August was a month of ups and downs! We were THRILLED to be in our new home- yes! Thrilled to meet new friends and neighbors and start at a new school in which the kids LOVE their new teachers and friends. Thrilled to go on a fun little vacation to Pismo with the Paces. All is ultimately well...aside from a few hiccups! Let me explain. First off, our garbage disposal broke. Thankfully covered by our home insurance. Second- our air conditioning broke! Third our HUGE fridge broke - NOT COVERED by insurance and fourth, we discovered our outdoor gas line does not work so the BBQ and fire pit are on hold for now. Again, not covered since it is outside. Man... a lot of expenses and stress. It's been a pain.
On top of this, Evelyn contracted lice (our first time dealing with this) and it's definitely given me a run for my money. Trying to get rid of it and be certain we are rid of it has cost me my sanity! ha! I never knew how fragile my state of mind really was! I guess all the packing up and unpacking and cleaning and late nights and big change has worn on my nerves and then to face these financial issues and lice AND-- half the family contracting strep throat these first few weeks of school has been a fiasco for me. I am eager to feel more myself again. I must admit, I am not my peppy and happy self quite yet, even though I realize I have so many blessings and am so grateful for the health and well being of our family. I think I'm just a little worn ragged and haven't been able to get back up to speed- which is unlike me. That being said, here are a few highlights from the month of August!
1. Pismo Beach with Jamie and kids. The best part of August. I loved spending time with J and relaxing at her beach house. We watched movies, ate out, Grant learned to surf from Adam, we beached it most days, swam at the hot springs, visited the Farmers Market for pumpkin bread, fresh home made apple pie and peaches almost every day! We slept in and stayed up late. It was my kind of vacation for sure. We worried ourselves sick on the last day because we noticed a few little stains on Jamie's mother in law's dining chairs. I tried to get the stains out with a damp cloth and made the stains infinitely worse! It was hilarious. We panicked and read and researched on line and finally kinda fixed it although we still felt uneasy. Jamie sent this cartoon so we could laugh about it! SUCH a fun vacation. I love the beach and love relaxing. I need more of it in my life.
Moving into our new home has been glorious. Blake has a bee in his bonnet to take out all the plants and trees because he fears the water bill! I keep trying to calm him down and beg him to just relax and take it day by day because..... plants are good! The other night I left this funny grumpy cat on his pillow. SO excited that my friend Jessica came over to help me hang the lights in our backyard. It was only the hottest day of the entire year as we did it! I laughed so much. What an awesome friend to spend three hours doing such a thing! Evelyn made her this meme. Hey- that's what friends are for, right!?
Speaking of friends- it was fun to help out with the Ahlstroms wedding this past month. Lizzie and Rebecca's brother- Jordan was married so we helped A LOT to put on a nice reception. Fun but exhausting. That weekend took the wind out of my sails! It made me realize I will NOT cater my own children's weddings if at all possible- ha!
Ev has had a crazy busy month. Lice, Seussical auditions, strep throat, beginning Classical Academy Middle School. So proud of her and her can-do attitude. She is loving middle school and enjoys a lot of new friends and the play, despite not being Gertrude! The beehives from our new ward came over and decorated her room-- so sweet. Here are some more selfies, because, why not!
The boys and Anna started school as well. SO proud of these darling children. Anna is in Nora's class and of course nothing could be more thrilling! They are BFF's and loving being together in class. Most days Millie and Nora are over here after school as well and so we have plenty of time to play. Dane has a lovely teacher- Mrs. Dutcher, who i already think the world of. Dane is loving school and has made tons of friends and never complains. Grant has an equally lovely young teacher named Mrs. Rameriz and tons of friends and so happy about school. All in all, I'm beyond happy that my children are all happy and feeling adjusted and good about their new schools. We've invited new friends over and have been invited over by all the new kids in our area and feel very very welcomed. Cute side note- Dane had picture day last week and asked me to take photos of him so he could practice the perfect smile. Problem is, he doesn't need any practice. He already has the cutest smile around, I told him. He didn't believe me. Love that kid.
Other happy news: Baby Christopher Dean Stevens was born this month! So happy for Dave Jenny and kids. He's so cute-- wish I could see him in person. The Rustands came to visit over Labor Day weekend and we had the best time ever. The boys were in the Pegasus Cup and their girls were in the Blues Cup. Let's just say aside from BBQ'ing and beaching it up-- we mostly watched a lot of soccer games! Grant's team won the entire tournament! Dane's team came in 2nd. It was a great weekend and it was so fun, so special to spend that time with the Rustands. So glad they could come out.
trying out for Gertrude Mc Fuzz
lice clinic!!!
back to school!
new pajamas from Beth
