Happy New Year!

2024 for us was busy.  I felt like we were really immersed in living in America again and everything that comes with.  We didn't have major changes but many small moments that mark the passage of our year.  I tried to spend as much time as possible with the kids as I know this was our last full year before Tucker turns 18 and starts moving on.  I have high hopes for 2025 and I know it is going to bring big changes for our family that I am both dreading and excited about.

Over the past year Bob was very busy with both his full time job and building a house.  That left me with being very busy taking care of six children and starting a new job.  I started working at the local elementary school so I could have hours that match the kids.  It was a big change for me but it has been going well and I would say is overall positive.

Tucker enjoyed playing on the high school soccer team, started a job lifeguarding at the YMCA and has been applying for college and planning his next stage of life. 

Penelope started high school, took driver's ed, and also enjoyed playing soccer for the high school team.

Scarlett is interested in the plants she is growing at school, she joined choir and she also started a book club with friends.

Leon made the big shift from elementary to middle school and is taking on much more schoolwork.  He started playing the clarinet and enjoys playing basketball in his room on his over the door hoop.  

Calista started second grade has started reading on her own and likes drawing.

Beatrix started kindergarten this year, she loves going to school with Calista and loves being the youngest in the family.

We took a similar picture of our kids ten years ago and so we tried to recreate it.

Halloween 2024

I thought I already posted about Halloween.  I guess I'm more behind than I realized.  Anyway, several weeks before Halloween we scored some more decorations from my parent's neighbor.  They were giving away a few of those blow ups, so we snagged them.  Their neighbors really go all out.

One of the decorations even had a projector that played scary, and not so scary, videos and music.  We felt the scary ones were too scary to display in our front yard.  I love Halloween but I am not about anything gruesome.

We went with a Toy Story theme this year.  It is always hard coming up with a group costume that pleases everyone but I think everyone was actually happy about it this year.  The key was that they all got to choose any character that worked for them.

We had Little Bow Peep, with her sheep.

A Jessie that Penelope and I worked together while making.  We were lucky to find the hat at the thrift store, but the rest of it we made.  I was disappointed that she didn't want to wear it to school.  She was really happy with it, but at the last minute didn't want to wear it to school.

Calista was thrilled to wear the blow up dinosaur costume.  She also didn't wear it to school but stuck with the theme and wore an etch a sketch costume.

Scarlett's was a little out there.  She wanted to be a My Little Pony with her friends at school.  So we are just going with it as it is a toy.  Her friends came up with the costumes and they were all different ponies.

The boys were the toy soldiers.  I once again regretted making this costume.  It was an insane amount of work and way too much money.  I'm sure I spent over $50 on cans of green paint.  I also had to buy all the clothes and accessories to paint, which was $20 (from the thrift store).  They did like them though and getting Tucker to want to participate in our group costume is huge.  In the end the paint kept flaking off and neither of them could or wanted to wear them to school.

Bob and I were Mr. and Mrs. Potato head.  I made these out of felt.  It was pretty easy and probably only cost about $10 combined.  I think they turned out so cute I'm going to save them.  So they might make a reappearance one day.

As per typical Washington fashion it rained on both Halloween and the day we went trunk-or-treating.  The former we got soaked and the latter ended up being held indoors.  All the M&Ms were pretty much garbage because their packaging did not hold up to rain.

Tucker ended up having a bad fever and slept through trick-or-treating.  Peneleope and Scarlett opted to go with their friends.  So we had the younger three with us in our neighborhood.  The houses are nice and close together and the it was the perfect size to fill up their buckets and be done.  They even got about seven full size candy bars, which is pretty much gold around here. 

After which we drove to one scary haunted house and then home for Spookley and candy sorting.

Penelope's Soccer Season

My mom reminded me I haven't posted in a while so I'm going to try to post a few before I have Christmas things to post about.

Penelope played on the high school JV soccer team this year.  She had less experience than most of the girls but she worked hard and did a great job.  She got to play the forward position which she was excited about.  She went about half the season without scoring a goal, but  after she did score one she was able to score quite a few.  It was really exciting for her.

When the season ended the coach gave her the most improved player award.  She got so much better during the season I'm glad her coach noticed.  She made friends on the soccer team and had a great experience.  

Tucker made a highlights video for her.

Portland Troll

I convinced my parents to go to Portland on a day I wasn't working and we went and saw Ole Bolle.  This will be my third of the six giant trolls and probably my favorite so far.  

I brought a few kids along for the ride.  It was another long day and a very long car drive but we managed ok. We actually had fun and even got donuts and Costco pizza!

After the troll we headed to a nearby park.  It was a pretty cool park.  I would recommend it to anyone with kids in Portland.

Only three more to go!

Dungeness Spit

Just before school started we went with Talitha to hike the Dungeness Spit.  It's over five miles long and the United States longest sand spit.  It is even one of the longest in the world.  That's over ten miles we hiked on the sand.

The hike starts at the parking lot as you head down to the beach.

It was basically lots of walking on the sand.

I'm surprised any of my big kids wanted to go, but Leon and Scarlett surprised me.  Calista and Beatrix wanted to go but I wouldn't let them.  They complain on much much shorter hikes.  There is a lighthouse at the end that you can go up.

This next picture is a view of the spit going from the lighthouse heading back.

We stopped for lunch and a bathroom break and then headed back.

I was originally planning on getting in the water at the end, but it wasn't really hot enough for that.  The weather was pretty good.  I was worried we would be sun burned and really hot, but we weren't at all.  Leon did start to feel sick about halfway back but he was able to feel better after a few minute break.

It took the entire day, but we had fun and I'm glad we went.