August was awesome. That first weekend we all decided we needed a little break from the norm (running around trying to get it all done) and drove to South Charlotte where all the expensive car dealerships are. We got to see a little everything and Nicholas got to sit in a Ferrari. We did take a picture of this but it is MIA. I will post it when it resurfaces. Nick smiled the rest of the weekend.
August 4th we were back to the run-and-gun schedule. Steve was travelling for the culinary clinics so I got double duty. Naomi was off to science camp in the morning. We picked her up and drove to Matt's birthday party. After depositing Nick and his bicycle at the party we rushed off to take Jeremy to Dr. Black's office for his biannual allergy checkup. Jeremy is doing so well that we have now graduated to yearly visits. We then drove back up to Matt's house to drop off Nick's sleepover stuff (not all the boys that came to the day party were staying the night. We had to be sneaky!). We then drove back home and chilled for the rest of the night.
August 6th was the schedule and supply pick-up for both the high school and the middle school. We dropped Naomi off at her final day of science camp and then headed off to find out what classes the boys would be taking in the coming school year. We got to see friends they had missed all summer, pick up their supplies (middle school) and supply lists (high school). We dashed back to the science camp just in time to see Naomi's play (from drama camp that got rained out and postponed until now). We had a little time to relax before taking Nick to the orthodontist to have his braces adjusted. Since we were already out and all three kids needed new shoes we checked out several shoe stores and finally found the perfect shoes for everyone. (We did a lot of school clothes and supply shopping between the 6th and 14th - at least this year the boys seemed to enjoy it a little more. I let them just pick out what they liked and if it fit in the budget they could have it. They like this arrangement as it gave them control over their own wardrobe.)
August 8th, Nick wanted to go to the grocery store with me. When that happens we usually end up with items that are not on my list, but this time it was great because the Luigi's icees were on sale so we stocked up. With the summer coming to an end I wanted the kids to have happy memories to get them through the hard days. It would also help that there would be a Luigi's waiting for them when they got home. We got pizza toppings for dinner that night because the kids had it all planned out. Nick was in charge of dinner (pizza, of course), Naomi was in charge of the lesson (the story of Gideon from Judges in the Bible) and Jeremy was in charge of the activity (Rummikub). Earlier in the day the kids helped me make a batch of zuccinni muffins. We must enjoy our zuccinni garden while it lasts. Today was a great day for being productive, but relaxing and having fun while doing it.
August 14th was the first day of school for Lake Norman Charter. While the boys were at school, Naomi and I washed the truck and spent time at the pool. When the boys returned home both gave a great review of the first day of school and their teachers.
August 15th while the boys were in school Naomi had her yearly visit with Dr. Higgins. She is as fit as a fiddle (no surprises there). Afterwards we went school shopping for Naomi with all the Kohl's Cash we had earned earlier shopping for the boys. She found some really cute stuff. Next it was off to Cook Out for lunch. We sat outside in the shade enjoying our meal and watching the cute little birds eat the crumbs off the ground. That night, Steve and Nick went to help Blake with his Eagle project while Jeremy, Naomi and I headed to a friend of Jeremy's (from church) 16th birthday party. The party had a Greek theme and were supposed to come in dressed as our favorite character from Greek history. Jeremy chose Hermes. Naomi and I went as slaves (we were helping keep the party running smoothly). It was a great party. They had decorated one of the covered picnic areas at the park with signs and clouds and statues and ... The guest of honor arrived on a golden couch carried by several warriors. Once she arrived (dressed as Athena) she battled Medusa and saved everyone at the party from a fate worse than death. We had a great time the rest of the night eating Greek-themed food and playing games. After the party, Steve and the boys went to hear Kev play. Naomi and I crashed after a long and fun day.
August 16th I was up and at the church bright and early to help set of for our Women's Conference. I was on the committee designated to make sure everyone had all the supplies they needed in order to teach their assigned classes. I spent most of my time trying to find enough easels for everyone. That was no easy task. I had to get really creative. I didn't mind running before the whole thing started because I actually got to attend two of the classes. One class was taught by President Jackson and his wife about turning your home into and MTC. I got a lot of ideas that I think my family will really like. The other class was taught by Sister Gehrig on Traditions. The main theme was which traditions do you have that build your family and create memories and which traditions just need to go? I will now be able to get rid of some of the stressful traditions without so much guilt. I would say it was a productive day.
When I got home I saw immediately that Steve and the kids had been hard at work. While I was gone, Steve and the kids had started taking down the massive tree in our front yard. Bradford Pears are great trees for quick growth but they only last about 12-14 years and ours has been there for 13 years. Four of our neighbors had lost their trees in wind storms a few months back and ours was starting to show signs of weakening. Rather than waiting for a storm to blow it over (right on our house - which is what happened to the neighbors) we decided cut it down and save ourselves the headache of post-storm cleanup. The kids worked all day long and had a blast using the chain saw and helping haul all the branches away. We got four loads hauled away before the nearest "green" dump closed for the day. Without the tree there the yard looks huge. I am sad to see the tree go because it was a beautiful tree to look at, but I won't miss the blossoms that smell like rotting meat in order to attract the flies which polinate it. I also won't miss bracing for the crash every time a wind storm comes through. That night, Steve and Jeremy went to a youth dance. It was our turn to chaperone and Steve loves this kind of thing (which makes me appreciate him even more).
