Settling In...

We have been busy settling into our rhythms of the new school year ... and just like that, it's already November.

In August, we adopted a Border Collie/Kelpie puppy and we named him Bear.

In September, on the first day of school ...

Sienna is in 4th grade this year and Forest started kindergarten. I'm still teaching 2nd grade, where my heart seems to belong!

In October, we made our annual trip to our favorite pumpkin patch, Gordon Skagit Farms.

 

For All Hallows' Eve, we had two little pirates. We went trick-or-treating in our cozy, new neighborhood and the kids were pleased to learn that many of our neighbors gave out full-sized candy bars!

In October, we also found a new home for Bear with our school secretary, where he will live on lots of acres and be able to roam more freely. He was a sweet puppy and we loved him dearly. He was just not the right puppy for our home. He will be a sweet country dog.

And, lastly, in November ... we had our first snow! The kids were up very early to make a wee, little snowman.

We are looking forward to the many joys this Winter will bring us and to lots and lots of hygge in our new home! 

Summertime and the Living is Easy!!

So, it's been quite a long time since my last post and rather than bore you with all the mundane details in our little life since then, I thought I'd share with you a few of the big happenings ::

:: We sold our first home and bought our forever home, until of course, we move into that little cabin in the mountains (someday)!! ::

Bye, bye to our first home! We put a lot of work into this little house, including painting the outside and adding that cute screen door... (Also, our house sold in just 3 days! Crazy!)

 Our new house!! (We were the first ones to see it when it came on the market and the first to put it on offer in on it. Fate!)

Our little family on the big day! (Yes, Sienna is in her pj's. It was pajama day at our school. I changed out of mine before coming home!)

:: I completed my first year back in the classroom, teaching 2nd grade, which is still my favorite grade!! I'm very grateful for finding this position at an awesome school in the same town, where we bought our house. ::

My classroom, all packed up and ready for a summer cleaning! I had a camping theme (again) this year.  

I have the best view of a farm field and farmhouse out the window. 

 Can't wait to set it up again for another school year...

:: Sienna danced A LOT this school year. She joined Star Energy (a non-competitive performing team) and had 2-3 dance classes per week, plus a lot of fun performances! ::

:: She also was in the school choir at our little school this school year! ::

:: Forest finished pre-k and is ready to start kindergarten at Mama's school. ::

:: And now, we are summering!! ::

Sienna had a Paris themed birthday party with her two best friends.

She had eclairs for the dessert!

Mama bought a new car!!

 Perfect for our road trip to the redwoods this summer!!

Sienna danced in the 4th of July parade!! 

Forest turned 5! 

He had his requested dinner spaghetti with Mama's sauce and my homemade chocolate cake. 

Tomorrow we are off on our summer adventure, a road trip to the Redwoods!! I'm sure I will have many road trip stories to tell ...

A New Year, New Experiences

Our little family is ready for a new year and new experiences! On New Year's Day, we went on a little road trip to find snow. We headed east to Darrington and built a snowman at a park there called "Old School Park." We used peanuts to make our snowman's face from the snacks we packed to bring along. 

We also took down our Christmas tree and decided to share it with the birds! The idea came from the book, The After-Christmas Tree. Sienna had checked it out from her school library to read over Winter break. We had a new experience that day! We ended up getting locked out of our house and had to call a locksmith to get us back in. Luckily, Mama had brought her phone outside to take photos of the tree.

The birds have been loving our offering to them! The pinecones are almost all empty now.

This weekend, we headed over to the Skagit Eagle Festival in Concrete. We explored the Bald Eagle Interpretive Center and found an old log cabin from 1891. The mama of the cabin planted a rose bush, which is still there today!

We also learned that a ferry was used to cross the Skagit River to Rockport before the bridge was built in 1961. The ferry was quite icy!

Wishing you a year full of new experiences and possibilities, too!