2012 

June 27, 2012

Sure they’ll be parts of our solitary life that we’ll miss, but we’re excited to regain that neighborhood feel that we enjoyed so much in Auburn (which can only happen when you actually have neighbors).  In fact we’re having a new family over for dinner tomorrow that will be moving in a few doors down – we were thrilled when we found out they had four kids and elated when we found out they were LDS too.  The drawback though is that all summer long our street will be a major construction zone – just when it’s actually nice enough to want to spend time outside.  

Field Day

Last Thursday was the girls school BBQ and Field Day.  Jason, Katie and I were excited to visit the school and eat lunch with the girls.  Carly plays tetherball everyday.  It is her favorite thing and from the sound of it she doesn’t do much else during recess.  Jason was so excited to get the chance to try it out.  He wasn’t that good, but he loved every minute of it.

Carly was so sweet to Jason.  She jumped right into that big sister role and wanted to show him everything there was to do.  Which to be honest is not the norm around here.  Those two know how to push each others buttons.

Katie also loved being there with her sisters.  In fact she was incredibly clingy and wanted nothing to do with me.  Only these two would do.

Pre-School Wrap-Up

We did it!  We survived teaching preschool.  It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be.  I actually didn’t mind the part about finding and organizing fun projects and lessons for the boys, but the implementation wasn’t always fun.  Five energetic little boys requires a great deal of patience.  The same little boy that burst into tears on that first day I hosted still cried about something nearly every time.  I didn’t grow to love it, but Jason always looked forward to it.  The best part is that I didn’t have to pay any hefty tuition for a standard preschool program.  

Jason’s last day of preschool was on May 29^th.  With all the busyness that comes with the end of a school year we couldn’t get the boys together for a end of the year celebration til last week.  We met at a nearby park for lunch and each of the boys received a certificate of graduation (though only 2 of the boys are moving onto kindergarten this fall).

Jason’s thoughts on preschool: 

Favorite memory:  having friends

Favorite subject:  letters

I wish we could have done more: counting

The thing I’ll miss most:  having friends

I didn’t like: when Colin hurt me on the head

What are you excited for next year:  going in kindergarten and learning

In April Jason graduated from speech therapy.  He’s grown so much in the last year and no longer struggles with making any of the letter sounds.  Here he is with his teacher on his last day of speech.  

I hate to say it, but I think my little boy is ready for kindergarten {sniff, sniff}

2nd Grade Wrap-Up

Something I’ve missed since moving here is volunteering in the school on a regular basis.  Our elementary school is close to 20 minutes away so to go in for even an hour would require me finding childcare for nearly 2 hours.  Carly’s teacher seemed to always be asking for help and unfortunately I felt Carly got the shaft this year on my spending time in her classroom and on field trips.  Carly’s teacher has been teaching for 30+ years and still loves to teach.  She is passionate about what she does.  Carly loved her. 

Mrs. Miller encourages dramatic reading and incorporates several plays into her curriculum.  I enjoyed attending these plays and seeing my shy, reserved daughter perform and enjoy it.

In October, Carly was the Old Woman in the Turnip, a folktale by Leo Tolstoy

In December, Carly played Mrs. Taylor in Every River Has a People, a Native American story

In the final play of the year (Streganona, an Italian folktale retold by Tomi DePaola) Carly was one of the narrators and also played a musical number on the piano during intermission.

Carly’s thoughts on 2^nd grade:

Favorite memory:  performing in the plays

Favorite subject:  math

I wish we could have done more: parties

The thing I’ll miss most:  my teacher

I didn’t like: science and social studies

What are you excited for next year:  my own desk

4th Grade Wrap-Up

Friday was the girls last day of school.   This fall Abigail will enter 5^th grade and then she’s onto middle school.  How did that happen???  I asked Abigail to answer a few questions about this past school year:

Favorite memory: pioneer camp

Favorite subject:  math

I wish we could have done more:  poetry writing

The thing I’ll miss most: my class

I didn’t like: science and social studies

What are you excited for next year:  Seabeck (5^th grade camp)

Here are some pictures throughout the year that I found on our phone and computer.

In November I joined Abigail’s High-C class on a field trip to the Boeing Museum of Flight.  In the basement of the museum there are special hands-on educational stations not available for the general public. 

Abigail and her partner first had to learn all about what makes an airplane fly.

Then they had to plan out the flight path they would take to get from point A to point B.

Then a quick tour of an airplane to familiarize themselves with the controls.

Then it was time to put all their knowledge to use in the flight simulators.

