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This morning, after a busy fun-filled Labor Day weekend, Samuel seemed more than ready to get back to school.  He happily walked with me to the school…but as we walked into the cafeteria for him to get in line with his class, his eyes got as big as saucers and he planted his feet to the floor.  I had to put my ear up to his lips to hear his whispering plea which was "I don't want to be here.  I want to go home."  Poor baby – the second week of Kindergarten is always the worst – they are tired and the newness has worn off and they want to go back home to play!  He ended up having a fine day, but the resistance this morning made my heart hurt.

Caleb also woke up ready to dig his heels in and resist us.  Wouldn't eat the yogurt I gave him for breakfast, wouldn't wear the clothes he had helped pick out the night before (we do that to try to avoid these problems!), didn't want to go to school, etc.  He was in tears and it was Jacob who finally convinced him to go.  Big brother to the rescue.

Jacob is overwhelmed by assignments and trying to get a grasp on some of the vague instructions (his words).  But overall is having a great school experience – especially socially.  He's happy and making friends and enjoying the learning.  I'm thrilled with that.

That's the school report for the day.

When we got back from Utah all of my potted plants were goners, including this one by my back door. I decided to give up on the others but water this one, just in case. Turns out it likes water! And now it’s flowering for me in the dead of August. I can think of all kinds of analogies, but will leave it at that…

Samuel was so tired this afternoon after spending 2 and 1/2 hours at a doctors office for Jacob. But he was adamant that he did not want to go to BED. So when I suggested he could sleep on the floor (desperate Mom move) I was surprised when he took me up on it. He was asleep within 3 minutes.

Sitting on my bed listening to "who know's what?" going on upstairs.  We've been gone all day (kinder assessment, chiropractor, shopping, lunch, piano lesson, Walmart, etc) and I'm spent, so I thought I would take a few minutes to sit in a cool room with my computer.  Asked the boys to play a board game.  How come board games always lead to physical wrestling games??  This is a quandry for me.  Even Maggie is wondering what's going on up there – twisting her neck back and forth and looking at the ceiling.  Living with boys is hardly ever quiet. 🙂

School shopped today.  It's funny shopping with boys.  They follow my quick feet around like little ducks from store to store.  I have a way of assessing a store withing 15 seconds and I know if it will be a successful venture or not (I think I get this from my Aunt Lisa :).  If I don't like what I see (or smell/hear/feel??), I usually walk right back out the door.  The boys get confused and sometimes linger until one of them says "come on – Mom's left!".  Jacob likes to pick things that he's seen other people wear – other kids AND other adults.  Today he said, "Mom can I try on these camo cargo pants – I've seen Brother Sivley wear these!".  Brother Sivley is the very cool FBI agent and father of 6 in our ward (who also happened to sing and dance in the Nauvoo Pageant!).  I like that he admires guys like Brother Sivley, and wants to dress like them (funny what kids notice!).  Caleb is the pickiest of the bunch.  He wants things just "so".  Plaid shorts are preferable, but they have to have the cinch-waist.  Shirts have to be soft but stylish.  He wants skinny jeans, but not too skinny (thank heavens).  He's the one that needed more clothes than anyone else, and the he's the one that, after 4 hours, only walked away with one shirt.  Samuel wants EVERYthing he sees…size, style, color – none of that matters!  I have to make suggestions and give him reasonable choices – this shirt or this shirt?  Another funny things about today was Jacob's reaction to everything I allowed the boys to try on – "Mom you are SO much more flexible now than you used to be!  You were so strict with me!  You used to say skinny jeans were for "hoodlums!"."  It's true.  But in my defense, the skinny jeans he was referring to were on a neighbor kid who was wearing his sister's skinny jeans and they were VERY tight.  Seems you can get them baggier now. 🙂

Buying school supplies for THREE kids is expensive!  And time-consuming.  But it's always fun to have new supplies – is there anyone who doesn't like new school supplies?!

Enjoyed spending the weekend with our peeps – the Hicken's and Dalebout's.  Dinner date with the adults, swim time with the moms and some kids and Sunday dinner with everyone.  Always fun.

Samuel went to his Kindergarten assessment today (10 minutes) and was so quiet.  He's my shy guy.

