Back to School

Since Thursday was the only day available, we went to the Uintah County fair and did the candy drop and Little Red Barn. We also looked around at booths and exhibits, all the free stuff.

Friday, James and Joseph left for a YM campout. I wasn't too happy about having them gone again, but I survived until they got back on Saturday around 1. Samantha had a preschool orientation at the library, so I sent the older kids off to play at the Lego table. It was fairly boring since I just did Upstart with Lewis last year.

Monday was Back to School Night. I miraculously found the supply lists and got everything we needed so we could drop it off while we were there. We met the teachers, found Joseph's classes at the middle school, and then ate pizza in the park and freshly churned ice cream at home. It was a pretty fun day.

Wednesday was the first official day of school. It went pretty well for everyone, even though one child had a meltdown upon arriving at home. Lewis doesn't have school until next Wednesday, but we took him in for Kindergarten testing and then went to the library. I finished my goal of reading all the fiction books in our library the day before school started!

I'm feeling pretty confident about the school year in general. I really like the teachers, and the kids seem to as well. I hope I can get used to waking up early. So far, it's slow progress.

Rexburg Trip

James took Joseph and Lewis to Rexburg for 6 days. Things were okay while they were gone. On Friday, I organized the girls' room and set up a real bed for Samantha to make an L shape with Katie's loft bed. It gives the girls more storage space. Of course the room is trashed now, but it looked good at the time.

Saturday, I ran some errands in the morning with everyone. In the afternoon, I baked 3 kinds of muffins to freeze for later and a batch of cheese biscuits to go with dinner. It was really nice to bake and read while I was waiting on things. That was the highlight of this past week, unfortunately. Katie and Samantha started fighting more each day, and by Wednesday, I felt like I was going to lose my mind. It didn't help that I couldn't really leave. James had my babysitter with him.

Sunday was all right. My Relief Society lesson went well.

Monday was probably the worst day. We didn't go anywhere.

Tuesday night, we went to Denny's. It was nice not to have to cook. Our waiter was exceptional, and our meal wasn't that expensive since kids eat free. We had enough leftovers for breakfast, and I didn't even buy Samantha a meal.

James and the boys got home yesterday afternoon. Needless to say, I am extremely grateful. Their time away wasn't all bad. I read tons of books (to the point of getting bored), watched a couple of chick flicks, and didn't have to do too much cooking since all the people who eat a lot were gone. Both Katie and Kenny went to activities and had a great time. There just weren't enough projects or events to keep everyone happy, and I felt a little like a prisoner. James has off today, but his first official day is tomorrow, so we're going to be busy finishing up some last-minute things.

I can't believe school starts so soon: Wednesday for the 3 older kids and a week later for Lewis.

More Projects

It's been another busy week, but we got A LOT done. Friday, we cleaned out the trailer and took 6 large bags of clothes to D.I. along with some area rugs we were never going to use again. You can actually walk into the trailer and find things now. It's so exciting!

Our yard has a few yellow spots, so the boys mowed and James treated for grubs. Overall, the lawn has done really well this year and stayed pretty lush and green. It's so much work to keep it healthy in this desert, but it's worth it to have soft grass for the kids to play on with their friends. The Boyles came over for a water fight in the afternoon and brought over 500 water balloons. We finished off our box of peaches with a delicious peach cobbler (and ice cream, though not homemade this time.)

Monday, James took the kids on an adventure so I could clean the carpets. I'm glad I started early because the power went out at 11 and didn't come on till 4. Thankfully, I'd finished cleaning and was just working on the drying. Though there was no power, it was a hot, dry, somewhat breezy day, so the carpets dried fine and we got everything put back together in time for Summerween. The boys carved a jack-o-melon, and we catapulted candy into the yard after eating hot dogs with the Purcell kids and Boyles.

Tuesday, I took Katie and Lewis to get shoes and do grocery pickup. I'm really glad I got all the other clothes online. I really don't like shopping for clothes in person.

I met James for a lunch date yesterday, which was fun.

I've been working on new ice cream flavors. This week's was banoffee (banana ice cream with graham cracker crumbs, toffee bits, and dulce de leche.) I really like it, but I still like chocolate better. :) I've also been making lots of muffins for the kids to eat as snacks. We've liked most of them. It is kind of a bummer that in order to find the best recipes, you have to suffer through a lot that are only so-so.

James has been working the past 3 days, but I've had plenty to do around the house. Only one more big project left: deep cleaning and reorganizing the girls' room. Wish me luck on that one.

 

Projects

It's been a really busy, but good week. We've gotten a lot done, even outside of the the normal "catching up" from being gone for 2 weeks.

Friday, James and the kids worked a ton on the yard to get all the weed eating, cleanup, and mowing done. It was a little out of control after 2 weeks.

A couple of us weren't feeling amazing on Sunday, so we watched church from home. It was honestly a pretty boring day, the first of a few where I was just "in a funk."

Monday, we took a huge board from the trailer that was blocking stuff I needed, bought another board, and raised our bed up by stacking the boxes underneath. That gives us storage and a work table for folding laundry. I never did like using the counter or couch. The kids deep-cleaned their rooms, and I helped the little ones go through all their clothes. We then made a list of what was needed for school. I did most of the school shopping online. I only have to get shoes for Katie and Lewis in person.

Tuesday, while James worked, I made peach jam, the first of several recipes from my big box of peaches that James bought for me. (I've had no luck with grocery store peaches, but these local ones from CO are pretty amazing!)

Wednesday, as a family, we painted the trailer! It's a sandy color and though it still looks old, it blends in the the dead grass in the neighbor's lot. Everything went a lot better than expected, and no one got any paint in the house. I also sanded and re-stained the picnic table (just the top and benches where it wore off from last year.)

Today, I put 2 coats of poly on the picnic table and made a batch of peach ice cream. James was working, so I met him for lunch in his new (to him) classroom after a quick run to Smith's for the sales.

Since we got back, I've been working with the kids on their "family history passports" that they got at a Primary activity during the summer. It's been fun to teach them more about our ancestors and how to use Family Search. I don't know how much will stick, but they've already been asking more questions. Visiting the graves of 3rd great-grandparents in Vernal and Johnston County, NC, made an impact on everyone, I think. I'm grateful for the connections I have with my family, even though those relationships are a ton of work.