A Pandemic in the US!

 

It feels surreal to write this but here goes . . . a pandemic (COVID 19) has reached the United States.   School actually shut down!!!  I didn't even know that was something they could do but here were are all kids are learning remotely from home.  Microsoft, Starbucks and most businesses have also shut down and shifted to working from home until further notice. I have no clue how we will manage working from home and trying to teach/help Kallie through her school day . . . and more importantly help her through this uncharted territory.  I won't lie my anxiety is high and the unknow scares me!

It is kind of ironic because they day before school shut down Kallie came home sick with a fever and was miserable for 5 days.  We have no clue if she had COVID but happy to report she is back to her happy self.  

Mommy Daughter Night Away

Since we didn't have big plans for Mid-Winter break I decided to surprise Kallie with a Mommy/Daughter night away in a hotel nearby.  We had SO MUCH FUN.  We spent the afternoon walking around Bellevue, swimming and then warming up in the hot tub, meeting Eric for dinner/games and ending the night watching movies and eating our favorite candy in bed.  

I loved the one-on-one time and hope to make this an annual tradition!

Valentine's Day Fun

Will you be my Valentine?  Of course she said yes!   Off they went to the Annual Father Daughter Valentines Dance!

This year they met up with some of Kallie's best friends before the dance for dinner.  I am pretty sure once they got to the dance they ditched their dads and danced the night away.  Regardless I know this is a tradition both Kallie and Daddy look forward to every year.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Ms. Fairbanks class also spent the day celebrating - playing a ton of fun games, decorating cookies and having a blast.  

New Years and January Snow

Our annual tradition spending New Years in Cle Elum did not disappoint.  We love spending time at the ranch and the Hashiguchi's were there this year which made it even more fun.  Lots of sledding, reminiscing, more sledding, games and of course more sledding. <br><br>

We were excited the snow made it to Issaquah in January.  Kallie and the neighborhood kiddos spent countless hours playing in the snow until the very last patch of snow was gone.  2020 is off to a great start!

Holiday Magic 2019

We started the season with a trip to see Santa.  Kallie still loves going and insists on buying new outfit every year.  The rest of the season was full of fun activities like cookie decorating with Grammy and cousins, christmas carols with the Navarra's, writing a letter to Santa and getting up WAY too early on Christmas morning because she just can't hold back the excitement.  This year the big gift was a new bike.  We were out riding bikes by 10am!  

Holiday Chorus (3rd Grade)

Cougar Chorus is offered to students in the 3rd-5th grade at IVE. Kallie was hesitant at first because she does not like being in front of big crowds but ultimately decided to join. After day 1 of practice she said she loved it (we knew she would). Last week they put on a Holiday performance and it was great. All the kids did an amazing job - kudos to Mrs. Petry for all of her hard work.

Bates Family Christmas Tree

I must say Kallie picked out a darn good tree. We turned on the Christmas music and spent the evening decorating. We have so many ornaments we could barely fit them all but we did it and the tree looks great. I like to turn the tree lights on every night so we can enjoy it.