Year Four: A Big Year Ahead + Big Changes

“But we are all fortunate in one way or another. The task for most of us is to identify in what way that is, would you not agree?”

-Alexander McCall Smith

Oh happy Summer! Your days are coming to an end. I will not miss the oppressing heat but, I will miss the simplicity of our days. As our new school year begins, we are (yet again) in a new home and in a new state. North Carolina has been kind so far and we are working hard to get the most out of our time here. 

First up: Our first family race! Mr. Sidekick shaved 10, yes TEN, minutes off his race time from last year. Sweet boy was hot and over it all but kept pushing to get to that finish line. He makes me so proud.

We are always finding new spots to enjoy nature and places to explore.

My little boy is on his way to karate master! Oh, it'll take a while, hahaha. I'm excited to watch him learn and grow with this new opportunity. 

Yep, this momma is 32. My boys made me this cake and it was both lovely and delicious. 

I asked for a family beach day for my birthday and that is exactly what I got.

It was soul-filling. 

 AHH! We had our best friends visit before they made their way across the country back to their home in Alaska. Sigh, the word Alaska just sounds far away. But, I am grateful that our boys got to make some memories to tide them (and us) over until we see each other again. 

 OK, OK! School! That's why we are all here, right? 

Sidekick is starting kindergarten! I can hardly believe it. We are doing things a little different this year. New home, new rules, new ideas. First of all, I am not planning the majority of his curriculum anymore. We enrolled in North Carolina Virtual Academy. However, he has requested Spanish lessons so that part is on me. Here is a bit of what we were doing before his classes began:

Sidekick wanted Spanish so, he got it! We started with number matching. He finished this with ease thanks to years of Dora and Diego! Did I mention he's reading? No? Oh, well he's reading. He can sound out larger words (with help when needed) and smaller sight words are easy peasy for this kid. I think I'm just here for feeding purposes because I feel like he pretty much teaches himself. 

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Below, are the yummy phases of the the moon. Another Pinterest find {here}. 

We downloaded a plethora of fun activities from here. 

 

I took the pictures (in Spanish) and had my sidekick find the matching English words. We played this a couple of times and then I let him glue them on (for "safe keeping", he said). 

Next up, our new adventures with our new school and how we survived our first week! See you soon!