You asked...

This is my new job.
Working 8-3 (the exact hours Grace is in school!)
Basically answering phones-do-anything-else-and-then-some office person....
But it's a school, so I'm jazzed to start the school year and meet the regular students in addition to the tutoring kids that I've met this week...

I think I'm going to be good at it, it's close to home, and the kids will hardly know I'm gone. There is also a dress-code (no jeans, flip-flops etc) so I get to wear something other than my Disney Thumper jammies. Today I wore a cute skirt and red pumps. I'm SO happy! And shallow. But you love me anyway :)

He's off to camp!

My boy left today for about a month. BYU Mandarin Chinese Camp! He started a blog so he can update it while he's there, so if you're so inclined the link is now listed in family blogs. Or click on this.
I'm going to miss him so much. Gracie has already cried once today because she misses him already. I'm SO excited for him though!

Edited to add: He called me last night. His first day was fantastic! Lots of old friends, the teachers remembered him and were thrilled to see him back this year, and the dorm is newer and cool.
Here's the amazing thing: they were given a test to decide which "year" they'd be participating in. Last year he was Level 2. He was sweating it a bit hoping that he wouldn't embarrass himself and wind up not even being placed in Level 3.....(he hasn't taken a Chinese class for over a year.) When the testing was complete, he was placed in LEVEL 4 (this is the highest level they're offering this year.) Skipped a whole year. My boy :)

Re-Entry Day 1

I haven't blogged about this yet. I'm hesitant to do so now. But here goes.
After nearly 20 years of being a stay-at-home mom, I officially completed my first day working out in the real world today.
Huge thanks to my sister-in-law for giving me the opportunity. I couldn't have created a more perfect job, with more perfect hours. Once school starts, the kids will hardly know that I've been gone all day. Except they'll have to do without freshly baked snacks waiting for them when they walk in the door...other than that.....
I survived. My kids survived.
I'm really excited to start this new phase of my life. And I have super cute outfits to do it in! I was immaturely dreading being forced to work somewhere that a blue vest or supplied t-shirt and/or visor was the required attire...(I've made it to the ripe old age of 41 without working fast food ONCE. Remember the post that discussed wardrobe requirements for employment??? Ok, I am that shallow. Sue me :)

Scarlett and Popcorn

My oldest experienced for the first time in her life the horrible feeling of being broke this last Spring. She actually had to donate plasma to get enough gas money for the trip home from Logan. She told me that she now feels like Scarlett O'Hara..."As God Is My Witness...."
When she came home for the summer, she searched for a summer job, and finally was hired at our local movie theatre. She received her uniform, which consisted of a purple polo shirt and a baseball cap. She was horrified to learn that the rules dictated the shirt be tucked in. She hates wearing hats of any kind. Most of her co-workers are 16 yr old immature teenagers. Needless to say, she doesn't exactly love this job.
I have been so proud of her. They have scheduled her for a lot of hours every week. And now her co-workers are consistently asking her to take their shifts as well. She has accepted EVERY chance to work double shifts, more hours, and work on her days off. She has also accepted every babysitting job she's offered. We don't see her much :)
Way to keep your eye on the prize sweetie. Once you have that college degree in your hand, it'll all be worth it!
(Her job has been fun for the rest of us though! She gets 2 free tickets to any movie after it's been out for 10 days. One night we went to one movie in Lehi and then immediately drove out to the District for another. She took Ry to see Transformers and HP6 before they were released. We've also eaten our weight in movie theatre popcorn...I'm going to have to go into rehab once she quits.)

Thought-ful Thursday

Gordon B. Hinckley once said: "Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just like people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, and most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is just like an old time rail journey ... delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

Sleepovers

Grace's best friends had a sleepover at our house last week...they made friendship books...

...played and laughed until they couldn't breathe.
Good times.
Now for the controversy: the older kids are in a snit because I bent our family rule for the baby. In the good old days, the rule was that we only had sleepovers with family. My sister and brother have kids the same ages as my 3 oldest and we would happily go back and forth...they also had a grandma who would host sleepovers regularly.
The baby has never known such a luxury. There are no cousins near her age, and she has never known grandparents in the carefree, spoiled way her siblings enjoyed.
The closest thing Grace has is this family we've known for...11 years I think. Her mom and I have been through thick and thin together; were pregnant together with the girls. These two wore the same blessing dress and have been inseparable since birth. So I bent the rule this summer. I know she's safe at their house, and they're safe at ours. Adopted family. I just think we're so incredibly lucky to have them as friends...they have quietly stepped in the past month and made this time so much easier for Grace as they've had her at their house for hours on end while I've been so busy with my dad...and then the the craziness of dismantling his possessions.
We love you guys....and now it's official. You're family :)

Life Goes On

Provo Balloon Festival! This is our 15th year in a row attending the festivities....up at 5:30, McDonalds by 6:00 then to the field to watch the balloons fill up and float away.
The baby with her best friend...
Tony the Tiger Balloon! Coolest thing ever...
Tyler, Kenzie and Ryan who is refusing to pose for the picture.
I didn't get a pic of Jillian...who every year is traumatized by Smokey Bear. There is a fantastic Smokey Bear balloon, and Smokey himself is on hand to pass out "Don't start forest fire" frisbees and other swag. Jill is terrified of anything in a fuzzy suit. Even Santa Claus. That's a post for another day...
So of course we torture her every year by pretending to call Smokey over. This year was no exception. We'd forgotten about him after a while though, when to my surprise there he was ambling over to our blanket. Jill immediately hid under her quilt...only to have him REACH DOWN AND TRY TO TAKE HER BLANKET FROM HER. I thought she was going to pee her pants. It was one of those rare mother moments when two warring instincts took over: the first to TAKE HIM DOWN AND PROTECT MY CHILD and the next to laugh until I cried.
Another fun year at the balloon fest.
Oh, and Jill has updated her blog with a lovely tribute to my dad among other traumatic events from the past few weeks. Feel free to check it out.