XF Toyota Cup Champions

Summer is all about soccer tournaments.  The G10A team had a great summer season ending the summer as the Champions of the XF Toyota Cup.  They played their hearts out and it paid off.  Great work ladies - you earned it!

 

Sambica

Kallie and a few girls from her soccer team had an amazing week at Camp Sambica H2O camp.   The weather was perfect for swimming, jumping off the high dive, tubing, outdoor games and more tubing.  They had so much fun we have already signed them up for next year!  

Fun fact - I went to Sambica as a kid and loved it!  

Happy 11th (Golden) Birthday

Happy Golden Birthday! 

This year is Kallie's Golden Birthday so of course we had to celebrate for an entire week (just like her dad).  We have gone to the zoo for Kallie's birthday since I can remember but this year we took Kalie and 4 of her friend (Sarah, Kate, Mac and Morgan) followed by cake and ice cream at our house.  

She also got to celebrate with her soccer team at the summer bbq.  They spent hours tubing on the lake, bouncing in the trampoline, swimming in the pool followed by cake and presents.  The hot gift this year was squishamallows - I think Kallie got 8 or 9 and loves them all.

Of course we also celebrated her bday as a family.  We ordered Red Robin take after camp and opened gifts.  We also surprised Kallie with a room makeover - new paint, bedding, pillows, string lights and lot of fun accessories.  SHE LOVED IT! 

Happy Golden Birthday Kallie Bates - We Love You!

Introducing Murphy Lyn Bates

We have been anxiously awaiting our trip to Sun Mountain Lodge for a little getaway on our way to pick up our new puppy.  We had a great time at the lodge swimming, hiking, fishing (Eric) and more swimming.  

The evenings were spent exploring the cute town of Winthrop - food, put-put golf and cute shops. 

Welcome to the family Murphy Lyn Bates

Saturday was the day - we got up early and drove to pick up our new chocolate lab puppy (10 wks old).  It was a 7 hour drive home but it was well worth the drive.  

4th of July on Vashon

Another fun 4th of July on Vashon.  Thankfully we had lots of sunny weather so most of our time was spent outside walking the beach looking for agates, kids tubing and jumping off the bulkhead over and over and over and of course happy hour on the deck.  With COVID things are definitely not the same but we managed to have a great family weekend.

Sadly, the big barge did not come again this year but we had plenty of fireworks on the beach to put on a good show!  Happy 4th!

Last Day of 4th Grade

What a year it has been!  Virtual school full time at home made us all nervous but you did it with grace, excitement and confidence.  In fact, you told me this was your best class ever at IVE and at that time you had never stepped foot in your classroom, met your classmates or your teacher Ms. Matheson.  Speaking of Ms. Matheson she has been such a rockstar keeping you engaged, being available for 1:1 time and making school fun even when it was all virtual!

Fast forward to May when we had the option to move to a hybrid model - going to school in-person 4 days a week for 3.5hrs a day.  We let you know it would be different than before;  desks would be 6ft apart, playground time would be with your class in a specific area, no socializing with friends outside of your class and masks would be worn at all times.  Even with that, you jumped at the opportunity to go back and I can say with certainty it was the right decision for our family.  You love going to school and are all smiles when you get home.  Being with you class and the IVE community is exactly what you needed even if it is only for a few hours a day. 

4th grade has been a year of success - challenging yourself with reading (you are an awesome reader), learning fractions/decimals and most importantly persevering even when it was hard.   We are so proud of you and the progress you have made this year.  

Next up . . . 5th grade . . . your last year at IVE!  Go Cougars

Eye Surgery #2 Complete

The growth Kallie had removed from here eye a few years ago ended up coming back.  We were referred to a specialist who said he was not concerned it was something "bad" and recommended we watch it for a few months.  We did that and it continued to grow so per the doctors recommendation we had it removed again - a bit more invasive this time with the hope that it does not grow back.   The removed the growth (with a small margin around it), used donor tissue which was glued and stitched to her eye.  I guess over time the donor tissue dissolves and her eye tissue will grow over it - Science is so fascinating!

Although surgery is always stressful (I was a zoo/Kallie was a trooper) I am happy to report it was a success.  Kallie was so brave from beginning to end!  Recovery is going to be the hardest part - she can't play sports, play at the park or run around for 3 weeks.  Once she gets the all clear from the Dr. she will be back at it in no time.