August 2024

Phew. I just finished blogging July and I'm exhausted. We crammed so much into that month! August has been waaaaay more chill. After I got back from Grandpa's funeral, we had one more week of summer. Hazel had orchestra camp, all the kids had school orientation (which was especially exciting for Gemma, who is moving up to middle school this year), we all had haircuts, Gemma went to a birthday party, and Todd and the teens had a boating camping trip with the Livermore youth from our stake. 

Everyone had a good first day of school. The second year of high school is much easier to transition into than the first one, and Jack has been an awesome mentor for Gemma at CMS, so her move has been really smooth. Everyone is happy with their schedules and their teachers. 

I got a LOT of guff that the first day of cookies have been getting smaller and smaller each year. No one believes me that it only feels that way because they're getting bigger. Hazel swore she remembered the cookie being as big as her FACE, so big she couldn't even eat it all in one day. I stepped it up and made legends come to life. 

With the kids back in school, Katie and I finally found a time to get together and go for a walk and lunch. Our vacations schedules were opposite all summer and we barely saw each other. We hiked 5 miles at Brushy Peak and then enjoyed a scrumptious salad at Katie's, and had several hours for really good conversation. 

Hazel tried out for school volleyball and was put on the Varsity team. She got a ton of playing time for their first game, which was awesome. So far, she's had a lot less play time for the next few games. I hope she gets out there enough that she finds the season satisfying. It has been super fun to watch her games and support her. 

Hazel had some bumps with homecoming dress shopping, exaggerations about skinny dipping in the ocean after a youth dance, and mean girl drama vying for orchestra responsibilities. That was a wild week. 

Gemma accidentally wore her retainer to school, even though she's only been wearing it at night for the past year. She didn't even notice until lunchtime, when she took it out and put it on her tray. Then she forgot about it and ran off to play yard games and a friend tossed her lunch tray for her... including her retainer. Such irony for her to throw her retainer away when she didn't even need to have it with her at school! We got her in to see her orthodontist, who said she needs the dentist to pull a couple teeth those roots are holding stubbornly on, and then we can get started on braces. So the good news is, she can bridge the next few months with no retainer at all and it shouldn't be too big of an issue. 

Jack occasionally goes to Starbucks or another shop after school with friends to buy a treat. One day, heading out, he saw the principal, Mr. Sharmann, and invited him to join them at Starbucks. Mr. Sharmann said sure, he would meet them there in ten minutes. Jack and his buddies waited an hour, but the principal totally ghosted them. Now it makes a funny story, but one has to wonder whether Jack lacks sarcasm-reading skills or Mr. Sharmann just likes messing with people's minds. 

My game night group has had a cabin weekend on our schedule for months. Finally our time arrived! Unfortunately, Karrie's daughter went back to college that same weekend and she of course chose to take her out and spend some 1-on-1 time with her, so we missed her. Everyone else was able to make it, though. Kirstan even got a substitute and took a day off of work to be there. 

What we were not expecting was a cold snap. Just for the three days we would be there, it was getting in the 30's at night and only up to low 50's during the day. All my daydreams of floating on the paddle board for endless hours went out the window. We did make it out to the lake right away Friday afternoon while the sun was fighting its way through the clouds, but I had my puffer jacket on! It was the warmest part of the weekend, but it was definitely not real lake weather. 

Katie still braved the rope swing twice, though, and both Joleen and Kirstan got in the water and swam, while Elaine and I kept our coats on and wondered how crazy our friends were. 

We went for a hike along the ridge for an hour or two Saturday morning, even though it was drizzling.. It was a gorgeous, overcast Faux Fall walk. 

Katie also led us in a yoga session up in the loft. It was totally atmospheric up there, with the door open, the rain softly falling, the peaked wood ceiling, the calm presence of so many good friends. It was one of the major highlights of the weekend for me. 

Because we checked the weather ahead of time and knew it would be cold, we had soup for dinner twice and I made pumpkin oatmeal for breakfast one day. And it was just wonderful to spend so much time with this group of ladies. They're so supportive and caring and I feel really lucky for how close we've all grown to one another. 

We can thank the chilly weather for the hours and hours we had indoors to play game after game ... after game. Seriously, these are the right people to have a game club with. We were playing games with whoever wasn't showering or making meals almost around the clock. I couldn't even tell you how many games we played. Dozens. I loved it so much. When I came home, I was on game withdrawal and begged until Gemma and Jack agreed to play cards with me. 

Jack and Gemma started cross country at the middle school. Whiplash: it was in the 90s! They've been coming home with backpack sweat prints on their shirts and begging for ice cream. 

Erika, Vlad and Luna came to one of Hazel's games. She only played in one set, but she did incredible out there. It was so fun to watch her! And I loved seeing her smile beam when she noticed she had extra fans in the stands. 

Todd and Jack did some bike riding/trick jumping for young mens and had a good time. 

We had two nights in a row of back-to-school night. It probably feels similar to the kids' first day of school. I'm glad to have that behind us, and to feel like they're pretty well set up this year. There are a couple teachers that seem kind of lame, but mostly, they're a good batch.