Let Me Clarify This...

And now she's 13. 

WHOOPS

Time got away from me. So girls, if you are reading this years from now, you'll just have to remember 2017 without any help from me. There was a lot of basketball and some ballet. There was no snow.

2018:

Now there is no basketball, but a lot of ballet. I have started working 20 hours a week for a brokerage firm in town and Elaina and Eily come with me. The owner is a family friend and he doesn't care if the girls do their schoolwork upstairs or in one of the side offices. It's really a dream set up for me trying to help make some money and also still homeschool. Nora and Claire are going to Magazine Elementary this year and they like it ok, but would rather be with us. I'm trying to figure out how to make it work with all four girls being homeschooled but not overwhelming Philip at the office.  

We traveled a lot this summer. We went to Texas for a week in June, and then went straight to Crested Butte, Colorado. We stayed there a week with Jason while he painted. We walked a lot of trails and ate a good bit of ice cream. We also met a mama fox and her five babies. Her name was Frieda. 

Back in February, we went with Jason to St. Simons Island, Georgia. This was the first time the girls got to see the ocean and play on a beach. This was by far our favorite trip of the year. We visited Jekyll Island, climbed the inside of a very tall lighthouse, and Nora got the worst sunburn I've ever seen. We are going again in March and are so excited because we are taking family with us this time. 

I went with Jason to Laguna Beach, California. Definitely the best trip the two of us have taken together. I don't think I been that relaxed in the past 13 years. 

My best friend, MacKenzie, came to visit me in June. It was the first time she had ever been to my house and it was fun to watch her visit an area of the US that she had never seen before. Our friend, Crystal, flew in to Fort Smith, and the three of us went to Silver Dollar City. It was really fun and I hope we can do it again next year. 

This is Elaina's first year in Challenge and it's going really well. I'm excited to see what she will be learning in the coming years. 

Jason moved into a studio in town this spring and it has been SO MUCH BETTER of a situation. He is able to host workshops now and that helps with his being able to stay home. Between the two of us working, we are hoping his traveling will finally start to decrease. 

The shower door exploded when Claire was stepping in to take a shower. So that was fun.

Dad built me a clothesline. I'm so happy.

So that's about it for now. Maybe now that I have time to kill at work I will post more regularly. But I'm not making any promises.