Over The Hill

I know, I know - you're not over the hill until your 40, not 4.  Still, Joshua James is getting pretty old, I tell ya!  He had a wonderful birthday, starting with the most sugary cereal he could possibly imagine: Chocolate Marshmallow Mateys!  Makes me kinda sick just thinking about it.

He got some awesome presents.  I knew everything he wanted from the dollar store (from his siblings) since we'd been there 3 other times in the past 30 days.  He also got a lot of Batman stuff and a dinosaur or two.  The rest of the morning was a bit rough on all of us.  It's hard to share your brand new toys when you're 4.  That's part of the reason we went for an outing.

I took the boys over to a shopping center where we tried on new shoes for the birthday boy, went to a pet store and saw lots of cool animals like lizards, birds, and rodents of all kinds (I had to laugh at Josh when he saw a tarantula - he literally made an involuntary gagging sound), and bought all the groceries we needed for his special dinner and birthday cake. 

Bronny fell asleep on the way home, so we just parked in the driveway of our house while I quickly unloaded the groceries, then we kept driving.  We ended up at Burger King.  They have the best play land and an awesome drink dispenser that lets you make 150 different kinds of drinks.  Josh ate a ton of food.  He had 10 chicken nuggets AND the hamburger I bought for myself.  Of course, he won't touch french fries, so I guess it wasn't THAT crazy, but still!!!

After a little Burger King bliss, we headed over to Hill Air Force base and toured the museum.  WOW!  Talk about a cool place for Josh!  He and Bronson were in heaven.  They ran around shouting and exclaiming and gasping every few seconds.  Of course, we didn't stop to read anything - I'd just barely have enough time to tell them the name of one plane before they were off to the next.  We were in and out in less than 45 minutes, but it was free and fun!  I'm sure we'll visit the museum a few more times this winter. 

We got home with plenty of time to decorate Josh's Batman birthday cake before we had to get the girls from school.  I thought it would be fun for the boys to help, but it was not.  What a mess those kids can make (complete with Bronny grabbing a tomato off the window sill and sitting on it - seeds and juice everywhere!) 

That afternoon, he played with his favorite little neighborhood buddy while I cooked his birthday dinner.  Everything on the menu was his choice;  meatballs, bow noodles, salad (???), canned peaches, and root beer.  Yum.  After dinner, my parents and Scott and Katie dropped by for cake and ice cream.  Did I mention that my little brother Scott and his wife just barely moved back from Arizona!  That's 4 out of 5 kids back home.  We just gotta work on Dave and Jen...  My mom got Josh a couple of Batman toys, but for some strange reason they scared him and he started crying when he opened his present.  Poor Grandma wasn't too thrilled with me for suggesting that he likes the Joker.  Oops.

The best present Josh got for his birthday was from his 11 year old cousin, Megan.  She planned her gift out months in advance.  She is taking sewing classes and she spent a lot of time making him his own super hero cape.  He LOVES it!  When he's not wearing it (which isn't very often) he hangs it right next to his bed.  Thanks for the special gift, Meg!

Speaking in Sacrament Meeting

Our family spoke in Sacrament meeting a couple of weeks ago.  The bishop asked our whole family to speak and assigned us the topic of "The Power Of God."  Wow!  We decided that the boys were still a little bit young to give talks.  Josh probably could have done it, but he's super shy. I didn't want to traumatize him, so he got to sit with Grandma and Grandpa Smith instead.

It was the first time we'd ever had the girls speak with us.  They did such an amazing job!  Alison went first.  She wrote her own talk about the power of God - how she learned what it meant and times when she's seen it in action.  She did a great job.  We really practiced hard at getting her to speak slowly so that everyone would be able to understand her and it worked! 

Nicki went second.  I helped her a little bit with the content of her talk, but the wording was all hers.  She loves speaking and bares her testimony nearly every chance she gets, so she wasn't nervous at all.  She was kind of antsy sitting on the stand for the whole meeting, but she made it through.

After the girls, I spoke.  I introduced the family a little bit before speaking.  Then, I basically shared a lot of personal expereinces when I'd felt the power of God in my life.  I think my talk went pretty well, except that I cried through the whole thing, and I went a little longer than I wanted to. 

