Schooled

So September was a bit more eventful for me than usual. Aside from the normal start-of-school stuff (which technically took place last month, but the photos fit better here), I decided to try to assuage some of my disappointment over not attending law school with some classes at the local community college. I signed up for French and Arabic classes and took Cora with me the first day without thinking much of it. However, during the class break, the French professor took me aside and said he believed that babies were not permitted in the classroom. I looked into it, found policies suggesting otherwise, and ultimately ended up submitting a petition to change certain ambiguous policies that could create an unnecessary impediment for mothers seeking to further their education. Along the way, I was featured in an article at Today.com, which was pretty cool. I have so many thoughts and feelings about this that I am looking for a new outlet for expressing them, so I won't clog up this blog with all my umbrage on behalf of mothers everywhere.

As we inched toward the end of the month, Aaron pushed me over the edge on which I had been teetering into getting a ticket to my 20 year class reunion . . . wait, what? It was a super-short trip-- airplane ride out on Saturday morning, lunch with friends, get changed, reunion at night, and back to the airport by Sunday afternoon--but it was just what the doctor ordered for me. I scooped Cora along with me, and though there were certain challenges associated with traveling alone with an infant, it was totally worth it. I brought her with me when I went out to lunch with my dear friends, Kristin and Emily, and then left her with my awesome mom and sisters for the evening. There was not enough time to have the conversations I wanted to with everyone! One of the remarkable things to me was really how little people changed, at least on the inside--including myself. Although lives have taken us in different directions, being back among the people who helped form my fundamental character  made me realize that my core has never really changed. I couldn't recount everything if I tried, but I especially enjoyed seeing friends who sang in the Madrigals group with me and the group of people that I used to study and spend weekends with. I could have spent quite a lot more time talking with every one of them. I hope I can make it a better priority to stay in touch with all of them!

On the home front, we had Addy's birthday (but no birthday party yet--I think she's in the process of deciding whether she feels too old for them or not), and she started running with the cross-country team again. I tried to convince Asher to do the same, but he insisted that his primary responsibility is school this year, and he doesn't want to do anything that interferes with his academic excellence. What mom is going to argue with that? Emerson and Sera are both enjoying their classes this year. Emerson's teacher rolled over with his class, so that it's basically the same class as last year--a fact which thrills both him and me. Sera had the option to stay with a class doing the same thing, but decided against it, since she "wants a new experience." She was very pleased to find out that her best friend is in her class this year.

When everyone is home, Cora is just thrilled about it. We've had half the neighborhood jumping on the trampoline in our backyard at various times, and Asher and Addy have been begging to spend time doing homework at friends' houses several times a week--sometimes the answer is yes, and sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes I get the sense that our kids are leaving the nest a little at a time, and while it makes me a little sentimental, it's not a bad thing. I really do hope that we're raising children who will be able to make a way for themselves in the world, and I'm hope that they're as lucky as me in finding good friends to help them navigate their way through it all.

School Days, New and Old

Back-to-school beach party

Lighting those marshmallows on fire ("because that's how I like them"--ha!)

It might be the last beach day of the summer, but not of the year!

Ninth grade (high school!)

Fifth grade

Clearly they're on their way to being the heads of their respective classes

Seventh grade

Third grade

Again, can we expect less than the best from these two?

Seminary, 6:30 am

(while he's there, I get to run into sunrises that look like this . . .

 

and take random photos of spiders that look like this!)

Carpool to the middle school

 

Emerson holding court on the playground

Sera is thrilled to be in a class with her best friend, Alyssa

Now there's more time for beach walks with this little baby doll

And baths in the sink

And snuggles in hooded towels

But is she happy when her brothers and sisters get back? You'd better believe it!

Seriously though, I've never seen a baby so frequently mistaken for a baby doll

She helped me study for the French and Arabic classes I signed up for . . . until I got kicked out for bringing her along--I call prejudice against multilingual babies!

And then I carted her along when I went out to Salt Lake for my 20 year class reunion . . . er, um 10 years?

Best friends a girl could have! I love these two, Emily, my best buddy since kindergarten, and Kristin, my dearest friend through high school--though they barely knew each other through those years, Kristin ended up marrying Emily's violin teacher's son, who she met in New York City. Such a funny world we live in.

Such great friendships I have with these girls! There's a closeness among those we grow up with that can't be imitated.

Steve is an inspiration to everyone who knows the work of The Piano Guys, but especially to me--there's something just amazing about seeing someone you knew in middle school breaking out into the wider universe. I have incredible respect for the amazing influence Steve is having on the world, and even more for the truly good person he remains through it all.

