More Catch Up

I have somewhat reserved hopes of being able to blog more regularly as of this week. Why? Because Little Miss Rachael is going to pre-school for three hours a day, four days a week as of Tuesday. I know I've said this kind of thing about 327 times before, but this will be the first time in FIFTEEN YEARS that I will have 12 glorious hours a week to myself to do whatever I want or need to do without having my brain or body interrupted by a little person. 

That's a seriously big deal.

Rachael, adorable as she is, is extremely intense and interactive--constantly saying "Mom!" with an insistence that I look/respond/do whatever it is that she wants. And being the tired, middle age mom that I am, half the time I just do what I'm told. (Resistance is futile with Rachael.) So she's going to go boss Miss Chris around in the afternoons starting this week. (We'll see how that goes.) 

The last two weeks have been rather long ones for the two of us at home alone together after the older kids started school back on the 21st of August. But don't worry, I enjoyed it. Probably the best thing I have gotten out of my association with The Power of Moms is the ability to stop, notice, and enjoy the little moments with my kids. I really do recognize how precious and fleeting they are. That's part of the reason I take so many pictures--to freeze the moment. Following are some of the things I want to remember from the last few weeks. 

The Friday before school started I took the 3 older kids to Pres. Monson's (our church's president) 85th birthday party at the Conference Center. World class performers and an all around fantastic show. Tickets for events like these at the Conference Center are always free. Those interested simply submit their names online for a drawing and we got lucky! It was a great time:

The one and only picture I took of the first day of school. I was so nervous for these two starting a new school and not knowing anyone-- especially Will going into 6th grade! He didn't have the greatest first day, but I was so proud of both of them for going into uncharted territory when they could have stayed at their old school where they both had established friends from the last 2 years. Luckily, they're enjoying their classes now, even if the work load has significantly increased. I get so sentimental on the first day of school. I can hardly stand that they are getting so big:  

These girls were still enjoying summer while their older siblings were going to school. (Oh, to be 4 or 5 again!) After going to the splash pad on the first Friday after school started, we picked up the older kids after school and headed to Snoasis one last time before they closed for the season:

Did I mention we FINALLY closed on our house? (Yes, after living in it for 2 months already.) A long, long story that revolved around our realtor's health problems that prevented us from closing 2 months in a row, but after several crazy moments such as these with me going to pick up some form of one kind of another from Brandon in the middle of his OR day to go fax to someone or other (it's all a blur at this point) we wrapped up the necessary paper work and finalized the sale:

Last weekend we spent a good portion of Saturday weeding and cleaning windows after completely neglecting the exterior of the house for about 2 months. You would have thought I'd ask the little girls if they wanted to go to Disneyland for how excited they were! (Weeding is obviously a novelty or I'm sure they wouldn't have been so excited.) Elizabeth put this little bandana on her head for some reason. I think she was going for a peasant farmer look? Not really sure, but it's cute:

The weeds were like ground cover in some areas, so we ended up just spraying them all and plan to put down real ground cover next spring. Weeding is actually totally therapeutic for me. I think I could get into gardening! (Maybe?) Rachael found a "pet" roly poly and named it Lilly. Everything is a pet to Rachael these days. Even things like the wind, the car . . . anything:

I finally settled on an insulation company and had it put in our attic. We knew our power bill was going to be higher getting a bigger house, but with the heat we've had this summer and virtually no insulation in the attic? It was astronomical. This month "should" be 30% better! We'll see:Don't ask me why, but in the middle of a totally crazy week when I could hardly keep up on anything, I finally gave Bob the the make-over he deserved. He's submerged under there in a sink full of red dye:

The funny thing about them being in identical positions like this is that the very next morning they were both sleeping with their heads at the bottom of the bed! True sisters:

I got this cute/funny pencil bag for Kate when Brandon and I were in Park City on our little getaway. This is her first day of school and SHE'S WARNING YOU! She's a big 9th grader now at the middle school, so don't mess with her:

Back into bento making in the mornings:

Kate really wanted me to come to the last hour of one of her stained glass classes so I could see her in action--I'm so glad I did! The art institute at Thanksgiving Point is such a cool place. She's almost at the end of the 6 week class that she earned half the money for by babysitting and working at Brandon's office over the summer. It's definitely been worth it:

I'm kind of in love with our new house, and it has more to do with the location than anything. The whole back of the house is windows and I feel like I'm outside all day long even when I'm inside. I have to say, it's heavenly. I especially love the mornings when the sun is just coming over the mountains and the light comes pouring through those windows:

Looking north:

This is a first: an umbrella fort!

Keeping Miss Busy Body happy on one of those long days last week:

This past Friday I went with Will's class to the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival up Provo Canyon. It was so good I made Brandon go back with me last night for a date night. It's a regular tradition for the gifted program so Elizabeth's class was up there too, and since I had Rachael with me it was fun to kind of all be there together:

Have you heard of John McCutcheon? He was fabulous:

Caramel came too:

The leaves always turn earlier in the mountains than in the valley, but they are SO early this year. I think it must be because of the drought:

Tree sap:

It felt like we walked about 15 miles to the place where we ate lunch and caught the bus to go back to the school. Sweet Will hung back with me and Rachael who was a bit slow and whiny. (I kept her going with Dum Dums.)

On the drive back we stopped at Bridal Veil Falls, the site of Brandon's first kiss with an old girlfriend during his freshmen year at BYU. (Did I just write that?)

The man with the nerves of steel:

There's nothing to take you back to your childhood quite like riding in a school bus:

The last two Fridays I've taken the little girls to open gym at the place where they took gymnastics over the summer. Elizabeth's absolute favorite thing to do is climb to the top of the rock wall and jump into the foam pit below:

The one thing I really wish I had taken a picture of in the last couple weeks was Will putting on a end of book cello recital in our home for our family, his teacher, and two other families we invited over. (go figure. I was accompanying him and forgot to ask Brandon to take a picture. He was so cute in his shirt and tie, putting on a show right in our little music room. (His teacher requires this of his students when they finish a book.) I was so proud of him! He's still totally a beginner, but it's great to hear him progress. And the cello is just so gorgeous. 

Life is good, and I am tired. Happy Labor Day!