Fall Activity

So many things happen all the time it is hard to keep up with it all.  The kids are doing well in school and are into the routines now. Andrew enjoyed going on a band activity of visiting two of the elementary schools in the area to play and recruit kids to be in band programs. He had an orthodontist appointment this week and things are looking good with his teeth.  His braces don’t bother him much any more, even after an adjustment. He is enjoying biking on the trails still. Last Saturday Neal and Andrew went with some friends on a trail south of us by Tijeras. They rode for about 26 miles on the mountain trails.  Andrew has been using a nicer bike, borrowed from a friend, and likes the way it moves. Yesterday Andrew went out to ride and got caught in a rain storm. I was worried about him but he made it home safe and very wet and muddy.

Spencer is enjoying learning the saxophone. He was having a hard time carrying it to and from school and we were trying to figure out what he could do. He tried using a shoulder strap on it but found that was still heavy and awkward. He asked if we could find some kind of cart to pull it on. We bought him a folding hand truck (dolly) that he is going to try using today. I hope it helps him. I wasn’t ready to start driving him to and from school every day. I felt he could figure this out and do it. He was excited to try the new hand truck today. It collapses to about the same size of his case and only about 2 inches thick. Spencer is enjoying being a boy scout now. He was able to do swimming activities his first couple of weeks to do the swimming requirements.  Last Friday Spencer and Andrew went over to Nathan's home to hang out and have fun. They enjoyed being there with their friend Jonathan too. I am glad they have good friends. They enjoy going to their model train club meetings each month too.

Spencer’s church pants have been getting tight on him. Andrew has stayed the same size for two years now, so he doesn’t have things to pass on to Spencer. I have been looking for pants for Spencer for a few weeks, checking different stores as I was able. He really liked the pants he had and said he wished I could just find a bigger size in them. They were from Target. I looked on line but found that they were no longer in stock and not being sold. I was disappointed. I looked at other on line options but was unsure what to order and try. I woke up one morning and felt that I should try the thrift stores again, I had looked there a couple of weeks ago. I went to Family Thrift, which is a large store with lots of clothing. I found a pair of pants that look new, in the Target brand and style that Spencer likes, the next size up from what Spencer has been using. I felt they were for us. I posted this on Facebook and one of my friends called it a “tender mercy” and I agree with that.

Caleb had lots of fun going to the elementary school “donuts with dads” activity. Neal and Caleb rode their bikes over to the school and had fun eating a donut and visiting with others who were there. I am glad Neal was able to go with Caleb for the activity. Caleb had fun playing with his friend Xan last Saturday. Caleb went to Xan’s home this time. They boys are good friends and enjoy being together. Last week for our cub scout activity we did a service time and went to the elementary school and picked up trash around the school. The boys worked well and each picked up a grocery bag full of trash. They were surprised at how much they found in the corners and along the fence. Yesterday was Caleb’s school’s fund raiser Jog-a-Thon. I went to help out at the water station. The kids ran or walked for about 45 minutes. It was a nice morning and they did great. Caleb went 23 laps or 3 2/7 miles. He was happy that he went further than last year. It is good to improve.

Ruth and I are assigned to be ministering sisters together. We were able to visit an elderly sister in the ward who can’t get out much. She was really nice and we enjoyed visiting with her and getting to know her. We also had the Decker’s over for dinner again. They are a young couple who Neal also is assigned to minister to. They enjoy coming over and we enjoy their company. Ruth is doing well at school but is finding that her classes are harder and keeping her busy. She has decided to cut back on her work hours and do two shifts a week, instead of the three she has been doing. I hope that helps her to not need to stay up late with home work as often. This week was the young women “New Beginnings.” Ruth earned a ribbon and I earned two. We have been working on things in personal progress together. She is getting close to being done. I am glad that she is doing well with so many things.

Last Saturday Neal worked out a gathering with one of his ministering families. We went to his companions home, the Rye family, and the Wagenman family came over too. We had a nice evening. It was fun to visit and eat together. There was a party going on that evening that was for LDS kids that attend Ruth’s high school. (There are two Stakes that feed into the school, so many of the kids don’t know each other. Ruth did know many from seminary in our Stake) The party was organized to help the LDS kids get to know each other to give each other support at school. At first Ruth didn’t want to go but when we got with the other families all the teen girls decided to go. Ruth had a good time at the party. Again, it is good to have good friends. (I feel that is a theme in this letter)

