AUGUST 2013
August is my third favorite month of the year. It's easy to know why I love August. August happens to be the hottest month of the year. August is the perfect time to go to the pool and Raging Waters. August is the time to spend all day at Lagoon. August is for camping trips, vacations, picnics, and BBQ's. August is when county fairs open up. There aren't any holidays in August, but that's okay because who needs a holiday to celebrate when you are melting from the heat. And I don't use the word melting in a bad way, some would take melting to mean miserably hot. But to me, it means PERFECTION.
As much as I love August, it does come with mixed emotions. And as much as August means heat, it also means the end to summer is near, with fall and cold weather right around the corner. Around the beginning of August, the stores all start the back to school sales. Sometime around August 25th, the kids go back to school. August means that summer is winding down. The days, where they are still long, are sadly getting shorter. September is around the corner and with it comes the changing of leaves and colder weather. I soak up the heat in a desperate attempt to get it all in before it ends. Towards the end of the month, I'm always looking up to the mountains to make sure the leaves are all still green, and give the mountains the "evil eye." As if I'm trying to tell them to slow down and not change their colors so quickly. Summer days go by far too quickly and three months is not long enough. I wish there was a pause button or a slow down button I could push. But despite the mixed emotions that August brings, it still is my third favorite month of the year.
So, what did August 2013 hold for my family? Well, remember that move I talked about in July? We were still doing that. We had to be completely out of the rental house by August 17th. I was mostly done moving things by this point and mainly had cleaning left to do. But it still was an every day thing of spending a couple of hours at the old house and then going to the new house to get things done. I was very drained and tired of it all and just wanted it to be done. I was excited for our landlords to come home. Since we didn't have to move wards, I was looking forward to being able to get to know their family.
We had a fiasco with the kids school. Remember back in July when I told you that we had been lead to believe we wouldn't have to move the kids schools. We had been told that since our kids were already established in the school and since we were the first to put in for variance requests that it wouldn't be a problem for us to get the variances. Well that turned out to be false. From the start of August we were regularly trying to get a hold of someone at the school to see when the variances would be approved. One week before school was supposed to start, they hadn't even posted class schedules yet, let alone approved variances. We were in a bind because if the variances weren't going to be approved, we would then be rushing around to get the kids registered in the school who's boundaries we were in. We were finally able to get a hold of the principal who told us that their fifth grade classes were too full to approve any variances and because we had a fifth grader, they weren't going to approve any of our variances. We worked really hard, begging and pleading with the principal to make an exception. She wouldn't budge. So, we found ourselves, making last minute headache runs to the new school to get the kids transferred over there. We really didn't want to have the kids move schools again. We were so tired of them always having to move and never having any stability. The whole point of all of the months we spent looking for a new house was to make sure the kids wouldn't have to move schools all over again. It was very frustrating to find ourselves having to move the kids schools again. Now that we are about six months into the school year, I can see how the kids moving schools was actually a blessing in disguise. This school has been much better for them. I like the school, the teachers, and the principal. And the great thing is that the kids won't have to move schools again. What a relief. The advantage to living in a ward with split school boundaries is that they still get to go to school with kids they know from church, and they still get to see friends they made in the old school.
Spider Monkey turned eight. Wow!! I can't believe my little guy is eight now. The time has gone by too fast!!
Spider Monkey also started Cub Scouts.
Little Red June Bug turned two months old.
Space Man Spiff started junior high. I cannot believe I have a child in junior high.
Live Wire started fifth grade, Lion Heart started fourth grade, Spider Monkey started third grade, Firecracker started second grade, and Tiger Lily started first grade.
I said goodbye to my trusty friend, Moby. I loved that truck. I love that truck more than I ever loved my old Saturn, and that's saying something because I loved my Saturn. I love how huge Moby was. I loved the roar of his engine. I love his four wheel drive capabilities, which came in very handy during the winter. But the problem was that Moby only could fit eight people. Now that we have a new baby, there are nine of us. If we wanted to go anywhere as a family, we would have to take two cars. So, I understand why we had to get a new van, but I really miss my Moby. For those of you who don't understand the name, Moby was white and huge, like a great white whale. His full name was Moby Dick, Moby for short. We traded Moby in for an even bigger white beast, a 15 passenger van. It's like driving a bus. And since the van is also white and huge, we Christened it, Stay Puft. I've told Nathan that one day I want another huge, loud, four wheel drive truck.
 |
| My trusty friend, Moby |
 |
| The new beast. |
Moby had an awesome three prong trailer hitch that we kept. We stuck it in the back of the van. One day I was getting some stuff out of the back of the van when Moby's trailer hitch fell out and landed right on my foot. I think it was Moby's revenge for getting rid of him. Luckily nothing was broken. I just managed to bruise my poor foot really really badly. Fun for me!! It took about three weeks for the bruises to fully go away and another week for it to completely heal and feel back to normal.
 |
| This happened right after the trailer hitch fell on my foot. |
