Off Track

Yes we are... Well, at least some of us. Paris and Madeline (pre-school) are in session. Easton and Savvy and of course sweet little Ava are out. Of course most days Madeline doesn't want to miss out on anything we are doing, so she is mostly out as well. We have had so much fun. This is quickly becoming my favorite time of the year to track off. The weather is absolutely incredible. Yes, I am all about the weather. We can ride bikes, hike, play outside and pretty much feel much more capable of conquering the world when the weather is great. Today was take your kids to work day... A lot of pressure for me, huh? Not that I don't take at least half the kids with me everyday. Today we took a tour and opened savings accounts at the kids bank in the city. I am loving the guy (haven't dug to deep, but still...) who started the bank. What a brilliant idea. I am always trying to come up with ways to help my kids learn the concept of earning, saving and investing money. Dad if your reading this please send us a photo of Kindred Kurbs:) More about that later. This bank is the best because they educate your kids which was great since I was chasing Ava around the whole bank trying to keep her mouth occupied with Dum, dums... They walked them through the whole process. Anyone under 21 can open and account. Best part about it, since I seem to be so gosh darn tight lately is it's free!!! Paris can now get a debit card and we are all very excited about it.

Now You See Her

Now you don't... Yep, Ruby or "Ruby Tubes" when she isn't peeing or pooping on my floor, usually the carpet. Seriously, why do we have a dog? I wanted to be the "cool" mom, that decided I could handle this, instead I have become the crazy mom, who all too often threatens to get rid of the dog. Whoa, she has been a ride! If you are thinking of getting one, seriously call me. So, today we took Ruby to dog obedience school. Prison dog school that is. Yes, on take your kid to work day. It was a little more traumatic than I had anticipated. Paris and Savanna both started crying. As I sad holding and comforting them as the inmates lovinly escored her out, I had joy for two reasons. One, I am poop and pee free in the house for one month and hopefully forever after, and two my kids love that dog soooo much they are crying at the thought of leaving her for a month... Maybe it wasnt' a mistake. Truth be told I guess you really do love those you serve, because I miss her just a tiny bit. This obedience seems like such a brilliant idea. I think she is going to be the best dog ever when she comes back, and I am pretty sure that our dog trainer/inmate will love her as much as my kids do, which is great for everyone. Look for our success story in 4 weeks.

Freeze Time

Our little "chooch" as she is affectionately called joined the ranks of the nursery babes at church today. It might not sound like a big deal, but I have always known that while one is settling into nursery, another babe is on it's way. Not this time. It's hard to believe this chapter is ending, while I feel at peace about being "done", I feel the pain of knowing this part of our journey has ended. It feels like it's all gone by too fast. Every single day I am grateful I went to bat to get this last sweet little baby into our home. I must admit it didn't take too much convincing, but at the time it felt like we just held hands and jumped off a cliff, hoping for a nice soft landing. We had a 80/20 rule. That meant 80% everything was perfect and we felt in control and the other 20 was pretty much just chaos. After Ava was born, that changed to 70/30. Now that things have calmed down. I would say we are back to 80/20 and maybe just maybe 90/10. I love every one of them so individually. They are all so incredibly different and each one simply perfect to us. If I could freeze time, I would definitely do it riiiiiight, now! I love having a tween, and all the fun and excitement of her life. Yet at the same time, I still have a little baby to hold and watch the magic and wonder of each new discovery.

Hot Water

This is something in the states most of us take for granted. While we were visiting the DR something went wrong with the pipes and we didn't have hot water the entire time we were staying at the beach. Okay, I had one very low pressure medium warm shower, but that was it for the duration of the trip. We called the manager and he was trying to get it fixed, but there was some difficulty seeing that, number 1 it is the Dominican Republic and no. 2 it was Holy Week. We were feeling pretty sorry for ourselves and even a little frustrated until I asked Andrea (our helper) if she had ever had hot water. Nope to that one! Never in her life. We didn't mention it again and I have thought about it each time I have bathed my kids in warm water or taken a hot shower. I am afraid I will soon forget how lucky we are to have this luxury we think is just a "basic need."

The Temple

We took Paris to the temple for the first time. She was so excited and it was a great experience for all of us! The temple is absolutely beautiful. I didn't get a great picture, because I was always up to close. It's such a stark contrast to everything else surrounding it. Darin's parents are so lucky to live on the temple grounds!