A week without Mark

Mark has been off in Romania all week for his school conference.  Its so out of the norm for Mark to be gone that I wasn't sure what to expect from this week but everything went just fine, at least until I went to bed every night. Then my crazy imagination started working over time and I had to check every closet and door in the house at least 2 times to make sure there was no one in there and everything was locked, but other than that all was good.  A sweet friend invited us over for dinner one night and a kind friend dropped off a yummy treat one afternoon and Jared and Lydia were great.  They admittedly are a little excited when Mark goes out of town because I let them alternate nights sleeping in my bed with me.  This never happens other wise so they look forward to it.  We do have a pretty comfortable bed. We did soccer on Wednesday and were on time to school each day.  Mark always drives them to school which I always appreciate but I will appreciate it even more when he is back and I only do pick up again.  It sounds like Mark is having a nice time on his trip. I'm really glad he got to go.  He has wanted to go somewhere for quite awhile so its great this came up.

 This weekend brought back some of the perfect Fall weather and it has been lovely. Friday was really busy. I went on walk with a friend before working at Kohls from 10 - 2.  Sometimes I regret making myself available to work during the day Friday and other times I am glad I did it. I like feeling productive and being busy but I also really like time at home to myself. ** After work I made a quick trip to the Library to pick up the Wizard of Oz for our movie night.  I made it back to school with a minute to spare and even found a spot in the parking lot which rarely happens these days. We met up with the Farnsworth's to play which was great because we hadn't been able to meet up with them in a long time.  Jared and Lydia loved the Wizard of Oz. I asked Lydia what she thought about half way through and she said it was one of the best movies ever.  I was really surprised.  I feel like we have showed them the red slippers in the National Museum of American History but the don't remember so we will have to do it again. I coincidentally came across this article about said shoes which was a fun quick read. I'll have to red it to them tomorrow.  They really do love musicals and there is a fair amount of singing in there. I remember loving watching musicals when I was goring up too so I get it but it has still surprised me.  Jared loves them just as much as Lydia.  They constantly request "Popular" in the car and Jared knows almost all the lyrics.  I will have to find more musicals to show them for family move night. Yay! I still love them!

We had a fun Fall day today.  It was the most Fall like weather we have had in weeks which made Jared and Lydia's soccer game way more fun. Its conference weekend so last night I made our traditional cinnamon rolls and we picked 2 families to take some too which is always fun.  I think both were surprised and happy.  No matter how many times I make bread dough I still find a big bowl of well risen dough to be immensely satisfying. I see it and just think, "I did that! Its so pretty and soft!" Silly but true.  After soccer and cinnamon rolls delivery we went to this cute garden store in Ruckersville and picked out some fun pumpkins.  2 for carving and some just for decorating the porch something I've always love to do.  Well some for a preschool experiment too.  Then we came home and watched the first session of conference and all enjoyed it very much.  Jared and Lydia did great.  It was peaceful and uplifting. We headed over to a friends house for donuts and visiting after which was great.  It was nice to be around great people and be part of other peoples fun traditions.  I told Jared and Lydia that I really wanted them to try to play outside at the Charles house because it was beautiful out and we would have just finished watching conference and then be watching more after.  Jared stayed outside the whole time.  Lydia did not but I am pretty sure she was out there at least a bit. We came home for the 2nd session and did not have as successful a viewing but we tried.

Feeling Festive.

Arranging this took much longer than I would like to admit. 

Fingers crossed we are finally done with the 85+ degree weather for good and can enjoy the energy that comes with Fall weather. I looked at the 10 day forecast and it warms up to 84 next week which is a bummer but better than the 90 degrees we had this week!   Jared's birthday party is on the 07th so this coming week I need to make sure I'm ready for that.  Susanna, my Mom and Mark's mom all arrive on the 11th which is so soon and so exciting. October will be a fun full month! Truly the best month of the year. 