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| Branches everywhere - in the end we hauled away 13 trucks full of branches |
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| Full load ready to go. |
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| The cool design from the chain saw. |
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| You can see our house now - that may not be a good thing though. Now we need to power wash the house to get rid of the mold on the side. Oh well! |
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| The main stump was too heavy to get out so we left it right where it fell. It looks kind of cool. |
August 22nd got to officially meet her new teachers, Mrs. Favaloro and Mrs. Bloomquist. Afterwards, I had scheduled appointments for both of us to have our hair cut and styled. We are both ready for the new school year now. Steve spent this weekend at Order of the Arrow as a sponsor for one of his scouts. He really loves this calling.
August 23rd, Christie, Sara and I took Karen out to breakfast as our last get together before Karen moved away. It was a great morning just laughing and crying and eating wonderful food with wonderful ladies. We will miss Karen. Meanwhile, back at home, the boys went to the temple with the youth and Naomi spent some time with her dad doing various things around the house. We all enjoyed our day.
August 24th while getting ready for church I heard Nick and Naomi fighting. I an attempt to handle the situation calmly I tried refocusing them.
Me: "It's time to get ready for church." (said in a sing-song, happy manner).
Naomi: "I am getting ready while fighting with Nicholas - I am multi-tasking."
You have to give her bonus points for that answer. After church we hurried home to have dinner so we would be ready for our home teachers to come visit. In my haste to prepare dinner I dropped the plastic bottle of garlic. It fell to the floor and landed with the opening of the bottle facing me while resulted in what I thought only happened in the movies. Picture this - there is a can of paint sitting in the middle of the room with a stick of TNT in it. The main character suddenly remembers they left something in the room. They rush back in attempting to beat the short fuse and don't quite make it. The camera pans across the room and everything is covered in paint except for the wall behind where our main character was standing. That was the scene in my kitchen. I had garlic all the way up me and splattered behind me leaving my silhouette garlic-free. It was quite hilarious. Our kitchen had the scent of garlic for a couple of day while I was trying to find all the little crevices and crannies where splattered garlic might be hiding. We all got a good laugh over it.
August 25th was Naomi's first day of school. She was so excited. Because she was so excited we had PLENTY of time to take pictures before the bus arrived.
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| All the kids at our bus stop from our neighborhood. |
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| Besties! |
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| She got on the bus all smiles and got off the bus the same way |
August 26th was Back to School night for the middle school. This will be a great year for Nick. He has some amazing teachers. His science teacher, Mr. Blackman, used a car analogy while explaining what type of things they would be learning this year. I can see why he is one of Nicholas's favorite teachers.
August 27th - Steve and I have been married for 21 years. WOW! Since he had to be in Orlando on our anniversary we celebrated with dinner at PF Changs that weekend after he got home. YUMMY!
August 28th - We got Naomi's final schedule for soccer for the season. Half of her games were scheduled for Sundays. I expected her to be really upset when I told her this because we had already had a discussion about not playing on Sundays. She took it all rather well. When I told her that I would have to pick her up early from the stake primary activity is when she broke down and threw a fit. She had been looking forward to this activity ever since they announced it a month ago. I think this decided that we are no longer going to be playing soccer at Strikers. She still loves to soccer and wants to play just for fun. There are plenty of other places that have leagues. We will find one that better fits our schedule. I am happy that she doesn't want to miss church or church activities. She has her priorities straight.
August 29th - P.F. Changs night!! We were celebrating our 21st anniversary and also Steve'e promotion to Senior Director. He had been told earlier that day about the promotion but was told not to tell anyone as it was going to be officially announced to the company in a couple of days. He is so excited. He has worked hard to prove to his bosses that he can handle the work of a senior director. It finally paid off.
August 31st was a busy day. We spent all morning getting stuff together for the Court of Honor and then hurried off to church. We scheduled the Court of Honor for just after church so everyone could just stick around and not have to come right back to the church. I was humbled by the number of people that came to support Jeremy. We had several neighbors, friends from school, scout executives and of course our ward family. Sunny and Bradden drove from Knoxville to be with us as well.
Jeremy's Eagle Court of Honor
I got to present him with his Eagle pin.
I love this kid!
He gave me my mother's pin.
He gave Steve the mentor's pin.
Ryan Losse and Zach Todd were his escorts.
Group hug with Julie Todd, Aubrey Todd, Justice Stewart and Autumn Todd.
We made the day all about Jeremy. I created a DVD montage from Jeremy's first day as a cub scout until finishing his eagle. There were plenty of refreshments (all Jeremy's favorites). People stayed for quite some time afterwards because we were having so much fun. It was a great day!
Back at home we celebrated Madi's birthday!
Olivia and Steve checking out our cool spider. Olivia thought he was really cool.
Nick's friend, Matt Patterson, took this picture for us.
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