Fish On!

This morning I took my kids to the Springbrook Trout Farm. We were the only ones there besides a nice couple that worked the farm. They were very friendly and the man helped us with everything from picking out poles, to putting bait on the hook every time the sneaky fish would steal it. It took a few minutes, but after that, the kids starting catching fish one after the other. It brought me such joy to hear their squeals of excitement as they felt that tug on their pole, and lifted up their rainbow trout splishing and splashing out of the water. After seven fish.....1 by Luci and me, 3 by Emilio, and 4 by Gabi, I had to cut the kids off. They charge by the fish, and this little venture was getting expensive. It was so fun though. We got to watch as the nice gentleman gutted and cleaned the fish for us, and thankfully my kids weren't traumatized by it. He even set out their still beating hearts for the kids to see. They put the fish in a plastic bag for us, and the kids were so proud of their catch. Afterwards, they played in the treehouse, and play equipment on the property for a bit before we headed home for lunch. It was definitely a special outing.

Talent Show

Emilio performed with his class in the school talent show a few weeks ago. He and his class had been practicing a hula number to Pearly Shells for a few weeks. The day of the talent show, Gabi got wind that the performance was that night. She started crying and saying that she had wanted to perform as well. I told her that she has to plan these things ahead of time, and practice a lot. She said she really wanted to do it, and perform a few songs she knew. I called the coordinator, and asked if she would consider taking another performer in the show . Granted, this was 2 hours before the show started. The coordinator told us she would, and so I contacted my friend about a tutu and an American flag. Gabi practiced a few times at home, and was ready to hit the stage. She was genuinely so excited and not nervous at all. She was the last single act on, and she did great. After her first song, which was a 50 states song, she relished in the glory of the applause, and then said, "And, that's not all folks," and broke into a song about the continents that her Nana taught her. She loved the attention from the audience. It was very fun. Emilio did a great job with his class as well. He remembered all the choreography really well. It was a very fun night, and I was proud of my little performers.

Graduation

On June 10th, John graduated from U of Washington's Law School!  We went to Portage Bay Cafe for brunch that morning with John's parents and mine, and then headed over to the campus.  We found out right before the ceremony started that the kids were going to get to walk across the stage with John.   There was a lot of pomp and circumstance, and the key note speakers talked on for forever, but finally, it was time for the graduates to walk.  The kids happily joined John on stage, and Gabi turned and waved to the whole audience, and everyone burst into laughter.  It was a very sweet moment seeing him with his three kids.  God has brought our family through a long journey, and we are grateful that we are ending this journey.  Please keep John in your prayers as he studies for the bar.  He will be taking the exam towards the end of July.