Creative Kids Preschool!

That's right Ladies and Gentlemen I am starting a Preschool out of my home! It is something I have thought about for a while and with my own preschool age daughter at home what better time then now! I will offer classes 2 days a week for 2 1/2 hours each. Right now I am thinking T-TH from 9-11:30 but if that class fills up I will add a M-W class as well. Tuition will be $65 a month if paid by the 10th. There will be a $20 registration fee. There will be a discount for families enrolling multiple children. I would like classes to start after Labor Day, Tuesday, September 7th, 2010. It's coming up quick!

I am a certified elementary education teacher and taught for 3 years before starting a family and becoming a stay at home mom. During those 3 years I covered kindergarten, a 1st/2nd grade combo class and a 4th/5th grade combo class where we taught at around a second to third grade level, so basically I've covered a lot of ground in those few years. I also participated in a co-op preschool with some friends  a couple of years ago with my oldest was preschool age. In addition to my professional teaching experience I have plenty of experience with young children as I am the mother of three children ranging in age from 10 months to 6 years.

I am very excited about this new adventure and hope you will join me! If you are interested please contact me at 480-250-0157 or rachelhanchett@gmail.com

Don't forget to tell your friends!

Seattle Days 26 - 33

Day 26 - Sunday July 18th - This was our last Sunday in Bothell and it was funny because I think even the ward members were ready for us to go home, several people commented I had been there a long time and asked when I was leaving! They were all really nice though and asked if we like it enough to come back, I said yes because you can't beat not having 115 degree weather!

Day 27 - Monday July 19th - This morning we were going to go to the Space Needle but on our drive into town in true Seattle fashion it was overcast and foggy, you couldn't even see the Space Needle because it was hidden in the clouds. So we opted to go to Pikes Place Market instead.

It is a big street market with all kinds of vendors and shops and is the most famous for this one booth that sells seafood but the are the one that throw the fish back and forth to each other, we tried to get a picture of that but the crowd was too big and we couldn't get a clear shot. It was a fun place to walk around and we even found the Aurora Ave sign again so we got a picture this time.

 

We went back home for lunch and then later that night we went back to the Space Needle because the sky had clear by then.

  

It was pretty cool and the kids liked playing with all the touch screens that told you things about what you were seeing. You probably know it was built for the Worlds Fair but I learned that it was originally designed as a residence they architect thought that is what everyones houses would be like in the future!

There is a really funky building next door that is a music and sci-fi museum, we took some pictures there as well on our way out.

 

Day 28 - Tuesday July 20th - Today Caleb is 9 months old and to celebrate we went on another hike to a place called Franklin Falls. Again it was only about a mile each way through the trees next to a river, I love this place!

 

On our way to the trail head though we missed the turn off and as we went farther up the road we got stopped because they were filming a commercial for the new 2011 Honda's so that was kind of cool to see that happen so if you see an new Honda commercial where they cars are driving down a windy road weaving in and out of the tree line we were right there watching it! Anyway we turned around and found the trail and hike to the falls it was beautiful. The kids played in the water a little bit but then on the hike back we found another spot to play and eat lunch as well.

Day 29 - Wednesday July 21st -    We spent the day cleaning, doing laundry and packing because we are planning on leaving at 6am tomorrow morning to start our drive to the Ranch and then home! I went with Shelley to something her ward does called "My Sister's Kitchen" it is once a month and there is a food theme and then they all make something that goes with that theme and bring it to share, then they vote on whose dish they like the best and give it the tasters choice award. This month is was summer fair so Shelley made an Asian Chicken Salad that was super good in fact it was so good she won the award!

Day 30 - Thursday July 22nd - Bright and early Shelley and I loaded up the 8 kids and headed out. This leg of the trip took us through part of Oregon and then we ended up in Boise, ID. It was an 8 hour drive and the kids did pretty well. We had to stop every few hours so I could feed Caleb anyway so everyone was able to get out and go the bathroom, have a snack and stretch their legs. Once we got in to town we found the Boise Temple and got out there to walk around and take some pictures. Then headed over to chuck-o-rama for dinner everyone was way excited about that but sadly the boys let the fun get a little out of control and started shooting spit wads at each other, not a wise choice. Then we headed to one of Shelley's friends house in Nampa where we spent the night.