Dave was the concluding speaker.  I'd heard him practice it several times, so I know that he had to cut a couple of things out.  Sorry, Dave!  He did a good job, but I guess he didn't feel very good about it.  When he sat back down after he was finished, he leaned into me and whispered, "Tough crowd."  It made me laugh.  (Seriously - I KNOW!  You should have seen them during my Gospel Doctrine lesson last week.  They're brutal sometimes!  By the way, Dave is the Ward Mission Leader and I teach Gospel Doctrine.)

Anyway...it was a good experience for us all to work on our talks together and to sit up there on the stand as a family.  Now, we're officially initiated as members of the Rosewood Ward.

Good Times

October has been a pretty fun month.  On the 13th, David took the girls to their first hockey game ever. They went to a Utah Grizzlies game in Salt Lake City. They had a great time! They ate cotton candy and popcorn, cheered like mad, laughed at all the antics from the mascot, and even saw some of our neighbors there!  Once, the girls were dancing and they were featured on the jumbo tron!  How cool is that!?!?! Ali was angry because the Grizz were playing a team from Idaho and the man behind them kept yelling some pretty mean things about Idahoans. Don't mess with the spuds, man!!! Ali said she "literally wanted to kill him!" I'm not sure she knows what literally means. 

The kids had a couple of days off of school in October for "Fall Break."  The first day wasn't very exciting, but I decided to at least try to have fun on the second day.  After a morning of chores and a quick lunch, we headed over to a park in Syracuse/Clinton.  It's not close to our house by any means, but the kids see it whenever we drive to Winco and it looks like a fun park.  Boy was it!  I regret to say that I forgot my camera because it was a lovely place.

The play area is very large and a couple of  the slides are intense!  The whole thing is a huge sand box with a couple of those hand-powered tractor things for scooping.  There's a long row of swings as well.  All four kids ran off and played with all the enthusiasm and joy you'd expect.  Nicki played with Bronson, so I was free to just sit on a bench and observe.  While watching, I had one of those heavenly and all-too-rare moments when you realize that everything is absolutely perfect.  The sun was shining.  It was warm, but in an autumn-y way, not hot at all.  The kids are all very happy, and playing well together.  I didn't feel any pressure to be anywhere else or do anything else.  I just sat there and enjoyed the moment.  After a while, I called the kids over to a small hill and we all rolled down many times (well, Bronson couldn't figure out how to roll very well - he kind of slid down the hill).  Then we all laid in the grass under a tree and looked up at the sky together.  It was a perfect afternoon.

After the park, we drove to the nearest 7-11 gas station and bought Slurpees.  Boy!  Do I love Slurpees!  When I was as kid, Grandpa Church always bought us a Slurpee whenever he visited us.  It was our "big surprise!"  As adults, whenever one of us sisters came across certain flavors, we'd call each other and say, "Pina Colada Slurpees at 24th street!" or something like that.  There aren't any 7-11's in Idaho, so I've been getting caught up on Slurpees since we moved back.  My kids love them too, of course - frozen sugar water...what's not to love? (they serve one sugar free flavor per store too, by the way - that's what I've been getting lately). 

Next, we met Katie, Megan and Adam at a local pumpkin patch.  We went for a short hay ride and picked out a pumpkin for each of us.  It was such a fun time!  Adam didn't love waiting for the hay ride to start, but once we were in motion, he had the biggest smile on his face!  It was so fun to let each kid choose their favorite pumpkin!  I think we'll probably make that an annual tradition.    What a super fun day!

Getting ready for our hay ride.

In search of the perfect pumpkin.

Nicki found one right away.  Then she went to work helping Bronson find his.

Josh liked a tall skinny one.

Alison had a hard time.  She took longer than anyone else and roamed the whole patch.  I finally had to call her in because the truck was ready to leave, so she picked the best one she could. But she never did find the perfectly perfect one she was searching for.

Two Year Old Terror

Something's wrong!  There is no possible way that my baby is 2!!!  I think I've been caught in a time warp or something!  I swear he was BARELY born!!!  Some how, on October 11 (10-11-12), baby Bronson stopped being a baby and entered the world of two-year-olds!

Can you believe this kid!  How cute can one person be?!?!?  We ALL love us some Bronson in this house.  He is one funny, happy, crazy kid!  In fairness, I feel obligated to mention that he is also very bossy, destructive, and brutal.  It isn't unusual for Bronson to tackle even our oldest children, and when someone in this house is crying (myself included) Bronny is usually the cause.  Still, you just can't help but love him.

"Ball!  Ball!  Ball!"
 