Last Sunday the choir sang in church. I am glad that I can participate with the choir. It has been good for me to get out and do something like that again. Last month I sang with a quartet at church and felt good with how it went. I often think about my Dad and how he loved to sing. I am glad that my parents had music be a part of my life from a young age, it helps me now. I love music of all sorts. This morning I was at the elementary school library helping and enjoyed being there.  I enjoy going for walks and I have ventured out into the open space a little more. I don’t always like walking out there in the sand but some days it is nice to be out there and get away from the “city” even though it is only an open area between houses. I have enjoyed the flowers and mountain views. We live in a pretty place. Yesterday I found a thing in my garage, I covered it up with a bucket and went to the school for the jog-a-thon as planned. When I came home I managed to get it into a glass bottle. (Which my family was very impressed that I did and didn’t just leave it under the bucket.) I thought the kids would be interested in seeing it. I found it is called a vinegaroon and I read about it. It is in the arachnid family (spider). They aren’t harmful to people, but can bite. They also put out a smell that is like vinegar, hence the name. It is about three inches long and looks awful. The kids wanted to keep it for a pet, I said no. We decided to keep it for a day and not release it into the bad rain storm yesterday. We will let it go tonight (it is nocturnal) on the other side of our brick fence and see if it makes it. I might have hurt it getting it in the jar. I was surprised to find it in the garage.

Our neighbors had a leak in their water main and told us that the city would be doing some repairs. One morning I was without water for a few hours as they fixed things in the road and with our valve connection. Then we had to wait about a week before they came back and cleaned up the area and repaved the hole they made. It was a bit difficult since the hole was right at the edge of our driveway and the barricade they put up blocked a part of our drive. I am glad it is done.

We enjoyed seeing the Mabey family again on the 10th on their return trip to San Antonio. They had a late arrival and left early the next morning, there wasn’t time for play this time. The kids were happy to see each other again though. I am thankful for a good family.

Spencer and Family time

We are enjoying the school routines now. At least I am, I like having some quiet time during the day to get things done. The kids are doing well with their classes and are working hard.  I enjoyed going to the schools to meet the teachers and hear about the classes. Both the middle school and high school had it where we went to all the classes in order for 7-10 minutes each. It was good to see the teachers, hear what they had to tell us and get a feel for what the kids do every day. Caleb also has some great teachers that I enjoyed visiting with and I am glad that they all are doing well with school this year.

Spencer’s birthday was on the 23rd. He was so excited for his birthday this year. He was counting down the days and was so happy and bouncy on the day. Although he wasn’t that excited about going to school, he went and didn’t tell anyone it was his birthday. He wanted to be with family at home for his birthday, so we didn’t do a friend party. He wanted me to make a peanut butter pie for him. Not a new request, he has had the same thing for the last six years!  He loved having some attention and enjoyed our evening together as a family. He is happy to be 11 and to start Boy Scouts. Last night he went to his first boy scout activity. They were working on the swimming requirements at the Horton’s home. Brother Horton is one of the 11 year old scout leaders and wanted to do the swimming before it got cold.

Spencer really wanted a bigger bulletin board and was excited he got it

On August 24 Neal and Ruth went on the ward Daddy/Daughter camping trip. The girls had fun hanging out and Ruth enjoyed sleeping in a tent with friends. The men sat around the camp fire visiting. It was a fun activity for them. Andrew went to a swim party at the Horton’s house that evening.  He enjoys being with his friends.

Saturday the 25th we invited the Isakson boys over to play. They did water play out in the fountain and they all had fun. They have three boys who are similar in ages to our three boys. It was a bit crazy at times but it was fun to have the boys together.

On August 28th we had a Pack Meeting for cub scouts where Spencer was awarded his Webelos Rank, Arrow of Light and did a crossing over ceremony to go into Boy Scouts. It was a special evening for him.  Then we attended a Boy Scout Court of Honor for Andrew’s group. Andrew earned his Star Rank and four merit badges. He enjoys being involved in the scouting program. One of the merit badges the troop worked on this summer was a cinematography badge. The boys had to make their own short movies. Andrew and three other boys did a little thriller movie about a “shadow” chasing the boys. Andrew was the shadow and it was fun that we got to see the movies at the court of honor.

Last Saturday Caleb had fun having his friend Xan come over to play. The boys met in Kindergarten and have continued to be friends. Xan is in the same program Caleb is in with the half day gifted class and they enjoy being in a class together again. They had fun building things together.

Saturday evening Neal’s sister, Andrea's family came to spend some time with us on their way to Utah to visit grandparents. They live in San Antonio, so they had a long day in the car. The kids were so excited to see their cousins. The kids played and were having lots of fun until about 10:00pm when we were able to persuade them to go to bed. We had all day Sunday for visiting and play. We also went to church with them. It was a great visit and we enjoyed having time just visiting and hearing what their family has been up to. The kids were busy playing and showing each other their interests. John played songs by the Piano Guys and now Caleb wants to learn them all. I keep telling Caleb he has to work on his easy songs first until he gets better and learns the harder skills.  It was fun to hear John playing the piano, he did a good job. We are excited for their family with the mission calls they got this last month. Peter will be going to Australia and Corinne will be serving in Montana. Peter wasn’t with the family so we missed seeing him. He has been working a lot and flew to Utah to see his grandparents for a few days before he had to get back to work. He didn’t have time to do the two day drive to get there. I am glad they spent a day with us before they continued on their way Monday morning.

