What We Learned this Summer... an incredibly long post

So, school started and you would think a lady could take a breather or two, but it doesn't really work that way.  For some goofy reason (seriously, I can't remember why) I put Jonah in afternoon kindergarten, which leaves me just two hours without kids instead of the three I could have had if he was in morning kindergarten.  Had I known I was giving up a THIRD of my alone time I would have chosen differently but it's actually been fun having Jonah to myself again and maybe it's a blessing in disguise, as he has opposite kindergarten schedules of the neighbor child (and happy to report that behaviors picked up from said child are not irreversible, as previously believed).

My two hours after he leaves for school is just enough to get lunch made for Kendal and I (he works from home), clean up the lunch mess, change laundry, maybe fold a towel or two, and take a 20 minute nap with one eye open because Josh is going to burst through the door any minute, famished, and ready for an after school snack.  From there my afternoon speeds out of control as I welcome Spencer home 15 minutes after Josh, pick up Jonah from school 15 minutes after Spencer gets home, and get Emmett of the bus 30 minutes after I get back from picking up Jonah.  I take care of Emmett's needs, start making dinner (all the while, it seems, shooing hungry boys out), eat dinner, clean up dinner, feed Emmett dinner, nurse the chronic headache I get each afternoon/evening, and spend the rest of the evening wondering why the house looks like a train wreck (and hoping that my boys really don't have any homework).

It's all in the name of education.  But it's my contention that kids and moms can learn just as much during the summer.  Here's what we learned this summer...

Lesson on Cute:  Emmett gives fun rides on his wheelchair. Fallon is the happy recipient here.

Lesson on Babies:  Sister-in-laws who have babies as sweet as this boy(Masen)had better doublecheck their carseat before they head back to Arizona. I was this close to snatching him.

Lessons on Sisters:  Kimi makes feet happy (aren't our toenails darling?--well, as darling as toenails get).  Also, for those (Mom and Marianne) who don't have ESP, they may need a memo next time, giving them a heads up as to the shirt-color-of-the-day.

Lesson on Cousins:  Don't underestimate the athleticism of your neices/cousins. If you do they might beat your rear in soccer like Emilee did.


Lesson on Scout Camp:  Listen to your leaders.  Disregard any yelling, swearing, and threats of drowning you in the lake by leaders from other wards, who may or may not be mentally stable. 

Lesson on Aging:  Don't get old.  Leave that up to everyone else in your graduating class.

Lesson on Best Friends:  Be sure to marry someone in your best friends' husbands' graduating class so that you have someone to reminisce with at the reunions.

Lesson on 14 year old boys:  Don't despair.  There is hope.  (Spencer went to Especially For Youth with five of his great cousins and came home a different boy...like he matured overnight or somethin').

Lesson on Wasps:  They're so naughty, but your first sting can be soothed by applying an ice pack and a baking soda paste, and being propped up in Mom and Dad's bed and treated really special.

Lesson on Birthday Boys with Disabilities: They're still boys and they still love fire.  (We always have to light the candles a few times and blow them out for Emmett's birhtday.  He tried really hard to blow them out himself.  It was super cute.)

Lesson on Horses:  No matter how long it's been since Emmett was on one, he will love them with a passion. (He got to go for a looong horseback ride and a hay wagon ride at GiddyUp Go's fund raiser last week.  The horses were trotting behind us, following the hay wagon, as we rode through the field.  Emmett was so excited I couldn't get him to BEND!  Stiff as a board.)

Lesson on Husbands and Moms:  There are no greater people in the world.  

I, for one wouldn't have survived the past two weeks without either one of mine.  Emmett had two appointments at Shriner's, which Kendal accompanied us to, and my Mom came with me to Primary Children's Hospital for Emmett's feeding tube exchange surgery.  It was a relatively small procedure (45 minutes) but we were there ALL day long.  Had I remembered to bring his wheelchair along, or maybe noticed that his feeding tube was leaking all over my lap and the surgery jammies I had just changed him into, or perhaps if I had thought to bring a snack so I wasn't shaky and ready to faint for the first three hours there, perhaps it would have gone smoother.  But I did survive and ONLY because my Mom was there to support me.  Jonah came with.  He was a big help too (rolling my eyes).  One funny thing:  On the way out of Salt Lake Emmett would scream at every stoplight and as soon as we would start moving forward he would sort of laugh a relieved sounding little laugh.  It was stressful but hilarious.  Anyway, trying to calm him at one light, I told him to look at the dog on the sidewalk. He turned his head toward the dog but kept screaming.  Jonah, being the big helper of the day, said, "He (meaning Emmett) might be saying, 'I don't WANT to look at the freaking, stupid dog!'"  Insightful, eh?