Brave? or just Crazy???

Apparently we don't have enough going on in our lives right now what with Leah starting school and a new baby due in just a few weeks... so to keep things interesting, we also decided to go ahead with a long planned foundation repair! Our plan was actually to have it done this summer, but so many things had to fall into place for it to happen - and the stars didn't align until now.

Here's a view of our bathroom wall as affected by all the shifting - and one of the holes they're digging to fix everything!

Unfortunately, this also means that we'll be temporarily displaced from our home while the workers dig 12 ft holes in our floors and all around our house. We've spent the last week moving our furniture around, preparing to cut up our hardwood floors, and searching for a place to live for a month. As if that weren't enough, we also discovered a plumbing leak in our garage (luckily it was in the exterior wall, but we do have indoor/outdoor carpeting in there), my kids managed to overflow the toilet all down the hall, and we finally got the rain we've been praying for all summer - which of course delayed the work being done.

On the bright side, once they fix the foundation, we'll be able to start on all the other projects we've been putting off because of it - such as refinishing our wood floors and replacing some of the carpet and maybe even putting in new windows! We do love our house and hope to stay here for a long time, so hopefully everything will go smoothly and we'll be back in before the baby makes an appearance!

School Days

I know I'm a little slow with this post, but we have had a bit of a crazy week - which I'll elaborate on in my next post. However, I did want to let everyone know that Leah finished her first week of Kindergarten with much sass and aplomb!
Here she is on the first day of school with her new backpack and her baseball lunchbox (her dad was so proud!). The first day, I walked her to her classroom so I could help her carry all the school supplies, but when I went to say goodbye after putting everything away, she gave me a look that was obviously confused as to why I was still there.

Everyone has asked me if I got emotional sending my firstborn off to school - and, honestly, I really didn't. Not that it doesn't make me wonder where the time has gone and realize just how fast she's growing up... but, quite frankly, the girl was wearing me out! She's way too smart for me to be able to keep her engaged all day with two other little ones clamoring for attention as well, so I'm happy to turn over a few hours of the day to the wonderful Ms. Arispe.

And by the second day of school, I was informed that she didn't need me to walk her into school because she could do it herself! So off she went, waving goodbye without a second look. Luckily, her room is just inside the school doors so I can pretty much see her all the way to her desk.

By the end of the week, however, she was complaining that the day was too long to spend at school, so I guess she's a normal child after all. She also asked to bring her blanket to school for "head rest time". Somehow I didn't think that would be such a good idea so I made her a few "pocket blankets" that she could take to school in her backpack.

The boys have handled her being gone very well - probably because now they don't have to worry about her taking things away from them or telling them what to do. It still remains to be seen if Lincoln will take over the King of the House role or not.

Nine Years and counting...

"You were born together, and together you shall be forever more...
But let there be spaces in your togetherness
And let the winds of heaven dance between you."

-Kahlil Gibran

Texas State Capitol

My kids have been begging me to take them to the Texas State Capitol building all summer. We finally had an unscheduled day coincide with a day that I had energy, so we headed out this morning for a little field trip. The kids were so excited and wanted to get all dressed up to go - Leah even insisted that I wear a skirt. I think this was due in part to Lincoln's association of the Capitol with the temple - apparently the statue of Lady Liberty on top reminds him of "King Ramoni" on top of the temple.

We had a good time dressing up like cowboys and early settlers in the Visitor's Center and pretending to ride in a covered wagon. Unfortunately, my camera is still MIA so I don't have any pictures to share. Leah loved listening to the stories on the old-fashioned phones in the O.Henry exhibit and they all had a great time going up to the top of the rotunda (or at least the 4th floor) in the Capitol building. In fact, they wanted to go higher because they could see a spiral staircase going all the way to the top, but I am very grateful they don't allow that... my feet were getting that uncomfortable, tingly feeling just looking over the balcony.

On the way back down, we stopped in the House gallery where Leah insisted on listening to a resolution being presented. Unfortunately, the boys weren't so interested so I took them outside to wait while Leah listened to the whole thing - luckily, it was pretty short.

They had a great time and hopefully now they'll know the difference between the Capitol and the temple!

Getting Ready for School

Leah will be starting Kindergarten in just a few weeks, so we are trying to get her settled into a routine to help her be a little more prepared. This is easier said than done since she is my little night owl. I've been waking her up at 7 every morning and making her get dressed right away and eat breakfast before she does anything else. These last couple of mornings have been a little rough, but hopefully it will get better as we go along.

She's very excited about starting school and shopping for school supplies. She picked out her backpack last week and now we're waiting for the school to open again so I can take her to look around and see where her classroom will be.

Hopefully I'll find my camera before school starts so we can get some good pictures of her in all her school gear.