Monday was Labor Day so we didn’t have school and work. The kids all were quiet after their cousins left and played by themselves most the day. Andrew worked on some RC cars and was able to get one working again by putting together parts from other cars on it. It was fun he could figure it out. 

Last night I had cub scouts with Caleb. Neal, Ruth and Andrew went to the temple and did baptisms with the youth group. They enjoyed time in the temple. I am thankful that we have a temple so close to us. I enjoy going every week and feel peace there. It is a blessing in my life.

Today the water was turned off for a few hours for the city to dig up the water main connections and replace valves. I am not sure all that they did, the digging was all in the street, but they had to have the water off. They seem to be done but still need to clean it up. They have a flag barricade up around a hole and a pile of broken asphalt and cement. I am glad water is on, although their pile blocks a little of our drive way. Hopefully it will get finished and cleaned up soon.

I decided to pick most of the butternut squash. Some of the vines are dying back. I have picked about 15 so far. I have shared a few with friends. We have eating some too. They have been good. I picked all the apples off the tree and bottled some and we have enjoyed eating them fresh too. We have been eating the pears and they are delicious. The tomatoes keep producing too. Things are starting to slow down, but I feel blessed for the good harvest we have had.

End of Summer, Start of School

We are back to school routines now. Summer went by so quickly. The boys had a great backpacking trip with Neal. They went to Las Cruses Basin for three nights at the beginning of the month. They hiked about a mile into the basin and found a camping spot by a creak so they could fish. They had a great time together being in the outdoors and loved fishing. They caught lots of fish and ate them all. The pictures show that it was a beautiful place. I am glad they could go. I thought it was great that even Caleb was able to put on a pack and carry gear into the wilderness, well at least as wild as it could be for so close to city life. It was a fun way for them to end their summer break.

Caleb hiking, with his rain gear, they had 

a light rain while they hiked, but mostly had 

good weather. 

They were excited to catch so many fish

Hiking back to the car

Andrew had his 13th birthday on the 5th. He was happy to have a quiet day at home with the family. We ate his favorite food, fish, crab salad, and breaded shrimp for dinner. I guess he didn’t get enough fish on his camping trip. He wanted brownies for his dessert. That was a bit tricky since we still don’t have the oven functioning. On Saturday I got out the sun oven and was able to bake the brownies in that. We have done some other fun experiments with the sun oven. I have found that it works best on a clear sunny day. One day we had it out it was hazy and I guess that effected the sun rays because I couldn’t get the oven over 290 degrees. It still cooked things, just slower.  Well, now we have two teen agers in our home.

On the 7th the youth had a swim party at the Horton’s home, the young women president. They have a fun yard to play in with a pool and other activities. The kids had fun. We have had a lot of parties recently. Caleb went to a party at Miles’s home on the 8th. He loved being with a big group of boys his age and do some silly games and watch a silly movie. I had a RS dinner that night and enjoyed visiting with the women. On the 9th Ruth went out to eat lunch with her friend Delanney (a friend from work and school).  In the evening she went to a party at Zaida’s home. They had a group of girls together playing games and eating dinner together. The afternoon of the 9th Spencer went to the Horton’s home for a party for all the LDS kids entering the middle school in 6th grade this year. The organizers invited kids from the different wards that feed into this school so that the kids could meet each other and know who was LDS at their school. Spencer found out a girl he knew at the elementary school was LDS, they were surprised to see each other there. He enjoyed a play time with his friend Jonathan Merrill that week too. Our vacation and Jonathan’s family vacation were at different times and the boys hadn’t been able to play much together this summer. On the 17th Andrew had a party at the Hadley’s home for the “Goat Head Magnets” the biking group the boys have. They had fun together and planned times for more bike rides. Andrew really enjoys biking on the dirt trails around our home and up into the foothills. On the 18th Ruth went to a birthday party for Morgan. I think that was all the parties. They seemed to just keep happening.

Caleb enjoyed his last BCA class that was math art. They did some neat art work with geometric designs. He enjoyed being around his friends and creating things. The last week of summer was busy with doing the school registrations and picking up class schedules and ID’s. I also took Andrew and Spencer to the doctor for an annual physical, both are growing healthy.

