Back to Work!

In a whirlwind of events, I went back to work! I interviewed for an Educational Assistant position at an elementary school 5 minutes away from the kids' school and was offered the job a couple days later on a Friday. I started work the following Tuesday before the kids started their school year! It was a crazy time, but work is going well. I'm slowly starting to learn the names of the children and teachers. I will be assisting the Reading Specialist and doing reading groups. We don't have kids yet, but that will start up soon! I also supervise recess and the lunchroom and do some afternoon crossing guard duties. It's part time and I still get to drop the kids off at their school. The workday flies by and the kids enjoy their new afternoon activities (since I can't be there to pick them up). Thank goodness for good friends (built in playdate twice a week) and after school program twice a week, which they love. Even though I can be there by 3:30 to pick them up, they ask to stay til 5 PM because they have so much fun. I'm off on Wednesdays and have been going to all of the regular doctor check-ups that I was pushing off in the summer. It's been a busy time, but we're all having a blast. Thank goodness Pops can help out a lot and is always supportive!

Final Days of Summer

Just a few more days before school started up, so we tried to squeeze in a bit more fun! Grandma brought up a hair wrap from Aunty Joyce and Ellena loves it!

The McCommons brought back these awesome tie-dyed hoodies from Orcas Island for the kids.

This is Ellena's thinking face. She had to decide if she wanted to use her last quarter to ride the horse or the carnival ride at Crossroads Mall. She decided on the horse.

This is Ellena's smile when she found out she was getting Mrs. Ellis for Kindergarten!

After having lunch at Genki without Pops, we had to go back that weekend to satisfy his sushi craving!

Grandma Sue and Grandpa Bang Bang treated the kids to a membership at a museum of their choice. They chose the Museum of Flight. They can't wait to take their grandparents there on their next trip!

Grandma & Grandpa Visit

Grandma and Grandpa came up for a visit at the end of summer. We had so much fun and ate a ton of good food! Even though we had just visited the Pacific Science Center a few days ago, the kids insisted they wanted to go back and take Grandma and Grandpa there. So that was one of our first adventures and it was the best idea! Everyone had a wonderful day in the Seattle sunshine! Grandpa LOVED the IMAX Air Racers movie and the kids loved showing Grandma and Grandpa their favorite exhibits - dinosaurs, butterfly house, Imaginate, etc.

We had fun playing Bingo together and Ellena discovered a special button on Grandpa's watch that made it glow. She was very sad when it was time to say goodbye, but she now talks to Grandma about once a week and they have half-hour conversations about their days.

Ellena's Choice Day

Blue Moon before the 5:30 AM gym workout.

Today was Ellena's Choice Day. We got a few errands done in the morning and then went to feed the ducks at the duck pond.

After, the kids played at the playground.

After lunch and a quick nap (for me!), we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming at the pool! Pretty fun Choice Day, Ellena!

The Blueberry Brigade

On August 9th, we went to the Mercer Slough blueberry farm. We love berry picking and wanted to be sure to get in one blueberry picking this summer! We picked up our buckets and were told Lots 1-4 would have the best picking. We walked out and found most of the bushes picked through, so we ended up trying Lot 5. Not a ton like we've found at Remlinger in the past, but still pretty good. Here are the pics I took of the kids as we started picking.

"Evan, you're slouching! Stand up straight!"

So I get this.

And I guess if you're going to stand up straight, you might as well salute. Look at Ellena watching her big brother. We're getting a lot of Monkey See-Monkey Do this summer.

 Ta-da! 2 saluting monkeys ready for berry picking duty!