Covid Update

 

Mask wearing, washing, and drying is never ending around here!

As we are approaching the two year mark of Covid quickly, I thought I'd give an update on how Covid-life is going for us.  The kids are back in school five days a week.  Wearing masks all day, other than snack and lunch.  They are able to do specialists (library, PE, Music).  They do not mix with other classes at any times.  They have been in school 6 weeks and so far there has been 3 Covid cases at their school, none of which were in my kids classes.  Kids who are considered "close contact" to the child with Covid must quarantine for 10 days and have 2 negative Covid tests to return to school.  "Close Contact" is usually sitting next to the child in class or at lunch.  Bloom has had one positive Covid case this Fall but it did not spread to anyone else.  So... so far we are making it work!  

We are so grateful to not be planning childcare day to day and to not be tackling on-line learning.  The kids are able to ride the bus, which they really enjoy.  Mostly I am just doing ALOT of mask laundry, with three of us wearing masks all day, but I will gladly take the laundry!  Jon is still working from home full time and is happy to have the house quiet most of the day.  In Snohomish County masks are required at all indoor places (whether vaccinated or not) and some outdoor places too (pumpkin patch, kids sport events).  We continue to avoid indoor crowded places and don't take the kids to restaurants unless they have outside seating.  There is talk of kids (aged 5-12) vaccinations arriving soon (November), but nothing is sure yet.  We are pretty used to this new way of life, we are accepting it, and doing well.  The Delta Variant is discouraging and numbers continue to be very high as of now.  But we are staying positive and hopeful that things will improve.

Date Weekend

Jon and I went on a date weekend to celebrate our 13th anniversary (a few months late). It has been a serious adjustment the past two years and a serious struggle at times. This was a very much needed vacay for us to reconnect. We stayed in a nice beach house right on the water in Belfair WA and loved the views and hot tub! We went kayaking in the ocean and followed a seal, went on a 5 mile hike, enjoyed quiet meals, and had the best October weather! 

Karate

Ashton has recently started doing Karate at the Northwest Black Belt Academy and really likes it! It is so fun to watch him do something he really enjoys and he is quite good at it too. This weekend he had his first belt test, which includes being tested on a specific kicking combination, a 20 step routine, and more. He received his yellow belt. Then Master Joe called him up and spoke about him and his hard work and focus and presented him with an orange belt! We are so proud of him! Jon and I missed his test because we were away for the weekend, it was hard to miss his first one. But we are so thankful for all the photos and videos the grandparents took for us! 

Back to School Photos

Back to School Five days a week!! First day of 5th Grade for Colbie, she’s in a 5th/6th split this year with Mrs. Anderson. Ash is in Mrs. Bergs class and in 2nd grade. We are all so happy school is back in session!!

GG’s Cabin and Vancouver

Annual Bainbridge Trip

We missed our Bainbridge trip last year but we were thankful to make it happen this year! We missed Katie and kids because Nora was sick unfortunately. 

The kids enjoyed jumping on the trampoline with the sprinkler, checking out the chickens and playing Dungeons and Dragons. 

Tamia’s Visit!

It was so fun to finally see Tamia and her kids again!! They had planned to come last summer, but couldn’t because of covid. It doesn’t matter how long we go without seeing each other, we instantly connect again, and have so much fun together. The kids also really enjoyed each other and they even enjoyed Bolt! We can’t wait to see them again!