Those trips down memory lane remind you what it is you are really made of, and the building blocks that got you there.

Truly beautiful to reconnect with such lovely women who inspire me still! Did I mention that I have never been among so many women who have five kids (and more!)--I feel like I joined a really cool club that I didn't even know existed.

Also, this gorgeous girl of mine had a birthday.

But there are some things she hasn't grown out of.

Can't quite believe she's at the stage where she asks for clothes as a birthday gift--she was very excited about a jean jacket.

Addy's Birthday Interview--age 12

What is your favorite color?
-Mint green
What is your favorite food?
-Orange chicken
What is your favorite thing to wear?
-Flannels and fuzzy boots
What is your favorite thing to do?
 -Play basketball, Ice skating
If you could buy anything in the whole world you wanted, what would it be?
 -A yorkie (dog)
What are you good at?
 -Art and drawing
What job would you like when you grow up?
 -Movie director
Where are you going to live when you grow up?
 -In Tennessee on a farm
What games do you like to play?
 -Subway surfers (on phone), Apples to Apples
What was your favorite thing about being 11?
 -Not having to give talks at church
What is your favorite thing about being 12?
 -Being able to go to the temple

Summplicity

We kept our summer trip simple this year--a drive out to Utah to visit family, with a few days of  Vegas to spice things up. In Vegas we did some of the Vegas things we've never done before--went to see the volcano at the Mirage, trolled the canal at the Venetian, wandered the "big apple" in New York, New York, admired the Bellagio fountains. So much cool stuff in Las Vegas! Also, some pretty crazy stuff . . . like the billboards all over advertising a show called "Puppetry of the Penis." So that was great. We really did have the nicest time though--we've fallen in love with a great little hotel called "Sam's Town," which has great food, a indoor mountainside teeming with "wildlife" where there's a show every couple of hours, a great pool and spa area, and we can easily afford separate rooms for the parents and the kids. When we were about as hot as we could bear (the temperature in Vegas was over 100 degrees for much of our stay), we headed out to Logan to visit with my dad for a bit, enjoying a visit to an "American West" museum/farm where we got to see the lifestyle of those who settled Cache Valley, as well as a trip to Aggie Ice Cream, which the kids have crowned their favorite ice cream shop ever (which very much pleases their grandfather), then heading over the mountain to Bear Lake, where we spent a few days family reunioning with my mom and sisters and brother. The kids took in their fair share of water-skiing and wake-boarding, we got to enjoy raspberry shakes and a parade for Raspberry Days, and despite getting completely rained out at a rodeo, Sera had the chance to chase a pig in the mud while wearing flip-flops. Does it get better than that?

Once we got back home, we were greeted with some unexpected (and yet not quite unexpected) news. The financial status of the San Diego Children's Choir, which Aaron had been hounding the board about all year, was as bad or worse than he had predicted, and they were unprepared to fund his position for the coming year. Although it was handled in the most unprofessional way possible (only weeks before the start of a new season for which Aaron had spent much of the summer preparing), Aaron and the choir parted ways. In a way, the whole thing came as a relief, because when Aaron was offered a more expansive role at Pacific Ridge school earlier this year, he decided to accept it, even though he couldn't quite envision how he would manage the responsibilities of both. He has truly loved working with the children in the choirs and learning the ropes of a non-profit organization, but does not regret the opportunity to move into a position where his vision can be more fully embraced and realized. Additionally, Aaron and I have been working slowly toward a shared vision for an international non-profit music organization for the past several years, and the structure of this coming year may allow us to finally found it.

Otherwise, we moved into gear for the school year, doing the requisite shopping for clothing and supplies. We took the last few days of freedom to go out and visit Grandma and Grandpa Mitchell, introducing them to our little Cora, and to finally return to Universal Studios, since most of the summer was blacked out on our passes. When school finally started again, it was with a heavy heart that I sent my kids back. This summer has been such a delicious time for our family to just soak in every finger and toe and grunt and breath of our darling new little baby, and nobody wants to leave her anymore than I want to lose my helpers and babysitters.

But alas, it has begun. Asher has started seminary, and so far has done an excellent job of dragging himself out of bed for it every morning. Everyone seems to like their schools and teachers, and we managed to work out the carpool situation well enough (although I'm no fan of chauffeuring, to be sure). And I guess I have to admit that there is something nice about a quiet house where a baby can sleep in peace.