Day 31 - Friday July 23rd - Even though this leg of th rip was only 5 hours it was the roughest. Today we drove to Centerville, UT to stay with our Aunt Diane but I think because we had been driving all day yesterday and still had to drive another 5 hours tomorrow everyone's nerves were a little raw! We were going to drive into SLC and walk around Temple Square but once we got to Aunt Diane's everyone was so done being in the car we decided to not to. So the kids stayed and played baseball outside in the field while Shelley and I went to the distribution center and a Shade Clothing store in Centerville and then went to get some pizza's for dinner.

Day 32 - Saturday July 24th - Happy Pioneer Day...even though we didn't go to the parade or anything! We got all packed up again and head the next 5 hours to the Ranch! We did stop at Cove Fort and took in some Pioneer Heritage there. This was the first time I've stopped there and it was really nice, everything has been restored there really well the kids had a great time. If you are every driving by you should stop in for while! We finally made it to the Ranch and everyone was happy to see Grandma and Grandpa Turley again! It had been a month for my kids but 9 months for Shelley and her family.

Day 33 - Sunday July 25th - Today is the day we get to see MIKE AGAIN!!! Nathan flew down to AZ on Friday after work to spend some time with his mom and then he and Mike were going to drive up together on Sunday. We didn't know what time they were going to leave so we waited anxiously for what seemed like forever for them to drive in! They finally did at about 3pm and boy was I happy to see him! They girls were super excited too. Caleb was having a hard time with pretty much anyone but me holding him once we got to the Ranch so I was worried he wouldn't remember Mike but thankfully that was not the case he went right to him and was probably just as happy to see his Daddy again as the rest of us. As much as I love the Ranch and seeing my cousins I was tempted to ask Mike if he was ready to just turn around and go home. So the moral of the story is don't be apart from your family for 33 days...it's just too long!  
      

Seattle Days 21-25

Day 21 - Tue. July 13th - We went back to the U-pick farms today and picked another batch of raspberries and then the blueberry fields opened that week so we went over there to pick blueberries too. 

The bushes were loaded and sooooo good I could have just stood there and eaten them all day... Paige did! 

There was also a cool old barn just at the end of the field that had the Eddie Bauer logo painted on the side but was weathered so it had been there a while and looked really cool. 

Day 22 - Wed. July 14th - We went to the Big Four Mountains and hike back in to an ice flow that it there year round and creates a giant ice cave down at the base. There were signs all over telling you not to go down by the base of the mountain or into the cave because the ice could be unstable and had actually had someone killed there in a collapse.

The hike was only a mile in and out and most of the trail was paved or board walk and because everything is so heavily wooded it was mostly in the shade so it was a beautiful walk and all the kids did great.

The only mishap was that Caleb wouldn't leave his hat on and dropped it along the trail but luckily we found it on the was back out.

 When we got back out we ate lunch on a lawn where the original Big Four Mountain Lodge once was and the fire place was still there. The drive up was about an hour and a half but it followed along a river with crystal clear water and it was a beautiful view the whole way.

Day 23 - Thurs. July 15th - This was another lazy day hanging around the house. In fact I didn't even get out of my pajamas all day long! 

Day 24 - Friday July 16th - We went to Bothell Park and it had a playground for the kids but right next to it was the original cabin of the first settlers in the area as well as the first school house in Bothell. The park was right along the Sammish river so we walked over this bridge and along a bike trail the followed the river and crossed the river 2 more times before we decided to turn back and head home for lunch.

 Day 25 - Sat. July 17th - We went to the Woodland Zoo. It was pretty cold when we got there and all the kids were complaining of the cold it was only 54 but soon warmed up and we were ok. They have lots of exhibits indoors because the animals can't handle the weather either, which was nice for us at the beginning when everyone was cold. When it did warm up it was still nice because everything was shaded, you can't go wrong with that. They had lots of different animals then the PHX zoo.

They had penguins, jaguar, snow leopard, arctic fox, grizzly bear, and hippos, to name a few. We didn't even see the whole zoo before the kids started having melt downs (especially Caleb, he wouldn't go to sleep in the stroller) but on the way out like everywhere else here there was a nice park right outside the zoo next to the parking lot, by then Caleb was calmed down so they all had to go play for a while. The street we took out of the zoo was called Aurora Ave, we wanted to take a picture of it with Rory standing underneath but there wasn't anywhere for the van to pull over. Seth and Nathan got home from scout camp this afternoon and sounded like they had a good time too. Also tonight for dinner we had a raspberry/blueberry pie made from the berries we picked and it was really good. 

Only 5 more days till we start our trek down to Utah and then another week after that till we get back home. Even though it feels like we've been gone forever, now the end seems like it is coming up fast, maybe it is just the heat I am dreading because it certainly isn't the fact that we will get to see all of you again!

