Can't keep up -- so trying to catch up!

So much has happened lately that it will take some time to catch up on all of the happenings at this house.

POOL

The pool is coming along nicely. It is so close to being done we can dream about it, but still have a little time to endure. They need to fix the wet deck that they did too shallow (or would it be that the wall to the jacuzzi was done too short?) so that we have more than a couple inches of water for the little kids to play in. After that gets taken care of, then they are ready to plaster and put water in it. Then it has to sit for a few days (they originally said 10 but we'll see if that really holds up) and hopefully by then it won't be too cold to throw these patient little rugrats at my house, in the cold water. The weather forcast for the next few weeks shows it to still be in the 90's through the middle of Oct. so hopefully we can put that solar to use and have some warm water to dunk in a couple of times before it's too cool.

I will miss the girls out "panning for gold" or "fishing" out in the deep end of the pool. They have found a lot of entertainment with "nuggets" of concrete that they fish out of the water and let me tell you, WE ARE RICH!!! They have spent hours out enjoying themselves, until we told them they are not allowed in the water anymore. It looks kind of toxic out there now.

School

Brayden is getting by in school. He has had lots of days of not-so-usual behaviors, but that is now becoming the norm of expecting the unexpected behavior wise. He is doing well in his computers class and his art class. Wish I could say the same for the rest of his day at school, but the two with the "regular peers" are his best grades. I don't know whether to credit that the teachers really like him, or they don't know what else to do with him other than slip by so that they can be done with him.

Morgan is still loving being in middle school. She is not so fond of her Science and Math classes, but LOVES PE, English, and Reading. Her Explorations class is okay (even though "the boys in that class are a pain"). She loves texting her Mom and Dad during her lunch hour and is finding her way around campus just fine.

Bailey recently ran for student body treasurer. When she brought home the paper to get permission to run, I felt comfortable signing it because it said that only 4 students out of the school would be allowed to actually run. They had to apply and the advisors would pick the top 4 candidates. I wasn't totally thrilled when the note came home saying she was selected to campaign. UUUGGHHH! So off to creative land we tried to go. We were only allowed to do one poster (thank heavens) and then she could do flyers, etc. before school, at lunch or recess, and at the end of the day. I spent all my extra time that week cutting out watches that reminded the kids that it was "time 2 vote 4 Bailey". Needless to say, she wasn't elected, but she handled the disappointment well. She was very pleased to report that the next Monday she was chosen by her classmates to be a class representative. She loves to be involved!

Kelsie is of course doing wonderful in preschool with her best buddy Max. She is doing quite well at learning the sounds for letters, but more impressively, she LOVES to rhyme. She can make up any word to rhyme with any word you can come up with. No matter if you are asking what a certain letter is or what sound it makes, she can come up with a rhyme to some word -- even if it's two words that she made up and makes no sense to anyone else. She is one even-keeled girl. I sure enjoy her. Her older sisters would enjoy her more if she would clean up after herself so they don't get stuck helping clean up her messes.

Dalton is content..... as long he is being packed around in his mom's arms. He is my little buddy I must say. We love hanging out together, much to the dismay of my back. He is getting so big, and sees that walking is much faster at getting around than crawling, so he resorts to the "crying to get carried" method and it seems to be working well for him. He is scooting around and reminds me of a caterpillar the way he slinks around, but he brings such happiness to our household. The girls all fight over who gets to hold him or help him or play with him, or...... you get the picture. He has all of us (with the exception of Brayden who still luckily mostly ignores him) wrapped around his chubby little fingers and can get any of us to jump and run at his beckon call.

Church

They recently realigned the boundaries within our stake and made some big changes to our ward. Our big exciting news here is that our dad got released and we now get him back with us. Morgan isn't so sure that it is all good. Her comment last Sunday (the first week of him back in the trenches) was that "He's strict. He won't even let us talk or play finger games." Obviously I can figure out what was happening when I was out in the foyer before, and now Dad is the reverence enforcer and not all of the crew are convinced it is a good thing.

We also are attending a different chapel (about 5 miles away from home) so the kids are disappointed that they can't walk home after church -- they have to wait until Mom gets done gabbing.

Of course there is more to catch up on, but that will have to be at a different time. The young'uns are getting restless and they think they need their mom. Better go find her.

A Pool of Frustration and Fun

Long overdue for some pictures of the pool progress. They started our pool the last week of August and we are underway, but how far and how fast they can go still remains to be seen.

They brought in the big equipment and tore out the grass like nothing. I just stood there stunned thinking about the work and hours of sweat that went into getting our backyard the way that we had it. The hours by way of moonlight to get the sprinkler system in so that we could "mooch" grass off of the neighbors across the street that were taking a bunch out of their yard. The sidewalk, the planters, the swingset, the list goes on. What a bittersweet day that was. And all we were left with was a big hole.

They next came in to do the plumbing. That day made me frustrated. To see them tearing apart my planters just so they could get their equipment in and taking out plants and bushes. I didn't like it. Shane knew that the plants and such would be coming out and he was fine with it. In fact, he thought they were doing a really good job. I decided it was best for me to just stay in the house and distance myself from it all. Afterall, none of the workers could speak English anyway, so stick to my own "indoor business."

The most recent installment was the steel. This guy came by himself and spent all day in the 102 degree heat working away. He was friendly and I didn't mind him nearly as much as the previous crew. He even seemed to get a kick out of Pittman when we would let him loose for a little break.

Saturday night, Shane stepped outside to check on things and found that a water line they had done a couple days previously had broken apart and had water flooding clear back into the pool (it was over by the playhouse where it was broken).

I think the next crew to come in is to run the electrical conduit. The inspector then should come in to inspect all the work to that point. If everything looks good, they should be able to do the gunite. I will be nice to not have the dirt sluffing into the big hole. Then they will be ready for the next installment of money.

This will be a point that we might stay for a little while, depending upon the status of finances at that point and time. We are still stuck at the point of trying to establish Shane's identity so that we can get a credit report on him. Once that finally goes through, I think that things should move, but who knows how long it will take to clear up this little credit glich. (When they enter Shane's SS# with equifax, it pulls up Cody's name and SS# with AKA: D. Shane Dennett listed.)

Shane is so excited, I'm still a little on the reluctantly excited side. It will be nice and I know that our family will really enjoy it. I guess I'm a little like Brayden in that I don't like change. I like the grass, even though it leaves me with a $150+ water bill in the summer. I like things the way they were. I know that this will be a really good form of exercise for the whole gang and I think that it's a kind that Brayden will even enjoy. Especially since he and Kelsie learned to swim this past summer.

Unfortunately, the pool will be done, just in time for winter! We'll be more than ready to put it to use next spring though!!!! These swimmers can't wait!

"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.