He opened his birthday presents first thing in the morning, then spent the rest of the day playing with them. He got lots of great stuff, but the best things were his Baby Einstein animal movie and his train track set.  We already had some trains, but now we can make a bigger, fancier track.  He LOVES them! I'm a little tired of cleaning them up all the time, but oh well. 

We sent David to get Bron a balloon on his way home from work, but the store was out of helium. He could only choose from the pre-filled ones, and they were out of "Happy Birthday" balloons.  I guess Bronson graduated from baby-hood.

My mom helped out a LOT with Bronson's special day.  I guess I was a little birthday burned-out or just feeling lazy because my take on the whole thing was, "He's only 2.  He doesn't care what we do!"  My mom cared, so she helped plan and execute the whole evening.  In the afternoon, the kids and I all went over to Grandma Smith's house.  It was their last official chance to jump on the trampoline for the year.  They had a great time!  Daddy met us at Grandma's house when he got off work and we all ate pizza.  Yum!  Grandma made Bronson's birthday cake for me - super cute and delicious cupcakes.  I brought a gallon of play dough ice cream.  Have you ever seen it?  It's the most unnatural, neon colored stuff you've ever set eyes on - perfect for a two year old!  Then he opened his present from Grandma and Grandpa.  A dump truck!  It was a big hit!

Bronson picked his favorite cupcake.

 Bronson's sitting on my lap as I type this and he's trying to blow out the candles on the picture.  Cute boy!  I have a feeling he's going to be fun to watch grow up!

On a Side Note

Just a couple of quick things as I try to catch up on our family history:

#1:  October General Conference was especially nice this year.  Grandma and Grandpa Gee spent Sunday morning (aka "candy conference") and half of the afternoon session with us.  They were on their way home from a fabulous vacation back east where they visited Nathan's family and went on a cruise.  They flew into SLC, so they stopped at our house to watch conference.  I'm sure they didn't catch as much of the actual talks as they would have in their own quiet home, but I'm also sure they wouldn't have eaten as much candy (I wonder if that's a good thing or a bad thing...).  Grandpa helped the kids listen for the special words - they owe a lot of their loot to him.  We really enjoyed spending time with them between sessions and seeing lots of pictures from their trip.  We sure miss them an awful lot! 


Our hoppin' conference party.

 

That afternoon, we went to my parents house for a glorious ham dinner.  I like to think I'm a good cook, but meals like that keep me humble.  I get lucky sometimes, but I usually just throw stuff together.  This meal was perfection - even if my mom didn't love her homemade wheat rolls (which were fabulous).  The table was lovely, the food was piping hot or perfectly chilled. It smelled, tasted, and felt heavenly, and every dish belonged on the well-planned menu (does that make sense - no arbitrary "we need to eat this before it goes bad" items).  I need to learn to put more planning, effort and love into my cooking.  I've got a long way to go, baby!

#2:  Josh is finally potty trained.  He was pushing four years old without any real signs of getting the hang of it.  I had tried nearly everything I could think of (even some things I'm not totally proud of).  Finally, I followed the example of my sister-in-law Kristi.  She had a little boy who took a long time to potty train as well.  What worked for Isaac ended up working for Josh too!  Thanks, Kristi!

 

What was my secret weapon you ask?  A remote controlled car.  I took Josh to the store one day and bought a cool, red car.  I explained to Josh that the car was going to be on top of our fridge.  Every time he went potty, he'd get to play with his car for a half hour.  That didn't sound very fun to him and he had a full-blown melt down at Wal Mart.  It was a doozy!  However, once he figured out the system, he loved it!  He went poop in the potty for his first time that very day and he's never had an accident since.  He loved getting to play with his car, but I think he was even more excited about being a big boy and mastering a new skill.  I am very proud of my little man!  After a couple of weeks, we just gave the car to him outright. 


What a cool car!



If only Bronson would stop attacking it!

 

#3:  We went to my parent's house the other night and I asked my dad to take a few photos of our family.  I was hoping to get something to use on our Christmas cards.  Let's just say it didn't go so well.  We only took a dozen or so, but in every single one there was at least one person looking away or blinking or making a face.  Add the fact that Dave and I are enormous and I think it's pretty safe to say there won't be any family pictures on our Christmas cards this year. 



This is about as good a picture as we could get.

Dave's Turn

Dave's birthday is the second of four that are celebrated within 30 days of each other in our house.  The holidays start about a month early here. 