Spent the day at the lake with 12 moms and 42 kids yesterday! I love that annual tradition of playing in the sand and enjoying the water.  It was hot, as usual – 104 degrees.

Made dinner to celebrate Audra's birthday on Monday – pulled pork, fried tortillas, lettuce, tomatoes, black beans, avocado and creamy cilantro dressing – it was a winner. 

Having kids over on Friday to surprise Caleb for a very belated birthday celebration.  He's been asking and asking and asking to have kids over.  He'll be elated.

Got a surprise phone call from Mom and Steve on Saturday and they took the kids for 3 hours of fun.  Derek and I calendared and worked on house projects…nice to sometimes have a break.

Headed to Austin this weekend to help celebrate my Dad's retirement from his church in Austin.  They've been such a big part of his life for almost 20 years, and subsequently a big part of ours.  Am glad they are honoring that with a reception, party, etc.  Am thinking up projects for him as we speak – he had no idea that moving to Dallas would be so much work! ;0

Watched the movie "Courageous" last night about a group of men who resolve to be better fathers.  Very moving and touching – I went to bed wanting to be a better parent. 

One of the biggest desires I have right now in my life is to get back to journaling…writing down the daily things I'm doing, thinking, feeling, striving for, etc.  Not sure if I'm going to use this blog to do that or not, but for tonight, I wanted to just write. 

* Loving the Olympics.  What will we watch when it's over?  I love that it brings families together.  I love that it inspires.  I love that it makes us dream.  I love that it makes me want to work out. 🙂

* Just got back from Nauvoo late on Sunday night.  It was a quick trip – with a long car ride.  But it was SO SO worth it.  We loved being there.  The pageant was spectacular – we saw it twice.  It was fun for the kids, even though they went into it a little reluctantly (especially Caleb – "why are we going there?!").  For me, it was about walking where the early Saints walked, particularly the Prophet Joseph.  More about Nauvoo in a later post…

* Much of the last month has been trip prep and post trip clean-up.  Both trips worth the work though.

* Still recovering from my 4-wheeling accident in Utah.  Head feels much better, but thumb is still sore.  Working on getting my body back into alignment this week with chiropractic and massage.

* Determined to help the boys read for their summer reading programs with church – for Caleb it's the Stake Primary program of reading select passages in the Book of Mormon, for Jacob it's the ward program of reading the Conference Ensign.  We are WAY behind on both, but I'm determined to help them succeed – better late than never.  Needing to work quite a bit with Caleb on his reading.  He is a slow reader and as a result says he doesn't like it.  Hoping to inspire his "like" a little by reading, with him, a history series on the Titanic that is age-appropriate.  So far, so good.

* I can tell Samuel is getting nervous about Kindergarten because he'll say things like "I'll just stay with you, ok?" or "How 'bout you come be my teacher?".  I know he'll do great – but the offers are sure tempting.

* Lots of activities coming up for Jacob's new charter school – a school tour, meet the teacher, getting the uniforms, etc.  He doesn't let on if he's nervous.  I sure am though.  It's been nice to have him home, but I know it will be good for both of us.  Trying to get him to work on math for the next few weeks – his confidence is still lacking in that area.

* Just finished a new book I got in Nauvoo about Emma H Smith – wife of Joseph.  I love reading anything I can get my hands on about her – fascinating woman.  This book was especially revealing and interesting – facts I had never heard before.

* Pool time with a friend today (Tiffany R and her boys) was fun despite some sprinkles.  Who can complain about clouds and sprinkles in August in Texas?!  Not I!

* Feeling like closets and cupboards are calling my name for cleaning and tidying these days, but not wanting to spend my time with them in the last days of summer with my boys.  I figure that's what school hours are for.  Sad to think that I'll be spending school hours all by myself in less than 3 weeks – :(  At least I'll have the closets to keep me company.  When people realize my baby is going to school they ask "what will you do with your time?" – ummmm….I think I'll have plenty to do still. 

I do believe that's all for now.  I am sufficiently purged (at least for a few minutes).  Bedtime for bonzo!

May 2nd?  That's the last time I blogged??  This is not good.

