It has been three weeks since I wrote. I can’t believe it has been that long. Where does the time go? I will try to go back in time and remember some things that have happened. I will also make a goal to do better about writing every week again, that way the letters wont be too long. Now that school is back in session I have quiet time during the day again.
I will back up to July 30th. It was a Saturday and I spent most the morning doing a detailed cleaning job on the Suburban. It is always good to clean it well after a road trip. That evening Neal and Ruth made it home from their back packing trip. They both were tired but had enjoyed the trip a lot. It was fun to hear them talk about the beautiful mountains they were in. Ruth enjoyed being with her friends and Neal enjoyed making friends with the other men there. It was a good trip for them.
The next week was our last full week of summer vacation. The kids had fun playing. I took Andrew and Spencer to their well child doctor visits. The doctor said that I have healthy kids because the last time they were in the office was last year for well child visits. He said it is because we must have healthy habits of eating and activity at home. I hope so, we sure try to have good habits. I also took all the kids to the dentist that week. I was thankful that all four had no cavities. I also went to the dentist for a cleaning and my teeth are good too. I do have a visit for an orthodontist to evaluate Spencer and Andrew’s teeth again. He had asked that we come back in a year. Spencer still doesn’t have his “broken” tooth in. I call it that because it is the tooth that broke when he was 2 and finally fell out when he was 5. He has had a space there for a long time. The dentist can see the permanent tooth in the x-rays but it isn’t coming down. I thought it was interesting that the dentist told me that it isn’t unusual and that this can happen that when a baby tooth is pulled or broken out the permanent tooth doesn’t come down because it doesn’t feel any opposition, so it doesn’t think it needs to push or move any more. It made me think about life. Sometimes we think that opposition can be bad and hard to deal with, but because we push and fight against it, it actually makes us strong and helps us to arrive where we need to be. Anyway, Spencer will need to get some help to get the tooth to come down, we will find out more what kind of help when we meet with the orthodontist.
Caleb has had lots of fun with this friends Xan, Miles and Marie this summer. I am thankful my kids have good friends. He had another play date with Xan before school started. He even had a play time with Marie one evening when I was at her house for an Activity Days night where we were talking about gardening. Marie’s family has a great garden and let us bring the girls over to see it. I am enjoying the Activity Days calling. Last night we did an activity about family history and had each of the girls bring in a family story to share with everyone. It was a good evening.
I took the kids to the Explora museum again one of the last days before school started. We looked at things we hadn’t seen our first visit. So now I think we have been over it all. I guess we will need to go back and see if there is more we haven’t seen. It is a fun place to go and will be fun to have a pass there this year.
August 5th was Andrew’s 11th birthday. He was so excited for it. About a month before his birthday he asked if he could have a party with friends. The last time he had wanted a friend party was when he was 5. He planned the party by himself. He organized the games, helped invite everyone and had a great time. I am thankful he worked so hard so he can know how to do something like that. He had a great time with his friends too. He planned some fun activities and the boys all enjoyed it. That evening we had a quieter time with just our family. He is happy to be 11 and has enjoyed going to Boy Scouts now. Yesterday I went to the Scout Shop and got him a Boy Scout shirt and he was pretty excited to wear it last night.
They did a dart throwing game, we tried to block the darts but still ended up loosing one in the bushes.
Andrew even decorated his own cake. He also put up all the decorations in the house, streamers and such. He had fun doing it all and enjoyed his friends over.
On August 6th Doug and his family came in the evening. They were on their way back to home to Texas. It was fun to see them again. They stayed with us over Sunday and went to church with us. We had a nice afternoon visiting. Caleb showed everyone his favorite ipad game, “Word Bubbles” and soon others were busy playing it and trying to figure out the words. We went for a drive that afternoon to the temple. Doug also wanted to go by the apartment mom and dad lived in here and the church building where they attended. Doug was born in Albuquerque and wanted to see these places from his first few months of life. We had a nice time visiting and I am thankful they came. They left early Monday morning to drive on home.
That Monday, August 8th, I took Ruth and Andrew to the school to pick up their schedules. We also took time to walk around to their class rooms. Andrew was a bit overwhelmed with the thought of remembering where all his classes would be. I think he has it down now. Spencer and Caleb had fun playing with Jack and Miles that morning. Tuesday evening Neal gave the kids special father blessings for before school starting. I am glad that we had that time together as a family. The kids were all so reverent and the spirit was strong as they took turns receiving blessings. It was a special time.
On Wednesday Andrew went to the school for a 6th grade orientation, or “Web” day. He enjoyed it. They did some fun games, listened to a bunch of information and also got to go around to their classes for 10 minutes each and meet the teachers. He came home from it all happy and excited to start at the middle school. That afternoon we went to the Elementary school to meet the teachers for Caleb and Spencer. Caleb was excited to see he was in the same class as Marie again. He was sad that Xan is in a different class. Miles moved over the summer and changed schools, but still close enough to go play with. Caleb has had fun playing with Xan at recess. Spencer likes having a class in the portables at the back of the school. He has friends in his class too.
Thursday morning all the kids got up early and were happy and excited to be off on the first day of school. After they all left I realized I didn’t take a picture of them. I guess I don’t always remember things like that. I took a picture of them when they came home. I think it is good that they were still all smiling. So Ruth started 8th grade, Andrew 6th, Spencer 4th and Caleb 1st. They all seem to be growing up so quickly. Ruth is literally growing up, I think she is as tall as me now.
Friday evening we had the sister missionaries come over for dinner. There were three of them and they were all very sweet and kind. I am glad that we can serve them in a small way.
Saturday Neal helped Ruth get her bike fixed and the kids took a short bike ride in the evening with Neal. It has been such nice weather lately. We are still getting hot during the day, around 85-90 degrees, but then it cools off at night. It is nice. I open windows up in the early morning and cool the house down and I don’t have to turn on the AC until the early afternoon. Sunday Neal and I spoke in Sacrament meeting on the Book of Mormon. I think it went well.
Monday morning Ruth and Andrew decided to try walking to school. It has been so nice for me. For the first time in 8 years I am not taking anyone to school by car. I don’t have to deal with traffic and it is nice. I am walking with Caleb and Spencer to the elementary school. That just is getting in my walk time every day that I need. I am glad that it is working for everyone to walk. That was one thing I really liked about the location of this house, we can walk to all the schools, even the high school.
Tuesday morning I went to the school library and helped out and on Wednesday I went to a meeting for library volunteers. I have signed up to work a shift again this year. I enjoyed going last year. I am thankful I can help out and make friends in the process.
Last night Spencer started going to the Bear cub scout den. He is excited to start working on something new. He is very excited for his birthday next week. Everyone is happy and doing well. Ruth enjoys being with her friends. She is making some good friends with the youth in the ward. Last Friday evening she had fun playing games at the park with a group of kids. I am thankful everyone is doing well and happy.
I am enjoying having quiet time again during the day. Although it seems to go by so quickly. I have about 6 1/2 hours by myself every day. It always slips away and I wish I had gotten more done. I feel like I am still catching up on things after moving and summer vacation. Neal is busy with work and hopeful that it will slow down soon. He has been called to be the Cub Master and will do a good job working with the boys. I will try harder to not go so long before writing again.
A Poem By Caleb
What should I wear
If I were a bear,
That was really really rare,
That had lots of hair,
That was sitting in a chair,
And he liked to tear,
And he took lots of care?
