Detour

So this morning I picked up my carpool kids, and their mom came out to warn me of bad traffic on Bangerter Highway. She said their oldest daughter had to take a long detour on her way to high school this morning because of an accident. She wasn't able to turn north where she needed to, and the officers made everyone turn south and go all the way around.

I was able to get the kids almost to the school, but instead of allowing us to cross over Bangerter Highway, they made us turn south and go around the long way. It was frustrating because the school is RIGHT THERE across the highway, but we weren't allowed the cross! So I turned south, decided against getting in the left turn lane at the next light (the line was backed up really far!), and turned right instead. Then I pulled into a parking lot and turned around to get ready to cross over the highway and take the side streets. There was NO WAY I was getting back on Bangerter after I saw that traffic.

I was able to make our way to school, slowly inching along. The kids were only 10 minutes late, but there were a lot of late kids any way. As I was driving home, I saw all the cars that were around me that had gotten back on Bangerter Highway. They were just barely returning to the light where we were forced to turn south. I patted myself on the back for finding a faster way to school and not waiting in that long line of cars.

This brings me to the point of my post this morning. There was a police officer directing traffic in the middle of the intersection. Now, this is a busy intersection (9800 S and Bangerter, for those in Utah), and northbound lanes were closed. He stood out there and motioned at the lanes of cars when it was their turn to go, but he was pretty rude about it. Several times I saw him point and shake his hand at drivers if they didn't move fast enough. It was pretty confusing, I admit, and people were frustrated at being stuck in that horrible traffic. Plus, the lights were totally worthless because he was directing, so each car was somewhat hesitant and cautious any way. But from what I saw, everyone was trying to be as safe as possible and go when they were directed to go. He was not very patient or nice about it at all. When I got up to the front of the line, I waited for him to motion for our lane to go. He turned and pointed sternly at me and waved me forward. I pressed down the accelerator and he pointed at me again and motioned me forward in a very exaggerated way. Like I wasn't moving at all..... urgh!!

I realize he was doing his job, and I'm sure it's stressful standing out there in th middle of traffic, but everyone was doing their best, ya know?? No need to be all rude and act like a jerk.

Gale Center Museum

The kids and I like to go to the Gale Center Museum. It's a cute place, and it's a nice way to spend a hot summer afternoon. They have the cutest little playhouse area there...

....complete with a play stove.

Dinner is always made from scratch.

My 2 pioneer girls.

Farmer Joe.

The kids in a mining cart.

LOL... I told them to look scared.

Micah loved banging on the drum.

There is an old fashioned class room, with old desks and books.

The kids all took turns playing the teacher.

Group shot.

Splash Pad

It was in the high 90s today, so we went to the splash pad. This is a great one we found a couple of years ago. It has a fun playground right next to the water area.

Micah says: "Want a sock?"

Janessa and Andrew having fun.

Fun water tunnel.

Andrew and Cass.

At first, Micah was content to sit on the blanket with me and watch the kids. That didn't last very long though. Once I dipped his toes in the puddle, he wriggled out of my arms to splash around.

This is how Micah crawls, on all fours. It's so funny! I need to catch it on video.

Straight A Student

Yep, that's me. I got my grades for my Astronomy and Music classes last week: Both A's. :) I showed my kids my "report card". You can bet your bippy I'm proud of those grades!

I didn't always get good grades in high school, in fact, I got down right shameful grades. In college (in my~ahem~earlier college years) I didn't apply myself as much as I could have either. I pulled in B's mostly, a couple of C's here and there. But now my cumulative GPA is a good strong B+. Not too shabby, I wish it was higher, but I goofed off too much "back then".

I have one more class, Philosophy. Then I'll get my Associates Degree. This one is on campus, one night a week, starting next Wednesday. I'm not too stressed about it, I think it will be interesting. I'm a tad worried about the time commitment and Tom's commitment to being home by 6:00 every Wednesday night. Something always seems to come up and he has to stay late at work, that's what happens when you're the owner. That's the only thing I'm worried about. A full 3.5 months of Wednesdays that he'll need to be home on time. Wish us luck for that one.

Family Pictures

We had a friend of ours take some pictures while Jared and Jennie were here. I'm so pleased with how they turned out!

Helping with the Laundry

Well, maybe not so much helping. But he's still cute. :)

Kindergarten Baby

My baby girl started kindergarten today. Here she is getting ready to go in the morning.

Janessa and Andrew played on the kindy playground before the bell rang.

Janessa and her BFF. We were so lucky that they are in the same class!

Lined up and ready to go! Look how they are all looking at their teacher and paying attention.

Janessa has a great teacher, I've heard lots of good things about her. When she was talking to the kids before taking them into class, she told them that "Mommy and Daddy will be home alone without you. They will miss you and they'll have nothing to do while you're gone!" LOL She told the kids to wave and blow kisses, and tell their mommies and daddies that they'll be fine at home a without them for the day. So as the kids were waving and saying goodbye, Janessa burst from the line and ran over to me for one last hug. It totally melted my heart to have my baby girl come running to me one last time before walking through those big doors. So the teacher laughed and said, "Okay, one last hug for Mom and Dad" and all the kids ran to their parents. It was so sweet! I only got a little teary.... Yeah, right. ;)

Here she is when I picked her up. She bounded out the door and ran right to our car. She had a great first day!

Busy Weekend with Lots of Pics!

We spent a lot of time with family this past week. My brother, Jared, and his family were here, and Tom's mom, dad, and nephew came also. We had our traditional cousin sleepover on Thursday night. The kids all piled down in our boys' room for the night. They all did pretty well, all were asleep by 11:00. However, the early birds (Ashlynn and Jonah) were up at 6:45.

The next morning, we all headed up to Silver Lake at Brighton Ski Resort. We enjoyed a picnic while the kids tried to capture the squirrels. They were fearless! They would let us get so close before they'd run away. Here are Jonah, Ashlynn, Andrew, and Parker trying to catch one.

Andrew and Grace on the rock.

Cute Andrew.

The Stroller Group. Andrew and Grace walked part of the way and rode part of the way.

The whole group. Of course, someone is always crying. It was Andrew's turn here.

On Saturday, Ashlynn, Jonah, and Christian were baptized. We had been looking forward to this for months. It was such a big day. Everything went so smoothly, and the Spirit was really powerful there. Here are Jonah and Tom before the baptism.

The 3 Cousins/Baptism Candidates

I made posters of the kids through the years. They are 2 months apart in age. Grandma Faurschou spoke for the program, and Ashlynn's Grandma Eich spoke, too. The cousins all sang "My Eternal Family" for the musical number. They all did so well.

After the baptisms, we had a yummy potluck dinner in the bowery behind the church. Here's Jonah in his suit... or his monkey suit, as he calls it. Such a cutie!

Micah slept for awhile during dinner. When I checked on him, he wasn't on the blanket any more! He had crawled over and climbed up to stand by the railing.

After the dinner, we went to the pool for the annual Auger Pool Party, hosted by Janice. What a fun, fun, fun family day! I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief when it was done. Thanks to all who helped that day, and all who traveled far distances to be with us. We love you all!