In 10 Minutes

I can get this blog updated before I need to leave to pick up Megan from school.  Maybe.  Here goes:

The summer went by really really fast and Megan started school on Monday.  Of course it's still 100 degrees in the afternoons so they beg to go to the pool after school every day but our routine is back to school time and it almost feels like we never stopped.  Sometimes I hate having to walk to and from school every day and sometimes I love it.  I particularly hate it though when both William and Abby are sleeping and I have to wake them up.  But I can't leave them here!!  Although I admit to being mightily tempted!!

William still steals the girls shoes and socks whenever he gets a chance!

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We've begun having the kids take more responsibility on chores and household jobs -- it's my fault, I'm terrible at it!!  So they're keeping a chore chart and earning an allowance.  The allowance part is mostly to help them learn about money because neither one of them has any clue and it's about time they did!!  Megan actually really loves doing the dishes and both girls like actual chores.  They say that they are things they need to learn in order to be mommies.  But don't worry, cleaning up toys and cleaning their room is still a nightmare so they're still normal kids! 

We spent a hot morning at the Arboretum chasing birds and having fun in their new(ish) Children's garden.  We were hot hot hot though and happy to come home after about 2 1/2 hours. 

It's hard to tell in the picture but this is a huge mosaic on the ground that looks like a galaxy or star or something space-y.  It's pretty cool.

It's a really good children's garden, especially if your kids are a little older and do the experiments and things that are all over.  We just played.

These were fun tiles that made music when you walked on them:

This is a really long video that Megan made.  I showed her how to use the video function on the camera and I deleted most of what she did but this one cracks me up and also gets Abby in on the game.  And I love that because she's behind the camera you can hear her voice so clearly and there's no shyness there!

First day of school!  So far it's going well although they're tired of course.

Also today I had William evaluated by a speech therapist.  She says he's fine and that his language will come in time.  She gave me really good information about what to expect with sounds at each age which is much better than going to the doctor for well-child visits and having them say, "does he have 25 words?" Uh no.  He has five.  Maybe.  But when the therapist showed me her chart, he's right on track as far as sounds go so I guess the words will come in time.  I was just hoping to have a way for the screaming to end sooner but I guess not.  Oh well.

Summer Summary

I cannot believe how fast this summer has flown by.  We've been busy every single day of it and haven't had hardly any days just hanging out at home in the morning.  And that's actually been a good thing.  Megan has had art class once a week and then we have a pool day with friends.  That's only 2 days out of the week and yet we've filled the other days with more pool time, dollar movies, playdates, and even some park days!  We've had probably the mildest summer we've had since we've lived in Dallas and it has been hot in the afternoons, but for the most part the mornings are great.  Abby has even complained at the pool that she gets chilly!!

Megan and Abby took swim lessons again this summer but this time a friend in our ward did them here.  It was so nice to not drive all the way to Carrollton and to be able to get in with William while they did their lessons and then stay and play for a while.  They both did really well.  About halfway through the summer we went to a friends pool that has a 3 foot end -- shallow enough for Megan to stand, deep enough still to swim.  Something clicked in her head and she is now swimming all over without a floatie!!  She is still very cautious and stays close to the sides where she can grab on when she needs to but she's doing great.  The only downside is that Abby and William have also tried to swim without floaties and I've had to pull them out of the water several times.  Always watching!!!

Sundays are still hard because with chruch from 1 to 4, the kids come home tired and cranky.  THey like to watch YouTube videos on Choppers phone while I make dinner.  Some  of our Sunday favorites are Nature's DUCKumentary and How It's Made.

The other thing we've been doing this summer is sprucing up the house!!  It's amazing the difference that a fresh coat of paint on your baseboards makes.  We're also having the kitchen tiled and the bathrooms and laundry redone with fresh linoleum.  It's a fairly inexpensive fix (compared to others we could do) that I think will make a big difference.

One thing that's made a difference too is I finally made another queen size quilt for our bed!  I've really loved the gray and white decorating that's been popular and I had bought a duvet from IKEA that I loved.  But Chopper and I don't love a duvet so I turned it into a quilt!!  I won't go into all the details but it was my first queen size on my little machine and it came out really well thanks to a method of quilting in pieces.  I love the result and am now working on a cathedral window pillow for the center.  The houses will go onto my reading chair. 

And that's been our summer -- work and play!!  Only 2 weeks left until school starts and that will also go way to fast!

One last thing -- in Primary (where Chopper and I are both teachers right now), they've had a challenge to bring their scriptures to church.  When they did, they filled a jar with rocks and got a trip to the temple.  I was a little skeptical about it because it's not like the DC or Salt Lake temples where you have a visitor's center, but the kids went into the foyer and sat on the stairs.  Some temple workers talked to them about the temple and showed them pictures and then the kids sang some primary songs.  It was really beautiful actually and it was really special to me to see all my children in the temple and hope that someday they will be there as adults by their own choices. 

After, it was back to the church for ice cream sundaes and William discovered a bag of Oreo cookies on the edge of the table.  I'm not sure how many he ate but he would go over and sneak them out while looking at the adults around him.  And the evidence is all over his face.