Spinning

I had one of those mornings today.  One of my biggest struggles during this phase of my life is deciding how I will spend my time.  Perhaps this will always be one of my biggest struggles; maybe it will just look a little different later on.  I don't know.  All I know is that I sometimes feel that my mind is just spinning and spinning and I can't get it to stop and settle down.  I spend so much time worrying about what to do next that I can't seem to get much of anything done.  Sometimes it's just that I'm keeping so much in my head--lists of things that need to get done, stuff I need to get, schedules, meals, etc--that my head feels like it could explode.

After a bit of a hectic morning getting the kids off to school and Joe off to work, it was quiet again with just me and my little boys at home.  We spent some time cleaning up, like usual.  Nate wanted to play various games but somehow I managed to convince him to get dressed and get his jobs done.  I dressed Elijah while trying to persuade Nate to dress himself.  [Sidenote: It is exhausting helping a newly 4 year old get his jobs done each day.  His only jobs in the morning are get dressed, make his bed and brush his teeth.  Still, sometimes it takes all the patience I can muster to get through it.  I know it will pay off eventually but man is it hard some days.]

Finally, it is time for Elijah's nap and I have promised Nate he can watch TV for a bit.  Then, the spinning starts.  I should exercise.  I wanted to try and exercise every day this week and I haven't.  No, I should just shower while I have the chance.  Who knows how long this nap will last.  No, I should hurry and get dressed so I can spend some quality time with Nate.  My phone alerts me that I really need to pay bills.  I start paying bills and doing other stuff like that.  A bill is two days late.  How did I miss that?  I am so disorganized.  I push through and get some good, important stuff done.  I shower.  My thoughts are still spinning: Nate has watched enough TV--I should go turn it off.  No--I should go make some bread.  We are out and are fighting valiantly to stay within our food budget this month.  But, I decide that I must call a friend that means so much to me but that I have somehow managed to not call for almost a month after I said I would.  I am a terrible friend.  Oh and then there's that other friend that I haven't spoken to in months. I need to call her!  I call the first friend and have a good but short conversation since she is at work. I finish doing my hair and then remember I haven't said a prayer yet.  I kneel down and it all kind of hits me.  I end up pleading with God for some quiet--a quiet mind and heart.  I feel better after that prayer.  I remember yet again that when I set aside quiet times for reading and planning I don't seem to feel as hurried and crazed during the day.  Sometimes I still do, but usually I don't.

So, I did accomplish some good things during that nap.  But, Nate watched an awful lot of TV and I forgot that Elizabeth didn't have her lunch at school and I was supposed to bring it to her.  Oh well--the school gave her an "emergency lunch" and it was fine.  I didn't bake any bread (psh--like that was going to happen :).

What did I learn from this?  Life is a tricky balance sometimes.  We need to be gentle with ourselves and also make sure to give ourselves time to focus on what's most important.  We desperately need perspective--an eternal perspective to help guide us through this busy, crazy world we live in.  God can give us that if we just ask Him for it.  We don't have to do it alone.

First Day(s) of School

 We were told when we moved here, and I first went to register the kids, that there wouldn't be any space at the neighborhood school so they would be offloaded to another nearby school.  They said the waiting list was just way too long.  I was kind of upset at first but determined to make the best of it.  The girls got adjusted to the idea of a different school.  Well, apparently they had a crackdown and found a bunch of people that weren't following the rules and didn't actually live where they said the did.  A few days before school started, we found out that Elizabeth had gotten in.  Unfortunately Natalie had not, although she was very next on the list for her grade.  We decided to go for it and hope for the best.

So, the first day of school came and the girls were at different schools. They were nervous but they did so great.  I thought they'd be really upset about not having each other.  I mean look at this:

They still love to dress alike.

 Brand new 3rd and 2nd graders.

So, we split up... Joe dropped Elizabeth off and I took Natalie:

Goodbye sister!

