Week Thirty-Eight

It's Sunday night, and like always, I'm sitting down to review the past week and write my thoughts about the things that happened.  I think I'll move backwards this week, since what happened yesterday is what I remember most.

Yesterday, Rob had the opportunity to take Brooklen to the Michigan vs. BYU game at the Big House in Ann Arbor.  One of the Investment Managers that works with the hospital is a BYU alum and got Rob the tickets.  He actually ended up getting another ticket that I could have used, but we didn't have a sitter for the other kids.  Rob and Brooklen left at about 9am yesterday to go down to Ann Arbor.  The game was a total blow-out.  Michigan won 31-0!!!!  Brooklen was super excited he wore Michigan gear and he also made Rob wear his Michigan hat.  I am so glad that they had the opportunity to go to that game.  Brooklen has literally been talking about it for weeks!

While the big boys were at the game, I took the other kids to the library.  After we played and checked out books, we picked up some lunch at McDonalds and headed to Plymouth Park to play and have a picnic.  We enjoyed the gorgeous Saturday weather for a while and then we went to Meijer to our grocery shopping for the week.  Kaiton slept through the shopping trip, which made it go really smoothly.  Then, we went home and put groceries away.  Later, we walked (and rode a scooter) down to the Cottage Creamery to get ice cream.  Hurley, Zaya, and I had a few hula hoop contests (I'm still the champion) and the girls had a blast drawing with sidewalk chalk.  As soon as we got home, we went over to MGTC for open gym  time.  We had gone to Freeland's gym for open gym time on Friday night, but it was super busy and crazy.  We were so excited to find out that there were only 3 other people at MGTC for open gym.  Zaya and Kaiton had a blast jumping on the tumble trak and playing in the cheese.  Hurley spent most of the time working on skills.  She got spooked out doing a front tuck off the tumble trak this week during practice and really wanted to "shake it."  Coach Chris and Coach Tawnee work with her to try to help her figure out how to jump out further.  She was super frustrated.  She is really hard on herself and she was concerned about every single detail.  Unfortunately, by the end of the evening, the problem wasn't fixed, so we will go back next week to work on it.  I am going to have to work with her to make sure that she gives herself a break sometimes.  On a happier note, she showed me how she climbed to the top of the rope AND she is close to getting her back handspring.

The early part of the week was filled with day-to-day craziness.  The weather has been unseasonably warm this week and it was FANTASTIC.  We went on several walks and to the park.  Zaya got to have Nev come over on Thursday and they spent most of the time playing outside.  

Zaya is also doing great in school.  She has very quickly made some great little girlfriends and she is a little social butterfly.  I am so glad I put her in preschool.  I think it is going to be really good for her.

Week Thirty-Seven

This week was all about getting acclimated to our new, busy school-life schedule.  I am only teaching  8 or 9 piano lessons (3 of which are only every other week), but my kids are busy with activities, so we will be running from one thing to the next most days.  I'm trying a new thing this semester.  I'm teaching two of my piano students on Monday mornings from 7:00-8:00am.  I'm not really sure why we chose to do this on Monday mornings, but it definitely helps me to get my week started out nice and early.  I woke up extra early on Monday morning (5:30am) so that I could make breakfast, pack lunches, clean up the house, and get myself ready.  I woke the kids up before I started lessons, and fortunately, they got themselves dressed and ready, ate muffins, and were ready for school when my lessons ended.  My students ride the same bus as my kids, so they were able to hop on the bus with them at 8:12am.

I also started my Wednesday piano lessons this week.  I am only teaching the three Hill girls every other week on Wednesdays.  I pick up the kids at school and get Hurley to gymnastics at 4:15pm.  I have to rush home because I teach piano from 4:30pm-6:00pm.  It actually worked out really nicely.  Rob picked Hurley up from gymnastics and brought her home, we ate quickly, and I took Brooklen to scouts.  Phew!

