Leon's 12th Birthday

Now that Leon is 12 it feels like I have four teenagers in the house.   He isn't technically a teen, but he is in middle school and he is as tall as two of my teens.

Sometimes I think Leon has a split personality because everyone at school says he is very quiet, but at home he is the loudest out of my six kids.  I think at home he is loud because he is always trying to get our attention by being louder than his siblings.  I honestly don't know why he is so quiet when around others.  I don't see it often, but it could from him being unsure of himself.  I have noticed that he is a very technical person and any small discrepancy can trip him up.  He takes everything I saw very literally which makes it hard for him to follow directions.  If my directions are not specific enough or if they contradict a past direction in some way he gets stuck and doesn't know what to do.  He is a very sweet guy, but sometimes it is like we are speaking two different languages.  As he gets older I hope he grows in confidence outside of the home.

Leon is also doing swimming lessons and he learned a ton.  I would say this was his first time really taking lessons and with him being a little older the growth was huge.  

Leon likes to play games, sports, and spy things.  Leon is also now a deacon at church which is pretty cool and means he is old enough to join in the weekly youth activities among other things.

In case you are wondering the big cut is from diving into the pool during his swimming lessons.  He hit the bottom of the pool hard and had a huge bump on his forehead along with the scrape.

We really love Leon and are so happy we get to celebrate birthdays with him.  Happy Birthday Leon!!

Beatrix's 6th Birthday

Beatrix was so excited for her sixth birthday.  She asked us everyday after Christmas how many more days until her birthday.  

I think she was mostly excited for presents, cake, and ice cream.  She said her favorite present was candy.  We also got her a blood pressure cuff, a stethoscope, and a yoga ball.

Beatrix is doing great in school.  She has mastered what feels like 800 kindergarten sight words and has only had two calls home from the nurse for head injuries at recess.

Beatrix was also excited to take her birthday pictures.  I think she really likes the ritual of having a birthday and everything being about her.

Beatrix just started swim lessons and she has learned to float and not be be scared of the water.   She still has a long way to go to learn how to swim.  

Happy Birthday Beatrix!

House Update

The house build is coming along...slowly.  Bob spends pretty much every waking minute he isn't at work at the property and even with that it is understandably taking a while.  I went over to help and get updated pictures for you all.

Check out the video.

The floors are poured, sanded, and polished.  They look nice and I'm excited to have heated floors this winter.

Mostly what we do to help is clean.

Calista and Beatrix were gathering all the scrap wood in the garage.

This is the upstairs.  We have plywood floors and the walls marked out.  You can see part of the bathtub walls there.

Penelope is standing in what will be the open couch/ping pong table area.

This will be my favorite area, the reading nook and window seat.

Another picture of the garage with the mudroom and laundry room.

This is the inside of the downstairs.  The kitchen will be along the right wall of this and the left half is the family room area.

Bob hooked up this electric box.  Now we have to wait for the electric company to put in the wire.  Their list is about five weeks long.

Now that the walls are upish and Bob has put in the plumbing he is working on HVAC and next will be the Pex piping (water that flows in).  After that the interior electrical and the spray foam.  Then the drywall and finishings after that.  Oh and septic whenever it is dry enough.

It is nice that I can see the basic steps left for the house to be finished.  It still feels like a long list, but now it is a list I can at least remember.  As far as a timeline goes we have no idea. Bob is still trying for the summer, but honestly it will be done when it is done.

Snow Week

We have been getting just barely enough snow to cancel school all week!  It is Thursday and we haven't gone yet.  They already announced that Friday will at least be a two hour delay.  I hope the whole day doesn't get canceled because we used up our built in make up days and are now adding onto the end of the year.  The problem is really the ice.  It has been below freezing and snowing just enough for it to turn to ice.  

Feeling a bit stuck in the house and having flash backs from covid is not stopping us from having fun.

This next picture is of us sledding at a friends house.

Today we played Mario cart together.  I can't remember the last time I played video games with the kids.

Bob even had work canceled for two days and has been struggling to trench a power line to our property.  He had to wait at Home Depot for two hours because they wouldn't give it to him until it got warmer outside.  Then once he got it back he realized they didn't give him the keys.  The whole thing has been a struggle because he is trying not to block the road for our neighbors who own an airbnb.  He wasn't able to get started until about 3pm and is supposed to have it done today.  I'll be excited when we have power! 

Trampoline Park

For Christmas this year the kids got a month long membership to the local trampoline park.  We went pretty much everyday for two weeks before school started and then most days after that.  We for sure got our moneys worth.  We had a blast.

Troll Hunting

We visited two more trolls and only have one left.  The first one is Brunn Iddun in Lincoln park.  We had to walk a good fifteen minutes to get to this guy.  He is down by the beach and we were not expecting that.  It would have been a very nice walk but we were tired and not prepared.

We also visited the Issaquah troll Jakob Two Trees.  I like his birdhouse necklace.