I keep having people ask how things are here in Seattle. Now that we've been here a little over 8 months I thought I'd do a recap of how things are going!
Schools
The kids are all doing very well, I've been happy with their report cards and reports from their teachers. Any issues we've had are old issues and not related to the move (ahem, someone - I won't name names - doesn't like to do English homework and does the bare minimum and doesn't hand things in on time). Overall I'm very happy with the schools. The girls are at a K-6 elementary school just a few minutes walk from our house. I love love love both of their teachers and all the staff at the school. I've been able to volunteer in their classrooms, help out with yearbook club and help in the library. The amount of cool after school clubs is fantastic. The girls have also made some great new friends in their classes. We have some of them over to the house regularly and it's been a good way for me to meet some other moms in the area. Kyle is at the middle school, grades 7-8. This was an adjustment as we don't have middle school back home in Ontario and certainly not a school with 700 students for just grades 7 & 8! The school building is also very different, more like a small campus with various small buildings around and outdoor hallways. Kyle adjusted very well and knows his way around like a pro now. I've met all of his teachers and I've been very happy with how easy it is to chat with them or email to see how things are going. Plus they use data dashboard at this school which means I have constant access to Kyle's grade for each assignment, test, quiz or piece of classwork, awesome! Anyone with a pre-teen knows how difficult it is to get accurate information out of them (maybe just the boys?). This makes it very easy to stay on top of how things are going and helps Kyle be accountable for his work.
Activities
Leah quickly jumped right back into her pre-competitive gymnastics here, I found a great gym where she loves the coaches and is doing her class 2 afternoons a week. This has been another way for her (and I) to make some new friends.
Jillian is my joiner, loves to participate in a variety of activities. She was continuing her recreational gymnastics once a week but decided recently she was done with that in order to make room for other things in the schedule. At school she is in yearbook club, and was also in circus arts (stilts & unicycles!) and yoga. At the local recreation center Jillian has started both art and sewing classes. She is loving her sewing class, has made some cool projects so far. And we have finally found a new farm for horse riding. We were spoiled in Richmond Hill having so many horse farms close by in King. Here we have a half hour drive to a the closest farm but it's worth it to see how much Jillian loves being up on that horse!
Kyle had joined a few after school clubs. He had to choose between Magic the Gathering card playing club and game programming club as they are on the same day - he picked programming. And he was in math club up until recently but decided he's done with that for now. He participated in a local math competition in March and his team came in 2nd which was awesome! He has also started tennis again, although he's having to find his groove again after taking 6 months off. After the first lesson he was ready to give up, after the second lesson he was thrilled and wanted to go back so it's coming back to him.
As for me, I tried out yoga but decided I'd rather do treadmill or running/walking outside. Jillian loves to get out there too so her and I participated in a local 5K in May which was fun. I'd also like to get back into tennis, need to find a time to head to the courts with Kyle so we can both practice.
Our new home
Still a work in progress but getting there! Jillian's room was finally painted. Leah's is next on the list. I'm still trying to declutter and always creating donation boxes as I think we have too much "stuff". Moving is a great way to see how little you really need in order to get by, so much of it is extra and not needed. The garage is slowly but surely being cleared, hoping we can make room for the foozball table and table tennis in there at some point. The benefit to this moderate climate is being able to use the garage as another room without fear of freezing to death.
Weather
When I told people we were moving to Seattle I had so (soooooo) many comments about the drab and dreary weather here. Well I just have to say I love living here with the moderate climate! True, there are some drab days. True there's rain on most days. However, it rarely rains all day long. I often wake up to see things are wet but have no rain during the day. Or have a short rainshower in the afternoon but the rest of the day is clear. As for the lack of sun, well we've had plenty of nice sunny days to make up for the drab ones. I will say this - I do not miss the snow! I may miss the hot summer nights when summer gets here, time will tell. The year round greenery has wreaked havoc on poor Jillian with her allergies - we've had to get the eczema under control. But her new ped allergist is fantastic and said it just will take a bit of time for her body to adjust to the new environment.
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