Swapping One Craziness for Another

So, I have this delusion.  It hits me every year around the last couple weeks of summer.  The delusion goes something like this, "Once the kids go back to school, life will be less crazy and I'll have tons of time to myself to get all the projects done that I've been putting off all summer!"  Wrong!!  Reality is this, "Having the kids go back to school just trades one type of craziness for another."  There.  I've written it down, I've owned it and accepted it.  Hopefully I can remember this epiphany next year at this time and not have all these unrealistic goals and unrealized expectations. We'll see . . . 

The beginning of all the back to school mayhem always begins with the "meet the teacher" and school supply shopping.  Kate is in a classroom where they do team teaching and so she is a Mrs. Young's Panda and a Mrs. Anderson's Ape.  Kinda fits Kate's split personality.  She loves both her teachers and is doing awesome in 1st Grade, reading like a champ and knocking out math like nobody's business.  Good job Kate!

**Quick side note** I had to take Kate to a doctor's appointment and we went to eat at Wendy's afterwards.  Kate was coming up with all the things you could do with a straw:  make it an L, 7, V, teepee, etc.  Not the least of these was to use it as chopsticks.  So this is a picture of Kate using her straw to dip her fries in ketchup.  Love those creative juices.

Analise has Mrs. Mim's for second year, which is awesome and she has most of her same friends in there with her, which is great.  She has also discovered that one of her friends lives within a bike ride's distance and she has taken huge advantage of that!  Here she is with a picture of the Clay model of Florida they did for a class project.  Lise is also our blooming author who always has an idea for a new story and is in the middle of writing 2 or 3 at any given time.  I love seeing Analise's talents coming out. 

And, as for Aly, we passed another huge milestone - I now have a child in middle school!!  For orientation day we met Aly's posse of friends early so they could all get a locker together.  She has a couple friends in each of her classes and the most friends (school and church) in her Chorus class, which is the class she eats lunch with, so that's perfect.  Aly was a little nervous about all the changes (we did an extra walk through to make sure she could find all her classes and she practiced opening her locker like 30 times), but she has done awesome!  I have been so impressed at how responsible she has been in staying on top of her homework and managing her time.  She also just completed the Red Cross Babysitting course with a bunch of her friends.  She really is turning into a fine young lady.

Also, notice the awesome organizational stuff for her locker: mirror, pencil holder, wipe off board, and shelf.  It makes me excited just looking at it! :)

  

And what about poor Kylie?  Well, she was in huge sister withdrawals for the first couple of weeks.  She's pretty good about playing by herself, but after awhile she just gets bored.  Every day she was asking me, "where are we going today, Mom?"  "When are the girls getting home?"  Broke my heart.

Luckily, I'm doing a joyschool with a few other moms twice a week, which has helped tons.  Now Kylie has her "school" too, which is good, because as we all know, Kylie is all about doing everything her older sisters do.  She and I also have fun going to library story time and playgroup together, so don't feel too sorry for her.

In addition to school, there's always the extra curricular activities to go along with it (and the scheduling to figure out to make sure everyone gets to where they need to be on time) . . .

Aly jumped right back into soccer and is loving it.  She is excited to be #10 again this year and is getting better and better every time I see her play.  She's already scored 2 goals!

Analise is continuing on with gymnastics and has added some new skills to her list, namely a back walkover, a forward roll on the beam, and a forward roll on the bars.  She's already moved up another level, so now she's an Amethyst (level 3).

Kate decided to tackle baton twirling this year.  I would have never thought of this on my own, but I actually think it's a perfect fit for Kate.  She's so cute out there twirling and she's learning some tricky moves too! :)

With all of these activities going on I'm realizing just how much being a cheerleader growing up was good prep for me to be a mom.  My girls always love having me cheer for them on the sidelines and I love rooting for them as well.  I'm glad my skills are so handy! :)

In addition, Chris and I have been trying to do some family activities as well, as he will be deploying again in about another month.

We took the kids to a wolf preserve, where they were able to pet and play with baby wolves, see their dens, etc.  It was pretty neat to see them up close and learn more about them.