On Saturday, September 29th, David Gee turned  43 years old.  I asked him in advance what he wanted to do, thinking that we could go to a museum or the zoo or something fun as a family.  He said, "Honestly, I don't want to do a single thing!  I want to sit around all day."  Sigh.  I knew that's what he really wanted, but it was hard for me to let go of a whole Saturday worth of chores or at least a fun family activity to justify not getting anything else done. Still, it was his birthday, not mine.  So I let go of all the anxiety and embraced a day of nothingness.

We opened presents in the morning, as usual.  Dave got a lot of books he'd requested, and a few other fun things.   Then, we basically spent the whole morning in our jammies watching "The Avengers" (a birthday present) and eating treats.  The kids went outside and had a super fantastic day of playing with their friends.  They didn't miss the zoo or museum at all - in fact, they had even more fun with their friends than they would have had anywhere else. 

Josh and neighborhood friend Pierce.

Ellie (neighborhood friend) and Nicki

Nicki and Ali
 

That afternoon, a babysitter came over (another joy for our kids - WAY better than hanging out with us).  Dave and I went to the Outback Steakhouse and ate a whole lot of food.  I mean a WHOLE LOT of food.  It was very nice to enjoy some alone time together.  We did a little window shopping for exercise equipment, then picked up a pizza for the kids on the way home.   We had just enough time to sing Happy Birthday to Dad and have a slice of ice cream cake before I locked myself in the office to watch the Relief Society general broadcast (I had tickets to attend at the conference center, but decided that I couldn't leave David for that long on his birthday).  As far as the kids were concerned, it was an awesome birthday for them! Playing outside all day, a babysitter, pizza and ice cream cake: who could ask for anything more?!?!? 

Overall, I think Dave got what he wanted for his birthday.  And, you know - doing absolutely nothing for a whole day was actually pretty fun for me as well.  I'm not saying I want to live my whole life in a lazy stupor, but it was a pretty fun break from the normal Saturday craze.

Opa!

I can't quite remember how I began attending the Greek Food Festival in South Ogden.  I know it was years and years ago, like in my late teens, that Kristin and/or I discovered it.  We've been faithful attenders ever since.  It's almost like a holiday to us - one we literally budget for in advance. 

For the past nine years, I've lived so far away that I've been unable to attend.  It has been very hard on me.  The day that I SHOULD be at the Greek Food Festial is always the low point of my year... Kristin calls me each year to report on her experience and to tell me how big the kids are getting (seriously - we've been going so long that we've watched the little Greek kids grow up over the years).  Each year, I vow that I won't miss another festival, but of course I do. 

Not this year!  I live in Utah now!  No more excuses!!  I asked David to take the day off so that he could stay home with the boys, but apparently he doesn't grasp the vision of the importance of the Greek Food Festival because he said no.  So the boys tagged along with me.  Sadly, Kristin's family was on vacation this year so she missed it.  I have yet to attend with my Greek Food Festival co-hort. 

The Greek Food Festival is one hoppin' place.  Everyone is so excited and happy to be there, from the attendees to the workers.  Oh, and they're all so Greek!  It's like being in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."  As we entered the line, an old Greek Grandma kept trying to pat Bronson's cheeks and speak to him, but she didn't speak much English and Bronson wouldn't give her a smile. Crazy American baby!  It was funny.  I love the music playing through the PA system, the blue checkered table cloths, the whole experience!  The lines have been known to wrap around the building and it isn't uncommon for a near-riot to break out if they run out of Gyros.  For this reason, the boys and I showed up 20 minutes early on the opening day.  Even being early, we still waited in a large line.  Still - it was worth the wait.

Oh, heaven!  Souvlaki, Gyros, Dolmathes, Phylo dough, olives, Feta cheese, lemon rice, green beans in fresh tomato sauce, meat balls, lemon chicken quarters...and more!  I got it ALL - every single thing they offered!  It was delightful!  I had Josh pretty pumped up before we even went, and he ranted and raved nearly as much as Kristin would have if she'd been there.  He even said, "Mom!  Let's get one of everything and take it home!"  His favorite was the lemon chicken leg.  I hardly got  a bite.  Bronson loved the rice. 

After lunch (at 10:00 am) we went to the Loukamathes stand.  That's the only dessert we love.  Most of the Greek pastries (of which there are dozens and dozens on sale) are too walnutty for me.  But the Loukamathes are little scone balls drenched in honey.  They are truly a delight!  We got two batches, then took one to Grandma and Grandpa Church's house on our way home.  They live really close to the festival.  LUCKY!

