May Newsletter

Hello!

May was filled with so many fun outdoor adventures! It was also one of those months where every weekend is jam-packed and it feels like it's over as soon as it started. Definitely worth it, though. Miriam and Hannah are having a blast learning about all sorts of creatures and visiting museums. I can't believe it's almost summer! I have exactly 2 weeks and 2 days left of school and then I'm free! Our schedule is chock full of all sorts of fun trips.

On Memorial Day weekend I got to go on a backpacking trip with a group of Girl Scouts. We saw so many cool animals in the tidepools while we hiked on the beach, even some starfish! Seeing the starfish was super encouraging because the disease that has been diminishing their numbers for several years has made them very hard to find but we came across a treasure trove of them. As you can see below, we also enjoyed playing different card games where laughing until we were all teary-eyed was not uncommon. All-in-all, it was a fabulous trip and good training for the 8-day 50 miler backpack I'm embarking on this summer.

We were so happy to have Oma and Opa come down and spend Memorial Day weekend with us. I unfortunately couldn't spend the full time with them because of backpacking, but Miriam and Hannah both enjoyed the visit very much. They even got to go to the botanical gardens! Thank you for visiting!

One thing Miriam and Hannah did was get outside and study the bees in our garden. Bumblebees vs. Honeybees, what's the difference? They worked hard writing notes on their field journals and soaking in some of the lovely weather. Here they are by the chive plant!

A big accomplishment for me this month in ceramics was throwing 7 pounds! (Not at someone, I promise.) The biggest cylinder I had made prior was only five pounds, but my pottery instructor is slowly but surely encouraging me to do bigger pieces. I first started pushing myself to do these larger projects when I realized I was pumping out five pretty identical 2 pound bowls in 45 minutes of class. I made so many! This has been a learning experience for me because there have been a lot more unfinished pieces than finished ones, I definitely haven't been bringing home as much, but I have been expanding my skills. 

Miriam's softball season has been fabulous! She loves her team, and loves the sport. Miriam's always pumped to come home and tell us all about the game, or a cool thing they did in practice. Playoffs are this week! Miriam's very competitive, but this is teaching her that it's more important to have fun than win.

Happy May!
-Sierra, Miriam, and Hannah