Gearing Up!

First, a bit of whining from our sponsor. Me.

It's HOT! And today has been a whirlwind. I haven't slept well in several days, so I started off sleepy, but oh so excited that the boys were coming home from their dad's. Their plane got in at 10:05, but before that happened, I had a piano lesson and Lyndsay had an orthodontist appointment (her teeth look so good!) Then I took Conor and Lyns over to the airport, where, after parking, we arrived at the gate just as the boys were walking out. Yay! We had a milli-second for me to run into the produce store on the way home to buy dried fruits and nuts for my Back-to-School Trail Mix, along with the strawberries for my traditional Back-to-School breakfast of Stuffed French Toast (more on that in an upcoming post), and then race home so that Adam could take the car to his doctor's appointment and work appointment.

That left us with a bunch of other things to do and no car, so walking it was! The three kids are all going to schools that are within walking distance, but they are all in opposite directions of each other. Lyndsay's school is a mile west of us, Dylan's is just under a mile north and west of us, and Aiden's is a half mile east. But Lyndsay also started a job tending newborn preemie triplets for a family in our ward for a very good pay that will build her college fund. That job is about 2 miles away, and straight up hill. I'm not kidding. But it's a mile past her school, so when it was time for her to go to work, I told her I'd walk the first mile with her, and then send her on up the mountain. It's a safe place, in a gated community. And I'm too much of a wimp to hike it knowing how much walking still lay ahead of me. She and I set off at 11:30 in the blazing sun, hiking uphill. I walked her a few blocks past the school, we stopped in some shade and drank up, and then she went on ahead and I turned around and came home. Only to pick up Aiden and then walk him to his school orientation. But first, a new shirt, because the first one was soaked. Gross.

Aiden is one excited boy. He was accepted into the magnet school for Gifted and High-Ability kids. There are only 14-15 kids in each class, and each child gets his/her own laptop for school use. We got to meet his teacher, Mrs. Barneck, and tour the school. Aiden wants to join the Chess Club. And then we walked home together, all full of enthusiasm for the coming year.

Some more piano lessons in the afternoon, and then I took Dylan with me and we walked to his school, again uphill on the way there in the hot sun, and showed him points of interest on his new junior high campus. He knows where to go for his first period class, and where the cafeteria, gym, and offices are. He'll learn the rest quickly. Then he and I walked home. Downhill. Yay! It's only 4:30 and I'm already at 16,000 steps.

When Dylan and I got home, we came around to the sliding glass door in the back to find it locked. Aiden was crashed out on the couch, not ten feet from the door, Conor was in his high chair laughing at us and there was banana bread crumbled all over the floor around him. Dylan and I banged on the door, both of us, screaming Aiden's name for literally 8 minutes and couldn't get him to stir. It was so hot outside! We just wanted in and yet we couldn't stop laughing at teh absurdity of our situation and how deeply that boy was sleeping! Finally, Dylan had the idea to bang on the window on the other side of the couch at the same time that I banged on the door. Maybe banging in stereo would work? Well, it did. Aiden flew off the couch and came and stood, deliriously in front of the glass door, staring at me. "OPEN THE DOOR!" I was saying through my laughter. He just stood there, obviously not yet in this world. "OPEN THE DOOR, AIDEN!" He tried to slide it open, but it was clearly locked. He kept doing it and I'm now yelling, "UNLOCK THE DOOR!" To which he just stares at me. And then he comes to his senses enough and lets us in.

Ahhhhhhhh! Air conditioning!

So now I have a few minutes before I have to go pick up Lyndsay from her job, drop her off at the YW swim party, go get Aiden and drive him to Cub Scouts, take Dylan to Boy Scouts, and then head back to the YW swim party before I gather everyone and come home. To do baths/showers, pack lunches, read bedtime stories, and fall into bed for the big day tomorrow!

I love a new school year! I'm trying to see all the positive things happening in the kids' lives with their new schools and all of the opportunities they will have. This is the first year in many that we have not been gearing up for a new homeschool year. But this is the right thing to do. It's the right thing for the kids, and it's the right thing for me. The kids are all pep-talked out and looking forward to clean slates and shiny fresh goals. So, here we go!