Claire from Kindergarten through 6th grade

                                         Fun to see Claire grow through first day of school photos!

 

First week of 6th grade!

 

Claire started Middle School 6th grade on September 8th. The first week is now in the books and went really well! Claire likes all 7 of her teachers (her band teacher being her favorite so far), loves the independence and freedom that comes with no longer being in elementary school, and has really managed her homework well. We are very proud of her desire to wake up to her own alarm, get herself ready and fed, and get on the bus alone since Jeff and I leave for work 30 minutes before she wakes. She has taken on this responsibility with flying colors! Praying the rest of the school year goes as well as this first week has!

So....this happened 2 weeks ago....Comet arrived

So two weekends ago Claire approached us and asked if she could use her money she has been saving to purchase a hamster. She has been asking for a hamster for over 4 years at every Christmas and birthday. We sat with her and added up all of the expenses and when she determined she had enough money saved to not only purchase a hamster, a cage, all the supplies needed, food, and bedding, but also had enough money to purchase more food and bedding for about a year we didn't have a leg to stand on. So, this happened! Welcome to our home Comet!

We are still working on Comet getting use to us and Claire is still a bit timid to put her hand in the cage. We hope with time, Claire and Comet will come to bond with each other. Regardless, the care of Comet is 100% up to Claire. This will be interesting!

 

The Ark Encounter

We spent this past weekend going to visit the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum. This is one thing on our bucket list that we can now cross off. We definitely recommend going to experience this amazing boat! We learned so much going through it and seeing it in person is just surreal!

 

A week in Minnesota

Since California was on lock down and Disneyland and Alcatraz are close, we had to cancel our trip to California and chose to visit our family in Minnesota instead this summer. Despite the weather being cooler than normal, we managed to have lots of fun just being together. Another summer of good memories! Claire was super excited to get to spend a little extra time with her cousins that she has been missing terribly since being together for 5 weeks at the beginning of summer! Thankful for time with wonderful family!