Back to School (finally)

It's with mixed emotions that the kids got ready to head off to school this morning. There was both excitement and anxiety. Mason started 4th grade at a new elementary. We knew who his teacher was but we had no idea where classroom was or how things work at Center. Even though he doesn't know anyone there, I'm not too worried about him, he makes friends easily. Brianna started 6th grade at Williams middle school. Luckily most of the kids she went to school with last year will also be at her school and she has at least 1 friend in her classroom. We also didn't know where her classroom was or how they come in. She didn't want me to get out of the car and help her find it. I guess that would be to embarrassing (when did she get old enough for parent involvement to be "embarrassing"?) Chelsea is not excited to be starting 8th grade at the same middle school. I don't remember middle school being so difficult, but it's been an "interesting" experience for her here. Luckily she does have 1 good friend, but they are not in the same homeroom class. She doesn't even know her schedule yet. They meet at their homeroom and that's where they get their schedules. She still isn't sure about continuing on with Orchestra. We'll see how she feels at the end of the week.

On a good note, they all got up without a problem and got their new clothes on, hair curled, packed lunches, and made sure all their supplies were in their backpacks. I was able to drop off Chelsea and Brianna at their school (I was a good mom and didn't even get out of the car, take pictures, or kiss them good-bye). I drove Mason over to his school where we parked and walked over to the playground where everyone was gathering. Instead of going straight to their classrooms, they just looked for their sign and lined up with their class. I introduced him to his teacher and then he was off making new friends with the kids in his class. Hopefully they will all have a good report for me when I pick them up.

So now it's just momma and Cord time. I'm not quite sure what to do with a quiet house. We ran errands this morning and now I get to clean the house. Maybe I'll even work on my scrapbook room. I don't really have an excuse not to scrap now.
This is Williams Middle School where both the girls are attending.
Center Elementary is actually in 2 buildings with a walkway between them. It's pretty old but updated inside. While we were walking the bells on the top were ringing. It felt very "New England".

WOW

When Mike first moved out here he lived in the boundaries of the Ludlow ward. The house he found us to rent was outside these boundaries, but he was already attached to the ward so we kept on going. The bishop said that was OK since we only had a 6 month lease. But unfortunately, the house we found to rent now was still outside the boundaries. Ever since we moved to our new house, I have been paranoid that we would have to move to a different ward. Every time I saw the bishop I would try to not engage in fear he would tell us we would have to leave. Mike said that the bishop knew where we lived but he didn't say anything. Perhaps it was because he didn't want to find someone else to fill our callings (ward mission leader and 1st councilor in the RS). It was almost like "don't ask, don't tell" and I started to let my guard down.

Last Sunday, Mike and I were pulled out of our classes into the Bishops office. I thought for sure we were being evicted. The bishop inquired about how our current callings were going and if Mike was OK with his load of law school and the calling. Then he turned his attention toward me and asked if I would accept the calling to be the new Young Women's president. I was totally blind-sided. I didn't see that coming at all because I have only had my calling since March. So I said "yes" and I have been stewing about it all week. Since he wants me to have this calling for the 2 years we have left here, I guess I don't have to worry about eviction anymore. :)

We didn't tell the girls until it was announced today in church. Chelsea was so sad when they announced the release of her beloved president. I felt sad to, but for slightly different reasons. I tried to watch her expression as they called me and I was asked to stand. I think it took a little while to sink in. She looked at me and said (with a glare), "we don't sing". I think she feels like I'm invading her territory. Brianna on the other hand was very excited once she clarified that I would still be there when she got into YW in 2 months. Time will tell.

So I'm excited and scared. We have some really neat girls in our group, but I've never been President of anything. But I've been in YW a couple of times. I hope I can have the wisdom of Trudy Oviatt and the creativity of Jodie Hansen (2 other presidents I have served with). I don't know if anyone has noticed the addition of YW websites slowly appearing on my list of favorites sites, but I could use any help you may have. If any of you Utah ladies hear of neat things going on or have good ideas, please share. Things run a little different here, but I hope to still provide good experiences for these girls.

Just for Lindsay

In honor of the Olympics...........Michael Phelps, the early years.