**I was talking to 2 different friends about this a bit this week.  (One was Tara who I miss so much, in a few weeks they will have been gone for a year which is still so sad to me.) The transition to having these days to myself with Jared and Lydia in school and figuring out how to best use that time has been tricker than I thought it would be.  I sort of stress myself out wondering if I am using my time in the most productive way.  Not just a stay busy kind of way but more of a "am I doing the things I should really be doing while I have this gift of time to myself?" kind of way.  I am also feeling less social.  Sort of like I am reverting back to my Colorado Springs ways where I just really liked being by myself.  Since we have been here in Virginia I have really tried to be with people and attend lots of things and get to know people but lately I just want to be home.  It's been busier than I thought it would be. I sort of pictured myself meting up with friends for walks or visits all the time but really I just want to do stuff at home.  I will eventually get into a good groove but it is sure taking me awhile. For now I will just enjoy having this time and not worry about who I am with or not with.

UVA

Over the summer I signed Jared and Lydia up for the Cavman Crew kids club.  This year I did it differently and signed Jared up for the All Star Crew so he and Mark could go to a football game together. He has never been to one and thought it would be fun outing for them. UVA played and beat Connecticut which was exciting.  Mark met up with the Shaw's and they had a fun time.  I asked Jared if he would want to go again and he said only if we went with friends.  I totally get that as football games are super long and they seem to stand around a lot.  Lydia and I went out for a frosty at Wendy's (her choice) and watched a movie together at home. We had a lovely time.

We also went over to UVA for a mens soccer game on Friday.  It was a Cavman crew event so they were handing out scarves and cowbells. I'm not sure we needed UVA scarves but now I at least have one item of UVA gear.  It was nice and hot so we did not need a scarf but that is besides the point. UVA was playing UNC which meant both teams were in the top 10. This was the perfect game for Jared to attend since he still loves UNC.  He wanted to wear his UNC shirt but it is still huge so we convinced him to wear his Cavman crew shirt.  There was also ice cream sundaes for All star crew members so we thought he better wear his shirt to show he really was qualified for one.  We met up with some friends and had fun watching the game and visiting.  Sadly UVA lost in extra time but it was fun to go. Friday night was also Pack meeting for Jared's future cub scout den/pack.  I got an  email about that meeting (where they were also playing soccer) but since Jared is not 8 yet I did not feel a need to attend.  Just 3 more weeks of freedom. We need to get him a shirt and book!  And I should maybe start learning more in depth about the program so I know what I am supposed to help him with.

It's hard to believe Jared's Baptism/birthday is coming up so soon. I got party invitations out last week and pretty much know what we are doing for that. The party is on the 07th and should be fun. But then last night when Mark and I were talking he mentioned inviting some people to the baptism who we don't regularly see at church so I think I will put together some kind of simple invitation for Jared to hand out.  And decide if we are having some kind of get together after and what that will entail. Jared seems to want to and I know I did growing up I just need to finalize somethings, like this week!  Mark also flies out to Romania today.  He will be back next Sunday so he is gone almost a week.  Its also conference weekend so I've got some planing to do or really just some printing of activities, nothing elaborate but something.  It will be weird to not watch conference with Mark. I went to the women's session with a friend Saturday and really enjoyed the talks.  Our stake organized a special musical program before the broadcast and it was really nice. I love special musical programs. I also got a new calling at church so I want to try to attend more "extra or special" meetings I can because I am now serving in the nursery and won't be attending classes. I am pretty happy about this calling.  This week was my one year mark for teaching gospel doctrine and I was ready to be done.  I was ready for a low prep Sunday calling.  The other sister in there is really awesome so I am looking forward to chatting with her some when we can. What I like about this calling too is that even though it is a relatively easy calling I really feel like I am helping out.  I was talking to Julie (Shaw) who is now the Primary President and she mentioned how hard it is to find people wiling to serve in nursery which I totally understand (both sides). It is hard.  I feel like I am in a good place right now with Jared and Lydia in school all day I have time to myself to do what I want. I don't necessarily need to be in RS to visit and be among adults which at other times in my life I did.  But with this calling I am still really contributing to the ward. Its a win win for me. I was all ready on Sunday and then we ended up only having 1 hour of church.  Our ward currently meets at 1:30 and during the previous wards block the sewage system got completely backed up.  So that ward canceled their 3rd hour meetings and we just had Sacrament meeting. When I pulled into the parking lot a lot of cars were leaving which I thought was weird since they still had 40 minutes of church.  I sat down in the chapel and Mark came over to say hi and mentioned church just being an hour. I had no idea.  It was kind of funny.  Next week is conference but then I will be ready!

