The last week of June we were grateful whenever we had a chance to get out of our noisy house. Between the dehumidifiers, air scrubber and industrial fans, it was LOUD! M even stayed a few nights at my parents' house where it was nice and quiet. They had turned my mom's craft room into a guest bedroom just in time! (My mom's craft room was moved to the basement since they have decided not to let anyone else live down there ever again.)
On 6/24 we felt pretty helpful in with K giving the opening prayer, D giving the talk and Hubby and I subbing D's primary class. It was really subbing his class that day that opened me up to the idea of letting the pediatrician put him on ADHD medication. He tries so very hard to do what is right but I can tell he is all worn out from doing so. That day we also made a ton of red beans and rice to take to M's 2nd grade teacher who had her baby girl. We didn't get to meet the baby but got to meet Grandma, who had come in town to help out.
K finished her Blast 3 swim class with flying colors but she gave me specific instructions not to take pictures. Her teacher would love her to join the swim team or become an assistant instructor. K said she will give the assistant idea a try, especially if she could help her teacher Dani (who she had both last summer and this summer). D had his last baseball game and went to indoor soccer. M had to get 4 baby teeth pulled and that was dramatic! She was crying and screaming so much I was very grateful that my father had come along to comfort her so that I didn't start crying too. M and N also spent a couple mornings at a Waldorf inspired summer camp run by one of the moms in our old ward. I didn't want N to get too used to never having to be away from me during the summer but having M there for her was such a comfort. The part they liked best was the giant sand pit in the yard and when they walked over to Kanemoto Pool to swim. And of course we loved our play time with the O. family. By convincing the group of 8 children to go together, Shelly and I were able to attend the Fab 4 free concert at the mall. I've been wanting to see those Beatles impersonators for a while and there was even free pizza! The kids got tired of the music pretty fast but there were hula hoops and bubbles and sprinklers to keep them going for a while. So glad they had friends there with them. For one thing, I don't think they would have gotten in the car with just me to keep them company.
The next day D, M, N and I set off for camp. M and D enjoyed Jack Nicol family camp so much last year they really wanted a repeat. K still refused to join us but N was old enough to give it a try and we brought her along. So away the 4 of us went to go camping the last 3 days of June while K got to stay home and make fancy cakes and with my mom. K loved it. I often joke with my dad that I am raising both my parents -- K is just like my mom and M is a clone of my dad. (:
We were happy to be reunited with M’s pen pal, S, and her family and spent much of our free time with S and her sister, M. They had become fast friends last summer and wrote to each other all year even though S even moved out of state. This will be their last year coming up and I think because of that this was our last year too.
The weather was very hot to be tent camping in (94 our first day) so ice cream treats from the trading post helped keep us going. No one else from D’s pack was attending the same week (as it turned out) so there was definitely a different feeling. I worried about where D was more — they give Webelos more freedom than I’m used to — and I didn’t have people signing the pack up for things like flag ceremony for me. I missed the people we were with last year but it also meant the girls had more time to do things like play with Barbies and make crafts.
On the way home N decided she wanted to join Cub Scouts and be a Lion and we bought all the new gear for D for be a Webalo. They are very excited about scouting but we may have had enough of Jack Nicol for a while.
We came home to a still torn up house and an air conditioner that still didn't work but set about unpacking on Saturday and planned to pack on Sunday for our week long camping trip as an entire family in South Dakota. As I began detailing what we would be doing, I discovered that there would be no fireworks over Mount Rushmore this year -- the entire reason we were willing to go there when it would be very crowded for the 4th of July! So we ended up staying home instead to get things done like reorganizing our mud room and garage (again), hiring a different AC company to come out to repair ours and donating our beloved Passat to Colorado Public Radio. Hubby went to work late that day because we were certain I would cry over saying good bye to that car and I certainly did! The tow truck guy was very kind and said it happened all the time. For me, I felt like I was saying good-bye to my grandma again. When Hubby's little brother totaled the Jetta, we spent my grandmother's entire wedding present to us and all of the insurance money to buy the Passat in cash. When I called my grandma to tell her what happened I thought she would be sad I spent all her present within a month of getting married but she was pleased that we purchased a safe car and were able to get $1k off the price for paying cash. She was always so kind to Hubby and I and so proud fo the two of us together. It was the 11th anniversary of her passing two days after the Passat got towed away. I also felt like I was saying good bye to my baby K and my dreams for her. We brought K home in that car 2 weeks after my grandmother died. She had been so excited to become a great grandma and one of the last things she ever did on this earth was write a check for the adoption fees. The RS in our old ward was so excited to see how the placement went that Sunday morning we brought K home that one of the sisters called me from the hallway to check on us. She announced to everyone that we were in the car on the way home with our baby. They were so supportive and I miss seeing them on Sundays even though we have been in our new ward for 5 years now. They did so much for us and I am certain it was the combined power of my grandmother from the other side of the veil and the members of our old ward praying for us that gave C. the strength to place K in our arms that day. Oh, how little we knew about being parents and how naive we were about what adopting means. Saying good bye to that vehicle also meant realizing picking out that car was one of the first things Hubby and I did as a married couple and it was so much fun. Now we were about to celebrate our 15th anniversary and saying good bye to those newlywed days in a very real way. So yes, I all out cried sitting in the driver's seat for the last time. And cried on the inside the rest of the day. I miss my grandma. I miss my ignorance. I miss the days when it was just my husband and I in an apartment going to BYU. But oh, how we have been blessed the last 15 years. I wouldn't give up our 4 children for anything. I am totally convinced my life would be empty and boring without them. Here's to the next 15 years!
