Back to school

 Monday morning Emma and I went to her open house and it was crazy. I don't understand why people wait in super long lines just to say hi to a teacher. It is the most awkward conversation anyway so Emma and I just walked through her schedule, at least saw what every teacher looked like and mostly she compared her schedule to any friend we might run into so that she could figure out if they had classes together. She was disappointed that after 5th period she is kind of on her own but hopefully she'll make new friends. She has two of the same teachers Lily had and liked so I am hopeful it is going to be a good year for her. Then we went and got her hair cut. 

Later I left to go up to Tyson's Corner to meet my mission companion, Michelle, from CA. She was doing an event for work at this hotel in TC and invited me to come hang out with her. The kids were all so busy but Lily really jumped in and drove Emma to and from dance and Curtis to and from cross country and helped Josh get Brandon to baseball, which I really appreciated. I had an easy drive up and then we went to dinner at Cheesecake Factory and walked the mall and then we went to the Wegmans that was right next to the hotel and talked and talked and talked. We did face masks and talked some more and it was fun to catch up and it reminded me of our mission days. We were together 24/7 for two months in the MTC and then four more in Ukraine and it was the best part of my mission. She has stayed a true friend now for 24 years and I love her so much. I only wish it was easier to get to CA to see her! She is always inviting us to come out and go to Disneyland with her. Anyway, morning came too fast and we got ready and went and ate breakfast and then I left to get home to my crazy day and she had to get to work. 

  

I took Lily to get her hair cut and then Brandon to his open house and then Curtis had cross country and the weather was rainy and cold so our last day of summer wasn't the fun day it usually is. I missed our tradition of going somewhere fun and getting ice cream. I was hoping to do that Saturday but it didn't work out so I still feel like we haven't properly said goodbye to summer. But Josh did give the kids blessings that night and they were each so unique and individual and beautiful. I'm grateful for priesthood power and a wonderful husband who exercises it to bless our family.

 

 

Wednesday was crazy getting everyone off and then I went to the gym and grocery store and barely made it home before Emma. First day reports were pretty mixed but each day the report has gotten better from Emma so I really am hopeful this year is going to be better than the last. Brandon seems to be missing his teachers from last year but he has great ones this year so once he adjusts, I think he will be fine. Lily is thrilled to be a senior and loves her classes even though a scheduling issue meant she couldn't take AP Spanish like she was hoping to do. She is taking a food science/nutrition class instead and I think she is really going to like it. Curtis is going to have a challenging year with all of his STEM classes and then doing two sports for the fall but he got a bit lazy over the summer so I think it is good for him to be challenged and engaged in good things. Lily was supposed to go to senior sunrise Wednesday morning but since it was cloudy, it got moved to Friday. She somehow missed the tickets to get a waffle and so she was disappointed but hey, memories, right?

Thursday and Friday I was rather lazy. I was so tired and hadn't really been alone since June so I watched some TV and read my book and did some ironing and that was about it for the morning. Then Friday Michelle and I took a nice long walk but then I came home and read and played the piano and just kind of did nothing. It was some necessary recovery time and I appreciated it. Emma had auditions for junior company Thursday afternoon and Curtis had baseball and cross country and Friday Brandon had practice and everyone was tired all weekend. Saturday Josh and I went to Charlene's funeral and Curtis had a cross country scrimmage and then we got some good cleaning and work done in the afternoon. Then Josh and I tried out a new Mexican restaurant that was pretty good and we came home and went to the pool with the kids for an hour or so (it was chilly!) and then it was a chill night because it was Josh's no-fun Saturday night (the night before stake council when he has to wake up at 5:15am). 

Sunday I got an additional calling to help with primary activities, which will be fun, then we had a pretty relaxed day. Lily and Brandon made cinnamon rolls and I made a homemade pesto sauce with the basil from our garden that we had on pasta and it was good. This week I started teaching piano lessons so all we have left to add to our schedule is dance and seminary, which start next week. It has been nice having the girls around so much and especially getting to see Lily after school so I'm just trying to enjoy this week before things really start to get busy. Josh has decided to get a PhD so he's been researching how to do it for a month or so and he has made some real progress the last few days on a good plan to make it work so that's going to be a new adventure starting soon too.