Sept 2022: Things Calm Down

 In September, things calmed down and we got into a school/home/play routine. It's still warm enough to swim, so swim we shall! 

We've been watching more than our fair share of Bluey. It's hilarious. Lots of parent jokes that make me LOL. I also love that they are super short episodes. If you know, you know. 

Grayson has a very sweet teacher who loves him. We also found out that he's reading ON GRADE level for the first time in his schooling! 4th grade work seems very hard. A big shift from 3rd grade. BUT! He knows how to work hard. He is keeping up with the work and being a great school citizen! He finally asked me to meet him for lunch and we got a cute pic. 

Our school does a student of the week starting in September. Nolan and Lyla were the 1st students of the week for their classes! It makes me happy to see that they are being great school citizens and helpful, hard working students in their classrooms. They are also excelling in their classes and starting to find some new friends. It makes my momma heart proud to seem them care about succeeding in school! 

One day, Lyla turned around and it looked like she stepped right out of a 90's movie. She was lookin' and feelin' sooo cool. Sometimes I'm a mean mom and say, "no device day". There is moaning, but then the kids play so well together and create lots of fun things. We really love our magnet block set! 

Picture day came along and all these kids wanted to look nice! Lyla even asked me to curl her hair. She HATES having her hair done so it was a big deal that she asked. They all looked great and I can't wait to see what shows up. I don't usually buy them. I tend to do our family pictures myself. And I have big plans for this spring. Say it with me, "BLUEBONNETS". Cliché? Maybe. Stereotypical? Possibly. Do I care? I do not. I have wanted family in the bluebonnets pictures since I have learned of their existence. Good vibes toward this endeavor are appreciated. 

We are really enjoying our ward. The boys get to have activity days twice a month. The most recent activity was a favorite. The sad little girl without a Shield of Faith, can't wait to start activity days like her brothers.  

 

A ward member found a free ticket code to Seaquest here in Fort Worth. It would have cost us $70 to go, but with a code it was free! Good thing, too. It was "fine", but definitely not a $70 adventure.

The rays definitely know who their master is.... it's Aquaman. Tyler wanted to be known as Jason Mamoa. 

Tyler always convinces the kids to act out ridiculous pictures. They are getting more and more creative with it. 

There was a huge pond FULL of huge koi. It was interesting and a little bit gross as the same time. 

Everything was fine until.... it. was. not. fine. This picture will forever be Lyla blackmail. We zoomed in for better viewing pleasure. 5 seconds later she was right as rain. Girls, man. Girls. 

Lyla had to have MORE teeth work done. She was so relaxed that she actually fell asleep half way through. It was crazy. She has one more appointment to go! This year Tyler's plant had to have an "unannounced audit". This means the auditor can show up any day, any time between June and October. He's been stressing and preparing all summer long. The Auditor finally stopped by and his plant passed with an A+. AA is the the highest possible score. An A+ for his first Audit with Tyson as a manager is something he should be proud of. Now, he knows how and where to keep elevating his QA department. 

Until next time...

P.S. Tyler and I have been working to get the cars registered here in Texas and get new driver's licenses. Oh. My. Heck. Talk about a headache. You can't get a license until you have your car registered and I almost had to give them my first born child because they needed so many identifying documents. We registered that cars then found out the driver's license dept is by appointment only. That's fine, but the appointment are 3-6 months out before there are any openings! We were shocked. Hopefully We have it all squared away by November. Finger crossed. 

Aug 2022: Back to School

 All of August was spent planning for Nolan's baptism or getting ready for school to start. School started the day after everyone went home. Most of our visitors went home Sunday morning. Tyler left for a conference in Chicago on Sunday afternoon. Monday was the first day of school and Tuesday my mom and sisters flew back home. 

While my mom was here, Grayson won his first adult Catan game. We swam some more and I took them all out to Buc-ee's! 

Tyler and I love Fiji water. We only get it occasionally, because it's $$. It's our favorite water and it honestly tastes clear, crisp and cold! At his conference in Chicago, they were just cold and free for the taking! Meanwhile, here in Texas, a child locked me out of the house. As "teambuilding" they went to Dave and Busters. When people learned he had three kids a home and that he was trying to win at least three prizes, they started throwing their cards full of tickets at him. He was able to bring some pretty fun souvenirs home. Even some for the child that locked me out of the house. 

