Let's see if I remember how to blog. :)
We made it through the first week of school. This is going to be an interesting year -- full of changes and new schedules. 3 kids at 3 school (elementary, middle, and high school) and one of those children is starting a year round schedule. Like I said, it should be interesting.
Anna is a 4th grader. And Payton is a 7th grader. More on the first week of school in another post.
Because of their odd schedules I couldn't get a first day of school photo of all 3 of them. I guess I COULD have taken a photo of all 3 at 5:30 am, but Payton & Anna would have been in their pajamas.
Conner is a freshman, which means he also started early morning seminary. And because he has a zero hour class he has early-early morning seminary! Oy! He has been great about getting up with his alarm, but by the time Friday rolled around we were SO tired.
Conner is the first one to leave and the last one to get home. It's a LONG day! We are so anxious to see him that sometimes we walk out to meet him near the bus stop. Not at the bus stop, because we don't want to embarrass our new high schooler. But near.
Walking to school has also resumed for Anna and I. It's always one of my favorite parts of the day. One of our crossing guards retired and it's weird to not have him a part of our mornings anymore. He always loved our kids and called them "the thank you kids" because they always said thank you every morning and afternoon. He promised that he would come back to visit the corner.
I'm also participating in a middle school carpool for the first time and it is going to be SO great! This is definitely the year that I need the extra help.
Our ward had a youth temple trip after school one day. They always go to In-N-Out for dinner and Conner was super proud that he ordered and completed the Quad burger.
We tried hanging out on the balcony one evening. (You can see Anna's silhouette - fresh from the shower with a towel on her head). It's still a touch too warm, but we're almost there.
In the spring Conner auditioned for and made the Concert Choir and Madrigals which we are super excited about! It's an especially big deal to get into Madrigals -- this year he is the only freshman. They had a "retreat" over the weekend: food, team-building games, & swimming at the Madrigal president's house on Friday. And then more get-to-know-you activities, skits, and choir business on Saturday in the choir room. He had such a great time. We are so happy and thankful that he gets to be a part of this, have an instant group of friends, and find his niche as he starts at a large high school. And looking at the 4 page calendar of events he is definitely going to be busy!
As for me . . . I've been doing the normal mom stuff and barely keeping up! :) I don't have all my little minions around anymore to help with the daily chores so I've kinda fallen behind on that. But I've decided that last week was all about learning & feeling out the new schedule for the kids. Going forward I will work on getting my own business under control.
But hey, I made BBQ pulled pork nachos for dinner one night and they were amazing.
Before school started I went through the kids' closets and cleared out clothes that were too small, worn, etc. Aside from church pants, Conner was down to zero pairs of pants. I put "jeans" on the school shopping list and he quickly crossed it out because he hates wearing pants. And he's been this way since he was 4 years old! There's a blog post in the archives about that one. Anyways, we went school shopping and I didn't buy him any pants, at least for now, and he was so happy about that. Probably going to need some jeans sometime in the winter if we make a ski trip, but we'll cross that bridge then when he's grown another inch or two and we can pick out jeans that will fit.
Wednesday he comes home from school, "uh we're going to sing the National Anthem at our school assembly on Friday and our teacher wants us to wear jeans."
Bwa-ha-ha-ha!!! So jean shopping we went.
On Friday I met a few ladies at Cafe Rio for a celebratory we-made-it-through-the-first-week-of-school lunch! It was such a great time - so nice to visit, swap school stories, laugh, and do something just for the moms. We had one pre-schooler with us - love his workbook in the foreground (what a well-prepared mom!) - and he took our photo. These are such great women and I'm glad for each opportunity I have to get to know them better -- I work with Lena, Katie, & Kristi in the Primary Presidency (the best!), Lindsay & I swap our boys back & forth over the summer for swimming & Settlers ofCatan and we carpool, and Kenzy & I also carpool, volunteer at the school, and are navigating this new world of high school together. We have lived in this ward just shy of 3 years and it feels so good to know I have these connections.
Participated in a fun creative challenge this week on instagram. LuLaRoe consultants were asked to post a picture/image that inspires you and then try to replicate it. Like I said, SO fun!
Scott and I went out to dinner Friday night with that Red Lobster gift card that's been floating around since Scott's birthday. Yes! We've been dealing with a hard situation and a lot of unknowns for a long time. Sometimes we just have to get out of the house, sit down, and talk through it. And sometimes a plate of good food or an ice cream treat helps to make those talks a little more pleasant. :)
We came home to find a scorpion crawling around the family room while the kids were watching a movie. Blegh!
Also this weekend . . . .
Scott and Payton helped move a new family into the ward and they actually live super close to us with girls Anna's age. And another super nice family with younger kids moved in across the street. Yay! There are so many old/retired couples on our street -- need to add some youth to this neighborhood!
We had stake conference. Some great messages. Loved this line, "As you are teaching your children, you are actually teaching your grandchildren." Love that message -- the things we teach our kids right now is what they are going to pass down to their own kids. Also a book recommendation, Better Than Before