A couple more important notes from this week:

1.  I FINALLY got my hair done.  I waited 12 weeks to get it colored and I can't do that again.  It was so brassy and oxidized that I think Angela for sure thought that I had applied box color (I swear, I didn't).  Plus, it was hard for her to correct the color and she ended up coloring it way too dark.  I could go back and have her correct it, but I don't really want to add to the damage.  Ugh, I was already feeling pretty bad about my hair and now the color is not good either.  . . oh well, I  learned my lesson.  I'll have to wait 8 weeks to get that fixed.

2.  Rob's skydiving got cancelled again!  Fall weather is always really cloudy.  We will try again in 2 weeks.

3.  The boys skipped the father and son's campout because there was a high chance of night time rain. Instead, they went to the batting cages for 3 hours!  I took the other kids to the park and then we picked up ice cream for everyone on the way home.

4.  Brooklen started hockey on Saturday.  I'm praying that it will be a good experience for him.  He is really excited; I hope he has fun and learns a lot.

5.  Zaya loved preschool this week.  Her teachers said that she is very focused on doing her "work."  They said she is well-behaved.

6.  Zaya, Kaiton, and I went to the mall with Nev and her mom, Kari after gymnastics.  We had a fun time socializing and Zaya had a great time playing.  She and Nev are such a good match for each other.  Zaya also had a playdate this week with Lucy.  Lucy's older sister, Abigail, is on Hurley's gymnastics team.  The girls played really well together.  I think it is the first playdate that I can remember where a mess wasn't made (hooray)!

7.  I was supposed to meet with a bride about shooting her upcoming wedding, but she cancelled.  Then, another bride who was going to meet with me cancelled.  I'm telling you, this business is tough stuff.  I'm still trying to figure out how not to get my feelings hurt.  I hope I can stick it out and learn enough to be good at it and to sell myself.  I need to set down and make some serious goals for myself.

Week Thirty-Six

Monday was Labor Day, aka the last day of summer vacation for my kids.  We started out the morning thinking Rob was going to do his "makeup" sky diving session.  We had planned to drive down to the Detroit area.  But before we got on the freeway, Rob called the instructor and they decided that it was too cloudy again.  So, we headed home for the day.  We spent most of the day hanging out at home, getting ready for the "big day."

Tuesday morning, we woke up early for school.  I got the kids up at about 7:15, got them ready, fed them, and then we took a few pictures in front of the house.  They headed off to school on the bus and we got in our cars and headed to Woodcrest.  It was a really rainy morning and of course, I had forgotten to bring an umbrella.  We had to park pretty far from the school and walk in the rain to Woodcrest.  We met the kids inside as they came off of the bus.  Then, we walked them to their classes and got them settled.  Hurley has Mrs. McGee this year.  She was Brooklen's first grade teacher and she is such a sweetheart.  Brooklen has Ms. Stanton.  She is a brand new teacher, fresh from Michigan State.  She seemed very impressive and her room was so cute!  After we dropped the kids off in their classes, Rob went to work and I headed home with the two little kids.  We had a wonderful day at home.  Zaya helped me do my chores and we spent the afternoon making dinner together.  

On Wednesday, we sent the kids to school and I think we hung around the house for most of the day.  I have a huge list of chores to get done around the house and I am enjoying being home with the two little ones for part of the day.  In the evening, Brooklen had scouts.  I dropped him off and then I headed to a parent meeting at Chippewa Preschool.  

On Thursday, Zaya started gymnastics again.  She is in a class with Nev Weideman again and there is also a new little girl, Ella, in her class.  She just loves being in that class.  Coach Michelle is amazing with her and I am so glad that she is able to participate in an activity that is fun for her and that makes her feel really good about herself.   Thursday evening was downtown event for the hot air balloon festival.  We took the kids downtown and they collected trading cards for all of the balloons.  They can collect punches as they go by each balloon and once they have their entire card punched, they get a pin and a prize.   The kids love this free event; it has become a tradition for us.