 

Back to getting locked out of the house. A child locked the door on the way out to the bus. Luckily I had my phone on my and clothes on. After the bus left I went on my merry way, only to find no way back into the house. No outside garage door opener, no hid-a-key, backdoor was also locked and the digital key pad to the front door wasn't working. And Tyler's in Chicago. Every lock smith I called passed on the job or said they couldn't help me because my drivers license doesn't match the house address. Dispatch and Fire only help with emergencies or kids left alone in the house. I was gonna have to break a window. Thankfully I was impressed to call a ward member I felt comfortable with. With her help to calm me down, I was able to find a toy boomerang in the back yard, that slipped into the door jam and pop the door open! Crazy experience and one for the books! 

Lyla got to go to Kindercamp hosted by our school. It was a practice school day. She had lots of fun and came home with lots of swag. It's crazy that all my kids are in school now. Nolan loves his puppies and loves to take cool pictures when he can get them to listen to him. 

Lyla failed the eye exam at her pediatrician visit. They suggested we follow up. Her eyes are okay for now. If she grows too quickly they could need correction soon. Or if she keeps making the face below! The dr was so impressed by how well she sat and followed directions that she got to pick TWO prizes. Grayson also had an update visit. They updated his prescription and he's very open about how much better they work! Hopefully this update will help him feel more comfortable in contacts. I just know they are really important for him to use. 

Kendra spent eh weekend with us and willingly watched the dogs so we could go to the Rangers game. We took her swimming twice. She even jumped off the deep end and faced her fears!

Everyone got a haircut but only two of them took pictures! 

You know what I have decided is the worst? Feeling like you're taking care of your kids teeth. Everything is going great. The last two years of 6 month check-ups have been great. No one has needed work. Then BOOM everyone has cavities, nitrous is $100 and I'm out $1000 in dental work. Boo. I really thought we were doing well. Apparently, not. Now I'm bribing the big boys to skip nitrous and thankfully Lyla was able to get her work done without sedation.  

We went to back to school night and took a tour of our new school. It's HUGE! They clearly have more school money than Utah, and I'm pretty sure my kids have some great teachers! The boys know they are to help Lyla get to class first then head on their way. 

The first day of school came bright and early. They were excited and all of them had a great day! I was able to visit Lyla at lunch. 

We discovered that the bus stops RIGHT IN FRONT of our garage. Therefore, we are now bus riders. And I am grateful. I always hated carpool in Tremonton, but BOY is it even worse here in Texas. I'm talking 30+ minutes BEFORE I get to the kids.  Yikes, yikes, yikes. Hard pass. 

Later in the week Nolan asked my to go to lunch with him. I really like this feature at our new school. Grayson says he wants to try and practice finding friends before I come to lunch with him. 

This summer in Texas has been a drought. The driest it's been in many years. Right after school started we got the rainstorm of the century! I'm talking it rained for at least 12 hours straight. We are lucky we live in an area that didn't experience flooding. The second picture is supposed to be a park about a mile away from our house. The pool even over flowed. EVERY. THING. WAS. WET. I've never seen that much rain in all my 33 years of life. It rained so much I began to wonder if we missed the boat. When it finally stopped Lyla was the first out the door to enjoy it. 

Lyla is just killing it being the cutest kinder I know. 

Shortly after school started, everyone got sick. Fevers and coughs, all spaced out just enough to drive me crazy. Everyone missed at least one day of school because they weren't 24 hrs outside a fever. Just as everyone got better, Lyla threw up and broke our in hives. She's fine, but we've got to keep a close eye on her. 

Our resident refugee, Alamo, had a bad day. We aren't sure what happened but it took a lot of water and a lot of rest to get him up and walking again. He even leaned against Tyler when he started feeling better. If you know Mastiffs this is how they connect with their people. Lyla even gave him some extra love. He's super old and I'm sad he has to stay outside, but there's not much more we can do for him.  

 

My Grandpa Lyle has been very sick on and off since Grayson's birthday. He had open heart over 15 years ago and has championed diabetes. He got Covid at 88 and it's a miracle he survived. We must need him here on Earth for a bit longer. He was in and out of the hospital for about 6 weeks for various serious health scares. He's finally home and looking good for just a bit longer. I love how happy they look to be at home together!  

Until next time...