August 2018

We had a very full August. We adjusted to our new schedules, plus added some fun extras like swimming lessons, birthdays, and harvest time!

 Daniel is in 5th grade this year. He really struggled last year - socially, emotionally, academically. So we were really praying for a good teacher this year, hoping that could turn things around. And our prayers were answered! She is wonderful, and Daniel is doing so much better in every way! This is a picture of him graduating from the D.A.R.E. program. He loves 5th grade.

 Mary is in 4th grade, and also has an awesome teacher. Mary always makes friends easily, keeps on top of all her school work and really is a great girl. She joined the school choir this year, and is really enjoying it.

Anna is in 1st grade, and still isn't sure about it. She really misses having time to play with friends after school. But she is doing awesome in school. She has decided that she can read, and is really taking off. She also loves math, and being a responsible student. The principal came to her class one day with a sea turtle shell. He read them a book about sea turtles, and let them all try the shell on.

Peter started preschool this month. I don't get much out of him about how it's going, but he seems happy. He's a good boy, who entertains himself pretty well while everyone else is at school. He loves to color, and build things.

Scott also started taking a class this month - the Church's self reliance class on starting your own business. We've decided to try self-employment, and he is planning to do some free lance consulting. He has been studying hard to take some certification tests for the program he works with, which is called Salesforce.com. He's hoping to pick up some jobs after he gets the certifications, and then pretty soon quit his job at Century Link. This was all a really scary idea to me at first, but it feels right now, and I'm excited. We're working on making decisions and receiving revelation together, which is a slow process, but so good.

I've also been adjusting to my new schedule. I feel like I should have loads of time with just Peter at home, but somehow I am always overwhelming busy. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, I volunteer at the school while Peter is at preschool. I really enjoy that. All the rest of my time is spent keeping house, which is a bit busier this time of year with all the garden produce needing to be preserved. It's a wonderful blessing to have so much, but it's overwhelming sometimes.

We've had a funny garden this year. We harvested pumpkins before tomatoes, and other weird things like that, but for the most part, it's been very successful. We've had raspberries galore, super delicious cantaloupe, watermelon, peppers, onions, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce, and those silly pumpkins, and hopefully some peanuts.

The kids did swimming lessons this month on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Mary and Daniel were in the same class, and both learned so much! They love to swim. Anna was in the beginning class, and finally on the last day, she decided she could swim and float! Peter wasn't in lessons, but he made some great progress too, getting more comfortable with being in the water.

Mary had a friends' birthday party this year. It was a water party in our backyard. We had water balloons, water guns, some water games, and sprinklers. I made water cupcakes. For her actual birthday, I made a small island with big shells.

 

Scott's birthday was also fun! We went miniature golfing, bought and planted some new hydrangea that we're really excited about, had Stake Conference, and ate cake!

 

We also had some fun Carlson cousin time. Scott's nephew had his wedding reception at the beginning of the month, so our Boise cousins came down, which they don't do very often. It was so fun! Daniel and Nathan are best buds even though they're 2 years apart. Mary and Benjamin are 7 weeks apart and also are best friends. Peter and Ellyse are also 7 weeks apart, and poor Anna always feels left out. We're trying to convince them to get a dog her age (or any age).