I can't wait to go again next year.  Mark your calendars, everyone!  The last Friday and Saturday of September!  You won't be disappointed!

Alison's Birthday

Alison turned nine on Monday, September 24th.  We started celebrating, however, the night before.  My grandparents, my sisters and their families met us at my parents house.  I brought a birthday cake and home made banana-rum ice cream (Ali's choice after smelling all the flavored extracts I had in the house).  We had a fun night visiting and playing with them.

Ali was very specific about what kind of cake she wanted.  White cake with mint frosting between layers and chocolate frosting on the outside.  It was unique.  That's for sure.

Opening presents from the extended family.  Grandma Smith gave her this awesome mask.  She got some pretty amazing stuff from her cousins and the Church's!
 

The next morning, after scripture study, we opened a few presents.  Ali wanted to drag out the gift giving for as long as possible, so she wanted to save some for later.  She brought long Red Vine licorice ropes for her class birthday treat. That's becoming a tradition, I guess.

She got some fun presents from her siblings.

That red blob is Bronson attacking the birthday girl and her new cat stuffed animal.

David was able to come home early that day, so we let Ali open another present in the afternoon.
For dinner, we had a compilation of Ali's favorite foods:  Alfredo sauce on bow noodles, cut up polish sausage, bread sticks, whole peeled raw carrots, and root beer.  It was yummy, but not totally healthy.  Thank heaven Grandma and Grandpa Smith came over because they brought a nice green salad with them.

After a brief FHE lesson, Alison opened her last couple of presents.  Two of her favorite presents were coupons from me - one for a night off of dishes duty and one for a free soak in my huge bath tub. 

The girls and their friends LOVE to play Harry Potter.  Since Halloween is coming up, it was easy to find a Hogwarts costume for her.  She was pretty excited!
 

I think Alison had a good ninth birhday.  It's hard to believe how old she's getting!

A Really Nice Day

Sunday, September 23rd was a pretty special day.  The Brigham City Temple was being dedicated, so there were no regular church meetings throughout all of northern Utah.  David, Alison and I were able to watch the dedication service via satellite at our church (you had to be 8 years old or older and have a temple recommend to go).  My parents were kind enough to stay home with our little kids and attend a later session themselves.  President Packer was the presiding authority there.  He was born and raised in Brigham City, so it was a pretty special day for him.  In fact, he said that when the temple was announced, he asked Heavenly Father if he could please live long enough to be allowed to see the temple get dedicated.  His prayer was answered, and he says he won't pray for any more time.  He looks pretty old and tired, but he was so very happy.  Elder Perry also spoke in our session - he too was raised in that area.  It was great.  I think Ali felt mature and had fun sitting between her parents.  It was pretty long for her, but she did a good job.  Of course, the other three kids were in heaven playing with Grandma and Grandpa Smith instead of going to regular church!

We were done with our church meetings by 11:00.  Awesome!  We had lunch, then we all loaded up in the van and went for a Sunday drive.  We wanted to see the fall leaves, so we drove through Trappers Loop, which connects the Ogden and Weber canyons. 

We timed our drive to coincide with Bronson's nap time.  That way, we could go a bit longer without him getting bored.  It didn't take very long for him to fall asleep.

The fall colors this year are literally breathtaking!  As in we all gasped several times as we saw bright reds, pinks, oranges, yellows, peaches and corals splashed all over the mountainside.  Once, Alison said, "Okay.  That's it.  Heavenly Father is the best artist!"  I agreed.  We stopped on the side of the road for a few minutes to take a look and stretch our legs (Bron was awake by then).  It was such a beautiful, fun, peaceful drive!  Can't wait to do it again some day.

That evening, we went over to my parents house, along with my sisters' families, and had a little birthday celebration for Alison, who would be turning 9 the next day.  I'll write more about that later. 

Crazy Hair Day

Both of our girls were superstars at their school's Crazy Hair Day on September 19th.  'Nuff said.