Last summer adventure - Bronx Zoo

We were invited to go on a day trip down to NYC and see the Bronx Zoo. We jumped at this chance to see something new and spend the day with friends. We caravaned down there with 3 other families on Wednesday morning and luckily the weather was perfect. We were also there with about 5,000+ of our closest friends from all over the New England area. I guess I should just say that it was CROWDED! We didn't get to see as many animals as we would have liked but we did enjoy the ones that we got to see. The zoo was quite large. We could easily spend another day there to see everything we missed. Most of our time (or so it seemed) was spent waiting in line for the Wild Asia Monorail, but I hope the kids thought it was worth it. We boarded a train for a 20 min ride and got to see many animals close up as we drove by. Cord was quite cranky while we were in line, but luckily seemed to enjoy the ride (or at least he didn't scream through it. I had flashbacks of our tour of Washington DC).

Here at the end of the day we were getting ready to go home. We sure enjoyed being with these families and look forward to another adventure. Where are we going next Noel?

Here's some proof that I have made some friends as well. Next to me are Noel, Amy, and Gail.

Bronx Zoo

We brought Dausha with us but the 3rd musketeer (Mercedes) was sick and couldn't come. The girls really missed being with her but got to hang out with her older brother, Gage.
We all brought in lunch and found a nice place to sit and have a picnic. Brianna is here with Julia and Roci.
This is on the monorail ride. The carts moved sideways which was interesting. Mason loved spending the day with Sam and Nicholas.
Aren't these 2 cute? Cord's little buddy is Mathew. Here they are racing up to the top of a ramp.
I just love spending time with my kids and hope they appreciate all the fun adventures we get to take while we are here. These are things that we may never get to see again when we move back home.

Zoo pics

Chelsea's favorite animal was the tiger. He was just lying there as we drove by so she got a great shot. Chelsea took most of the animal pics. She did a great job.

More zoo pics

Brianna loved the Seals the best. Mason couldn't choose a favorite animal. I was surprised about how excited Cord got when we saw animals. Or maybe he was just happy to be out of the stroller.

Cord says HI

Cord is becoming more independent everyday and loves to climb. Even something simple as working on the computer is more difficult because Cord wants to be right there on my lap helping me type. He was really funny when I got onto Shelley's blog because Cord noticed Addison right away and got excited. He kept talking to her like she could hear him and he tried to send a kiss. So we wanted to send a shout out to Addie from Cord!

Correction

I know I reported on Saturday that Brianna got "a little sunburned" at the beach. I stand corrected. She got FRIED! I can't post pictures because they could be used against me for child abuse. She was so excited to get into the water at the beach that I didn't even think about sunscreen until it was time to go home. I know she is old enough to remember to do this herself, but I take some responsibility as her parent. When she got out of the shower we noticed that her face was lobster red as well as her back and shoulders. Last night she noticed blisters forming on her nose, checks, and upper lip. With school starting next Monday, we sure hope this calms down fast. We are putting aloe vera and lavender oil on it to see if it will help the healing and hoping Motrin will help with the pain.

Chelsea also got burned but not as bad. I did remember to put sunscreen on Chelsea, but she refused. She stated that it doesn't work on her so she wasn't going to bother to put it on. She put it on when we went to bear lake but got burned anyway. That's because we didn't reapply after a couple of hours. But she is also miserable. Both girls have been lying on the couch in their pj's, feeling sorry for themselves, and hoping nobody will touch them.

Let's hope we have all learned our lesson!!!

Mason Scout vs Spy

On friday our cub scout troup had a family campout out in the middle of the wilderness. By that I mean it was on a ward members ranch property so there were no bathrooms and we had to walk 1/2 mile from where we could park to get there. We opted not to sleep over for several reasons. 1) Ever since getting spoiled with the camper, there's nothing I can say or do to get Mike to sleep in a tent. 2) We did find the tent but it's been so long since we used it we don't even know if it works. 3) There was no way I was going to hike around for a bush to go potty in. 4) No body would get any sleep, especially Cord. 5) I had volunteered to drive the youth to the beach the next morning and we had to leave by 8:00 am. 6) There were a TON of bugs out there, even with bug spray caked on we all came away with several bites

But we did have a good time being with the scouts. We were there for dinner, the flag ceremony, the awards, and smores by the fire. We have some great scout leaders who make sure the boys have a good experience. Mason earned quite a few belt loops because of the camp he went to plus some stuff we did on our own (archery, bb gun, fishing, swimming, soccer, map & compass & computer).


The next day he decided he was going to be a super spy. You can see in the top picture all of his spy equipment. In the bottom pic he has all his gear on his body somewhere. I am always surprised about how creative he can be.