If airplanes truly could bounce off the ground unscathed I think we would have had a few students successfully reach their destinations, but as we know that isn’t quite the case.  It was a fun field trip though and gave the students valuable insight into an industry so important in our area.

Abigail participated in her first science fair this year.  Science is not my thing nor is it Justin’s so we’re not going to sign on for something science related unless it’s mandatory.  This was mandatory - though the kids all had to stay within the space theme.  It actually wasn’t too time consuming or painful.

The science fair was held in the evening and the Reptile Man was in attendance.  With a little bribery Justin was able to get Abigail to cuddle up with this baby alligator.  

Another fun field trip with her class to the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) in April.

A fun hallway we found while trying to find the exit.

Another project in High-C was creating a thinking activity for Imagination Celebration where all the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students would be able to participate in the activities created by the High-C class.  Abigail created a fun Scramble with Students game based off of the game Justin and I were playing a lot on our phone at the time.

(I took this picture today before sending her project to the recycle bin – the large blank spot on the left is missing the explanation of how tickets were earned)

The students received tickets based on how many 4-letter + words they could find on the board with bonus points for any words with more than six letters.

The fourth graders each needed to choose a famous person throughout history to study.  Abigail chose to learn about Anne Frank.  She read several books and created a banner to display in the school library.

Abigail’s teacher went above and beyond to keep Abigail challenged and working at her potential.  She was fantastic!  At the beginning of the year Mrs. Beck predicted that Abigail would be taller than her by the end of the year.  I think she got pretty darn close.

Spring Recital

Sunday, June 10^th was the girls spring piano recital.  They each had a solo number and a duet with their teacher.  They did a great job, though they both felt the solo pieces they were given were too easy.  Show offs!

Yeah, I thought it was a little strange that some random guy was taking pictures of my daughter.

Bike Rodeo

Saturday was the annual bike rodeo.  Last year (here) was our first year attending and we were so impressed with everything about it that we decided we would attend every year.  I was hoping we could all ride our bikes down to the park where it was being held, but Justin was afraid he wouldn’t be able to get back home hauling Katie in the bike trailer so Katie and I drove in the van and met Justin and the big kids there.

We got there a little later than we’d hoped so the line for the awesome face painting was really long and the kids didn’t feel like waiting.  There was plenty of food and other activities though.  Brats, chips, and drinks for all.

The advantage of bringing our bikes this year was that the kids could participate in the courses that had been set up to teach them proper bike safety.

Everyone made it through the snake course without running over any cones.

And the figure 8 was a cinch

Jason needed some gentle reminders about looking left, right, left before crossing the street.

Did you notice how ghetto Jason’s bike is?  Justin wasn’t comfortable having Jason ride around on a Barbie bike so he used some orange spray paint we had lying around to to paint it.  There wasn’t enough paint to cover the whole thing and clearly Justin wasn’t too concerned about where he was or wasn’t spraying.

Jason and Carly were both in need of new helmets and how can you pass up free?  They make sure everything fits properly.

Justin and the kids decided to ride their bikes part way home until the road gets steep.  I pulled over on the side of road and waited to pick them up.

No room for Justin’s bike in the van though.  He had to ride all the way home.

Taste of the TPC

We live just a few short minutes from a TPC golf course.  Not that I really understand what that means, but apparently it’s a big deal and each summer the course has some huge tournament where a bunch of big-wig golfing people come to play on the course.  The course also has a clubhouse with exercise facilities, dining, and a beautiful outdoor swimming pool.  Of course for their exclusive members only.  In an email from our HOA a few months ago I saw a short little blip about the pool sponsoring a party for the first 40 people to RSVP - I’m sure as a means of trying to lure in new members.  I immediately signed up our family of 6 and we’d been looking forward to it since.  The party was from 3-7pm on the same day Abigail and I returned from Pioneer Camp.  It had been raining all day and it was cold.  We decided to leave it up to the kids whether we would still go, all the while knowing they could care less about the weather and will jump at any opportunity to go swimming.  

It was cold, very cold, and of the 40 people allowed to come, only 6 were there.  Ok, so we didn’t have the pool entirely to ourselves the whole evening, but it was pretty darn close.

Jason couldn’t stop swimming long enough for me to take a picture

Drinks were provided and after a few smoothies we smartened up a bit and enjoyed hot cocoa poolside instead.

Katie’s lips were blue and quivering, but she was having far too much fun to stop.  She wanted to jump into the pool over and over, and over again.

Katie “jumping” into the pool is more like Katie leaning in toward Justin’s arms until gravity pushes her into the water.

The kids had a blast though and will always remember the evening we got a taste of being TPC members.

