Back to school in person

 And just like that our sweet girl is off to high school. After two weeks of online school, she was ready to go to school. Love this girl so much and pray that she has a wonderful high school experience full of great friends and learning.

And just like that this guy is a Senior! Love him so much and pray that he will have an amazing experience during his last year of high school. I'm not sure why time goes so fast but I am treasuring every minute because next year this guy will be on his mission!

You got this! I love you both so much!

Neighborhood luau

 The night before our neighborhood luau, we decided to decorate a totem pole for the event.

It was fun to be creative together.

So fun to see all the creativity in our neighborhood.

Mary was at work when we first arrived at the luau. She joined us later which is why her picture is by herself.

I volunteered to help at the fishing pond. All volunteers received a grass skirt, yellow shirt, lei, etc... Todd wore his Aloha hat and with the Hawaiian music playing, it made us miss Hawaii.

Two neighbors that also helped at the fishing pond.

Sara had a blast at the luau with her cute friends.

First BHS football game

Mary went to her first BHS football game as a BHS student. Ben was kind enough to drive Mary and her friends to the game in our suburban. The game was 'white out' which is why they are all in white.

Bingham lost the game but they still had a blast.

Not what I expected

This is not how I expected a weekday at the end of August to look like. I thought I would have a few hours to myself once school started. However, Ben and Mary did online school for two weeks. Then Sara was home sick for a day, followed by Luke home sick. I must admit I was ready for some time alone- the introvert in me needs a break every now and again :) Of course now that they are all back in school I miss them and wish they were home again. Luckily the school days go fast and they come home before I know it.

 

My favorite time of day

Dinnertime is my favorite time of day. It's crazy busy now with homework and after school activities, but when we can make it happen, I treasure our dinnertime together. In this picture, Todd was getting ready to leave for meetings at the stake center, Sara was already showered and in her pajamas, and the other kids were leaving for Young Mens and Young Women's activities. However, when we are all together with good food, all is right with the world. It's even better when Michael can call during dinnertime on p-day and we get to pray with him. Life is good and we are so blessed to have each other, our home, and our food.

 

Michael in Washington update

Michael became a zone leader and was transferred to Snohomish, Washington. His companion is Elder Holmes. They get along well together. They both enjoy being zone leaders and teaching other missionaries and investigators.

I was so excited to wake up to a text from Michael on Sunday morning with a zoom link for his sacrament meeting talk. I am so grateful whenever we can see Michael and get a glimpse into his life as a missionary. I mss him like crazy but I'm so grateful that he is happy and enjoys serving the Lord.

A picture from his last p-day. They visited a reptile zoo.

Party at the capitol

Mary's cute friend turned 15 last year. Because of COVID restrictions last year, her parents decided to throw her quinceanera party for her 16th birthday instead.

She said it was a lot of fun!

Powder Mountain race

Ben and Luke's first mountain biking race of the season was at Powder mountain. We left our house at 5:15am for Luke to be there in time to warm up at 7:00am for his 8:00am race. Todd and the boys drove to Powder mountain the evening before for a race course pre-ride. It was a full weekend of mountain biking and driving.

Luke getting pre-race instructions from his coach.

Luke had a great race. He passed 9 people. Nice work Luke!

Parents are asked to volunteer at the races at least once per rider. I volunteered to be a crossing guard at the race in-between the boys races.

Me with my boys on my break from my crossing guard duties.

My parents are so nice to support our kids. They drove to Powder mountain, brought a cooler full of much better food than I brought, and my Dad's EMT skills were so needed as we were about to find out. Every time Sara is near my mom, she loves to play on her phone. I guess my mom has more fun things than I do on my phone.

Ben getting his bike ready to race.

Ben listening to coaches instructions before his race.

Ben did 3 laps for a total of a 15 mile race. We sat in the same spot to cheer him on.

After Sara had played on my mom's phone for too long in-between the boys races, I told her to go play in the dirt or rocks with Luke. They started to build a tower of rocks and I was thrilled!

After Ben had completed his first lap, Luke came to me with a pale face and blood dripping down his hand. He had been working on his rock tower. I looked at his finger long enough to see a flap of skin hanging from his finger and I thought he had taken the top of his finger off. Todd rushed him back to the Bingham tent and I told my Dad that I thought Luke had a serious injury. Thankfully I had looked for the first aid kit earlier when I needed a bandaid for a scab that had come off of Ben. I brought out the first aid kit and someone else brought us some water to clean Luke's hand. I was so grateful that my Dad was there. He was able to put the skin back in place and wrap the wound. I'm afraid the first aid tent would have sent us to the hospital for stitches unnecessarily.

We got Luke settled in the tent and he took a nap while we went to see Ben complete his race.

Ben had a great race too. He started last and he passed 12 people. Nice work Ben!

Luke couldn't resist adding one last rock to the top of his pile before we left. It really was a great tower.

Carpools

 And just that fast we're back into school, homework and carpools again. I am so grateful for carpools. I love getting to know the kids in our carpools and I love not having to drive everyday. I also love being able to chat with my kids while we wait by the door for carpool (Nana loves it too).

I'm lucky enough to only drive elementary carpool to and from school one day a week! ONE DAY A WEEK! It is fantastic. It means we have a full car but that's great too!

In past years I have driven for a week at a time and then had 2 weeks off in-between. One day a week is much better.

I also drive to and from middle school on the same day as elementary school every week. In addition, I drive one Friday a month for middle school since we don't have as many drivers in that carpool. For afternoon pickup I arrive early to get a good pickup spot. It gives me time to read.

Thankfully this year I also have a dance carpool with two other moms for Sara's dance class.

If you think it sounds confusing, it is!

However, it is so nice once it all gets worked out.