On the 10th and 11th Spencer, Andrew and Neal joined the Boy Scouts on a special camping trip. They drove up to a small town in Colorado, just across the boarder, Antonito and got on a steam engine train for a ride. They were on the historic Cumbres and Toltec railroad. The boys had their back packs with them and after riding for awhile the train stopped in the wilderness and dropped the Boy Scouts off in the woods. There were about 14 boys and 4 men in the group. They made camp, went on some short exploring hikes and played for the afternoon and evening. The next morning they broke camp and hiked about five miles to the next train station picking up trash as they went. They were doing conservation service for the train company. When they got to the station they ate lunch there and were able to get on a train to ride back to Antonito. It was a great experience for the boys. I know my boys loved it. They had a lot of fun being on a train, watching the trains at the station and exploring the way it all worked. I am glad they were able to go.

A picture of the scout group

Andrew on the train, enjoying the view

Our garden has recovered from the hail we had. The butternut squash grew leaves again and is doing well. We cooked one yesterday and Andrew thought it was great. He loves squash. Even the swiss chard grew back. Many tomatoes had hail damage, but I just cut out the bruises. They have been delicious. We have had a lot of cucumbers too. I bottled tomatoes and cucumbers (pickles) last week. We are starting to eat our apples and pears. Many have hail damage and need to have bruises cut off, but they taste great. I have been cooking batches of apples and pureeing it into apple sauce. It tastes good. I don’t think we will get enough to bottle this year.

On the 5th we had a new bishop put in. Change is always good. Our old bishop will be Ruth’s seminary teacher. Ruth started seminary today at 6:00am. She is so good about getting herself up and ready.

Last week I did a hike with our wolf cub scout den. The boys needed to go on a mile hike. They met at my house and we hiked up to the bear statues in the open space. It is about one and half miles round trip. The boys had a great time. That night the boys scouts did a bike ride through the open space and we saw them go by on the other side of the arroyo.

On Thursday we invited a couple in our ward over for dinner, Peter and Louise. Neal and I both have assignments to minister to them. We thought a dinner would be a good way to get to know them. They are younger and were fun to talk to. Lou is from Australia and they both served missions in New Zealand (that is where they met). So we enjoyed hearing stories about those countries. They enjoyed seeing our busy family life. When they arrived, a little early,  we had out instruments, Spencer was on the sax, Andrew on the trombone and Neal on the trumpet. It was a busy, noisy place, different from their quiet apartment life.

Last Monday school started! Ruth had a great week of school and is excited about her classes. She got the electives she wanted, creative writing, anthropology, and French. She is also in honors English and Geometry, AP world history and 10th grade science. It will be a busy year for her. Today she started seminary, so it will be a long day for her. She is still working and is going to try to work three shifts a week. We will see how that works with her school load.

Andrew started 8th grade at the middle school. He is excited to be in symphonic and jazz bands with his friends. He has been very confident getting back into school. Spencer is in 6th grade at the middle school. He has been a little overwhelmed with the classes and moving around to different rooms and teachers. I think he will get use to it soon though. He likes walking to school with Andrew. The first day of school was hard, he was overwhelmed and his back pack zipper broke. We got him a new pack this week end and this morning he was all smiles as he had a new back pack and was ready to face another week of it.

Caleb is in 3rd grade this year. A few days before school started I had a phone call from the school about his gifted class. To give a little back ground, gifted education is under special education in New Mexico. Caleb qualifies for part time gifted services in math and language arts. He is in what is called “B level” giftedness. He was very close to getting the “C level” full time gifted services. At his school there is a class that is C level, all day, with a gifted teacher, Mrs. Moses. This year Caleb was invited to be in Mrs. Moses class for half of the day. He is with her for 4 hours a day (this includes lunch time) to receive math and language arts instruction with her. I had to go into the school and make some minor changes on his IEP to say he was receiving the maximum amount of gifted services that he can have with B level. I was excited about this change because I have heard great things about Mrs. Moses. His other teacher is Mrs. Hedges. Spencer had her and she was wonderful with him. Caleb is excited to be in her class too. She is an amazing teacher as well and has National Board certification, which takes a lot to earn. Caleb is with her for the end of the day for science and social studies. He is also with her class in the morning for “specials” (when they go to PE, computers, library and music classes.) Caleb loved his first week of classes. He loves going into Mrs. Moses class room and tells everyone that he has the two best teachers ever! Caleb has wanted to ride his bike to school for a long time now. We decided to let him do that this year. We bought him a bike lock and had him practice with it and today was his first day doing it. I hope it goes well. It was different to me to send him off and realize that I don’t need to drive or walk anyone to school this year.

I am enjoying a quiet morning. I have been going on walks still and doing lots at home to keep up with this busy family.