Homecoming and a Walk-a-thon

 

Another busy week for the the records. I am soooooo tired, like so very tired. I am looking forward to General Conference weekend, a chance to unspool and spiritually "spool" my thread. This week was busier than usual because of homeschool photos scattered throughout the week. I was able to photograph 40 kids this fall! Yay! It really is fun and fulfilling to see the same faces coming back for the 3rd year. Monday was the busiest day with back-to-back photos and piano all afternoon. Towards the end of the week 5 of my piano student cancelled, which was a blessing because I got a much needed nap. 

The girls presented me with cute checklists for our Wednesday mom time. Everett and I played Ice Castles. Evelyn wanted a photo session with her and Dog Vader...she later played photographer with me as the subject. I am impressed she nailed the focus for 98% of the photos! Her posing directives were about as confusing as the ones I give. Josie and I enjoyed a tea party and face painting. My face ended up split down the center one half for each girl.

This week we left for MCO at 3:20 from Ronald Reagan Elementary, which worked really well for me. We bypassed the afterschool traffic and got there around 4 pm. I was early enough to be ready for my new duties. Professor Mendenhall arrived early while we were waiting for kids to arrive. I stuck my foot in my mouth, calling him by his first name (instead of his title) and chatting with nerves. After YSC (young singers chorus) one of the kids stayed with me an extra hour because his parents got pick up arrangements switched up. I made chicken caesar salad wraps, those were quite yummy. Justin attended the parent's meeting for me at 7 pm. I quickly headed home once Evelyn was done practicing to teach a Menu Planning class in RS. I showed the two best planning services I've used over the years (Mom's Bistro on Esty and Prepear meal plans). It's made my shopping trips quite organized and quick...if I don't spend an hour browsing. The kids hardly ask about meals now since those that like food can now read. Sister Minor taught a tutorial on bread making with gluten-free flours and how to make sandwich bread. The little girls were thrilled to get a Happy Meal because time was short between choir and RS. They hung out with Ava in the nursery. Justin reported that the MCO parent meeting was about the same as last year. I am so excited that another two families we invited to try out MCO signed up! Yay!

Evelyn picked out her picture day outfit the night before, had it all laid out. She planned her hairstyle and convinced Josie to wear a cute outfit and get her hair curled. School photo day is super exciting. I took the kid's photos in my garage studio after school on Friday. Ronald Reagan hosted it's walk-a-thon fundraiser. The girls were very excited to walk over for a couple hours with the family. Everett ran ahead to hang out with Alyssa and Rev, those three are funny together. We bought some tickets so the girls could play carnival games local high school students were in charge of monitoring. Evelyn was in a mood, worrying about EVERYTHING and tired to boot. She tried hard to have fun but decided to focus on all the things we didn't do...like buy dinner, collect money from neighbors, and stand in the hour long line for face painting. Josie and Amelia had a fun time darting here and there! I could hear Josie's excited voice greeting all her friends. Justin and I finally attended a Temple session at 8 pm. I was dead-dog tired but made it through with the help of 7 lemon drops and lots of fidgeting. I appreciated the temple ceremony a little deeper after a couple weeks of studying Isaiah. 

Saturday morning found me at Wilson Ponds with the Schatz family from down the street for family photos. Wendy is an interesting parent! She is quite permissive, or not aware that her boys need more structure. Good gracious little Konrad was all over the place. Reminded me of our family photos from 5 years ago. After lunch the kids and I went to play at a park nearby because it was so gorgeous outside. Justin was very tired so he stayed home for a nap. Amelia was invited to Homecoming at Victory Charter with Jocelyn and Cassidy Finch. Curling her hair is always a loooooong process, she was born with thin wispy hair but suddenly grew a head of thick, heavy hair. Turns out Homecoming was not very exciting. The most exciting part was getting ready at the Finches. The music was terrible, kids dancing inappropriately, and all the things one finds at a school dance. I got a text after 30 minutes saying the girls decided to attend the Stake Dance instead! 

Sunday for Primary was our hour-long music time. The kids did a great job remembering all the the songs. We are singing 8 songs total with minimal speaking parts, each class will sing a verse of Follow the Prophet as the kid's speaking parts. I am very excited for our Program in November.

**Jana asked me to re-edit her favorite family photo for a canvas. I edited it, then had fun turning everyone into colorful Oompa Loompas. The little girls quite enjoyed it! 

Foot, Foot Sticks. Phillip's new words...words he assigns to Everett. Everett is not keen on his new words.