"Perfect"

Heading back to school this year has brought a little anxiety for more than just me. All of the kids are in different schools this year. Brayden is going into 8th grade at Mannion Middle School, where he has been for the past two years. Morgan is heading into 6th grade at Burkholder Middle School (closer to home than Brayden's.) Bailey is in third grade at Newton and Kelsie is going to preschool at Jr. Junction 3 days a week.
Brayden brings anxiety, just because it's Brayden. He was enjoying his summer break and not ready to go back. When I asked him if he was ready to go to school, he said "Yes." When I asked if he was ready to go on the bus, he said, "Yes." When I asked him if he was ready to see Mr. Shel and Ms. Val, he immediatley responded, "No. "

Brayden changed his shirt from a new shirt his Mom put on him to a "familiar" shirt before the bus showed up.

Morgan was nervous being at a new school and changing classes every hour. She was also concerned about having a locker and remembering a combination, etc. I've been anxious about her with her classes. She is in advanced classes, and I am concerned about her keeping up. I have also been nervous that I couldn't be there to walk her to her classes and show her where she needed to go at what time. (Mom's working on cutting the apron strings.)

Morgan was ready to go an hour earlier than last year.

Bailey.... not so worried there. She seems to hold her own, and her teacher is a lady that is in our ward, so I haven't been too concerned about her. I guess I have been concerned that her teacher may not like her/us so much by the time we're done, but what's not to love about my outgoing little girl.

Bailey can handle being on her own without any problems.

Kelsie was at Jr. Junction last year so she wasn't too worried, I'm not too worried.
My biggest concern of all is juggling all of the schedules. Brayden's bus makes the juggle a little tricky when I can't control or foresee all of the timing issues each day. Brayden and Morgan's schools start at the same time, but Brayden gets out 5 minutes before Morgan. That doesn't help much in trying to pick up Morgan before Brayden gets home. Soon after Brayden gets home, it will be time to pick up Kelsie, and then finally Bailey gets out. Trying to fit a nap in there for Dalton proves for a grumpy afternoon/evening because it gets cut a little short with the travels.

Kelsie is ready to head to preschool with her best friend Max.

Well, amidst the concerns and worries, the first day of school went smooth. Brayden's teacher reports that he was sad early in the day but seems fine later in the day. When I picked up Morgan and asked her how her day when, the answer was, "PERFECT!" Whew, what a relief there. I had such butterflies dropping her off in the morning, and as I watched all of those big kids with such different values than I would care for my daughter to be exposed to leaving school, I really had been getting concerned. Thank goodness for such a good report. Kelsie had a, "really good" day and had a cute paper with her hand print on it that she brought home for the scrapbook. One more to go. I had the neighbor across the street picking Bailey up from school so I didn't get the initial response as she came out of school, but by the time she got home and I inquired about her day, "Perfect!" was her response. Thank heavens for such a great start to the school year. Within a day or two, things will be better for Brayden and the girls won't be as thrilled with the homework from school, but overall, we are off to a "perfect" start!

What Disney Princess are You?

You Are Mulan!

Strong and spirited. You're no one's girly girl; actually you are very determined person with a strong sense of self. Never let go of that! The only thing that equals your sense of self is your family, but the traditions of society can always be bent to protect something or someone you love.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Figures I'd not get a crown to wear! Guess I'll stick the flower behind my ear and go save the kingdom!

That time of year again!

It is that time again. Time that I become a hunting widow for 9 days. What a great hunter/gatherer I have. So thoughtful to go on a long, exhausting search, with the sole purpose of providing our family with the meat to see us through the long, cold winter months ahead.

(Shane's deer from 2006)

Poor fellow, out with only male companions and no responsibilities but to go out scent-free (who do you think does that laundry anyway) and quietly sneak into position to hope that "the big one" comes happening along the trail. Unfortunately, sometimes the poor hunter dozes off and takes a little snooze, and misses "the big one" as it passes by. If he is awake and just so happens to see a deer that suits his size limitations, he will certainly shoot a $25 arrow at it. Which brings me to the extremely high value of the meat that will possibly be brought back home. You have to take into consideration the new $1500 bow that just had to be upgraded this year because the other one makes a faint whooshing sound when the string is released which startles the deer and inevetibly results missing. Obviously the new bow doesn't fit the old arrows, so he needed all new arrows and tips. So these $25 arrows are bound not to get lost, because he is a great shot (the other misses and lost or ruined arrows were only because of the faint whooshing sound of the old bow). Now then take into consideration the transportation. Fuel in and of itself will range in the several hundred dollar range. Then there is food that needs to be purchased to keep the energy up in the mighty hunter. Oh, and I failed to mention the tag that already has cost me almost $300. Taking all of this into consideration, what a marvelous man I have to bring home a deer with 30 pounds of usuable meat for only about $2000.

All I have to do is stay home and eat my bon bons and chase 5 mild mannered, perfect angels, who never cry, fuss, fight, and are quick to do their chores and help out around the house. I'm certain there won't be a bit of frustration or difficulty while he is away. Just the minor fact that all of the back-to-school activites take place during that week, as well as a stake primary meeting fall within that time frame should prove to be unexciting to juggle. I'm sure it will all be great!
Actually, I am trying to be optimistic about this time, and have plans to try and get some things around the house in order before his return home. The biggest glich in my plans happens to be a chubby little one that likes to be in his mom's arm and walking around constantly. Naps are so over-rated in his opinion, so he tries to keep them to a minimal time frame and as infrequent as possible. His huge teeth coming in aren't much help either. We'll see how much really gets done around the house before I am completely drained of all energy. I hope to fit some fun for the kids in there somewhere as well. We had talked about going to Utah, but with the neighbor that feeds the koi going out of town as well, I don't know if we'll be able to make that trip. Who knows how spontaneous I can become with this crew of chaos!

Girls Weekend

My sisters and I got together last weekend at Misti's (my parent's) house and had so much fun being free of responsibilities. We had great food, lots of laughs, and the making of more memories than some of want to take claim to. I am sure that some stories ... especially those from the rec center will be embellished and brought up for years to come, even to the embarrassment of my poor children. (Old age has a way of not letting your body work the way you dream of.) It did result in a great ab workout as well as a bruise on the hip and a good headache.

We got a lot of back-to-school shopping done and spent more money than Shane needs to know about. We did try to make the most of our time together by staying up late (even late for my standards). We had a good round of "Singing Star" and even got some games in before bed each night. It was nice not having to be up early to attend to children in the morning.

On Saturday night, Tason, Tayosha, and Traxten had toilet papered us and tried to pull some pranks on us, so later that night, we went and got them back. You figure who got the best of whom.

This is Tason, Tayosha, and Traxten's handiwork.

If you ask me, I'd take the clean-up that we had vs. the clean-up at the other Turek house.

We each went home with a "sleep deprivation hangover" but more importantly, a lot of fun memories to add to the list of memorable moments with some of my most favorite people in the world!

Thanks Shane for taking care of the kids at home so I could go and be carefree for a few days out of the year! He even managed to get a "side project" taken care of. The things he can accomplish with 5 children at home puts me to shame.

Getting Started

After much harrassment as well as encouragement at my "sisters-getaway," I'm attempting to keep a blog of my family's happenings. I always love reading up on what is happening in the lives of my sisters' families and decided to share in the fun. Too bad, I don't have Tiffani as my transcriptionist to put it into creative form so that it sounds so much more fun and exciting. My apologies in advance.