Happy Birthday Sarah!

 We celebrated Sarah this week (and we have one more party to go tonight)!

I can't believe she's 13.  

We started off with the requested donuts for breakfast.  Turns out that Krispie Kreme here opens at 8 am--so I had to run into Safeway (the "murder" Safeway as we call it due to an actual murder that happened there.). But I managed to secure the donuts unscathed (even though there was a confrontation between employees and a homeless woman on my way in and a police officer arriving on my way out--seriously)!  

I drove Sarah to school for her zero period PE class--then youtubed how to put a new battery into my van key, because of course this was the morning it chose to start warning me I needed a new battery or I couldn't drive! 

After school she did her normal dance classes.

She wanted fettuccine alfredo for dinner.  (Derek made Italian fettuccine from a youtuber he follows--it doesn't have cream...and we didn't have fettuccine--only spaghetti.  So it was a bit of a bust.  But she loved it anyway.). She was happy about her gifts, even though I gave her one t-shirt she already had. 

We let her bring a friend for dinner on Friday (Pizza hut pizza and a movie were her requests).  The friend she brought was one of my former students.  So that was a fun surprise.  It was doubly surprising that the friend was a girl when she was my student and is now a boy.  Life in Seattle.  

Today Sarah led her class presidency meeting at church, and she did a great job!  I'm super proud of her leadership abilities! 

Mom life

 Last week I didn't have time to write about me...well...honestly, I am loving almost every part of life right now.  There are just so many of them!  Sundays I have been loving cooking in my new kitchen (still feels pretty new despite the dings and stains and scratches already showing up.  I also have lots of YW meetings.  So that keeps me away from the blog.  I am enjoying getting some time with each kid getting them to and from their various activities.  I had to start getting up at 4:45 am in order to get everything done and still get Libby to seminary.  It's harder to get up, but honestly, I haven't really felt any more tired than I did before.  (This additional time is necessary because Libby won't start getting up on her own. I have to go into her room and spend a few minutes harassing her to get up.  "Alexa, play Jim Gaffigan"...or "Alexa, play Wipeout" are a few of my tricks.  But mostly I still wanted to get a full 2 mile walk in before I take her to seminary.  When I have to help her get up, I need to be home by 6:05 at the latest...anyway, I get some time with Libby daily on the way to seminary.  

Sarah I drive to dance 2 nights a week.  I used to stay and run errands during dance, but now I just come home and make dinner for the rest of the family.  Sarah started just listening to her headphones while I drove her.  I wasn't into this, so since she is taking French, we are listening to a YA book set in Paris right now.  It's a little too old for her (in my opinion), but it's been fun to be sharing a book together.  She usually gets herself off to school in the morning, so some mornings I don't see her as we cross while I take Libby.  But usually I get to see her for a few minutes at least.

Ben is home with me in the mornings.  I leave him alone for a bit and then he walks to school with the neighbor girls.  He's perfectly content with this routine, as usually he finishes everything in time for a little switch time before school (Fortnite is his game of choice right now.). I love it when our schedules match up and we eat breakfast together.  This is happens a few times a week usually.  I see him at school pretty much daily as he sneaks into my classroom to get his snack.  I just love sharing our MP community together.

Derek has been home to help a bunch this last week, as the Mariners were eliminated from the playoffs, and the Kraken haven't started playing yet.  (The new Seattle NHL team--he is going to work some games until wrestling really gets going.). I could definitely get used to having another driver and another person to make dinner.  So I'm trying to just relish it while I can get it! (And be thankful for the extra income when he's working.)

As to teaching--I forgot how much I LOVE it.  With students in the classroom.  The challenge of helping students settle in to get to work has been real!  But we are getting into a groove.  I love seeing routines take shape (I am SO much better at this elementary thing that I was when I started).  I love seeing students start to trust me as a teacher.  I love hearing them prep for their first debate.  I love coming up with fun and creative ways to check to see if they have learned what I think I've taught.  My favorite so far this year is the area art project.  Super fun.  And really tested their skills of calculating area, surface area, and volume (as well as making a polyhedron from a net.). I thought I had a picture of my art, but I guess not.  I'll post it next week! 