On Friday, Zaya had her first day of preschool.  She was so excited!  Her teachers said that she was shy, but that she was very well-behaved.  On the way home, she told me that she loves it there and that "she never wants to stop going until she goes to Woodcrest."  I love that she is so excited about having her own school.  While Zaya was at preschool, I took Kaiton to Coffee Chaos for a meeting with a bride and her family.  I was preparing to shoot her wedding the next day and I hadn't met her yet.  It was a brief, but good meeting for me.  It helped me to understand their expectations and to help us come up with a timeline.

On Friday night, we went to the Fairgrounds for the hot air balloon festival.  We saw Jeramie and Susie Soderberg there with their 6 kids, and we ended up hanging out with them for the evening.  The balloons couldn't make it off of the ground, due to wind, but we were able to watch the glow and spend time with friends.  It was a good evening.

On Saturday, we spent the morning at home.  Emma Hirschi came over at 2:00pm to babysit the kids while Rob and I went to the wedding.  I was super nervous, but I tried to reassure myself that I could meet and exceed the client's expectations.  It was a very laid back wedding.  It was very small, and fortunately, it was only about 5 minutes away from our house.   There were a lot of things that went wrong.  Nothing major, but, like always, I definitely learned a lot.  One of my biggest takeaways was that I revised my package to be a 4-hour package because they said they didn't need a lot of photography time.  But, I ended up being there just as long as most weddings because the things they wanted were so spread out.  I don't think I will ever revise that again.  Lesson learned . . . since I haven't done many weddings, it was great experience.

Week Thirty-Five

This has been the last week of summer for my kids. We have had such a crazy summer that I decided that I would cancel all of my piano lessons so that we could have some fun and not be on a schedule. Hurley's gymnastics class was conveniently canceled this week too, so we didn't have a whole lot planned. On Monday, Zaya had a dentist appointment in Saginaw. After the appointment, I took Hurley to Justice so that she could use a store credit that she received when she exchanged a birthday gift. She is in heaven in that store and had such a hard time deciding between glitter bath spray, a cute hand sanitizer, and nail polish. As we were about to pay, I noticed that they were running a 3/$12 deal, so she was able to get all three. She was so excited. I also took Brooklen to Perani's to get him a hockey helmet. We were able to find one that fits well and the salesperson adjusted it to fit his head correctly. We also headed to Sam's Club and Walmart to get some school snacks.

We got back from Saginaw at about 2:00pm. Rob came home at about 3:00pm and we headed to Mackinaw City. I decided a couple of weeks ago that since we hadn't done any Michigan vacations this summer, we should go to Mackinaw. I was shocked that it was only $60 for a hotel (with a waterpark) in Mackinaw City! We got to the hotel at about 6:00pm and we all went to the waterpark to play for a few hours. The entire family really liked the lazy river (it was so WARM) and their rope monkey bars. Brooklen, Rob, and I went down the big water slides and the little kids had a blast going down the little water slides.

The next morning, we woke up and ate breakfast at the hotel and then we headed to Sheplers to catch the ferry. We took the ferry to the island and rented Rob and I bikes, as well as a trailer for Zaya and Kaiton (we had brought Brooklen and Hurley's bikes). We spent a few hours riding around the island. Brooklen and Rob (+ the trailer) stayed in the front and I mostly stayed in the rear with Hurley. Mackinaw is definitely my happy place! I absolutely love it there. Once again, we came on a day with gorgeous weather. I just love that you don't have to plan anything. I love being active the entire day. After we took back the bikes, we parked the kid's bikes and went to a burger joint for lunch. Then, we headed out on foot to see some of the sites. We saw arch rock, sugar loaf rock, the Grand Hotel, and the fort. The kids got pretty whiny on the walk, but I think that was partly our fault for keeping them walking for so long. It might have been different if we were on bikes.

