Team Smith

Y'all know we would hunt down the apple places and corn mazes to celebrate fall! We didn't find anything close to Apple Hill yet, but we have a delightful time at a few places! There is an apple squeeze festival in a small town called Steilacoom. Water views everywhere, the town is super charming. Our one gallon of fresh cider didn't last through the weekend! And one of the food vendors was selling grilled salmon sandwiches, easily the best sandwich I have ever had. Next stop was out near Nisqually reservation. This place was busy both days we went. Of course we went twice :-) We were so lost in the corn maze, we ended up out of it eventually. Some would say we cheated. I would say we were creative pioneers making the best of a stressful situation and falling back on survival instincts. We also picked a lot of pumpkins and had a great time painting them!

We have fun throwing the girls birthday parties. I would say on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being no party but treats dropped off at school and 10 being an all out blowout with hired characters, we hover between 3 and 6. The girls either choose a party or a place to visit. Cass picked Monterey Aquarium one year. This year I asked my then 4 year old what she would like for her birthday, ready for a themed, low key event with new friends in our backyard. I was speechless at her request. Me: Savvy what do you want to do for your birthday? Savvy" I want to stay in a hotel with a pool and order room service. Me:...... Well, alrighty then! With moving and getting settled, I didn't realize I was feeling anxious about the time to plan something and execution of it. I was all too happy to fulfill this easy request! We decided to go one step further and use it as a trial run for leaving the country and we headed to Canada for one night. The Granville Market is a beautiful spot, so man...

Savvy passed her assessment with flying colors and was allowed to start kindergarten. One month in her teacher confirmed that she was doing great and would remain in class. Thank goodness. The kid would be so bored otherwise. She is the youngest in her class and making lots of friends. Cass started third grade and her biggest concern was being in a class where Spanish wasn't spoken. She also really misses her Reno friends. The Mt Rose cohort is a special group of kids and parents who we grew close with over the last couple of years. It has helped that the girls played with the neighborhood kids before school started, so they knew a few friendly faces. With each day, they both come home with stories about new friends they have made. And we write letters to Reno friends and send pictures, so all in all the transition has been better than we could have hoped. The girls ride the bus together to school. It is the cutest thing! I see them off in the morning. In the afternoon they go ...