Young Women is also something I'm feeling like I'm making some progress in understanding how to make it all fit.  We are having fun (this week a Girls Camp Reunion with all the YW in the stake)!  I'm still figuring out how to best get the girls to lead without taking hours of time outside the already many hours I spend just at meetings and activities.  Honestly my delegation skills are just shoddy.  And I'm too controlling and interested in seeing my vision come to light.  I need to let go a bit more and I'll be much better off. 

Anyway, life is really pretty good.  I can't complain.  Off to another meeting. 

Where Have We Been?

 I told Derek (sort of in jest) that if I wanted to do all the things I feel like I need to do, I better start getting up at 4:30 am.  My body heard me.  I woke up at 4:15.  So I figured I'd better do the blogging.  It's been too long.  In the weeks since I've blogged I spent all my blogging time + on Sarah's photobook.  It's scheduled to arrive the day before her birthday. SCORE!  But I realized even more the importance of the blog for the photobooks.  As I worked on her book I needed to look back so often.  The year has been such a weird blur.  Without so many of the usual things, Nutcracker, choir concerts, etc...Did anything actually happen?  And at the same time, so much has happened.

Well, a quick catch up on the rest of Sept. and into Oct.

Dad: Since Derek took most of the summer off, he's been working LOTS.  Mariners, concerts, and he had a student officer in Sept. too, so lots of busy for Dad.  He's also been going to almost all the Husky games, including the one in Michigan.  He missed one home game so that he could do security for Elder Renlund, who came here to do several devotionals and trainings.  That was a cool opportunity, but made for an insane weekend.  The Mariners took it down to the wire this year, with even the last game being meaningful.  The Mariners having playoff hopes hasn't happened in a long time. Apparently he got a pic with Kyle Seager, but I don't see it in the camera roll, so I'll have to see where it is.

Libby: It's been a long couple of weeks since I blogged re: her first football game performance.  She got "cut" from the next week's performance, and her sign was rejected by the Sr. captain who is in charge of the signs (they make this little name things for each other for each performance--it is the weirdest tradition--and definitely turns drill into an art club more than a dance team.). I went full mama bear internally.  I talked to another mom to try to get some perspective and eventually I did also talk to the coach about the policies of signs and "cutting" girls from routines.  The poor coach is new and totally overwhelmed.  Libby did step up her practicing quite a bit and was pretty ready for this week's performances.  (Not error free, but much better.) Libby also big time stepped up her grades!  Wahoo! Our camera roll is full of her friend Rey that she's on the phone with constantly.  A boy BFF.  It was homecoming this last week.  She had some pretty fun outfits for her dress up days.

1960s Day--she had me get her this dress on Amazon

Comfy Day 

Drill!  They performed at the outdoor assembly and during the football game later that day.  They also had a breakfast that morning to do each other's hair.  It was earlier than seminary! 

Sarah: She's actually the busiest one of us!  She has dance on Mon/Thur for 2 hours each night.  She has Arioso (choir) on Tuesday and YW on Wednesday.  She took a babysitting job on Saturday and really enjoyed herself.  

She's loving football!  She stayed for the whole SW game 2 weeks in a row, and she's been to every Husky homegame so far. She's also won most or all the money from Clark's line cards almost every week! 

ADS: Her home away from home.  She's taking Ballet 1/2, Ballet 2, Jazz 1/2 (Jazz 2 didn't fit in her schedule), and Lyrical

A few more Sarah selfies showing up in the camera roll.

I adore her school pic! 

Ben: Ben is loving school, loving having time with his friend Juliet and her sister Maddie again (neighbors who weren't around during COVID).  He did have a sore throat this last week, so per policy, I made him stay home from school on Thurs/Friday. Derek took him for a COVID test and he came back negative (as I knew he would...but have to do it to get back to school.). Ben got to hang out with Mom & Dad for a couple of Thursday night dance shopping trips.  He discovered he isn't really into Vietnamese food.  He helped Mom babysit for one of her ministering sisters.  He's excited about his trumpet!  He's not all that excited about choir. But I think he'll warm up to it.  School pics not back yet.  And I have literally no pics of Ben in the camera roll for the last few weeks.

