The Hazard family is ready to be done with this hybrid homeschool thing.

That is all. I could say a lot more...but I won't.

But I will say that we are ALL in agreement. The kids don't like it. We don't like it. It makes it difficult to form any kind of stable schedule. Can we just be done already?

*****

Meanwhile, we stay as active as ever. A lot of my free time has been spent on the shop/rec room. It's looking REALLY good, and I am excited to share pictures when it is all finished. Maybe next week. For now, just know that my dream is taking the shape of reality and it is amazing.

As for family activities, here are a few photos/stories for you:

Rachel (back right) spending time with her friends. We got a couple paddleboards and kayaks and are trying to enjoy them for a little while before it gets too cold. 

The kids and I hiked to the top of the ski resort. It won't be too much longer before we are here on a weekly basis. The kids were amazed to see what all their favorite trails look like without snow, and are excited to get back out in the winter. We chose Lookout Pass this year because that is where most of their friends ski and they are all good enough by now to explore the mountain on their own. Should be fun. 

This is from our Superquick trip to Utah last weekend. We went to a lantern festival with Griffin and Erin while the kids played with their cousins. Honestly, it was way cooler than I expected it to be. The lanterns looked like glowing jellyfish, and looking up and being surrounded by them was a surreal experience. There was also live music and festival food to set the mood. Definitely a trip that was worth it and won't be forgotten.

I am publishing the following journal entry with Addy's permission. She wrote this in bed the night before her birthday. I am happy to say that the day came, and she is still our weird, fun Addy girl. Just one year older. But this writing...I love it!

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Last Night of a Ten Year Old

Hello, Adalie Hazard talking. Right now I am on my bed, thinking about tomorrow. 9:16am, to be exact.

Why?

Because at that time, on the ninth of September, 2020, is the time I will never be ten again. I know, crazy, right? I WILL NEVER BE TEN AGAIN!

Ten is a good year. Ten is the year I'm in 4th grade. Ten is the year I'm still counted as a child.

Growing up. That is what scares me.

Growing up. I will be more "mature," and being weird will be "wrong." I don't want that. I want to be ten. Ten, when being weird isn't bad, and being mature isn't enforced.

And I don't want to work. That seems hard. Five days a week, every week, except retirement and breaks- 50 years!

I like being ten. Ten is a good age.

Well, I guess I can't do anything about it now. Now I just have to hold my breath and hope reality doesn't sweep away those long days, dreaming up games and stories, hoping it doesn't introduce maturity too soon. All I can do is hold on to every second- EVERY PRECIOUS SECOND- of being ten. All I can do is wait.

Wait for tomorrow. Wait for reality. Wait until the next age.

Wait, as the seconds I try so hard to hold slip away from my fingertips. Wait for the new life, the new world, the new way.

Ten is leaving fast, and all I can do is watch- watch as it blows away like sand in the desert. Watch as it leaves me- all those seconds, minutes, hours, all tangled up in that one year. That one year when I was just on the brink of reality.

But tomorrow, at 9:16 am, I must fall.

Fall into a mass of maturity and hopes and dreams being crushed.

Or...

Maybe they won't. And maybe it won't. And maybe everything will just be exactly the same, except I will be one year older. And maybe all my hopes and dreams will be the same.

I'll just be...me.

Except one year older.

Well, goodnight.

*****

So, Addy and Jack had their birthdays, and it was obviously a pretty significant event for at least one of them. We did a small family celebration, and they have parties/sleepovers with friends all lined up. We'll write more on that when it actually happens.

*****

In other news, school has started up again and we have managed to fall into a nice, easy routine. For now, the kids are limited to going only 2 days per week, but we are hoping that changes soon. Rachel is working more regular hours, and we enjoy our weekly breakfast dates on Mondays. Football season has also started up and we had fun watching the Seahawks trounce their opponents in the season opener last Sunday.

Back to school!

Evelyn always lays out her clothes the night before school. Picking out her facemask as part of the set-up definitely speaks to the weird time we are in.

We have also been busy, as always, with our latest project. At first it was to put in a small climbing wall up in the shop. Well, if you give a mouse a cookie...or if you give Logan a climbing wall...This simple idea has quickly blossomed into a much larger thing that we are now calling the "rec room." Painting, carpet, furniture, a really cool climbing area, workout equipment, etc. It's going to be the room I always dreamed of having. It's lots of work right now, but I'm pretty excited about it.

Rach and Ev about to get serious about painting

Another recent development is that we sold our boat! Never fear, this is only a temporary situation, and I am super glad we were able to sell it before the winter time. This boat was always intended to be a "learning boat," where we could learn the basics and get a feel for if/how we would use this new toy. Well, it was time to move on, and we are already looking forward to next Spring when we will bring in a newer, better, smaller, and more powerful boat that will perfectly fit our family's desires. And as a bonus- no need to worry about boat storage as it gets colder outside!

And finally, here is a picture of us at Silverwood. It was a fun day as a family. I stayed with Lindsey most of the time, and the older kids split into teams and went off on their own. Rach (who was getting pizza for us when we took this photo) sort of roamed between groups with her gimpy foot.

Oh- about Rachel's foot. Good news! It is not broken any more and doctors are really optimistic about a full recovery. It is still pretty weak, but with determination and physical therapy I don't think it will be long before she is back up and running full speed ahead!

 There isn't a lot to write this week, but there are a lot of pictures. Last weekend, the kids and I took advantage of some nice weather and went on a short backpacking trip. Everyone did awesome, we told stories on the trail, we explored the mountains, and we enjoyed one of the most spectacular sunsets we have seen in a while. We saw a few other hikers who commented to me how "brave" I was to take five kids out on my own. I'll take the compliment, but honestly, all five of them were pretty much self sufficient. There was no complaining, and the kids pitched in with all the camp chores so much that I hardly had to do anything. This is definitely something that we have "dialed" in our family.

Here's some photos:

Getting started

Our destination was Harrison Lake, high up in the Idaho Selkirks

Addy and Jack pitched the kid tent. I slept in a bivy. I think all our packs put together weighed less than fifty pounds. Mine was probably just over half of that. Not bad for a group of six. Like I said, we have this dialed.

I wasn't expecting to make a campfire (too much work for me), but the kids had other plans. They made this, basically, on their own.

There is no editing on this picture that I just took with my cell phone. It was beautiful.

Good morning face!

It is a well-documented fact that ice cream and burgers taste twice as good after a backpacking trip.

*****

Other activities:

Annual free dental day. It was a little slower this year than in the past, and we had several team members who couldn't show up. Those of us who were there still had fun though.

*****

Also, we got our family pictures back. My sister, Allison, does professional photography and took these. It was about time we updated!

I should mention that I took Ev's picture on my phone. Things were crazy and I don't think my sister was able to get to all the kids. Personally, I think it turned out pretty good.

I also did Jackson's. All the rest are Allison's work though.

We have lots of pictures of lots of poses, but this is the one we finally decided to put in our home. This picture wasn't planned at all. Allison just said "be silly," and this is how it turned out. Great timing on her part!

Extended Hazard family

Alright, have a good week!