And then it wasn't

September got me good this year.  It was so lovely those first weeks and then it got all hot again.  I remember talking to a new family back in July when they moved here and when they asked when it typically cooled down and I said October.  They looked like the didn't really believe me but its true.  Tricky September.

Jared and Lydia have gotten into a good school routine. Lydia loves school so much. The past Friday was a professional development day so she and Jared had the day off.  She told me that afternoon that she couldn't wait for Monday so she could go back to school. It may have helped that she was chosen to the the star student for the upcoming week.  She loves Ms Hunter and her classmates.  I went in to help one morning and was happy to see her in class. I was mostly in the hall helping students one on one but each time I went in to get the next student she was excited to see me and I was to see her too.  I talked to a friend who's daughters both had Ms Hunter and she commented that when you help in her classroom you are almost always in the hall working with lower students which is fine. I will just have to sneak a hug in every now and then.  Ms Hunter commented on how her class has a large cluster of kids who are developmentally at more of a Pre-K level than she has had in previous years.   Which is fine, they are 4 and 5 years old, just starting school probably just an adjustment for her. But kindergarten teachers are great (hopefully) at that whole differentiation thing.  Lydia does seem to be at the top of her class academically she is one of 2 kids who could count to 100 independently. Not that kids need to know how to do that before Kindergarten, it was just something I learned while talking to her teacher.  I was working with kids Ms Hunter was trying to get to recognize 1 - 10 and understand one to one correspondence. I think that now that these kids are in school daily they will start learning it all really quickly.  Kindergarten is pretty awesome at that. I have been impressed with how much Lydia's writing/spelling has already improved.  A majority of the time she would "write" before she started school she would use what she called, "Lydia Language" which is basically scribbles in lines on a page. Her favorite phrase was Dear ________, I love you. From Lydia.  This was on pretty much every picture she colored or any paper she had from about March on but now that she has been in school she is writing all kinds of things.  When we got home from school last Thursday both kids wanted alone time in their rooms and she wrote an awesome letter to her teacher.  I could pretty much read it all pretty easily and she did it all herself.  Its great.  She still asks how to spell lots of things and I answer about every 3 word or so but I just want her to spell it phonetically and see how she does. Anyway, its exciting.

 Jared is still loving reading which makes me so happy.  I'm glad it has kept up even though we aren't doing the reading challenge anymore. I remember seeing quotes about something about how one of the best gift you can give your children is a love of reading and I am happy to see him and Lydia love reading. He is supposed to read 15 minutes a day and fill out a reading log and when I tell him to do it he always complains but then I set the timer for him for 15 minutes (or maybe 20...) and when it goes off he keeps reading even if I tell him in case he didn't hear it beep.  Awhile ago I requested the latest "I Survived" book, (Nature attacks) from the library and it finally came in. He went and laid in the trunk of the car (no idea why he picked that spot) with his pillow and blanket and read the whole book that afternoon so 2+ hours of reading. Reading is not always his first choice of activity and he doesn't always have a book with him as some kids I know but he does enjoy it and does it frequently of his own choice.

 

Both Jared and Lydia had fun events last week.  Kindergarten had a "Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall" picnic on Thursday. (In like 85 degree weather) I wasn't able to go since it was a preschool day but it happened to be during Mark's lunch and plan time so he made the 20 minute drive to spend 15 or so minutes with her and she was so excited.  She understood that I couldn't come because of preschool and handled it really well.  We opted to not tell her that Mark was planning on coming in case something came up so when he walked into her classroom she was super excited and surprised.  I am so glad Mark was willing to go and made it.  They seemed to have a lovely time.  He even stopped and got her a special cookie from a bakery.  I'm so grateful he is an awesome dad and willing spouse.