Seattle Days 17-20

Day 17 - Friday July 9th - Today we went to a place called Remlinger farms and went Berry picking. They are a U-pick farm and we were able to pick our own raspberries and strawberries. 

The kids did a great job picking and we really didn't have a problem with them eating them all. Paige even told Mike over skype that " you have to pick the supper dark red ones not the kinda orange ones" so she new what to look for too. We stopped at Costco on the way home to stock up and ate lunch there. It was still pretty warm checking it at 87 degrees so the kids spent the rest of the afternoon out in the play pool in the backyard. While Shelley and I cleaned the berries then made some jam and froze the rest.

Day 18 - Saturday July 10th - We thought we had big plans for today but ended up forgoing the day trip to stay home and clean the house and allow Seth and Uncle Nathan to get everything ready for scout camp. The kids swam again we mostly just hung around the house today and they nice part was it was only 78 degrees. I made enchiladas for the family tonight and I got mixed reviews but it was only half of the little kids who complained which is a given on any night regardless of what we are eating so I'm not taking it personally.

Day 19 - Sunday July 11th - It has continued to cool down as each day goes by which is nice. This morning Adam was sick and throwing up so Nathan stayed home from church with him. We picked up our cousin Jaylin again for church and people asked me if he was my husband since they knew I was there visiting by myself before but nope not my hubby just a cousin. After church we came home and we had made the sweet pork, lime rice and cilantro dressing recipes from Cafe Rio and I made taco salad shells for dinner and we also had Itallian cream sodas to drink and then later after dinner we drove out to the Seattle Temple again so Jaylin could see it and then had a boston cream pie for desert at the park next to the temple before taking Jaylin back to U of W. 

Day 20 - Monday July 12th - The temp was 54 degrees today and rainy, it is crazy to have a temperature change of 40 degrees in a matter of days but it happened! Nathan and Seth left for scout camp this morning and then we took the rest of the kids to the craft store to get some things to make travel kits for the drive down to Utah. We were going to go on a hike to an ice cave but the cold weather and rain changed our plans for us. So another day around the house but the kids also got to pick out a little wood craft kit at the store that they were worked on most of the afternoon so that keep them pretty well occupied. Rory painted a ladybug and Paige glued together and painted a little bird house. I think we may go back to the berry picking farm tomorrow because blueberries just opened today, that is one of the perks about living up here everything grows here and you can get it fresh off the farms!

Seattle Days 10-16

It seems weird even to type day 16 and I was just looking at the calendar and we won't even leave for Utah till day 31 and won't get back home to Arizona till day 37!

Day 10 - Friday July 2nd I started off the day by taking Caleb into the walk in clinic. It was a really nice place but as usual we had to wait forever. Caleb did good though, we did find out that in spite of the las 10 day round of antibiotics he still has a double ear infection. And if that wasn't enough  he also has bronchiospasm which I guess is the beginnings of bronchitis. They did a breathing treatment in the office and the nurses we all very impressed with how well he did with it, he was a perfect patient. So the sent us home with a prescription for another 10 days of antibiotics and a breathing machine to continue the albuterol as needed. We were there for about 2 hours and in hind sight I should've just dropped off the prescriptions on my way back home but I didn't know where to go so I didn't and just cam home to put Caleb down for a nap. Later we all packed up to go out to Lincoln Park Beach on Puget Sound for dinner and dropped off the prescriptions on the way and at the time I didn't think we would have any problems getting back to pick them up by 9pm but I was wrong. Anyway we went to Lincoln Park and ate fried chicken for dinner ( I know you are jealous Mike ) then walked along the beach for  a ways and then let the kids play in the water for a while. 

 

There was a huge drift wood tree stump that they all played on and had a great time. When everyone was cold enough they changed back into dry clothes and we started to walk back up towards the car. There was also a big park up by the car that had a zip line so we had to stop there and let all the kids play on that too. Because it stays light so late here I didn't even realize it was already past 9 o'clock by the time we left so I missed picking up Caleb's medicine. But he did pretty well and we all had a good time.

Day 11 - Saturday July 3rd - We went to Leavenworth. It is this cute little town up in the mountains that looks like you are in the Swiss Alps. All of the buildings have that bavarian look to them. We went because we thought they were going to have a "kinderfest" but it was only on the 4th so we got there a day early. Our cousin Jaylin Jones is doing his grad work a Michigan State but is out in Seattle  for a 3 week conference and has weekends free so he came along too. We walked around town and looked in some of the shops and bought some fudge, the guys took the kids to a park while Shelley and I looked in more shops then we ate dinner at Uncle Ulie's Pub.

