So many highlights to report on this month. Boating weekends galore with friends and family, my birthday festivities, a new kitten named Ruby, the beginning of HOMESCHOOL.... then the eventual transition to Virtual Learning- which is still kind of homeschool, but a little less intense for mom...since school is actually opening in a week! Labor Day family soccer and BBQ, a new car for Blake, daily visits to the skate park for Grant and so much more.
But let's start with the most exhausting and all consuming topic of SCHOOL for the kids. Ack! After learning that our district would not be opening until January 2nd at the earliest... I made the decision to homeschool Grant and Anna in a co-op situation with the Douds who have Elizabeth and Nora (best friends of my kids) in the same grades. We started with great intentions and high hopes of our own capabilities and faith in the district's homeschool curriculum. Also feeling confident that homeschool would be the best choice in light of the fact that there would be no actual on campus schooling. Sara and I laughed about the "best practices" articles the school sent that suggested we wear a vest, hat, name tag and carry a whistle so that the kids would understand our shift from "mom" to "teacher" ha! I showed up on the first day sporting the outfit and got a few laughs. And we had a great month of homeschooling. I taught social emotional learning, reading writing and history. Sara taught math and science-- and also had to teach her 1st grader, Millie! It was hard work but we enjoyed our month stint of homeschool. We had cafeteria plates and fun snacks and lunches-- we had social emotional lessons, daily journal prompts, and recess breaks. But alas, once we discovered that the Poway district had changed their minds and would allow us to send the kids back to school mid October-- we felt overwhelmingly eager to throw out the plan and allow them to go back to school to have access to professional teachers, friends and fun! With all that's going on in these pandemic times, I certainly have my doubts about my decision to throw them back in, however, it seemed right. Plus I was truly exhausted to my very core trying to tend to all of the physical, emotional and educational needs on the daily. Man, I miss my old life! Even now- with virtual learning unit October 12th, I don't have a minute to think straight. There are many many needs in this household. Here are a few common questions and concerns I address each day: 10th grade- "mom- what are the main differences between the French Revolution and the Black Lives Matter movement?" 5th grade- "Mom, how do you subtract two fractions with different denominators?" 8th grade: "Mom, help me write a paper that includes one example of a metaphor, a simile, personification, and literary tension!"
3rd grade- " mom.... I don't understand rounding!" It's complicated but also I suppose a wonderful opportunity to use my brain moment to moment and keep on my toes in every sense of the word. I include memes in this blog in the hopes that one day my children and grandchildren will read these journals and realize that humor was the only way I made it through my life.
I started with the heavy, we also experienced our share of incredibly fun adventures and activities this month. Labor Day was wonderful with some of our favorite families over for a BBQ-- Blake didn't mind grilling in 98 degree heat! Of course not! Ha! A big family soccer game, swimming and then a girls night out for dumplings and sesame rolls. We celebrated Rachel's birthday at my house with the standard BBQ chicken salad along with an ice cream Sunday bar. My dear friend Amber who now lives in Idaho, turned 40 this month and we created a sweet printable of 40 things we love about Amber! Next month I get to go visit her to celebrate in person. We enjoyed our weekend boating trips with the Judds, the Tylers, the Douds, Jorgenson boys and Nancy, Herb and Stacy. The lake has been our happy place this summer and it's continued into the fall! We love our weekends with friends and family out on the reservoir. We feel so blessed to have had access to this amazing new world of boating.
In a daring feat of courage and determination... I made the decision to drive the 14 hours up to Victor, Idaho with no hubby, 4 kids and 5 bikes in tow. (Seriously, ordering, assembling, and packing on the bikes was the biggest stressor of all in regards to this trip! ) But I'm so glad we decided to do this. We were invited by the Douds to their cabin nestled right next to the Tetons National Forest and Jackson, Wyoming for a few weeks. There, we experienced true fall weather, beautiful mountains and trees with changing leaves in every direction! Darling little country towns with huckleberry shakes and long flat bike rides before and after school every day. We enjoyed Bear World near Rexburg, Idaho and rock climbing near Jackson Hole. We loved working on school during the day and then planning our adventures in the afternoon. String lake was a sight to behold- inside of the National Forest. We celebrated Elizabeth's birthday - Harry Potter style. She was so excited. Sara is not one to put together "themed parties" so I told her I would handle it all- since it was Lizzie's one true desire for her birthday. It was so fun to split into houses and compete in many games- Harry Potter temporary tattoos were fun with wands and glasses. It was a truly fun night for all the kids because--- who doesn't love Harry Potter? All of my kids do! On the way home, we took our time traveling and stopped at BYU for a few hours. Loved showing the kids where Blake and I first met and where we ate, attended classes and lived! We only felt slightly sad for Blake who had to stay home and work. Louie kept him plenty of company and was his companion in every senes of the word while we were gone. And he enjoyed boating with friends and having a little time to himself anyway. What I wouldn't give for that-ha!