We left the island on the 7:00pm ferry and went to eat dinner at an awesome fish and chips place in Mackinaw City. While we were enjoying dinner, the Nymans walked by. They had been on the island during the day too, but we hadn't seen them. It was fun to connect with them. We got a couple of cute pictures of all of the kids together. After dinner we stopped in and got some fudge, taffy, and jalapeno popcorn (yum) to take home with us. We had such a great time; I'm definitely glad that we made that happen before the summer was over.

On Wednesday, I let the kids sleep in until they woke up naturally. We hadn't gotten home from Mackinaw until about midnight, so they were really tired. In the afternoon, we went over to Plymouth Pool to swim. I can't believe that we have never been there before. The three older kids all really enjoyed the slides and Kaiton just loved being in the water. It was a bit stressful, just because all of the kids wanted me to do something different with them. I could see that many of the other moms had come with friends and I can understand why. It is nice to have other kids for your kids to play with. I LOVE playing with my kids, but it is hard to be doing 4 different things at once, especially around water where I have to watch everyone closely! Unfortunately, it started to look like it was going to storm, so the workers at the pool made everyone leave at about 3:00pm. The kids were bummed, but I'm glad that we had gotten there right when it opened so that we had 2 hours to swim. On Wednesday evening, I took Brooklen to scouts. Kaiton and I ran a couple of errands and then went to pick him up.

Thursday morning we had an appointment with our ENT, Dr. Harris for Brooklen. Our pediatrician, Dr. Juarbe told us that the remaining tube in Brooklen's ear needs to come out, so he sent us to Dr. Harris to have him check it out. We decided to go through with the removal, but we are going to wait until January (a new insurance year) to have it done. After the appointment, we went home and Hurley's friend, Kaitlin, came over to play. I also had Will, Jack, and Ellie Jones over to play with the other kids. They all played really well together and I was able to get some things done around the house. While they were playing, I found Hurley and Kaitlin upstairs in the girl's room. They both had on bright, red lipstick and they were sharing Hurley's earbuds, listening to her iPod shuffle. You've gotta love that little diva of mine; she is like a teenager in a 6 year-old's body sometimes! On Thursday night, Rob went to a skydiving certification class and I took the kids to Chippewa Preschool for Zaya's open house.

One Friday, we went and got Hurley and Zaya's hair cut. Zaya's hair is so long that the lady had to have her stand up while she trimmed it. Afterwards, we headed over to the civic center. Charlotte was there with Evan and Kyra. Hurley and Brooklen both skated this time and I was proud of how focused Brooklen stayed the entire time. When we got home, the kids played with Jake and Jenna for a while and then Brooklen and Rob went to get their hair cut. We rented the movie "Home," made homemade pizza, and then watched the movie while we ate popcorn! A perfect evening in my book! 

Saturday morning, Rob left early to go to Saginaw to get ready to skydive. We were supposed to meet him at the airport later, but he ended up having to cancel for the day because of poor weather. Instead, the kids played with the neighbors. In the afternoon, I went to Meijer and Rob mowed the lawn. At night, Rob took Brooklen to the Loons game and I stayed home with the younger kids. We had an awesome evening! We made breakfast for dinner (Brooklen doesn't care for that), made banana ice cream, and watched the Barbie Princess Popstar movie. Even Kaiton loved the music in the movie. We had such a fun girl's (+ a baby} night.

Today, we went to church and I had choir practice afterwards. We hung out, painted nails, played card games, and hung out. Rob also gave the three older kids sweet father's blessings. This evening, we took a walk through the neighborhood. Zaya rode her scooter, the older kids walked, and I pushed Kaiton in the stroller. Halfway through the walk, Kaiton said to Zaya, "I want that." She is such a sweet girl that she willingly got off of her scooter and offered to push his empty stroller. I pushed Kaiton on the scooter for a while and then I noticed that he was actually pushing off on one foot. That kid amazes me! He is so attentive to everything, especially to anything active. After a while, Kaiton stepped off of the scooter, and Zaya, assuming he was done, reclaimed her position on the scooter. As soon as Kaiton noticed, he said, "HEY, HEY!" really loudly. It was so funny!