 They both had great first days.  I was so happy about that.  That was actually Nate's first day of preschool, too.  We started a preschool co-op and he has been loving it.  It is perfect for him this year.  Sadly, not one picture of his first day--sorry Nate.  I'm sure there will be more on that later.

After 6 days of racing between schools for pick-ups and drop-offs, we found out Natalie got in, too.  It was sad for her since she had already made a good friend but she handled it well.  We're having some regular play dates, too, so they'll still see each other.  The resiliency of that girl amazes me.  So, she had yet another first day of school in her new class.  Now we're into the full homework routine and we're having struggles.  Hopefully their work habits improve soon or I might go crazy.  Ah, back to school... :)

Goodbye Summer

We were able to squeeze in a little more fun right before school started.  We had one last beach day on a school day.  It was a pretty hot day and we had a lot of fun:

The next day we went to a fun local event.  It's a huge multicultural festival called Happy Kid's Day. We were there for like three hours and didn't even hit half of the booths.  Natalie wanted to spend some of her tickets paying for a chance to have her picture taken with a python:

That girl has no fear when it comes to animals/bugs.

The kids all had fun on the pony rides, too:

These guys were cool:

The Sunday before school started, we drove out to the temple.  It's always good to be there.  The Oakland temple is especially important to us since that's where Joe and I were married:

(my first experiment with a filter! So dreamy, right? :)

Look at us now--4 kids and almost 10 years later:

Joe had some fun posing the kids on these bushes:

Not sure what the grounds crew would think of that...

Some other summer adventures...

The kids have been playing with the blocks a lot more lately.  Here are some of their creations from a lazy morning:

Natalie's restaurant, I think, with Cinderella taking the orders.

Nate's tower:

That's probably what I love the most about summer break--the kids having enough time for long, drawn-out pretend play together.  It's so fun to watch.

Natalie lost her first top tooth just in time for school:

And Elijah got his first tooth:

Now he has two!

Last but not least, Nate dressed up like Joe:

We miss you summer!

Atkin Reunions

We made the long drive out to Eastern Idaho for the Atkin reunions.  Although the drive was painful at times, it was well worth it to get some relaxing and fun days with our family in beautiful surroundings.

We drove through the night so we could spend a day in Twin Falls on our way up.  Joe wanted to see his Grandma Atkin and Grandpa Hall who he hadn't seen in awhile.  First, we had a wonderful visit with Grandma Atkin.  She got to meet Elijah for the first time:

He was all smiles until the group picture:

It's always nice to soak up some of Grandma Atkin's strength and love for us. She is such an amazing woman and it's a privilege to know her.  

Next, I dropped off Joe to visit with his Grandpa one on one for a little bit while the kids and I grabbed some lunch.  Grandpa Hall is 93 and although he has struggled more of late, Joe was able to have a great conversation with him in which he was completely lucid.  Joe really loved having that chance and I'm glad we made the time for it.  Grandpa Hall is an amazingly optimistic man, even when facing the difficulties of old age, and never stops talking of his love for his wife who passed away a few years after I joined the family.  I've loved the time I've been able to spend with him.  I'm so grateful for the people who helped to make Joe the person that he is.  

Elijah getting to know Great Grandpa Hall

After the visits, we drove the four more hours to Jaime's family's cabin where our Atkin reuninons were held this year.  First we had a few days with Tom and Lorna, then a few with Marsha.  It was a lot of fun.  As usual, my pictures are pretty sparse but we did get some.

The kids had a blast running around the woods getting dirty.  I made the mistake at one point of telling them I'd take a picture of how dirty they were.  They proceeded to roll around in the dirt to make it even worse.  Here's a few of the dirty kids that were willing to be in a picture:

(I love TJ's thrilled expression)

Nate wouldn't be in the picture but I snuck one anyway:

We decided to try and hose them off first by turning the sprinklers on:

Jace was one of the brave few who rinsed off in the water:

It made Natalie look even dirtier:

I don't know what possessed me to let her wear that white shirt.

