The month started with Rebekah's last ballet class of the summer. A class that started with 12 girls only had 5 at the end, but I think it's partly because some of the 5 year olds had started school. One of the moms brought cupcakes to share with everyone. After that, I took the kids to Chick'fil'a. Those lines were CRAZY! But it was a wonderful experience. Everyone was very kind and helpful - I didn't bring the stroller in because I knew it would be crowded, but it was so crowded that I couldn't set Josiah down even for a second. So I put him in a high chair and pushed him around, instead. The people in line behind me were happy to hold my place when I had to help Rebekah to the bathroom and to and from the play area. I ran into several friends, including Tom - a co-worker from my year teaching high school. It was great to see him. I thought it was very interesting that the whole time I was there everyone was so cheerful. Even when they had to start asking people to show receipts so they could fill orders because the computers erased orders that weren't filled quickly enough, no one complained. There were tables with purses sitting unattended, no fear of theft. We were crammed together like sardines, but I did not hear an unkind word the hours I was there. It was pretty awesome. I was happy to have the cupcakes from ballet, because it kept the kids occupied and happy while we waited for our food for over an hour. :)
We went to Phoenix the first weekend of August. My MIL was out of town for a trip to Alaska, so I stayed with my dad at my brother's house (my brother's family was also out of town). It was really nice to have some one-on-one time with my dad, both for me and for my kids! We went to 2 birthday parties for Rebekah's friends and had a blast, and came home that Sunday, to give Daryn Saturday night to work on his final paper for a class he's been working on. We managed to leave just before my mom came into town with my siblings, as they were moving in and getting ready to start school that week. Also, Micaela turned 17! And she's a senior this year! :D Exciting times!
Since Daryn has Friday's off, I've made it a goal to start doing family activities on Friday morning. Aug 10 we went to the zoo, and it was super fun. :) We even got to see the elephants in their swimming hole! I had soccer that night. Saturday Daryn was out and about helping a family in the ward move out, then attending a pool party for the scouts. I went to a Stampin' Up party and visited with some friends WITHOUT children in tow. I really needed that!
Rebekah started preschool Monday Aug 13. It's a 2 hour a day, 2x a week program at the community center near our house. A parent has to stay at the center, but in another room during preschool mainly because it used to be a drop-off program, but commercial day-cares saw it as a threat and tried to shut it down, so asking a parent to stay was their work-around to keep the program (it's free) open. They do it on a raffle system and only take 28 kids - 14 for MW and 14 for T/R. I invited my friend Lindy to bring her son Alex to the preschool and she did, so I have a friend to chat with while I chase Josiah around and keep him out of trouble for 2 hours on Mon and Wed. That Tuesday I went to the zoo with my sister Kati and her 3 youngest. We had a great time - Rebekah LOVES to see her cousins, and while in the past she mostly played with Nate, she and Brelee have become much closer lately- especially after Brelee came and stayed with us over Bekah's birthday!
Wednesday the 15th I had an appointment with my midwife. She was a little concerned that I hadn't gained any weight, but Daryn pointed out that I started soccer right around the time of my previous appointment, and so that probably made a difference.
Family Friday the 17th we went to the splash pad and had a great time. Daryn was happy that even *I* got wet. :) Usually we're there as a family for Bekah's birthday, and I'm entertaining guests etc, so I don't go in (that, and I'm just a stick in the mud :P). But we were playing together as a FAMILY, and we had fun. :) I like our Family Fridays!
The rest of that weekend we did a LOT of work, because we didn't have other plans. We didn't accomplish nearly as much as I wanted, but we got a good amount done and it helped me feel better about the state of our house. It's amazing how quickly things pile up! (I'm still tired pretty much all the time....so getting house work done is very inconsistent.)
Aug 20th my friends started our walking routine again. It was soooo humid that I was thinking I'd wait longer to keep going, but it got better a week later. Tues the 21st I went to the splash pad with my kids and my neighbor Joyce and her daughter to meet a play group from my old ward. It was nice to seem some old friends, but unfortunately Bekah's ballet started up and it conflicts with the play group so we won't be seeing them anytime soon. (BTW, I thought it was funny that 2 weeks in a row I did a family activity with Daryn and then that next Tuesday I went to the same activity with someone else.)
Ammon came down from Utah for a week to see friends and family in AZ before the school year started for him. Poor guy's van broke down on the way, but it didn't keep him from borrowing a car to visit friends and family in Tucson! So we had a nice dinner with him at Kati's house on Wed the 22nd. Apparently he has a girlfriend now. I look forward to hearing more about her, and maybe meeting her sometime! It's 'bout time he started dating. :P (Ammon, if you're reading this, sorry if everyone gives you flack about this. You just had so many girls fawning over you in high school I was surprised you never really dated anyone back then. You're just such a stud!)
