Settling in to another new normal!

I guess we haven't taken many pictures the last few weeks! Almost as though there has been a lot going on:-/. The start to the school year has been a whirlwind as always, but it's going pretty well for the most part! Lynsey is busy with high school and volleyball, she has adjusted really well so far. I am so proud of how she is balancing the large commitment of volleyball with school, and she is starting to establish some friendships with the girls on her team as well which is so great. She's been going to the football games on Friday night with friends and having fun there. I'm not sure if I've talked about how grateful I am that we live down the street from the high school, but can I just say that it is ridiculously convenient?! When we bought this house, I knew one day we would be thankful for it and that day is now. Traffic is so bad around the high school in the mornings especially, but we don't know anything about it because Lynsey leaves the house less than 10 minutes before her class starts. She walks back home after school and gets ready for volleyball practice, and even her social life the last few weeks has been walking to the school Friday nights for the football games. So grateful for this small mercy on our lives!

I have been enjoying Lynsey being in volleyball as well, learning how to score keep and volunteering. I've met a few other moms which has been great! All in all, so far, the high school experience has been pretty positive - hope it keeps up!

Nathan is biking to school on his own which is also very convenient, and great for him to have that independence. He just started LaCrosse on Monday which he will hopefully enjoy (he's a bit lukewarm about it as I've mentioned before, but I am so hopeful that he will continue to improve and thus start to enjoy it more). He's got some good buddies on the team which helps motivate him.

Adam had a bit of a rough start to the school year. The first few days were fine, but the first Friday after school started he had a really rough time on the bus going home. He has also been struggling with his teacher (Mr. Gale) leaving the classroom, but I think they are starting to get a handle on that. Last week was a bit better, and this week will be his first full 5 day week. The long weekend was really good for him I think, he needed that extra day of recovery! We are meeting with his teacher on Thursday to talk a bit more about his start to the year and how it's going. I feel a bit more hopeful now, on Tuesday I got a call at home time that he was screaming, and the bus driver wouldn't let him ride if he was freaking out the way he was the Friday before because he had had to physically restrain him at times - not easy when you are the only bus driver! Thankfully he did get on the bus that day, and it's been okay since. He just takes some time to adjust, it's a whole new school and routine - not surprising that there are some bumps in the road! 

Brian went back to the office on Monday for the first time in 18 months. He is really enjoying it, he even went in today, when even pre-pandemic Wednesday was always his work from home day. The office honeymoon isn't over yet I guess! He said he already feels like he is more productive so it's great that he can be back there. For now, it's only supposed to be every other week, but he said it's not full at all so he might try and go in next week as well. We'll see how it goes. I am finding it a bit strange to have such a quiet and empty house, but I have already noticed that I am more productive with home projects as well! Even just not having to worry about being loud because Brian is working, it's different to be alone for sure. I do miss having him around but it was time for this change. Yesterday he came home and didn't open his computer again, he was just home - what a strange transition this is. Jasper is a bit depressed by the lack of humans, he is now completely alone when I go to the gym and go grocery shopping, poor doggie. He will get used to the new normal as well:-). 

Aannnddd Summer's Over! But first, some more summer fun:-)

I meant to blog earlier this week so I didn't get so far behind, but honestly - this was not the week for spare time! 

Before we talk about back to school, let's talk about all the summer fun we had in August! We enjoyed some fun pool days, and I made kind of a last minute decision to take the kids up to Abbotsford to meet up with Brian's parents for a day while they were passing through (Monday, August 16th)! Last minute decisions when crossing the border aren't without some complications, so we had to find a Covid test on Saturday and hope that the results would be speedy coming back. We went to Bellevue College first thing after they opened, and were in and out in 30 minutes - not bad! Got our results early Sunday morning so that was a relief! Adam was not upset about the fact that Dad was not coming, and it wasn't an issue the whole time we were gone! Whew! We drove up Monday early afternoon, and the border crossing was smooth and looking like we would coast through, until the border guard got a phone call telling him that Adam and Nathan would have to be tested there because they were too young to be vaccinated:-(. I was pretty stressed about this, and the guard agreed it was ridiculous since we would be back home before we even got the results, but we did what we were told. It took us about an extra 30 minutes only which isn't terrible, and Adam was completely fine and happy while we were doing this! I was so worried he would start stressing but he was amazing! What a blessing! We met up with Brian's parents at the hotel and the boys went swimming while Lynsey and Frances went shopping (I thought Lynsey might like some alone time shopping with Grandma:-)). We decided to try the Ricki's attached to the hotel, and it turned out that it was like this special Ricki's that served a bunch of Mennonite farmer sausage meals and was amazing! Service was a bit slow so we were all pretty hungry by the time our food came, but it was definitely worth it! I was again amazed at how happy Adam was to just wait there, I think seeing Grandma and Grandpa more than made up for not having Dad, and for all the waiting!

