Remember when they looked like this?

Weren't they just starting kindergarten with 'Austy' waiting at the window? Remember when Dallin was bigger than Landon? Things change in a hurry don't they.

I did not like the first day of school this year. Something about letting Dallin and Landon out at the curb of middle school...
I could see the anxious feelings on their faces. Will I find my classes? Will I ever see my brother? Will I be all alone all day? In kindergarten at least I knew that there were teachers that expected to help with everything from shoes and stubborn buttons to the ABC's. Middle school not so much. The challenging school work with the difficulty of staying organized with seven classes... This growing up stuff is hard. At least for me. The boys seem to be doing great although they really don't see each other much at all which is proving to be quite an adjustment.

Austin is loving fourth grade. He is invited to move to a different school and be in an advanced fourth grade class. We are still debating whether that is the right thing to do or not.

Jenna loves 1st grade although she is definately ready for bed earlier than she thinks. She has started up with violin again.

I have adjusted our reading a bit--Jenna and Benson really aren't interested in Harry Potter and the Hobbit (which we just reread--I love that book!). So I am reading with just those two a little earlier. Right now we are reading Stuart Little, which they are both listening to (as opposed to instantly falling asleep...). The big boys wanted to reread Harry number six after watching the movie (which cut out all the best parts according to Dallin).

Rustin is doing really well with work and church. He handles the stress better and better each day.

The skin on my hand has a mottled freckle-like appearance. Is that a sign of any weird illness? I hope not. I'm still busy trying to organize everything.

I should have the missionaries apartment completely finished (after the four floods...) by tomorrow. The bathroom on the other house flooded (that makes number six total for us...). We don't know why. I think this is starting to feel like a way of life. We are just about finished with the repairs of the major pipe break there from last month (new walls, paint and carpet). Hopefully we can get it sold.

Hope everyone has a great week and labor day vacation!

Are you ready for some ...

Football!!

This is pretty much what Saturday mornings look like at our house this time of the year.

We also took advantage of the last of the 100 degree weather. We are all ready for a new school year to start tomorrow morning. Summer was definately too fast. It feels like time is slipping through my fingers.

Speaking of fingers--on Friday Jenna sliced her finger badly enough that it is still bleeding a bit today. She was so terrified of getting stitches that she kept saying "it's just a tiny scratch," as it was bleeding through her fingers. So we just wrapped up it with some bandages. All well.


This week we also had Benson's follow-up x-ray on his collar bone. We discovered that the bone was actually broken in several places (they were less than informative in New Mexico...). It has a HUGE lump and is still slightly deformed but being four has its advantages. It should eventually heal straight.

Dallin and Landon start middle school tomorrow at the same school I attended not too long ago ;)! Seven classes and lockers and everything... They are both taller than me. How did that happen when I wasn't looking?... I know it will be a great year for all of us.

Winding down

We are now almost at two weeks of being a video game free home. After watching Elder Bednar's CES fireside we realized that we needed to cut back on the virtual side of our home.

Not that we have anything against video games in general, we just had a bit too much of it going on around here. We needed a clean break. So, the lack of afternoon entertainment brought about some creative solutions from the kids...

One of the new "games"...

AaaaVAaaaaLAaaaaNCHE!




The next sample is a giant crossbow that was two days in the making. It is made with a variety of sticks, telephone cords, rope and duct tape. Dallin tried to make it with only lashings but had to use some duct tape reinforcements in the end. All the boys have big plans (from the internet) for 'real' crossbows from our next visit to Grandpa Hatch--the expert weapon maker.


We spent this last weekend in Franklin with the youth of the ward. We went to the Martin Harris pageant and then we took the kids and floated down the Bear river. We had a blast. And we are all tired.

Looking forward to a fun packed last-week-of-summer week. The kids are making plans as we speak!

Not for the faint of heart

**warning--I have included pictures of our latest injury**
Dallin lost a battle with the pruning shears yesterday.
It felt like this.





Thankfully we were able to forgo our traditional bed in the hall of our local E.R. in favor of a very posh room (warm blankets, quiet bed and valium to relax)at the plastic surgeon's office. (He's in our ward--don't you love ward families!)



After checking the too-close-for-comfort nerve bundle and tendon (both were okay), click on the picture to see the GORY details...


Dallin got to have a very pretty Zoro style incision stitched up.


His finger is swollen at least twice the size of the finger next to it but he is doing great. It is a little more sore than stitches usually are (we have a lot of experience with this) because of all the exploring inside the incision. But he is happy to be out of dishes duty and lawn mowing.

In other news, Dallin's CT scan showed that the marble sized bone growth behind his ear is a benign tumor called a mastoid osteoma No worries and no reason to remove it unless it really gets too big. So all is well.

Our other injured child, Benson, is bouncing around the house like a little monkey. He tries to tell me that he can't make his bed (or unload the silverware or whatever) because he has a broken bone. It isn't getting him too far any more. Poor kid. :)