2nd grade had a big science day called "Matter Day".  Again I couldn't volunteer with the rotations because I was teaching preschool but they had some cool science experiments that afternoon so I went over to the school to watch those with him.  Jared has told me on more than one occasion that he does not really like Science (which sort of makes me laugh or shake my head since there is such a huge push for STEM stuff and the S is for science) but he enjoyed the experiments and I am glad I could hang out with him.  Jared's teacher had told them that they could dress up as scientist if they wanted so he took an old, white long-sleeved of Mark's that I keep in preschool for a Dr's coat and some swim goggles as his scientist look.  I should have taken a picture but oh well.

Jared is in the left corner in the white shirt. 

Mrs Harmon's (one of the 2nd grade teachers)  husband is a chemist I believe at UVA and comes to do these experiments for 2nd grade each year. Its cute. 

For their day off last Friday we decided to have a Harrisonburg day. They have 2 really fun different parks there and I wanted to stop in Hobby Lobby and get out of town for a few hours.  Harrisonburg is typically about 4- 5 degrees cooler than Charlottesville and we wanted to be outside so it just made sense to go there. We stopped at Purcell Park first which is a cool wooden fort playground. It is so unlike most playgrounds that its fun to go check it out. It was sadly bad timing as a class of 5th graders from a local school was there for a field trip.  Half the kids were at the JMU planetarium and the other half waited at the park. Jared was quite irritated that it was more crowded than we expected but he got over it.  We played hide-n-go-seek and had a great time.  After that park we went to Dreams Come True Park and rode scooters and ran around there.  It was lovely.  Hobby Lobby was great and we stopped for lunch at Costco.  Sometimes you just want an easy change of scenery. I also hoped we would see some trees changing on the drive since we go through the "mountains".  There were some trees that had begun changing and it made me feel better about the hot weather we have been having.  When I am driving longer distances, even if its just an hour I need to have songs to sing along with.  We started with Christmas songs because Lydia loves the song, "What's This".  She has no idea what its from but thinks it the greatest song.  Then we moved onto the "Wicked" soundtrack and Jared and Lydia loved it.  We had been watching a Phineas and Ferb episode while I did Lydia's hair that morning and it happened to be their spin on the Wizard of OZ. We have never watched that movie with Jared and Lydia so I was trying to explain the plot to them.  And since Wicked is like the backstory to the Wizard Of Oz (and fun to sing along with) we listened to it on the drive home. I was not really expecting any response from them but they asked for the songs over and over again and wanted all the backstory I could give them which was a little shaky as I haven't thought about Wicked much for the last 7 years or so.  Mark and I saw it in NYC when we came home from Egypt in 2008 but that was almost 10 years ago.   When we got home we watched a few clips online from the broadway show and I requested the Wizard of Oz for our movie night this week.  They are pretty excited about it.  I am thinking we are going to be hearing a lot of "Popular" the next few weeks.  Watch out Newsies you may have been replaced.

For old times sake:

Its just such a different type of playground. 

After Harrisonburg we went to a new friends house to cool off with water balloons and some slip n sliding (it was the same family who asked about Fall weather here) because it was 88 degrees here. Oh well.  I know Fall will come and I know it will be long and lovely.  

Signs of Fall!

Preschool is going well for me. It has taken a long time to get adjusted and feel anywhere close to where I was last year.  These guys are just so young! We seem to be in a routine of having great days on Tuesdays that are really fun and what I hoped preschool would be and then they go down hill a little bit each day.  Wednesday is still good and Thursday is fine but quite different from Tuesday.  I have one more week with just 6 kids and then my 7th student will be back in town. So that will be another adjustment but I know it will work out and be great.  Its just taking some time. We did go on a fun field trip last Thursday to pick apples at Carter Mountain and everyone enjoyed it.  I think that parents were happy to be with their kids and sort of see me with them and the other students and their parents too. It was hot and not Fall like at all but a good time. I made some apple snacks and we read some books and sang some apple songs and had a nice time together. I'm very grateful to have this class. 