The next day I drove to Phoenix to see Brittany who was only in town for one day between leaving Utah and going to NAU. I love my siblings, and I'm glad I got to see most of them this last month! Now if only I could arrange some time to see Amy.... but Idaho is just so far! :(
I sent Daryn to the doctor to get a physical, we got Pebbles in to her vet and we went to an Elder's Quorum party that Friday (and I drove home from Phoenix!) and then left the party early to go to my last soccer game of the season. I felt bad that we had to leave the party because 1) it was at the home of some members who own a custom built house that is just plain incredible and very fun to visit - even for the littlest children. and 2) we were really enjoying our time with people from church in a social setting, which doesn't happen very often (seeing them in the social setting, not the enjoyment part).
In fact, because it doesn't happen often, Lindy and I plotted to make it happen that Saturday morning, before we ever heard about the EQ party. We invited several new couples who had moved into our ward as well as some more established couples with children in primary to a park for fruit and donuts. It was pretty fun, but still a little too hot to be a 'wild' success. We plan on doing another activity soon, though, because we did enjoy getting to know people a bit better.
August 27th found us at the 3 week of preschool, 2nd week of walking in the mornings, and first week of fall ballet and gymnastics! It's funny, actually, because Tuesday is ballet and I thought it was at 9 but it was at 10, so we were there WAY early. Fortunately, the building has a TV with cable so Bekah was very entertained and Josiah took a bit of a nap for me. That afternoon, Lindy 'borrowed' my children because her boys really wanted to play with Bekah, and her youngest, Alexander, has been asking to bring a baby home. So, she figured that since he still counts Josiah as a baby, she'd give me the afternoon off. It was awesome! I got a lot of chores done that had been left undone for a while, including mopping my floors and switching out my skinny clothes for my maternity clothes. Thanks Lindy!
Wednesday the 29th, Rebekah went on her very first field trip! We went to Peter Piper Pizza for a tour that ended with the kids making their own mini-pizza. The kids had a blast. :) Rebekah even found 2 tokens on the ground, so she shared one with Alex and they played a little game and earned a couple tickets before we left.
Thursday the 30th was gymnastics. Rebekah has a different teacher than over the summer. I hope they'll be patient with her creativity of getting stuck in icky-sticky glue 1/2 way across the floor sometimes... or that she realizes that's not the appropriate time to make-believe.
Friday morning we took off for Phoenix, and had lunch with Jen and her family. Her kids are very close in age to mine, so everyone had a fun time, even the dads. :) (I think!) Then we loaned the expedition to my dad so he could have a car with air conditioning on his trip to Utah to get things out of his storage unit, and visited my mom at my brother's house until we went to dinner - Cheesecake Factory with our friend Lyn! :D We REALLY enjoyed catching up with her, and I even got to enjoy some of the conversation because my MIL watched Bekah (who didn't want to come with us) so I only had one baby to care for at the restaurant.
Saturday we went to the temple. We were supposed to meet with my friend Kara, but she didn't show. We did meet with the Romney's and go to lunch with them after. My mom babysat the kids for us. Daryn went home with the Romneys and had a fun bachelor weekend, as far as I can tell. I stayed in Phoenix to wait for my dad to bring back our expedition. I bounced between my MIL's house and my brother's house, and we had fun visiting with family.
The sad/crazy part is that Monday afternoon my dad called to say that our car died near Page, AZ and he needed a tow. :( THAT was not fun news. I stayed in town until Tuesday when my mom drove me home (after driving up there to get my dad and the trailer he'd been towing, b/c the tow truck charged extra to tow it and it's not money any of us had to spend). We stopped at my sister's house in Marana to give her some of the maternity clothes she loaned me that I wasn't going to wear (oh, don't worry, I still have plenty! Kati is so nice to share with me!) and let the kids play for a bit.
Since then I've been trying to clean up my house. It's a never ending cycle! But, I decided it had been too long since I wrote in my 'journal' and unloaded pictures from my camera. Sorry they're not on here, but at least with this text I can match pictures to events when I go to make scrap books.
I don't know exactly what's gonna happen next.... we'll see how much it costs to fix the expedition (my FIL is using his AAA miles to get it towed to Phoenix to a guy he really trusts with his cars). It's going to make budgeting even more challenging, but we'll figure it out! I know that we'll have what we need, because we're doing our best to obey our Heavenly Father, and He blesses those who keep His commandments.
Also, I managed to do all this today because my awesome friend Linday has "borrowed" my children again for the afternoon. She gave Bekah a ride to preschool and then picked Josiah up after at about 12:45. Now my husband's home from work (holiday week he works four 8 hour shifts instead of four 10s because HR won't give him 10 hours of holiday pay or let him use 2 hours of vacation on top of 8 of holiday pay and just work three 10 hour days) and I need to think up what we'll have for dinner! Yay for catching up on things! (I'm also working on sorting Josiah's wardrobe to move him into 18 month clothes. Busy busy!)
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