The Plague

Two families we know got hit with lice this summer.  Clueless me didn't' even think about checking for it.  Until talking about it with them, I started to itch, but was it just cause I was talking about it?  But then the itch, and next day, still itchy.

Groan.  Sure, we had lice.  House professionally cleaned.  Hotel reserved for a night (to let the lice at home die a hostless death.)  Two lice removal methods performed on Mike, Caleb, and Matt.  Hudson was free from the buggers.  6 hours of combing and washing and drying later, I was exhausted.

The next morning Kristina and I forked over a small fortune to have our hair professionally combed at a lice removal salon.  Yes, they exist.  It might have been overkill, but we simply didn't have enough time to do everyone in a single evening, and dragging the removal process out would have likely continued to spread the bugs around indefinitely.

The first 24 hours, I was in survival mode.  Kill the lice was my highest priority.  Whatever it takes.  But my dear friend happened to be with me when I was finally done and went to my car.  I just melted in tears.  The motherly desire to protect my family was incredibly stressful.  I didn't want to unduly strain our finances, but I couldn't imagine putting up with lice for weeks or months on end.  Or risk getting others around us infected.

In the end, I learned a lot, and so far, we remain plague free.  Phew.

The night of our infestation that we spent at a hotel, we went out for chinese food, and just before I was to spend hours on end de-licing my menfolk, this was my fortune cookie.  I think God has a sense of humor.

First Day of School

The first day of the first grade...

A very proud mommy

Crazy Kiddos

And a one and a two...

I am...the BOMB!

Getting ready to be the oldest child, finally!  During the day at least!

I wore this shirt the day I officially adopted him. It has a key on it and the words "Always." I bought it thinking that my son will always have the key to my heart. And today, his first day of first grade...same shirt, same sentiment.

Sr. Loco

Matthew with a couple of his pals from kindergarten

An attempt at a group shot

Next year's incoming kindergarten troublemakers.

Very, very cool fact...our cousin Orion, who happens to live in our neighborhood, is also coming to Puesta del Sol.  How cool to see him and his family EVERY DAY!

Matt and his pal, Tayla Ann (Holding onto this photo for when he takes her to prom.)

And its the first day of school, again.  Caleb is in second grade.  Matthew is in first.  And once again, the beautiful weather that has dodged us at the beginning of the summer is lingering on well into September.

I remember at the beginning of the summer being a bit nervous.  I was used to two kids in school, and now we were going to have 5 kids (including my nephew on most days) home with us all day.  But I underestimated how much fun it would be.  Yes, not nearly enough school work got done, we didn't' even touch the library reading program…not to say we didn't read, but not as much as we should have, and couldn't be bothered to track it.   But oh well, the kids got to be kids, and we had many fun family memories.

Gone are the days when I would drag little tykes to the park just to keep from going crazy at home.  Spending time with them is an adventure, it is beyond enjoyable, and yes, it still helps to keep from going crazy at home.  Especially with the mess part.

I am so thankful for summers like these.  These memories will be forever in our minds, and I think one of the best things I can give my children are happy memories of their summers with mom.

That being said, I think I'll get a lot more household stuff done with two kids in school full-time.  But I will miss them.

Boise - 6th Annual Trip

Kristina shows her tough stuff at Sonic.

First boating day: Black Canyon Park

What's that?

Kristina at the beach

Unhappy about something

Katie, Caleb and I get ready to rock.

Mike takes Hudson out on the jet ski...yes, he LOVED it!

Uncle Don does a backflip

Adorable and pregnant Brenda

Matt building his sandscape

A beautiful wildflower at Lucky Peaks

Staying as wet as he can this last weekend of summer

Katie and Caleb

Mike tries on the gear

Kristina loves the sand

Jeff and Amarada

I think I spent 2 hours taking the kids out on the jet ski while we were at Lucky Peaks.  What a blast!

So kissable

Loading up the raft for the trip back to the ramp

Katie and Caleb attack Jeff with driftwood

And we're off to our 6th annual Boise trip to see Mike's family.  Certainly the most successful and fun one yet.  Things are much easier when you aren't pregnant or having a child under 2.  So that would be the first year that I qualify on both counts.

We also chose to stay near Boise at our inlaws since they are expecting a new baby boy in a few months.  The pace was perfect.  Two days we went boating, once in Black Canyon Park, the other in Lucky Peaks.  The guys golfed, the ladies had time to shop.  And we didn't have to camp out.

Jeff and his wife even came to show off my niece, Amarada.  Such a doll!  Fun time with family, and a great way to end the summer.