First Day of School

Whew!  We made it through the first day at a new school! Let me just say, it was pretty terrifying.  Alison, who is a bit of a worrier, nearly had a heart attack worrying about how to find her way around and how to make new friends and what she would do if school was harder in Utah than it is in Idaho, etc.  Even Nicki, who usually stays pretty calm, was nervous and shy acting.  As their mother, I was nervous too!  I want SO BADLY for them to be happy and comfortable and safe.  None of us knew what to expect.  So, we did the only thing we could do.  We got up really early and packed great lunches and got super cute and headed out the door to find out what life is like at Creekside Elementary - home of the Comets!

4th grade!

2nd Grade!
 

 Our neighborhood gang walks to school together in the mornings.  On the very first day of school the mothers come along.  Josh and Bronson came along too.  It was fun!  Its a little less than a mile to our school, so it takes 15 minutes or so.  It was a beautiful, sunny morning, and the streets were filled with kids and parents walking to school.  Fun!  Dad even drove by and honked on his way to work.

All ready for our walk!
 

When we arrived, we all went to the back of the school, to the playground.  That's where the kids enter the school each morning.  The school is set up in such a great way!  There are 4 "pods."  Each pod is a collection of about 8-10 classrooms joined by a common area.  Each pod has its own bathrooms and drinking fountains, and each pod leads directly to the playground.  One pod is for kindergartners, another holds 1st and 2nd graders, another is for 3rd and 4th grades, and another is for 5th and 6th grades.  The teachers come get their kids from the playground every morning. 

Anyway, back to the first day of school.  Since we were so new, I took the girls into their pods and found their classrooms with them.  We went to Nicki's pod first.  Her teacher, Mrs. Evans, is a young, cute woman with tons of "you little sweetheart!" kind of personality.  I could tell right away that Nicole would love her.  I introduced them to each other and was surprised when I got a little choked up.  I wasn't feeling emotional, but looking at my cute little 7 year old practically frozen with fear, I almost lost it (but I pulled it together really quickly and I don't think anyone noticed). We left as the teacher took her into the classroom to find her desk.

Alison was next.  By the time we got to her pod, she was almost hyperventilating.  I wish I was exaggerating, but I'm not.  Ali's teacher, Mrs. Crittenden has been teaching at Creekside for decades.  She's older (like a grandma age) but very spunky and matter-of-fact.  She reminds me very much of Ali's 3rd grade teacher, whom Alison adored.  I took Ali into the classroom to find her stuff, but she just kept begging me to let her come home with me.  I gently told her no and assured her I'd be back soon (it was a short day) and started to leave.  She chased me out into the hall and started crying.  Yikes. Luckily for me, Mrs. Crittenden followed us out and had a great talk with Ali.  She said, "Are you nervous because you don't know anyone?  Guess what.  I don't know any of those kids either.  They all had different teachers last year.  Let's go inside and meet them together.  Here's your first assignment..." etc.  She walked Ali back to the classroom and I snuck away.  I felt bad for her - that's not how she wanted to start her school year.  I hoped she'd be able to get over it quickly.

Our girls and their neighborhood friends waiting for school to start.
 

I LOVE their school!  As I was leaving, the principal was talking to the kids over the speakers.  She was welcoming them all back to school, especially the new kids, telling them what was for lunch and reminding them of some of the rules.  One MAJOR rule at Creekside is to have a "buddy" that you walk home with everyday and to designate a meeting place where you'll meet after school every day.  I could just tell by her enthusiasm the way she spoke to the kids that she loves her job and that she's really good at it. Their school has music and drama classes, PE frequently, dance and choral clubs, good assemblies designed to teach leadership and self esteem, great teaching, daily emails from their teachers, etc.  It just seems like a great school. 

Right when we got home, Kristin and my mom came over for a day of canning tomatoes.  It was really fun and very productive, leaving me virtually no time to sit and worry about how the girls were doing.  In fact, I barely had time to toss up a sloppy, hand-made "Happy First Day Of School" banner (which both Kris and my mom mocked me over - "Don't over do it, Kelley!") and throw a few balloons around the house before school was out.

I went to the school to pick the girls up that afternoon.  Most of the kids in the neighborhood walk home, but I like to pick my girls up (for a number of reasons:  Its a bit of a maze to get home, they've already been gone long enough, I want to make sure they aren't lost right away - not a half hour later, and I get to hear lots of school stories in the car on the way home).  My mom always picked me up clear through high school and it mattered to me, so it still matters to me now.  Anyway, I was a little nervous to hear how the day went.  But all my fears flew out the window when the girls hopped in.  The first words out of each of their mouths was, "Love it!" and they really do!  Again, Whew!