It was also super hot though, so afterwards we stopped at Ponce De Leon Springs, a natural springs that is always 68 degrees - BRRR!  (You actually got used to it - once you were completely numb! ;)>)

Kate and Chris went exploring down the river a little bit to see what they could find.  No gators, just a lot of beautiful scenery . . .

In addition, Chris and I have been able to spend some couple time together, which has been awesome - I LOVE GOING ON DATES WITH MY HUBBY!  You just can't beat that one-on-one time.  We've done a couple of trips up to the temple, a football game, and hit the ward institute class and ice-cream, to name a few.

And finally, despite all the craziness, I have had a little time to hang out with my girlfriends.  I hosted a "Back to School Brunch" at my house, which was tons of fun.  I am also in charge of the "Ladies Night Out" and a small group of us had fun out on the town.  I love getting together to just hang out and chat with good friends and good food - can you tell?

The Rest of the Summer (Part 2)

I LOVE this picture!  Kate found this mask when we were swimming at a neighbor's pool and it was just too perfect of a photo op to pass up.  We still haven't quite decided if it's an alligator mask or a dinosaur mask.  Anybody?

 Last year, before Chris deployed, he made a deal with Aly and Analise that if they would read their scriptures every day while he was gone (and Chris had to read his too!), then he would take them to Big Kahunas (The Awesome Money-sucking water park in Destin) when he got home.  The girls did AWESOME reading their scriptures - I was very impressed.  (Not sure whether to be impressed of their love for the scriptures or Big Kahunas, but whatever; they got spiritual benefit either way.)  So anyway, we finally picked a day and went as a family.  We had a lot of fun lounging on the lazy river, playing in the tide pools and going down crazy slides.

 The girls also went to many fun birthday parties upon their return.  Here is one Analise went to that was a "costume party".  She also went to a "Spa Day" birthday party.  Wow!  There are some really creative moms out there.  I am not one of them, so I'm sure glad my girls can enjoy that at their friend's parties. :)

Kylie turned 3 in the beginning of August and so we had a celebration for her as well.  She was so excited!  She had been talking about her birthday, turning thee, being "big", and her party ever since Analise and Kate had their birthdays a couple months before.  When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday party she said, "chips, balloons, and cupcakes."  Done!  Now that's a party I can do!

So we had a party with all her awesome friends at the park with Chips, Balloons, and cupcakes - And popcicles (it was a million degrees outside!).  The kids played and then we did presents and bubbles at the end.  Voila!  Success!

I don't know what to say about this picture other than it shows how much my girls love their Daddy - and having him as their personal wrestler-jungle gym-ride guy.  The minute he comes walking in the door they are all over him asking to be thrown in the air.  What a good Dad he is!

This summer was the wettest we had experienced since moving here.  For some of our rainy days we would hunker down at home - find a cozy spot to read  . . . (or read Clementine books together as a family) . . .

. . . work on the girls' Faith in God goals . . . or make banana bread.  Sometimes there's nothing better than a rain day at home.

On days when the sun was out we would often go to the beach with friends.  Kylie's got quite the social circle these days.  So fun to watch!

And then there were days when it was going to rain but we decided we were sick of being stuck inside and decided to brave the beach anyway.  On this beach day we actually had to get the kids out of the water for about 1/2 an hour due to thunder while we were pummeled with wind and rain.  But we were in our swimming suits anyway, right?  And once the storm passed the kids jumped right back in the water like it never happened.

And, of course, for the last day of summer, Labor Day, we had to do "one last"  beach day.

Here's Kate with her Monarch Kite that her Dad helped her to fly. . .

Aly found an alive sand dollar that she took home to keep. . .

There was much burying in the sand to be done . . . 

Lise was doing awesome riding in the waves . . . and even Kylie got in on the boogie boarding action.  So cute!

