At Summer's End

I watched the movie Willow last night with my favorite husband.  I have dragged my feet to watch the movie because I classed it with Lord of the Rings which I also have no desire to ever see.  I don't have any particular gripe about it other than it just appears dark and I've learned that I am quite sensitive to movies.  Well I will admit that I enjoyed Willow and not just because of my snuggle partner.  Although the baby's constant peril ripped at my mother heart strings and I'm super glad I didn't watch it pregnant, I really enjoyed the underdog wins scenario with a "trust in yourself" and "rise above it" moral of the story and don't forget the criminals turned good.  I have a husband who knows me well enough to know what I'll like even when I don't.  However, I did have to check on my kids several times during the night, especially baby Mary just to make sure evil queen Bavarda (or whatever her name was) and her unruly army hadn't snatched my precious Rubies.

Summer is ending with no more broken bones or mishaps (knock on wood). It's been a really low key summer (aka boring) with a few trips to the movies, 1 trip to the splash park, 1 road trip/family reunion, a few visits from relative and lots of playing with friends.  I've actually enjoyed it.  I've been able to get some organizing/deep cleaning done around the house and I've been able to sew and scrapbook which are 2 hobbies I really enjoy but rarely get to do unless you count the occasional mending holes and hemming cut-off shorts.  I recently have started a re-purposing kick making toddler sweatpants out of old sweatshirt sleeves and skirts out of old t-shirts.  It's rewarding and fun even if my house does get quite messy while I zone into the sewing machine.  I'm grateful for this ability and the bigger make a smaller footprint and same money for my family purpose that comes with it.  

Dusty is working as a mechanic with Les Schwab here in Rigby.  He enjoys the work but feels maybe there's not a lot of room to grow and has been looking for other opportunities.  We're going to Oklahoma in January for BOLC, it seems hard to want to switch jobs for only 4 months and then we'll have to see what happens when we get back.  Legally, employers have to hold a position for soldiers when they're deployed or training but in reality, it's difficult to leave and then just try to pick up where you left off.  Live goes on while you're gone and so does business.  Ultimately, we would really love to open our own shop or tow rig but that takes a lot of time and money- both commodities seem to be quite scarce lately.
 

Brian will start 2nd grade.  He has had an enjoyable summer as long as one of his friends are home to play with.  Horrible is the day when he goes door knocking and comes home without a friend in tow.  While he still has his moments, he is rising to the occasion of more responsibility and independence and most days will help without griping when I ask him (a quality I'm sure he is learning from his Father's amazing example).  He doesn't want to go anywhere without his bike and when his got a flat tire he tried to fix it himself only to find the air compressor was broken.  Not to be defeated, he simply jumped on dad's bike and took off where he wanted to go.  Determination.

Samantha is really excited to start Kindergarten and I worry for the tales she'll tell.  She is so eager to learn to read and while still shy, I think she will make friends easily as she's a little bossy and quite imaginative.  She will be in afternoon kindergarten (at my request) so we'll have less stressful mornings.  She decided to give herself a haircut and we had quite a lot of fixing to do before she felt beautiful again.  It was quite traumatic.

Nathan's favorite movie right now is Old Yeller and he would watch it over and over all day long if I'd let him.  He loves to jump and runs everywhere he goes.  We walked to church the other day and he literally ran the entire way (almost a mile).  Of course he had to stop and wait for us frequently.  He is dying to go to school and keeps telling me how tall and big he is because he's going to school with Brian and Samantha.

Mary turns 9 months next week and she took her first steps yesterday!  Dusty tricked her into thinking he was holding her hands but having her hold on to her blanket, but she did it!  She had a look of total fear and excitement on her face that reminded me of the first time I jumped off a 30 ft cliff into the lake.  She is growing so fast!

I wonder what we should all be for Halloween this year...?