Labor Day at Wheeler Farm 2019

Living closer to family means we get to spend holidays with family, BUT spending time with them doesn't have to take up the WHOLE weekend.  woot woot!!

This year for Labor day we went on a little outing to wheeler farm.  My mom invited us to come and Mykelti and Draesen were in town as well. 

We saw the animals, rode on the cow train, had a picnic, and played on the park.  It was hot so the park playing was minimal, but the food was delicious (it was all left over food from Addie's baptism since these two events happened on the same weekend).  

Big Sis, Mr. J, and Little A LOVED the animals and the other kids had fun seeing all the things the animals were doing.  Rockwell loved getting out of the stroller and getting an up close view of the goats and lambs. 

Such a sweet family outing that the kids were SO excited about.  I think I will miss their excitement for things like this as they get older. 

Back To School 2019

End of August came and it was time to go back to school.  This year was special in a few ways.  1- it was our first year not changing schools.  Addie started kindergarten at a charter school in Idaho and then she switched to our regular public school in 1st grade and then we moved to Utah after first grade and she started at Cook elementary when we moved here.  This year they headed back to Cook elementary for their 2nd year.  Not changing schools made the first day of school so much less stressful.  They knew where to meet after school and knew where their classrooms were. 2- This was our first year sending a kid (or 2) to preschool.  I have never signed a kid up for preschool, but Big Sis and Mr. J qualified for Head Start which is an excellent preschool program for them and their needs so we decided to send them together.   

Addie is in 3rd grade this year and is in Mrs. Dettmann's class.  Jensen is in 1st grade and he is in Ms. Hellewell's class.  Both teachers seem great and the kids are having a great start to their year. 

An exciting change for the Addie and Jensen this year is that we now have them eat school lunch instead of packing one from home.  Lunch is cheaper here in Utah and it just helps our mornings go a little bit smoother.  They are still in the phase of loving school lunch so it is definitely a win-win. 

Big Sis and Mr. J started school a few weeks after the older kids and they were thrilled on their first day of school.  It was adorable to see!  But they thought "school" only lasted for one day so they were a bit confused when we sent them back again and again.  It took a few weeks to get used to the idea, but they are enjoying their teachers and friends.  They go to preschool monday-thursday for 4 hrs. in the morning.  It is nice for them to get good routine at school and it is nice for me to focus on the other kids here at home. 

Declin also started Upstart, an online preschool here at home, and he LOVES it.  It is PERFECT for his personality and he is learning so much!  We are so grateful that Utah provides this option.  I definitely wish my older two had been able to do it as well.   

The other three kiddos are just along for the ride.  The two one year olds are keeping me on my toes these days and we get very little done when they are both awake.  Naptime and bedtime are when life gets done and I am so grateful they are fairly good sleepers. 

We love more routine in our life and are grateful for wonderful teachers who help teach these beautiful kids!  

Living the Park Life

The weeks leading up to school starting involved a lot of parks and splash pads.  McKay ended up going out of town twice.  Once in August and once in Sept.  Those weeks with him gone were such a challenge for me.  I was terrified my patience wouldn't be enough and that we would literally go crazy while he was gone.  Like I was truly worried.  But after lots of prayers and a few park trips we survived both weeks and I hope he never goes out of town again. lol After he would get home I would go take a mommy break in very quiet places and just sit down in a daze.  Seriously, I am getting tired just thinking about those weeks. 

Our city, Syracuse, just put in a splash pad this year and it is a really awesome one.  We went there a few times in August.  The last time we went we were the last to leave in the evening and I decided that is my favorite time to go.  The crowds are all heading home and you get a beautiful view of the sunset. 

 

We went on a park date with Corinne and kids.  Friends at the park is always a bonus for the kids and mom.  Loy Blake is one of our favorite parks. 

When I take my kids to the park by myself I like to go to parks that are not very crowded.  That way it is easier to keep track of everyone.  We have a few that are our favorite go-to parks that I know will not be very crowded.  Oh the things you think about as a mom of many. 

One evening in August we were invited to a night at Cowabunga Bay water park in Draper with other foster families.  It was probably my favorite night we have had in the Foster world so far.  I was fascinated by everyone around me and had a great time people watching.  Everyone there was involved in Foster care in one way or another.  I counted more then fifteen 15 passenger vans in the parking lot.  There were lots of large families there.   None of the families matched genetically and rarely looked like each other.  You could barely tell who belonged to who.  There were lots of tiny babies there and yet you could tell the moms probably didn't just give birth to them.  At a couple moments I thought about the amount of trauma that had been experienced by  the group of kids/people there and my heart broke a little bit more.  In an odd way it was helpful and motivating to be in a group that you felt like you belonged in.  That everyone there knew the struggles you were facing right now.  The kids themselves had no idea about everyone else around them, but they had a GREAT time going down slides and floating around the lazy river.  We left the younger three kids at my parents house so it was a fun night with the "big" kids and I am grateful for the memories.