Pioneer Camp according to Abigail

Abigail and I spent the last two days of May at her fourth grade Pioneer Camp overnighter.  I thought it would be fun for Abigail to write about her experience (my two cents will be in blue).

Very recently, I had the privilege of being able to go to Pioneer Camp for a lifetime experience that I will always remember.

When we arrived at Pioneer Camp, we unloaded our belongings, dropped them off in our wagon and then headed to our first station. My station was the Lanyards. This was my favorite and just happened to be where my spontaneous mom was teaching kids how to make Lanyards.  

I manned the lanyard station in this teepee for 5 hours.  

It was fun to listen to the kids interact with each other and get to know each of them better.   I enjoyed being the cool Mom and loved that Abigail enjoyed having me there with her.

From there, my activity group and I headed to the Cooking station where we helped prepare dinner. We made Indian Fryebread, and then peeled apples, along with some carrots. Then we sliced the apples, carrots and potatoes for our stew that night.

After our time of one hour was up and everybody had finished their part, and written in their journals we headed along to our very next station, Toys. Here nothing had to be done that you would have to put a lot of effort into. You just got to play with different toys that Pioneers would have used back in the good old days. My favorite toy was not really a toy. It was a piece of string that you would use to make different things like, Cat’s Cradle, Cup and Saucer, Eiffel Tower and last but not least, Witch’s Broom. I still happen to have the same string that I used at Pioneer Camp.

To the next station we went where Stinging Nettles stood. The center was an Exploration hike, and one of the parents pointed out many plants like the Salmon Berry. Unlike this plant, some plants were not edible. Whenever my group came across a Stinging Nettle, we would yell “ NETTLE!” and then we would know not to touch it. One of the people in my group purposely rubbed their hand on the back of a Stinging Nettle to test it, and received the pain of a Stinging Nettle.                  

My last station was Candle making. We started out with a tidbit of wax on our string. Our string was connected to a waxy stick. Then we dipped it back and forth between the hot wax and cold water. After a little bit our Candle had formed through our shaping and perseverance. Later I stuck on three flowers and a big, wide leaf.

That night after we ate dinner and dessert, we sang songs by the campfire. I will always remember singing Tarzan and how I made up my own verse about Mother Nature. After sitting on the rocks for what felt like forever, we went into our Cabin’s and Wagon’s to tell stories. Right across from us was a Wagon where three other girls slept. 

Our wagon for the night and the wonderful three girls I shared it with.

Inside our wagon

We walked over there to tell stories and to keep an eye out for where Mrs. Beck was. In a couple minutes Mrs. Beck walked over to the Wagon right next to where we were. We didn’t know if we were supposed to be where we were so we ran over to our own Wagon before Mrs. Beck could catch us. Then off we went to sleep. 

Abigail took the picture above of our wagonmates and our neighboring wagon friends.  We hung out with them as much as we could.  Their chaperone was an older sister of one of the girls.  She and I became quick friends and had lots of fun within our two groups.

The very next morning we awoke and had a nice breakfast of Hot Cocoa, Flapjacks (pancakes), Fruit, and Apple Fritter. Afterwards we headed over to where the Toy center was and had free time with all of the toys for a couple of minutes. Then when our few minutes had past, Mrs. Beck came and called us all over to play a game, Kick the Can. She was guarding the can and when she called the month that you were born in, you would have to come over and try to kick the can. If you made it you would get to become a Queen or a King. I never made it and the game never ended because it was time for our miniature hike. We formed into our activity groups and walked along the road learning facts along the way. We also all earned beads for our Trading Post at school (also earned through out the whole trip). After we had walked for a couple of minutes we arrived at ‘Oregon City, which was apparently 1,700 or so miles’ which represented the kind of places Pioneers arrived at along their way. 

Abigail’s class arrived safely in “Oregon City”

Then both classes packed their belongings into cars and then hung out, and ate lunch until it was time to go. That was my experience at Pioneer Camp at Camp River Ranch in Carnation, Washington and I had a BLAST!

Success

We went hiking with Justin’s sister’s family on Memorial Day to Twin Falls, the same hike Justin went on last month with Abigail and Carly.

After our failed attempt previously (see below) we came prepared with fruit snacks to lure Katie into the backpack.

Can you see her munching away?

She had no objections once she realized how relaxing and fun it was to be hauled around – she did object though when part way through the hike Justin handed her over to ride on Uncle Darin’s back so he could have a break.  After a few minutes of pleading with Justin to take her back she calmed down and did great the rest of the day regardless of who was carrying her.

It had been raining off and on all day, but we were lucky that during our three mile hike we didn’t feel a drop.