It's beginning to feel a lot like Fall!

The weather has taken a definite turn the last week and I am loving it!  I love the energy and excitement I get when the summer weather starts to go away. We have laid low the last 2 weeks or so just trying to get into a good school groove.  Last Saturday was really rainy so we headed up to the temple and enjoyed being there. We went swimming on Labor Day after hours of yard work.  We had been neglecting a yard for a few weeks and got it in good shape Monday, jus time for campfire season!  I used our weed whacker and mowed the lawn for the first time. Our yard will never look pristine but soon all the weeds will stop growing like crazy which I look forward to for sure. Jared and Lydia were happy to go swimming one last time.  A few weeks ago Jared figured out how to dive off both the diving boards and really wanted to go again so he wouldn't forget how.  Lydia had mastered diving off the ladders in pools and decided that this last day of swimming was the day she would learn to dive.  She figured it out from the side of the pool really quickly then moved on to the low board and then the higher board.  She did awesome.  It was a great way to spend our last time at the pool for the season. When we go to Utah for Christmas we will try to go swimming in the heated pool at Mark's mom's house.  Jared is concerned about forgetting how to dive over the winter before swim team starts again. I am so glad that he is looking forward to doing it again next summer. (i have never successfully uploaded a video on here but it is of them both diving, they really did awesome figuring it out.) 

Both Jared and Lydia are doing well at school.  Lydia enjoys Kindergarten so much.  She loves her teacher, brings home all smiley faces on her "daily behavior" chart for listening, being respectful, and following directions and is making some nice friends.  She has grown to love the Monkey Bars at school and is confident and happy to go each day.  Jared is happy with his class.  The enrollment for 2nd grade was higher than expected so at the beginning of the year they informed families that a new teacher would most likely be hired and 3 - 4 kids would be moved from all the classes. This irritated a lot of people and "Back to School Night" was not ideal for quite a few families (or the teachers) with 2nd graders but that change has been made and seems to be working fine.  Jared did not want to move from his class and was relieved he didn't get chosen.  I'm glad for him.  At Back To School Night they offer 2 sessions so parent with kids in multiple grades can meet each teacher.  I opted to go to the Kindergarten one first and am glad I did.  The 2nd grade teachers all presented together in the gym and the first session was full of people and seemed a little tense.  The 2nd session for 2nd grade was like 8 parents and quite pleasant. Jared really likes his teachers and has some good kids in there with him.  He actually already had to miss a day of school.  He got a stronger version of a cold Lydia got and stayed home one Friday.  I had planned to meet Jared and Lydia for lunch that day and ended up just taking Jared with me to Lydia's lunch.  It was fun to eat with her and meet some of the kids she has talked about. One girl, has a matching dress with Lydia so we coordinated with her mom to have them wear it the same day which was fun.  Its been a good 2 weeks which is really nice. 

Preschool is going well for me.  The beginning of the year is hard with teaching routines and kids getting used to me and each other.  I was writing down birthdays the other night and realized how young this class is.  One girl turns 5 in November and then the next birthday isn't until May!  A majority of the class has only been 4 for 4 months.  It may not seem like much but it makes a huge difference. Last year was a really easy transition as 3 of the kids had been in class with me before so they knew what to expect and do but none of these kids have so its all new. I have had to scale back my plans and readjust things but it is working out fine.  It's amazing how those 2 kids make a big difference in how class feels.  If asked right now I would probably lean more toward capping my class at 6 and not trying to get a full class of 8 for next year.  In another month I may feel differently but we will keep taking is slow.  It will work out and I am glad I am starting to get to know this new group of kids but do miss my old class.