Then before heading back home we went out on the grass in the town square and listened to some yodelers it was pretty cool. Oh I forgot on the way up we stopped along the side of the road to play in the Wenatchee River. 

Again the water was freezing but the scenery was beautiful.

Again we were going to pick Caleb's medicine on the way out but it needed to be refrigerated so we decided we'd just get it on the way back but again we didn't get back home till almost 11pm so another day goes by untreated.

Day 12 - Sunday July 4th - Happy Independence Day! Well I felt like my ox was in the mire so I went to the drug store Sunday morning anyway to get Caleb's medicine and much to my dismay the store was open but the pharmacy part was closed for the Fourth!!!! AUGH! He and I stayed home from church in hopes that we both could get some much needed sleep since we'd had a few bad nights but he must have known we were supposed to be at church because he stayed awake the whole time they were gone. We had a nice dinner and Jaylin was with us again. Then after dinner at about 7:30 (even though it was still broad daylight) we started our own fireworks show in the backyard.

We bought some of the ground fireworks and sparklers from one of the many roadside stands and the boys took turns lighting them. Then we even let the little kids have a turn lighting them. The girls thought that was pretty cool to get to light the fireworks.

We had quite a few because it took us about an hour to do then all then came inside to eat apple pie and ice cream. We finally got the little kids to bed about 9 - 9:30pm and I was just sitting on the couch reading when Shelley came down and said "you've got to come out on the roof!"  I went up stairs and climbed out on the roof with Shelley, Nathan, and their older boys and watched fireworks going off all around me in every direction. It was Awesome! It was like the big shows we have at home but it was just people all over town setting them off themselves because they can!

Seriously you could see hundreds of them going off anywhere you looked! It was by far the best fireworks display I've ever seen and I got to watch in my pj's on the roof wrapped in a blanket for free. I just wish it wasn't so late because Rory and Paige would have loved it! Oh did I mention it was really cold outside that night! 

The girls had on jackets and Caleb was wrapped in a blanket and had on a snow hat and mittens while we were doing our show in the back yard. It just seems funny to be all bundled up on the Fourth of July!

Day 13 - Monday July 5th - We finally got Caleb's medicine and then made our way out to Padilla Bay to walk along the shore trail. It was a nice flat trail that was perfect for the stroller so I walked along the trail while the kids walked along the beach looking for shells and other sea life.

Paige found to little tiny crabs and was carrying them around in a bigger shell, she thought she was going to get to keep them and was upset when I told her they had to go back in the ocean.

This particular trail is known for being able to see orca pods out in the bay frequently but since we happened to be there at low tide our chances of seeing any whales was pretty slim. We ate lunch out there and then started back towards home but stopped at Willis Tucker Park to let the kids play at the splash pad since they didn't get to swim at Padilla Bay since it was all muddy from low tide. We hung out there for a while then home for dinner. 

Day 14 - Tuesday July 6th - Chet and Kian have cub scout day cam this week and we didn't do too much today just hung out around the house. We did go to Target later in the afternoon and bought a blow up pool for the backyard so they played in that the rest of the day. 

Day 15 - Wednesday July 7th - We went to Kelsey Creek Park in the morning after the boys left for day camp. It is a cute little park but it also has a working farm so that is what we went to see.

We saw horses, goats, chickens, rabbits and they had this enormous pig, named Joy. It was at least 5 feet long and weighed close to 1000 pounds and it was furry. I know pigs have hair but this one looked more like it had a fur coat on! 

After walking around the farm we played at the park then came home for lunch. Seth and the girls played in the pool in the backyard for a couple hours while we waited for Chet and Kian to get home then we went back to the splash pad with some friends from their ward. After dinner that night Shelley and I went to her book club with some of he other girls in her ward. It was on the book "The Hunger Games" and it was really good, I read it in about 3 days! There are 3 book in the series and I just finished the 2nd one last night and the 3rd comes out in August. If you are looking for a book to read these ones are great!

Day 16 - Thursday July 8th - The "Hottest" Day of the Year. It got up to 94 degrees today which is a total shock from being in the 50's on Sunday and Monday. We stayed home and let the kids play in the pool outside and worked on some craft projects Shelley had. it's not too bad considering no one up here has AC we just have all the windows open and fans going. The marquee outside the fire station read "What's that big bright thing up in the sky?" I guess seeing the sun is such a rare thing nobody around here is used to it.