Grandma's 85th Birthday

On August 23rd my Grandma Hall turned 85 years young. She was able to have her children, most of her grandchildren and most of her great grandchildren meet at Peter Piper Pizza to celebrate. My grandma is an amazing lady! She still mows her lawn when it needs it, has been known to cut down trees she doesn't want around anymore, and at times we have to fight her to stay off her roof for various reasons. She is one spunky lady. I have very found memories of staying the night at her house with my sister Evi. Grandma would put us to bed reading the story "Little Black Sambo" and would fix us homemade scones for breakfast. The days were spent playing cards and other activities. She has raised such a strong and very close family. I love you grandma! You are the best!

first day of school

I know, I know I am a slacker! I haven't updated for a while now. Things just got so busy all of a sudden. It seems school started and we jumped right in with both feet into all the things that come along with it. School stuff, primary stuff and just life stuff all got a little busier all of a sudden so I have had a hard time sitting down at the computer when I have so much I need to get done. I'm hoping to play catch up here for a bit and post about some of the happenings we want to remember.

Our kids started school on Monday, Aug. 11th. Braden is in the 4th grade, Brittani is in the 3rd grade and Trevor is in the 1st grade this year. The kids all had a great first day of school. They all have great teachers whom they love and were able to find friends in their classes. Its so fun to hear their excitement when they get home on that first day.

(update: since my draft of this post Brittani has been pulled from her class and put into a combo class of 3rd & 4th graders. It will be a little more challenging for her which will be a good thing. She was pretty upset at first because she loved her teacher, but has since adjusted to the change and is enjoying her new class.)

I don't know why, but this year was particularly hard for me. Especially on Sunday night and the morning of the first day. I usually dread the first day because it's undeniable proof that they are each getting older. I am excited to see them learn and grow and become the people they want to become but it is also a reality check that time flies too fast. For some reason this year it just hit me harder than other years. I'm not quite sure why because we didn't have any major changes. I do like having all of them at home with me and knowing what is going on with each of them. It seems I loose a bit of that when they are at school with friends all day. It is just Courtani, Mason and I at home in the morning and then Courtani goes to preschool in the afternoons. She goes Tuesday - Friday from 11:00 - 3:00. The bus picks her up at our front door and then brings her back which is nice. She loves it. Mason takes his nap for most of the afternoon. So, even though I am tied to the house most of the day, it is still pretty darn quiet. However, this new found quiet time has left me with a dilemma each day. To clean or not to clean. My sister Evi, would jump right into it and have her house spotless each day. Me....not so much. It's definitely not one of my strong points. Whatever I decide to do, as much as I miss my kids when they are gone, it's nice to enjoy the few hours of quiet that I have to myself to do whatever I want.