Those last four weeks of Florida summer went by way too quickly.  The kids were super excited to be back hanging out with their friends, and it was really nice to get back to our house and our routine after all the craziness in Utah.  You could almost pretend that the accident never happened - almost.  But then there's those hard moments and mood swings, along with the daily reminders of things that I miss - like being able to pick up the phone whenever I want to call and talk to my mom or sister, or all the fun memories of them that make me laugh - and then cry at the same time, or even posting a blog post and knowing that Jess won't be the first one to comment on it and my Mom won't be calling me on the phone to tell me how much she loved it and how cute/hilarious my kids are.  There for a little bit I felt left behind.  Why did my mom and sister get to go together and I had to stay here and hurt?  But I was very grateful for the opportunity Chris and I had when we first got back to speak at a fireside for the youth in our church about covenant keeping.  It was super helpful for me to remember promises I had made to my Heavenly Father, to be a good wife and do my best in raising my children in the gospel, and to realize that these purposes had not yet been fulfilled and there was still more I needed to accomplish on this earth.  As much as I need my mom, I realized that my kids and husband need me more.  And I wouldn't want to miss the opportunity of raising my children or sharing my life with my husband for anything!  I am also so grateful for what an awesome group of friends I have in this ward.  As a military wife who's been living away from family for over 10 years, I have truly found that the church becomes my home away from home.  I have discovered family in the wards I've lived in, and this ward is no exception.  Their love and support have been immeasurable at this time and I am truly blessed to have them in my life.

  (BTW - this only represents a handful of my awesome friends.  I really do have such an amazing ward that I don't think I could fit them all in one picture - unless our heads were all the size of a pin!)

The Rest of the Summer (Part 1)

So, eventually we needed to fly home to Florida, where of course our busy life was waiting for us.  The very next week we jumped into swimming lessons.  It was actually kind of nice just to be on auto pilot and stay busy.  Plus having something to keep the kids happy and occupied was good too.

We went to a ward Pioneer Day activity, where Chris loved playing stick pull with all the girls.  Who do you think won? :)

We also had a quick surprise visit from the Paine family, which was awesome.  Our kids can't get enough of visitors and cousins!

Another fun thing was that Chris and I got to go see the play, Les Miserables.  (If you look really close, you can see it in the background of this picture).  They did a really good job and I had an awesome date!

At the end of July, I had my 35th Birthday.  (I need to write down my age because I already have problems remembering how old I am - or how mature I'm supposed to act!)  Anyway, I was woken up at 6:30 in the morning by the sound of a huge **CRASH** and then Kate's voice saying, "Don't move Mom!  I'm bringing you breakfast in bed!"  Uh-oh.  She was bringing me cereal on a cookie sheet when the milk got too heavy and she dropped it.  Luckily she hadn't opened or poured anything and nothing exploded so all was well.  She had come up with the idea all on her own - what a sweetie!  Kylie was also trying to be sweet and told me I could have her last cupcake that her friend had brought over to her.  Of course she reneged on that deal later and ate it herself, but it's the thought that counts, right?

  My friends took me to lunch at Panera Bread - YUM!!  My one friend even made me my very own awesome birthday hat! :)  And then the family took me to yummy mexican for dinner and gave me presents.  So yeah!  No cooking for me that day = a successful birthday. :)

Of course we had to make sure to make a tube run down Turkey Creek - the summer wouldn't be complete without it.  Because we'd had so much rain over the summer, the creek level was super high.  Plus all of the runoff had made the creek turn orange from the acidity of one of the leaves in the area.  It was like flowing down in orange Kool-aide.  Tons of fun though.

Another favorite spot was the on post "Castle Park" and splash pad.  The kids were super excited to be hanging out with their friends again - laughing, being silly, the whole she-bang.

And finally, lest we forget, I do have a couple of quotes of the week from Kate.  (I kind of forgot to be writing them down for awhile, but I'll try to be better!)

In talking about Phineas and Ferb and States in the United States . . .
Kate - So there's already a State named after Candace.
Me - It's Kansas, not Candace.

So, we had been having a fruit fly problem in our house . . .
Kate - Mom, flies keep flying up my nose.
Me - Yeah, I think some fruit flies came into the house with the fruit basket we got.
Kate - Yeah, and they must think my boogers are bananas.