End of Summer

The kids started school on Monday. We tried to live up the weekend a little bit.

Friday night we took the kids to the Children's Museum of Phoenix. Every first Friday night of the month the museum opens to the public for free. We thought it would be a great way to end the summer.

Wrong.

If you haven't been to a Children's Museum before, let me describe it to you in two words: Over-glorified Playground.

Now, that may sound fun to some people, but when you have several children you're trying to keep under control in a crowd as big as your former town in Montana, it gets a bit overwhelming.

It started out with an interesting set up to get us in the door. We had to wait in line for half an hour to be given a number. Then we waited another 45 minutes or so for our number to be called. We had no idea we would end up waiting like that. Now we know.

About five minutes after entering the museum we heard a little girl screaming bloody murder. She was over by the elevator. I quickly counted our brood (there were five kids because we brought our nephew Brett) and they were all safe. Josh ran to the elevator and found that the girl's foot had gotten caught in the doors. He pulled the door apart while another man got the girls' foot out. I was so relieved that Josh could help save this little girl, but the screaming had unhinged all of us, after waiting so long to get in, and we all had a raincloud over our heads for a while.

It was fun to be with the kids (for the most part) but the museum itself was a bummer. I'd much rather pay to have an annual membership to a Science and Natural History Museum. We loved the one in Denver. We actually went three or four times, even though we lived four hours away from it.

So Monday morning the kids took off for school, gone for the entire day. Ahh.... Josh and I went to a movie to celebrate!

The kids were happy and excited. Josh and I have been walking them to the bus stop, which is in the neighborhood but about a 7 minute walk away. We've waited with them and then taken Millie on a walk around the neighborhood as the new daily routine. It's been really nice.

I love that the kids are enjoying school and also love the walks I've gotten to have with Josh and Millie. The quiet day hasn't had a chance to settle yet because I've been too busy with other things, but I'm sure the shock of quiet will hit me soon enough.

Music To My Ears

It's the last week of school. So, there are lots of end-of-year events. Tonight was my nephew Cody's band concert.

We got to go to Cody's concert back in December and their band has made some great improvements. It's really very fun to be able to go and watch my nephew's events. We've been to his football games, saw his US state display at school, and his band concerts. I love that we are here and can do that.

So please understand that the rest of this post is written in love.

I think it's impossible to listen to beginning musicians and not smile. They try so hard and come a long way in a short period of time. But they are still beginners. Of course, Cody rocks. He's related to me, so he has musical talent out the wazoo.

I never really knew that listening to beginning musicians could be so.... interesting. I began my musical endeavors in third grade. I played flute and joined the school choir. I loved it all. My band class was too slow for me, so I went ahead in the band book and taught myself. My choir teacher discovered that I was a decent alto. I thought I was pretty hot stuff.

Then, about six years later I was watching an episode of The Carol Burnett Show with my parents. There was a sketch showing a close up of a few parents in the audience of their children's band concert. The lights dim and the band begins. Listen with me: the flat notes, the off rhythm instruments, the squeaking clarinets. All the camera shows throughout the entire sketch are the faces of the parents with their plastered-on smiles and shudders as the music plays. Hilarious!! However, I was crushed when my parents revealed to me the truth that the sketch was actually very, very real. And here I'd thought I was an incredible musician.

As I listened to the concert tonight, I really loved being able to see the improvement from the band. They obviously worked hard and did a great job.

And in the back of my mind, I tried to suppress the thought of Carol Burnett.

Last Week of School

This is the last week of school. Everyone else I know is out now. My poor girls have another two and a half days. I'm happy they're still kept busy during the day (because summer vacation gets boring after a while), but I'm tired of not being able to sleep in. I know. I'm selfish--either I want them in school to get them out of my hair or I want them home so I can sleep. It's always about me!!!

Abby is having a luau the last two days of school, so she gets to reuse the luau garb she got for her birthday party. Emma is having an Olympics. Somehow, I'm in charge of it. At the beginning of the year the teachers sent around papers asking parents how involved they'd like to be in their child's education. Of course I want to be involved, but I didn't know I was going to be a go-to-mom. At Halloween I organized the parental help for the second grade's roundup. Now I'm doing the same thing for the Year End Olympics. And it's not just Emma's classroom, it's all three 2nd grade classes. I so don't get it. I guess I should feel good that I'm trusted with the responsibility, but now I know to be a lot more conservative in the boxes I mark of the things I'm willing to do.

At any rate, it's almost summertime!