August 2022 Part 3: Back to School

Every August, we find ourselves wondering, "Where did the summer go?" All of a sudden, it was time to get ready to go back to school. Since Rachel had choreography for the first two weeks of August, we had to go school shopping fairly early. I instigated our back to school mom/kid dates. Rachel and I ate lunch at Cubby's, 

and then hit up the outlets to find a few new outfits for school. 

This pink one didn't make the cut, much to my disappointment. 

Michael wanted to go to the BYU Store on campus, and since Gabe wanted to go there too, I had a date with both boys. We got lunch at the Creamery on 9th, obviously, and then headed to campus. 

When we were all done, I tired to get them to take a picture with me and the Y. You can kind of see it. We couldn't really see anything. It was so bright!

Gabe fell asleep on the way home. 

We were disappointed at the selection at the Outlets, so Rachel and I swung through the clothing section at Smiths when we went for groceries one night. This golden shirt didn't make the cut. 

This pink onesie did though. 

Michael went into middle school this year, and they had a special 7th grade day to give all the 7th graders a chance to get used the how the school day would go without having the 8th and 9th graders there. Michael wanted to do a mugshot look for his pictures that day. 

He asked to be dropped off at the curb. I got choked up watching him walk in there. 

The sweetest thing was that his school invited the elementary teachers from the feeder schools to cheer them as they came in. I got so emotional seeing Mrs. Tenney and Mrs. Denning there. What a sweet thing! 

The next day was the real first day of school. Michael started at 8 in the morning, which we haven't done since the pandemic started. He was all ready, and I got his official pictures taken in no time. 

(We used to have the ruler in our mudroom, but we took it out with the February renovation, and Brian and I got it hung on the wall in the kids' craft room the night before just for these pictures!)

He wanted to take himself to school, all on his own. We'd already did the fussing the day before, and so we sadly agreed. He rode his scooter, and we watched him just go. 

It was a big year for us. First time having a kid in middle school, first time all the kids would be gone ALL DAY! Yes, can you believe our baby is in FIRST GRADE???!!! 

And our sweet Rachel is in Fourth. The day before school started, the principal asked if anyone would be willing to switch 4th grade classes. Rachel's class had over 30, and the class they were hoping people would switch to had just 22. She'd already met the new teacher, and was quite hesitant about the switch. I thought less people would be better for her, so we went to the new school, met the principal (who said, "Oh, she's younger than I thought based on her picture." I said, "No, she's probably exactly how old you thought; she's just pretty short.) Rachel bravely switched classes, but she was still a little apprehensive heading to school the first day. 

We parked the van so I could walk them to the school (first day tradition), and as soon as he could open the door, Gabe said, "Bye Mom! Love you!" I had to stop him! He was so impatient to go, and he didn't appreciate me walking him in. I made Rachel and Gabe pose under the balloon arch. 

And take a picture together behind the school. I made sure he knew where to line up (this was new territory! Totally different than Kindergarten!). He still didn't want to hang with us. He was READY to just go!

I got a little choked up--again--as they walked in with their classes. 

Michael had early out, so I took him out to Chick-fil-a for lunch after he got home. 

And I finally got a handprint in plaster to match the ones I have for Michael and Rachel. It took two tries, but we finally got the right size. 

Michael was really excited about middle school and playing the Euphonium in band. 

 This year, we tried a new thing--carpools! And it has been amazing! We drive once a week for middle school, and every other week for our elementary kids. It has been a game changer!

I'm so proud of these kids of mine! 

August 2022 Part 2: Laundry Room Reno

When we first looked at our house, there were a few things I wasn't excited about, but I knew that the house had the bones to easily transform those places eventually. Our laundry room was one of those places, and in August, it finally reached the top of the list. I wanted to move our hook-up box down, and I wanted to install a sink. We got bids from several plumbers, and after choosing one, we were under construction within the week. I originally wanted the sink to be where the washer hookups were, but based on how the pipes and things were in the wall, we couldn't make it work. 

So, the sink needed to go in between the dryer and the wall instead. They cut into the wall, had to install a vent, and rough plumbed for the sink. 

And moved the washer box down. 

They ended up cutting into the ceiling in the garage to add the new pipes and water lines, which was awesome. We weren't sure how we were going to get into the wall without cutting into the floor below. 

Taryn and David came one Saturday, and David helped Brian take out all the shelving, and start patching the sheetrock. 

After getting a few bid from a handyman we had used in Fox Hollow, the handyman gave some tips to Brian on how to patch it himself since the handyman was several weeks out for scheduling (and I don't think he really wanted to do it). He gave Brian the confidence to tackle this on his own, and it saved us a good chunk of change. I know you can't tell from this picture, but Brian did an amazing job! 

Somewhere in the middle of the short window our washer and dryer were unaccessible (planned carefully to not impact our laundry schedule), Gabe said, just before bed mind you, "What about the throw up in my room?" I though it must just be a little bit because he hasn't really told us that he threw up, but when we went up to his room to tuck him in, we found a huge mess. Apparently, he woke up around 5:30 or 6 in the morning, and threw up. He didn't come get us, only casually mentioned it when bedtime came up, and it was pretty bad! So, we got to work cleaning up dried vomit from his bed, night stand, and carpet. As I was trying to wash out his quilt and bedding in the bathroom sink, I said to Brian, "Do you know what would be really nice about now? A laundry room sink!" Thankfully, Serene let me come use her washing machine the next day when I came out to help her think through furniture for her new house. It was also validating; a lot of people thought it was not worth the expense of adding a sink in the laundry room. I beg to differ! 

In the middle of this, Brian also went to help Dustin and Serene add can lights to her studio. 

Brian and I got our laundry room painted, and we started putting our cabinets in. Thankfully, I measured correctly, and they fit! 

We installed the sink cabinets first. We had to make sure that a hole for the vent was cut out for proper airflow. 

Michael and I helped a little, but it was mostly Brian. 

We got bids for the countertops, and then they were installed. 

But it must have been September when they were finished, so stay tuned. We had to wait, I suppose it's only fair to make you wait to see it too.