On Tuesday, Joe, Jon, Tom, Christine, Hallie & TJ had quite the hiking adventure.  They went on a 14 mile hike up to Table Mountain at the base of the Tetons and back.  They weren't sure they would make it but they did and it sounded like an amazing experience for all of them.

I thought the pictures Joe took were incredible.  I want to do that hike sometime, too.

Check out this ray of sunlight:

And you can't beat the views:

  There's Table mountain with the Tetons behind:

 The intrepid explorers:

 I got to have some fun times hanging out with these two cuties:

Next year they'll be running around.

I couldn't resist a picture of my sleeping baby:

Joe saw this tiny little bunny by the cabin and managed to catch it:

The cuteness of that bunny managed to reveal the deeply hidden animal lover within Joe and he was trying to find a way to keep it.  He came to his senses though and let it go.

 I love the aspen trees.  I love the sound of them when the wind blows the leaves:

We had a campfire one night and roasted some marshmallows.

Here's some of the group waiting to start:

 All too soon, we piled back in the car for the long drive home. There was a lot of this...

 ...way too many bathroom breaks, too much junk food (and as a result--some sickness), a book on CD, and after almnost 17 hours we made it home!  Now it's almost time for school to start up.

Chris & Regina Visit

We left the mountains Friday morning and by the time we got home, Chris & Regina and kids were there.  They made the long trek to California to come see us for a few days.  We had so much fun together!  Even though it had been a year since we'd seen them, the kids played like they'd never been apart.  

We spent the first day at home and the kids went swimming all day.  

Lilly and Nate were adorable together and feel asleep like this the first night:

The second day we went to San Francisco.  We're not the best at showing people around the city since we don't go there often and we had some hiccups but we still had a good day.  We walked around the farmer's market by the Ferry Building, grabbed some lunch, then took a ferry out across the bay and back.

Finally found parking and the kids were enjoying the truck:

We met a nice balloon man:

Natalie & Sam playing before lunch:

 

Chris, Regina & cute Maddie:

 Once we got going on the ferry the wind was out of control.  

We didn't last too long on the deck, but we got some good pictures before it was too bad.

 

Cute Lilly was loving it:

 So was Eli:

 Goofy kids hanging out inside the ferry:

 We stopped at a park for a little bit and the kids loved this jungle gym:

 We also discovered this fun fountain:

 Nate & Maddie

 That little girl was so much fun.  It was fun to get a glimpse of what Elijah will be doing in a few months.  I don't know if I'm ready to chase him around everywhere, though!

She and Joe bonded one night:

On Monday we had the best beach day.  Elijah was sure happy to be there:

 The adults worked hard to bury all 6 of these cute kids:

Nate refused to smile in the pictures.  What a stinker. 

Even Maddie liked being buried!  She enjoyed sampling the sand as well.

 Joe took a turn, too:

Lizzy & James

 Some more beach fun:

Buried again:

We had a blast playing some wiffle ball.  Nate could have played for hours and Grandma was patient enough to keep pitching to him.  It was cute to watch. 

 Chris and Joe had a grand time catching clams:

 They (along with Marsha) got it into their heads that they had to take them home and make chowder out of them.  And...with no consent or help from Regina or I, they managed to pull it off.  It was pretty good!

Here's Nate and Lilly playing with a hermit crab in the clam bucket:

One huge highlight of the day for me was watching the dolphins.  There were tons that were so close so I decided to swim out there.  I went farther out than I ever have and it was awesome.  I was only about 15-20 feet away from actual wild dolphins!  They were jumping and rolling around.  I loved every minute and didn't want to come in.  Joe finally came out to get me since they were a little worried.  He got to see them close, too.  Man I love the ocean.  It really was a perfect day.

 Back home and swimming some more...

I just can't get over the cuteness of those two.

Of course these two are right on the same cuteness level:

We were all so sad to see them go.  Thanks so much guys for driving the 15 hours out here!  We love you!