Yesterday our baby girl turned 6. We are so very proud of who she is and of who God is growing her to be. As part of her birthday celebration, earlier this week, Ella and I went on a special date. It was just the 2 of us. We went swimming and to White Spot. It was awesome. I treaded water in the deep end as she jumped off the diving board over and over again. We then got a table for 2 at White Spot. It was really fun to have conversations with her. We talked about everything from what it would be like to live at White Spot, to her interest in getting baptized. Happy birthday dear Ella! We love you more than words can say!
During the day on her birthday, Ella wanted to stick close to home. So we went on a scooter ride to the park and stopped at 7-11. The girls had their first slurpee.
Ella also made herself a paper party dress :)
Here is a video of Ella getting her scooter. I love how the first words out of her mouth are "look, Juj". Other highlights from this video are "you got this off of Craigslist" and "oh, cinnamon buns, Juj."
On Saturday we had an "almost summer" birthday party for Ella and Karis. The weather was beautiful and the kids had a great time playing in the kiddie pool, doing a scavenger hunt, and eating hot dogs and ice cream cake.
The birthday girls :) Karis is wearing the famous cupcake dress. Ella and Juliette also wore this dress for their 3rd birthday parties. See below (Ella at her 3rd birthday - with Hudson and Jonas, and Juliette at her 3rd birthday).
The ice cream cakes. (Before they got squished in the freezer ;)
Juliette has been amazing and has not once asked why she isn't getting cards, gifts, or celebrated this week. She has been just enjoying celebrating her sisters. Juju is awesome, we love her so much.
The scavenger hunt...
Happy birthday Ella and Karis!!
And last week we headed out to Grandma She-She's for a visit.
The girls were excited to meet the dogs. They were quite nervous around them at first, but warmed up to them by the end of the visit (although that is hard to tell by looking at Karis in the above picture).
Last Friday we celebrated our last day of homeschooling. We went to Crescent Beach for fish and chips and ice cream. It was a really special way for us to finish our year.
I was uncertain of how / when / or even if we should have an end of homeschooling day. But in the end, I decided it would be really fun to celebrate all that we did this year.
The girls were incredibly thoughtful and made me several gifts (cards, books, and this very long kite made out of realtor's paper).
Spencer put together this awesome video for me.
To wrap-up community class the kids did a "share fair". They presented one of their favorite hobbies, or favorite things they learned throughout the year.
Ella made a project about being an author.
It included an "About the Author" section.
And a pocket stuffed with mini books. The pocket says "you can take a little book for free".
And a display of some of her favorite books she wrote this year. There are some great stories in this collection.
Ella and her community class teacher, Mrs. Thain.
It was a funny thing the other week when I announced that our homeschooling year was coming to an end. Ella looked at me like I was crazy. She then said "Mom, can we please still do our read-alouds?" Her asking me this question was a gift. It made me feel like one of our major goals was accomplished. She loves to read and to be read to.
And on the first Monday morning that was a "non-homeschool day", we spotted this baby bunny in our yard. The girls rushed and grabbed their nature journals and did some sketches of him. We then looked him up in the encyclopedia and found out what he likes to eat, what type of bunny he is, etc.
It was in this moment that I realized why I struggled with having an "end-of homeschooling" day. This way of living has become part of who we are. We live curiously, walk in wonder, love to read, and love to create. Although this will look different in the summer, it will still be woven into our daily life.
