Back to school

We missed our Back to School dinner last year and that made me sad, so this year we made sure to plan a great day celebrating! So Sunday we devoted to recognizing the kids and the year ahead of them. After sacrament we had a lesson taught by Ellie. She focused her remarks on how Helaman names his sons Nephi and Lehi so they would remember and follow their righteous examples. She then had the kids think of their names, who they are named for and share a Christlike attribute that they exemplify that they’d like to emulate. Jack David is named for grandpa Dave and he said that Grandpa works hard at home and also with his faith. He’s always serving. Ellie Jane is named for Grandma Janie, who is so incredible kind. She finds the good in everyone she meets and makes them feel so loved and important. Charles Thomas is named for Great Grandpa Charles Thomas Booker, who Charlie said “even though I don’t know him, I know he loved America cause he served in the military.” We talked about how that is the ultimate sacrifice to make for others. We also talked about how he developed his talents- he was an incredible gardener! And Owen Christopher, names after his papa, said that his dad is great at cooking steaks. So we talked about how chris has worked hard at developing his talents too. After, Ellie talked about how we also take on the name of Christ at baptism and how we need to try to live up to his example and how important that is to do while at school.

After Ellie’s lesson, chris gave each child (and me!) a Father’s blessing. It was extra special hearing the older kids explain to Owen what a father’s blessing does and how it’s helped them in years past.

Later, we introduced our 2020-2021 family theme, which is Helaman 5:12. Originally we had planned on a quote by Elder Uchtdorf, but it just felt like “this is a great quote”. Then Saturday morning in my personal study I read Helaman 5:12-13 and was struck by the verse and helaman’s desire to teach his children to build their foundations on Christ. I’ve read that verse probably a hundred times, but in that moment I knew that this is what chris and I need to teach our kids right now.

We wanted to make a special dinner and each kid said they wanted their very own steak... chris was definitely on board!

Steaks, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, roasted broccoli, fruit, rolls, and chocolate cake.

We took a beautiful drive after dinner and looked at the cows down the road. So dreamy!

The kids started school on Monday!

Because of the way school is happening this year, the bus schedule is kinda crazy. All the kids ride the bus together in the morning and afternoon. Well, except in the morning Owen doesn’t ride because he is in half day afternoon kindergarten, so he rides the bus by himself at 12:45 and then with all the big kids on the way home.

I always said I would be one of those moms that cried when she drops her baby off at the first day of kindergarten- not because I was sad- but out of pure joy! Owen was a HARD baby and toddler. I always say that he teaches me things that the other three never did haha! When he hopped on that bus, I definitely had a wave of emotions, but they weren’t what I thought they would be. It was sort of confusing. Here was my freedom, finally, but it meant I wasn’t with my little sidekick. Or any of my sidekicks for that matter. I’ve waited 14 years to have all my kids in school and now I’m not so sure that freedom is as great as I thought it would be. I’m sure it’ll feel different in a week or two, but for now I’m going to enjoy the fact that I miss my kids.

Owen was so ready to ride the bus! And he’s definitely ready for kindergarten. But the bus. The bus was certainly the highlight for Owen.

He loved his first day and really loves his new teacher, Miss Weaver.

All the kids have had a great first week so far, especially since it was a staggered start so they had Tuesday off. We had cousins over for outside fun and s’mores.

The only thing worth mentioning about the first day was that jack’s advanced Spanish class is held in the high school, which he didn’t realize so he was pretty tardy on his first day, which of course was stressful for our Type A eldest child lol. But other kids were late too, so it was alright. Other than that, Charlie enjoyed his new teachers and the fact that he now gets to use a locker, and Ellie enjoyed seeing her friends again. 

Other happenings this week:

Jack caught a butterfly that let him hold and pet it’s wings!

Owen started a volcano science project and plans to FaceTime cousin Olive when it’s ready to erupt so she can watch it with him!

And I typed up this entire post while sitting at Charlie’s soccer practice. Best multitasking I’ve done in months haha.

Last week Charlie had a soccer practice where he was on fire the entire time. If you know Charlie, you know this is a rare occurrence. But that night, he made every pass, every goal, and even picked the winning team name when the coach had them vote for a name. They are the Thunder. The evening ended with The World Cup and Charlie and his teammate advanced through all three rounds, thanks to three goals he made, and won the World Cup! He was on cloud nine, and it made my heart pretty much explode with joy to see him soaking up every cheer from his teammates and coaches. It was absolutely awesome.