Mark is also starting a  job.  Forever now he was longed to be able to travel places and it just hasn't happened.  A friend has been working at the airport and posted that the airline was hiring and Mark applied and got offered the job.  He will be working 6 hours a week (Monday and Tuesday from 8-11 pm) and from that we get flying privileges.  He is thrilled.  When we told Jared and Lydia they were super excited.  He will unload and transport luggage where it needs to go and make sure the cabin is ready for the next flight.  He has big travel plans for us.  He wants to try Costa Rica for Spring break and Iceland when school gets out in June! We have friends currently living outside of London so I could see that happening next summer too which sounds awesome.  Summers have always sort of been like salt in a wound to us. We have all the time in the world to travel and never enough money in our budget to do it.  He can not wait to take these trips. Its great that he is so excited.  We will love being able to see family and attend more family events and Lydia and I want to go to Texas to visit the Lenox's.  I hope the job goes well for Mark and he feels like he can balance it with school and Bishop stuff. We are lucky that the airport is a 3 minute drive from us. I think flying stand by sounds really stressful but we will figure it out.  It is really a great opportunity for us.  Speaking of trips Mark is actually taking one at the end of the month.  He is going to Romania for a conference for school.  A benefactor in the county is sponsoring the trip and he got chosen to go.  He is so excited.  He will be gone for a week and I am happy for him but will probably not have the best sleep that week.  It will be really good for him though.

We went to the annual Bike Rodeo at the school last night. Both kids were excited to go and had fun. Lydia was ready to ride her bike and did a few laps in the loop but felt really intimidated by all the kids racing by her, I don't blame her it looked like an accident waiting to happen. Fortunately both kids got out of there uninjured.  After a few laps Lydia decided to ride her scooter and try out the games they had.  She did great.  Jared did a few laps then just went and stood by Mark while he was talking to people. I'm not sure what was up with him, but after awhile he started riding again.  It was great weather and a fun night. 

We started Soccer this week.  The first practice was supposed to be Wednesday but it was rained out so we practiced today instead of having a game.  Jared is on the same team as his good buddy Tyler and Tyler's Dad is coaching so I think Jared will really enjoy his season.  Lydia ended up with the coach Jared had last year who was awesome.  He is really good with the kids and knows a lot about soccer and how to teach these kids.  She has a nice boy on her team from her Kindergarten class which made it nice for her.  I think it will be a nice season.  We were super unprepared for soccer today.  Both Jared and Lydia had outgrown their cleats and Lydia's ball had a leak in it so it wouldn't pump up.  They handled it really well and after practice we went and got new gear. I found some super cute athletic clothes for Lydia for a great deal at Costco.  Two shirts, a pair of shorts, and a super cute skirt all for $13.00. It was awesome. She loves it all.  Today we were practicing tying her new cleats and she has almost mastered tying shoes.  The laces are really long so it makes it easier for her to do and I'm glad to see her figuring it out. 

 

We also went to a baptism this afternoon. Today is the 09th so in just over a month we will be at Jared's baptism!  He is getting baptized on his actual birthday and is really looking forward to it.  It is crazy to be at this point.  It seemed so far away at the beginning of the year and now its here.  I feel like he is ready for the most part, he can answer all the "questions" but sometimes I wonder at how young children are when they are baptized.  It just sometimes seems odd to have them make this choice at age 8 when they will still have lots of growing to do and could feel really differently in just a few short years.  Anyway, my mom and sister Susanna are coming out and so is Mark's Mom.  Jared is thrilled to have them coming and wishes all of his cousins and uncles and aunts could come.  He was so disappointed that my Dad, Grandpa Vince wouldn't be coming when we found out about his passing.  It's hard. 

We ended the day with a campfire with friends. We ate dinner outside before they arrived and admired all the yard work we did on Monday, it hadn't been overgrown again yet.  It was a perfect Fall evening, where it actually felt nice to be by a fire and you kind of wanted to be wearing a sweater.  The kids played really well and the s'mores were delicious.   It was great to visit with these families and enjoy the Fallness of it all.  I hope this year we take advantage of that firepit! 

Lydia attempting to keep the smoke out of her eyes.  

Jared later put on a pair of goggles to try to keep out the smoke.