A New School Year!

After a long, long, long summer, I am pleased to announce that school has started and my life finally got  easier! We are in the beginning of our 3rd week and with both Kimberly and Benjamin gone the house is so contention free during the day.  They fight with each other as much as they play with each other and now they aren't doing either around me!  Benjamin loves Kindergarten though he is having a hard time adjusting to the structure.  It is a long day and his behavior isn't the best.  He has a hard time sitting still and not being social. He isn't mean or anything but he is pretty disruptive because he won't stay in his seat and interrupts a lot with random comments. We knew this would happen and thankfully his teacher is being very patient.  But he IS really focused when it comes to his school work and he seems to enjoy doing it.  Kimberly, now in 2nd grade is the exact opposite.  She is surprisingly a bit shy and is really well behaved, but I can't get her to focus on her schoolwork for the life of me.  Benjamin can usually complete 4-5 worksheets before she gets through one.  She does that whole "stare into space" thing a lot.  Good thing I'm not homeschooling or she'd still be in Kindergarten! Oh and she got glasses.... she still looks super cute!

Zachary likes being the "big helper" right now as the oldest one home in the day.  He plays with the baby a lot and helps with chores using his "super strong powers".  He says that like it's a catchphrase and he even has a little movement he does when he says it.  Sooooo FUNNY! 

Nicholas is getting very mobile.  He has been doing the "army crawl" on his belly for months now, but about 3 weeks ago he decided he was going to start standing up at the furniture.  Then last week he perfected "going up the stairs" though he is also pretty good at falling down them if I'm not fast enough to catch him when he sneaks up.  And a couple days ago he decided that "regular" crawling was also an acceptable mode of transportation.  So he is getting into everything as evidenced by the above pictures of him "helping with the dishes" and "putting groceries away".  He is such a happy baby though and I feel really blessed to have gotten an easy one right now.

Alan and I got callings in our new ward.  Alan is the Primary Pianist, which is kind of funny.  He has to practice every night, but he's getting better and he really likes it.  I am a wolf den leader in Cub Scouts.  I have never done scouts before and think it should be fun! 

Alan has had to work a lot and usually goes in for at least a few hours on Saturdays.  He even went in on Labor Day.  But he managed to secure Thursday and Friday off this week so he can make the trip back to AZ with me for the kids birthdays and Nicholas' Dr. appointment.

We have been able to do some really fun things together because despite more work hours for Alan, we have less overall commitments right now.  We have been to the movies, an Angels baseball game, the beach (multiple times), swimming, to parks & zoos, a few temples, hiking and on some scenic drives - just to name a few things.  The one big thing we haven't attempted yet is Disney Land.  But Kelly called today and said they might come for fall break and hit up the happiest place on earth.  If that really does happen, we might have to break down and cross it off out "done" list as well.......