Another thing we got to do that week was have W. family here to watch The Greatest Showman at our house. They have the week of the 4th of July off up at camp and they drove down to spend time with us. Even though they hadn't seen it before, they had listened to the soundtrack so much the oldest daughter was singing along to the movie. It was great to have them hang out with us. They have invited us to stay with them in Georgia. Sounds like I have another trip to plan!
P.S. Our Target reopened (hooray!) after their arson and water damage from the sprinkler system going off. Seeing all the work they still had to do made me feel much better about my houses and our water damage!
K finished her Blast 3 swim class with flying colors but she gave me specific instructions not to take pictures. Her teacher would love her to join the swim team or become an assistant instructor. K said she will give the assistant idea a try, especially if she could help her teacher Dani (who she had both last summer and this summer). D had his last baseball game and went to indoor soccer. M had to get 4 baby teeth pulled and that was dramatic! She was crying and screaming so much I was very grateful that my father had come along to comfort her so that I didn't start crying too. M and N also spent a couple mornings at a Waldorf inspired summer camp run by one of the moms in our old ward. I didn't want N to get too used to never having to be away from me during the summer but having M there for her was such a comfort. The part they liked best was the giant sand pit in the yard and when they walked over to Kanemoto Pool to swim. And of course we loved our play time with the O. family. By convincing the group of 8 children to go together, Shelly and I were able to attend the Fab 4 free concert at the mall. I've been wanting to see those Beatles impersonators for a while and there was even free pizza! The kids got tired of the music pretty fast but there were hula hoops and bubbles and sprinklers to keep them going for a while. So glad they had friends there with them. For one thing, I don't think they would have gotten in the car with just me to keep them company.
We were happy to be reunited with M’s pen pal, S, and her family and spent much of our free time with S and her sister, M. They had become fast friends last summer and wrote to each other all year even though S even moved out of state. This will be their last year coming up and I think because of that this was our last year too.
The weather was very hot to be tent camping in (94 our first day) so ice cream treats from the trading post helped keep us going. No one else from D’s pack was attending the same week (as it turned out) so there was definitely a different feeling. I worried about where D was more — they give Webelos more freedom than I’m used to — and I didn’t have people signing the pack up for things like flag ceremony for me. I missed the people we were with last year but it also meant the girls had more time to do things like play with Barbies and make crafts.
On the way home N decided she wanted to join Cub Scouts and be a Lion and we bought all the new gear for D for be a Webalo. They are very excited about scouting but we may have had enough of Jack Nicol for a while.
We came home to a still torn up house and an air conditioner that still didn't work but set about unpacking on Saturday and planned to pack on Sunday for our week long camping trip as an entire family in South Dakota. As I began detailing what we would be doing, I discovered that there would be no fireworks over Mount Rushmore this year -- the entire reason we were willing to go there when it would be very crowded for the 4th of July! So we ended up staying home instead to get things done like reorganizing our mud room and garage (again), hiring a different AC company to come out to repair ours and donating our beloved Passat to Colorado Public Radio. Hubby went to work late that day because we were certain I would cry over saying good bye to that car and I certainly did! The tow truck guy was very kind and said it happened all the time. For me, I felt like I was saying good-bye to my grandma again. When Hubby's little brother totaled the Jetta, we spent my grandmother's entire wedding present to us and all of the insurance money to buy the Passat in cash. When I called my grandma to tell her what happened I thought she would be sad I spent all her present within a month of getting married but she was pleased that we purchased a safe car and were able to get $1k off the price for paying cash. She was always so kind to Hubby and I and so proud fo the two of us together. It was the 11th anniversary of her passing two days after the Passat got towed away. I also felt like I was saying good bye to my baby K and my dreams for her. We brought K home in that car 2 weeks after my grandmother died. She had been so excited to become a great grandma and one of the last things she ever did on this earth was write a check for the adoption fees. The RS in our old ward was so excited to see how the placement went that Sunday morning we brought K home that one of the sisters called me from the hallway to check on us. She announced to everyone that we were in the car on the way home with our baby. They were so supportive and I miss seeing them on Sundays even though we have been in our new ward for 5 years now. They did so much for us and I am certain it was the combined power of my grandmother from the other side of the veil and the members of our old ward praying for us that gave C. the strength to place K in our arms that day. Oh, how little we knew about being parents and how naive we were about what adopting means. Saying good bye to that vehicle also meant realizing picking out that car was one of the first things Hubby and I did as a married couple and it was so much fun. Now we were about to celebrate our 15th anniversary and saying good bye to those newlywed days in a very real way. So yes, I all out cried sitting in the driver's seat for the last time. And cried on the inside the rest of the day. I miss my grandma. I miss my ignorance. I miss the days when it was just my husband and I in an apartment going to BYU. But oh, how we have been blessed the last 15 years. I wouldn't give up our 4 children for anything. I am totally convinced my life would be empty and boring without them. Here's to the next 15 years!
Since we canceled our trip, we were able to do other fun things we've never done on Independence Day. D and M participated in a town parade -- D with his baseball team and M with her school. We all got to go to the G. family party and it was so much fun! We saw members of our old ward we haven't seen in years and their back yard was the perfect place to watch the city fireworks from. I was reminded how wonderful the 4th of July can be and was glad we made the choice to just stay home this year. Of course, we did plan a camping trip for later since that pop up camping trailer has to earn it's keep. We also got to play with the O. family again that week.
Another thing we got to do that week was have W. family here to watch The Greatest Showman at our house. They have the week of the 4th of July off up at camp and they drove down to spend time with us. Even though they hadn't seen it before, they had listened to the soundtrack so much the oldest daughter was singing along to the movie. It was great to have them hang out with us. They have invited us to stay with them in Georgia. Sounds like I have another trip to plan!
P.S. Our Target reopened (hooray!) after their arson and water damage from the sprinkler system going off. Seeing all the work they still had to do made me feel much better about my houses and our water damage!
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