Times UP!  I have to go walk now so I can get back and get Libby to Seminary.  I guess I'll blog again tomorrow at 5:00 am.  

Made it through the first two weeks!

I'm happy we started earlier this year.  It means I have 2 weeks done...even though they were both short weeks.  I am going to really like my class.  Except for a couple of challenging personalities.  One was yelling and throwing things on Friday.  Not my favorite.  Going to have to keep it pretty mellow.  It's when we do fun things that it got crazy.  

Anyway, after I could check Parent Night on Thursday (on zoom of course) off my checklist, I felt like--okay, I can handle this.  So we'll see if I can keep that zen with all the afternoon activities starting this week and Derek off at Mariners.

Got this pic of Libby's first game.  Cute, right! 

Also, Libby and Sarah have been teaching Ben to play their instruments--trying to encourage him to choose the right one for band.  He chooses next week and is so excited! 

Labor Day Fun!

 Each Labor Day we get together with some of our Mountlake Ward Crew.  It's hard to believe that we moved from there almost 8 years ago.

The Walkers have finished a beautiful home on a lake in a more rural area along I-90.  It was so lovely! 

I'm so glad we have a recurring event to bring us back together.  The kids are all getting so big! The oldest 2 Stephens have already left home!

Love the house!  They designed it from scratch!  It's so awesome.

The taller Walker there is around Ben's age :)

Apparently Libby hit Ben in the head a time or two....

SW Football & Drill Performance

 So I've been attending athletic events at SW for so many years.  Like 19.  And every time I would look around at the HS parents and know that they were thinking, "What is that young mom doing here?  I wonder why she's here."  And now--I AM NOT THAT YOUNG MOM!  I AM THERE BECAUSE I HAVE A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT.  What?????

Libby has a little way to go in actually knowing her choreography. (She also forgot her ADHD meds that afternoon). But it's so fun to see her performing and having a group of friends already.  It's what I never had in HS, and what would have made all the difference for me.  (And it wasn't for lack of trying out...I tried.  But HS in Utah was just a different ball game.)

Back to School 2021

 I really thought this day might never come.  Even until right up until it did, with all the Delta variant stuff.  But--we did it.  We went back to school.  And...it's basically fine.  I can't hear kids unless I get really close to them--and I don't love wearing contacts.  But it's school.  And family relations around here haven't been so good in about 18 months.  It turns out, this is what kids should be doing! 

I dropped Libby off at school first, because I still needed to sign her ADHD med release form. But it hadn't come in yet.  So I was unsuccessful.  But I got to snap a quick pic.  She was wearing her drill shirt and drill ribbons.  So cute!  She had a good first day.  And I got to be the drill advisor that evening for practice, because the advisor had a COVID test pending.  That was fun too (even though I was totally beat).  Libby said, "Mom, you should have been the drill advisor..."  (WHA??). Anyway, after I'd been to practice, then she asked for my advice on her drill performance and we worked on it a bit on Thursday (after hitting up 3 stores before we found the right nylons for her football game performance...ugh.). Anyway, she enjoyed her first day.  On Thursday she had her first day of seminary.  After fighting us on it all summer...she just got up and went.  It was amazing.  I think she'll enjoy it--but I know she'll never admit it. 

I dropped Sarah at her bus stop.  She got a little lost during school, and took the wrong bus home from school. But other than that it was a good day. (Luckily Derek was home and could go pick her up from Echo Lake where the bus dropped her --and her whole bus stop of kids--off.) She has a different bus number in the afternoon.  WHY??

I am leaving Ben home in the mornings to walk to school with the neighbors.  It feels a bit weird, but he's 10.  And it's only like 30 minutes.  He's so grown up.  Except when he's not.  There have been a lot of big feelings around here at home lately.  Missing the Hardies, not getting a glove at the football game on Saturday, etc.  But I don't mind his tears and that I get to give him big hugs.  I love my Benny! 

He's a little embarrassed to be seen with me at school these days. Haha. 

I did get him to take a pic with me.  

So happy to be back!  Praying COVID doesn't take us down again!