August Chronicles

First off: Addie started First Grade! School started too early in the year for us. We didn't quite have our summer vacation out of us enough to feel really excited. I'll miss her help from the summer including: organizing any drawer or closet I point her to, putting Enoch down for naps, and thinking up creative games to play. But the coolest thing about her teacher is a classroom money system with a bank and a store! The least cool thing is being "boy trapped" at her desk. Max on one side, who I saw roll his eyes and shrug at Jack on the other side on the first day of school as Addie timidly tried to squeeze in to her desk. Her best friend Sarah is only 3 seats away on the same row, but alas, is boy trapped too.

We were so happy to have a visit from my mom, dad and McKay before they hopped on the river for a 6 day Grand Canyon trip. Quinn bawled her eyes out when she had to say goodbye the night before they left. We thought she was just overdramatic from being over tired, but she woke up the next morning and the first thing out of her mouth was a sobbing howl. She decided this kind of drama works for her and frequently enacts a similar scene in the morning when Addie leaves for school.

Quinn has had some deep thoughts on life lately. Here is a brief musing I overheard while driving them home one night:
"Imagine you are a grown up. What would it be like?
You would eat all your food,
you would not make messes and
you would be a really good rock climber.
I mean, we know how to rock climb, but if you were a grown up you would be really good!"

August was a month of bike adventures for Enoch. He discovered the freedom of the open road on his red tricycle. Unfortunately he took that freedom all the way down to the busy road at the end of the street. After some desperate holding on by his sisters, a rescue by the neighbor and some stern talking to, I think we've curbed the urge. Oh yea, and he lost his bike for a day. That was probably the big motivator. Now he just speeds right up to the gutter, throws down his feet (shoed or not, his toes are raw) and comes to a skidding stop BEFORE the road, leans all the way over the handle bars and waves at the passing traffic. I think it has given more than one driver heart failure. It takes an extra 5 minutes of negotiating to get him to ride in the stroller now. He wants to ride his tricycle everywhere. When we have ample time I let him ride it over to the school to pick her up. The high school kids waiting in their cars at the crosswalk always get a kick out of him scooting across the crosswalk with his red cowboy boots and shiny red trycicle with leather tassles hanging off the handle bars.
There is a sidewalk over by the school that has an incline which he scoots to the top of then tucks his feet under and coasts down. But he can truly coast in style. Picture head thrown back, eyes shut, feeling the wind in his face, throwing his weight side to side as he carves a giant 'S' down the slope.....and then he throws a little too much weight into it at just the wrong angle between his front and back tire and rolls clear over leaving him in a tearful heap on the cement.....but after a few sobs, a hug from mom and a distainful look at the bike who would do that to him, he's dragging it back up the sidewalk for another, more guarded, run.
McKay helped him spray paint the girls old 12" princess bike so it was at least blue and grey. It still doesn't look very manly, but I have no doubt he will compensate by riding it 'manly.' He hasn't quite converted over to it yet.

My month was filled with planning. I organized the curriculum for our preschool co-op. Which I love doing and I'll share the info with anyone interested in running a similar preschool. And I have also been having a blast organizing my Let's Play Music classes. I had no idea I would have so much fun with this. Here's my plug: this is the most fun and comprehensive music fundamentals class I have ever seen, let alone could imagine. I started teaching because I wanted it for my kids and there were no teachers in Flagstaff.
Check out the website: www.letsplaymusicsite.com

Aaron had a busy month with church assignments. He spent a weekend at a 5 stake youth conference that our stake hosted! Another weekend at a stake dance in Winslow, AZ. And another weekend on a deacon's quorum campout. Of course, he helped them with rock climbing and took them canyoneering. He felt like it was a success: 6 of the 11 boys cried and they are all bragging about the hike now. (little did Aaron know, retribution was coming. But that is a story for next month's Chronicles). The kids and I hiked in to meet them at the rock climbing Friday night. I had the pleasant realization that this was the first time I'd taken all of them hiking in a while and all 4 did great. They stayed out of the poison ivy and stayed cheerful up the steep trail. I didn't even have to break out any 'happy suckers.'