My birthday was such a special day. Loved reading so many messages from friends and family, talking to my parents, 
and finding little treats, flowers and notes on my front porch. Nancy came for the day to be with the kids and I and to give me a little rest. It was heavenly. She brought me an adorable ghost lava lamp which was absolutely perfect! She replanted my succulents out on the front porch because they were dying and she's such a pro on gardening... she made dinner for the kids and took them to their activities. I met Amy for a pedicure, met Blake for Thai food. I came home and read very sweet letters from the kids and had chocolate cake! For my birthday present this year, I asked Blake for a new mattress.... ours is very old and my back is feeling it:). This weekend I get to go out to Mexican food and I'm forcing my friends to accompany me to the drive through Scream Zone!! HA! It's going to be so fun. So- it's safe to say my birthday was wonderful in every way.
and finding little treats, flowers and notes on my front porch. Nancy came for the day to be with the kids and I and to give me a little rest. It was heavenly. She brought me an adorable ghost lava lamp which was absolutely perfect! She replanted my succulents out on the front porch because they were dying and she's such a pro on gardening... she made dinner for the kids and took them to their activities. I met Amy for a pedicure, met Blake for Thai food. I came home and read very sweet letters from the kids and had chocolate cake! For my birthday present this year, I asked Blake for a new mattress.... ours is very old and my back is feeling it:). This weekend I get to go out to Mexican food and I'm forcing my friends to accompany me to the drive through Scream Zone!! HA! It's going to be so fun. So- it's safe to say my birthday was wonderful in every way.
Evelyn has enjoyed welcoming in the fall season. She keeps herself occupied with guitar lessons, virtual learning (she's an amazing writer and her teacher gave her a great compliment via email), reading book after book after book, sleepovers with friends, photo shoots with her best buddies, occasionally accompanying us on the boat, singing lessons, practicing her driving skills, planning out October festivities with her friends, eagerly awaiting an upcoming Mormon Homecoming dance next month, and taking care of our new pet kitten- Ruby! She is the love of Evelyn's life at the moment. And Ev takes full responsibility for her. We lost Eddie last month and so it's been tough on all of us. Ruby has helped us! Too bad Louie isn't so sure.
Anna has been very interested in skate boarding lately. She loves the pump track and practicing out back. Her bestie Nora got braces on from Marston Orthodontics:) so she dreams of the day she'll have her braces as well. She spends most of her time dressing up, drawing, begging for pumpkin frappachinos, playing with friends, legos, swinging, occasionally sending me sweet texts, keeping Blake updated on her daily life via Facebook kids' messanger, playing with Ruby, swimming, biking, learning tik toks and playing with Putty during her virtual lessons. Anna loves that she gets to be with her beloved Mrs. Ramirez this year AGAIN. Thank goodness! She even received her own bag of goodies from her teacher for when school opens up. She is thrilled. Actual in person dance classes started this month so Anna is excited to be back in the swing of things- taking hip hop and gymnastics. She is always up for anything and such a fun little girl to have around.
Dane has handled virtual learning like a pro. He is very independent and responsible. His biggest concern in life is the fact that he desperately wants a dog to spend his days with. He even wrote a presentation for Blake and I, detailing which dog he'd like and why our family needs to take this step towards dog ownership. Alas, I'm not ready to take this step! Dane please forgive me! Cats are all the pet I can handle..... haha! Dane is such an extrovert. As a 13 year old, he is busy almost every day of the week with various friends and sports. He does soccer 3 days a week, and then tennis every Wednesday. He is loving it because he does it with his 3 best friends. They eat dinner afterwards together and it's just a very fun day for him. On his off days- he always invites a friend over. Though he's closer with his friends from soccer and church, he has many school friends too and enjoys their company. They had a back to school party right before school started up last month and Dane had an awesome time. I thought he was my shy, sensitive kid... but he's really turned a corner and is a new kid these days. Love the essay Dane wrote for his English class-- he was supposed to write about a food memory (weird?!) and he chose to write about Papa's salmon. It was cute.
Speaking of turning over a new leaf... I don't know what's come over grant the past month but all of a sudden he has one passion and one passion only. Trick scootering at the skate park. He is obsessed. Maybe because there are no games and no competitions- no lacrosse, no soccer scrimmages, though plenty of practices. He is dying for the thrill of learning something new and showing that new skill off. He goes EVERY day after school. Even has the skater shirt look going on. Doesn't matter if he has soccer- he'll still want to get an hour in beforehand. He is getting so good and it really helps him have something to look forward to after a long day of being home doing virtual learning. School has never ever been a passion for Grant. It is something he dislikes and tries to make peace with. Scootering has given him a great motivation to get through the day. I'm proud of him. Watching his buddy Elizabeth learn and enjoy daily educational tasks for a month really helped him to see that he could work harder in this area. He's always chomping at the bit to get his work done with very little pride in the outcome as long as it's done. But lately he's been willing to put in the extra time to gain skills for middle school. Love that he is playing the trumpet. He's enjoying it very much. He's such an awesome kid in so many ways.