Life since then has been crazy…I experienced a miscarriage and the recovery (emotionally and physically) that comes after.  I threw an end-of-year party for 100 3rd graders and helped the boys finish up school.  Samuel graduated from preschool.  We started our swim team adventure (that just ended this weekend).  I sent Derek to High Adventure for a week, Jacob to Scout Camp for another week, and then took the boys to Austin where Jacob attended Leadership Camp and the younger boys did VBS.  So much going on these last two months…no time to blog about them. 

The blogging curse is that if you get too far behind it's hard to ever catch up.  Part of me was thinking last week, that I might as well (give up) and just let the pictures I take tell the stories themselves to my posterity.  But tonight I have a new determination…we'll see how long it lasts. 

Twilight Camp is ALWAYS a good time, and this year was no exception.  I enjoyed being a walking den leader for Tues night and took Samuel with me as a papoose.  We're so lucky to be able to fill two walking dens with just the Wolves and Bears.  We did have to have the whole night in the horse barn, because of a weather threat that never came, but I guess we're better safe than sorry.

Scouting is good for boys!  I love that our boys get to participate.

One of the moms sent me this picture of Caleb with his awesome archery skills later in the week…

First Week of Summer…and it's a busy one!!

Derek went on a 5 day High Adventure this week in the Ozarks of Arkansas.  It was a 50-mile backpacking hike.  He came home SO happy!  He loved it.  He loved being in that beautiful country and he loved seeing the boys do hard things, and just being with them.  He enjoyed the company of Quinn Risdon (YM Pres) and Scott Ferguson (EQ Pres).  Some of the reports I heard from the boys were that "Bishop Smith was always smiling and happy, even when things were miserable – and he never got tired!".  I think the boys learned a lot and worked together to get done what they needed to accomplish.  Because of the poison ivy and chigger threat, Derek ended up wearing the same pants every day.  Oh dear… the laundry was a little scary afterwards.

Here are the three pics that he texted me during the week…

The boys and I had plenty to do while Derek was away.  Jacob and Caleb started their swim team practices M-Th from 8-10 am at the Natatorium.  I'm excited to see their progress with swimming this summer.

The first day of summer wasn't all that fun – but it did include a trip to Sams Club so I splurged for pizza and smoothies for the boys. 

On Wednesday I had the GREAT opportunity go up to Girls Camp and speak to the girls about the "armor of God".  I taught my 30-minute lesson 5 times throughout the day to groups of YW who were coming for R&R.  The big boys spent the day with their Aunt Anne and Aunt Olivia, while Samuel came and hung out with me while I taught.  I took snacks, books, cars and his Batman mask and he was so happy to watch and play and just "be" all day long.  We got out of there just in time for a huge storm to hit us on the way home, which was not so fun.  But the day was a highlight of my summer – LOVE, love, LOVE being with those girls.

On Thursday I had the special privilege of attending the temple marriage of Jasmine Miner and Ben Friend.  We've known both families for many years, which made it extra special.  Derek home taught the Miner family for several of those years and we formed a special bond then.  Michael opened his mission call in our living room and we have loved watching him come home after such a valiant mission.  And to see Jasmine marry in the temple brings us great joy!  Derek was heartbroken to miss it, but I represented us at both the marriage, the luncheon and later on (with the boys) at the reception.

On Friday I was exhausted (and this is only the first week?!) so I took them to a movie with friends and out to dinner.  They laughed and laughed at that silly Madagascar 3 movie.

We were so happy to have Derek home come Saturday morning (albeit dirty and tired) and we were off to root for Caleb's Rangers in the playoffs.  This little "Bad News Bear" team won both games and advanced to the semi-finals!  We couldn't believe it.  Caleb is playing GREAT baseball and is so confident in his swing and his abilities…it's fun to watch.  I love this picture of Coach Mazzola high-fiving Caleb after he hit a triple.

Can you tell this guy missed his daddy???

That was our first week of summer – big fun and big adventure.  This is going to be fun…

With the Hicken's being in Utah now, we love that they still have a connection to Texas through Nick.  But now that he's graduated, they won't have as many excuses to come "home" – well, that's not totally true – Matt's business is still here.  But still…it won't be the same.

Nick is such a fun-loving, social, kind young man.  We would totally claim him as our own if we could.  We enjoyed going to his graduation (me and Samuel attended while D and the boys went to a swim meet).  Then everyone (including Hicken grandparents and Dalebouts) came over to our house for the afternoon.  Love having our "family" here for a few days.