The next day, the boys went swimming again while Frances and Lynsey went back to the mall to do a return and get some Starbucks. I was able to get away to get some Rempel Farmer Sausage and some stuff from Superstore which was nice. We went back to that Ricki's for lunch (why not!) and off we went back home!  A whirlwind trip, well worth doing! Border crossing home was easy and the drive was fine. Sometimes, you have to take a chance:-).

We had a pretty relaxing few weeks, Brian and I went to a Josh Groban concert at Chateau St. Michelle which was so much fun! We took one last camping trip of the summer with our friends the Daveys last weekend. We went to Scenic Beach close to Seabeck, beautiful area! We took the Bremerton ferry there, making our actual driving time quite minimal, and when we got there, discovered beautiful sites and calm but slightly cool weather. It was a great weekend! We did a hike at Guillemot Cove that brought us to a nice beach where we skipped rocks for a while and then walked back. Took a trip into town with Kristy and Ellie to get some stuff. Hung out at the campsite, had some dinner, and walked to the beach at the campground for a beautiful sunset. It was a great day! I even slept okay, especially on the Saturday night - maybe my capacity for tent camping has been renewed lol! When the weather is good it's certainly a lot better! Packed up Sunday and took the Bremerton ferry back, some beautiful views on the clear sunny day. It was a nice last summer weekend!

The days before school started were hectic. Monday and Tuesday consisted of hair appointments and filling out forms and joining clubs and all kinds. I haven't even talked about the fact that Lynsey made the volleyball team! So exciting for her! It's a great opportunity for her to see if volleyball is something she wants to really invest in and try and get as far as she can, and a great chance for her to get to know people in her huge high school and make a community for herself. Anyway, just another thing on the list that needed attention before school started! Adam and I went to the middle school to meet his new teacher and see his classroom, he seemed really happy to be there and his teacher seemed really great. I have to admit I had some feelings about him going off to middle school, leaving the safe cocoon of Horace Mann:'-(. All part of the growing up process!

Wednesday came and along with it a whole new routine! Lynsey leaves for school around 7:20, Adam gets on the bus around 8, and Nathan is biking and leaves around 8:30. I walked with him for the first two days, but on Friday he went by himself and seemed to have got himself there on time (he gets easily distracted so I do worry about him dawdling a bit!). It was a great first week, although Adam did have a bit of a rough ending on Friday. He was a bit stressed coming off the bus, but it's not really all that surprising. So much going on this week - 3 full days of school for the first time in forever after a summer off, it took it's toll! Thankfully we have a long weekend to recover - we all need it!

I want to touch back on volleyball and Lynsey's high school entrance - she is doing amazing. She is going to a school with over 2000 students and she is making herself a place already. She has volleyball practice every day, and she tries to get there early to help set up the nets. She is showing them that she is ready to work hard and improve and I'm so proud of her! I was at the school on Thursday volunteering at the laptop rollout and I saw her at lunch, she was sitting alone which hurt my mama heart a little, but she wasn't upset or self conscious - she was just being herself! Yesterday I went to the volleyball practice to train how to do score keeping, and I met some other moms which was really fun. One of the moms happened to be the mom of one of the girls on Lynsey's C team that she has talked about! There was a football game at the school that evening, and a bunch of the girls arranged to go together! And Avery's mom offered to pick Lynsey up so she didn't have to try and find her friends there, amazing! She had a great time at the football game, so strange to have her out at the this event where we were not - I think this is the first time we've had this! She was so sweet, taking videos for me so I could see what a high school football game in America is like haha. She also connected with a friend from middle school over text and discovered that he has the same lunch as her so she doesn't have to eat alone anymore<3. It was an encouraging day, I feel like she is going to be okay!

Whew lots of feelings and emotions this week, all a bit overwhelming but I know we will settle into a new routine in no time. I had kind of thought this Fall that I might dive into looking into school or work or volunteering, but I really don't know how I would have managed this week with something else:-/. We will see if I decide now is the time, or if I put it off again because I have enough going on!