Meeting Derek's kindergarten teacher at open house was like meeting a princess at Disneyland.  We had to stand in a long ling to talk to her for only a minute, but it was worth it.  Her beautiful hair and smile and how she would stoop down to talk to the kids reminded me even more of the Disneyland characters.

When we met Marian's teacher she asked Marian only for her last name and then replied, "you must be Meredith, but I understand you like to go by Marian."  Her teacher had also sent a post card before open house.  

It is going to be an awesome year for those two.

Bananas for Bathtime

When we built our house I requested a big single sink instead of a divided one and I love it!  I've always hated cleaning the divider.  I know that is lazy, but it is just more to clean and it gets in the way.  A single sink is great to wash big pots and pans and I can even fit all the refrigerator drawers and shelves in it.  It's so easy to spray them off when it's time to clean the fridge.  But the best part about this sink is that it makes a great tub for my babies.

Because the bananas are on the counter near the sink, Norah spied them while taking a bath one day.  I gave into her request and now if there are ever bananas when she takes a bath she has to eat one in the tub.

The Strangest Things Happen Around Here

Emma likes to come up with new ensembles by piecing together articles from the dress up clothes. She usually comes up with some pretty cute ideas. Apparently, Norah brought her a scarf and wanted to wear it. This is what she came up with: (Norah was already in just a diaper.)

(I should edit Derek out - he's not going to like that look when he gets older.)
Norah thought it was pretty funny and paraded around the house, loving it when I got the camera out. Normally I'm a stickler when it comes to modesty, even when they are little, but it was so much fun to watch how excited she was about this.

Saturday, we were invited to a BBQ at some friends house but Norah had a miserable cold so I stayed home with her. Nathan and the kids had a great time, but I am so glad I stayed. Norah and I read books, sang songs, went outside and I pushed her in her swing. Then we came back in and I rocked her to sleep. It was so peaceful! I am thankful I had that special alone time. It has been almost 13 years since I've been able to just focus on and enjoy one baby!

Summer is winding down and I am gearing up for school. This will be our best year ever! Megan is practically independent with her school work and I'm trying to prepare things in hope that Michael and Emma can do the same. When ever I dreamed of homeschooling I would think of all the great projects we would do together. I know that works out for some people, but I just can't get it to work. I never have time to prepare as well as I would like and I get too stressed out with all the commotion. I wish I was a more gifted mother and could magically incorporate the little kids into the projects, because they really do want to be a part of it and I would love to include them. I also feel guilty a lot of the time if I'm spending too much time with the older kids. I feel like the little kids are being robbed of a mother, and truthfully, they should get first priority. So, now Megan is in high school, Emma and Michael are middle schoolers, I feel that they can be given more responsibility and be more self directed.

The other thing that is different than I imagined about homeschool is all the driving. I'm not going to lie. I thought one of the advantages of homeschooling would be to relive those days when I only had little kids at home and we could call it a pajama day and snuggle while we watched a movie or read books and then made cookies. But the problem with homeschooling is that you want to make sure that your kids get social and leadership opportunities. That requires a lot of driving. If there is one thing I don't like it is spending all my time in the car. The only thing I like less is making my little ones spend all their time in the car. I'm just going to need to put on some fun music and we can all sing together.

My dad always reminded me, "if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." Nathan likes to say, "action conquers fear." So I'm preparing. The third year is supposed to be the best, right? It's going to be awesome.

Summer is busy! It has been so packed, in fact, that part of our family has missed church for the past two weeks. Part of that is because it has been a cold summer and swimming lessons in the morning don't help.

One day Derek informed my that he wasn't going swimming. Not for the rest of the summer. "I get very cold," he stated. "I am a warm blooded creature." It is true. He loves to swim, but he usually stays on top of the big blow up whale to keep him out of the water and in the warm sun. The image I have of him swimming is that of a huge chattering smile on his face and his skinny little body uncontrollable shaking. He specifically asked for me to buy him long sleeved shirts for school. I am going to go even further. I've already asked the Kindergarten teachers stationed in the portables to make sure it stays warm out there just in case that is where he is assigned, and plan on buying him a set of long underwear for every school day of the week.

In spite of his unfortunate thermal regulating condition, he stuck it out to the end of swim lessons and is enjoying the fact that he doesn't have to wear the life jacket any more. (It's probably warmer without it.)

He is excited about starting school and especially about his new back pack. I don't want to see my little boy go.

Eliza has requested no long sleeved shirts; she will not wear them. She loves to shop for clothes. Norah had just as much fun. I wish I could have captured a picture of her excitement as she chose a pink shirt or how she pointed her toes to try on new shoes. How helpful! I hope to be completely done with school clothes shopping this week. It is my goal to have next week be a great last week of summer.

Emma and Michael have already started math. Last year we started with one subject and added one a week until we were up to a full day. I liked how that worked and had planned on catching up on the subjects added later throughout the year, but it didn't happen and the end of the year was hectic. So we are starting a little bit earlier. Both Emma and Michael are doing well and it makes my heart soar to see their awesome brains working again. It feels good! "Quality" and "consistency," along with having them take more responsibility and be self directed are going to be my focus this year.

Megan and Michael were able to take part in our stake's Trek. I so wanted to go with them! I'm glad they had that experience. In preparation, our family read Fire of the Covenant each night. Even Derek and Eliza enjoyed it. Derek asked me if that story was real and how we know what happened. I told him the pioneers wrote in journals and asked if he would like to have a journal. In a light blue (his favorite color) I try to write down his words exactly as he dictates them to me and then he draws wonderfully detailed pictures. He is all about the details. I prompt him to tell me about the fun stuff that we are doing. Otherwise he wants to record, "we woke up, had breakfast and went to swimming lessons." He is so diligent he will bring the journal to me before breakfast so that I can write that!

Today Megan, Terzah, Emma, Kenna and Merian went to see Harry Potter. The younger girls dressed up like Gryffindor students and looked quite quaint. I think I'm going to institute a uniform policy in my home school. They are adorable and impressive in that look.

Merian and Derek are going to be heading off for school. What will I do without them telling me I'm the best mom ever and their snuggles? I love summer. Let's move to Hawaii.

On the other hand I am organizing recipes for the fall. MMMmmmm....