School Starts Again

Another school year starts!  The kids are excited to start a new year.  Kaydra is starting a new school!  I went to school with both kids on their first day.  It was a lot of driving, but worth it to see them start fresh!  Kaydra had a school orientation the week before school started, so she knew which classes to go to and where her locker was.  I think she was still a little nervous to be in middle school.  How did that happen anyway?!  She happens to have the exact same class schedule as her best friend – so that worked out well.  She starts the day with Mr. Couser for Pre-Algebra, then has Mr. Shanley for Science.  She then goes back to Mr. Couser for Advanced Language Arts for two class periods.  They are split with lunch in the middle.  She then has a class called Exploratory that will change every 6 weeks.  They rotate through different classes to see what they enjoy so when they are 7th and 8th graders, they will know which electives they want to choose.  I think it’s a great idea.  After Exploratory she goes to Mrs. Barnett for Social Studies and then has her Magnet Class.  This class is also one she was able to put in a preference for.  Each teacher at the school chooses something they are passionate about and then teaches a class on that subject.  The classes are combined with 6th, 7th, and 8th graders and they can’t take the same class twice.  They switch classes every quarter.  Her classes for the year are:  Horticulture, Strings and Things (a beading class), American Sign Language, and Anatomy and Physiology.  I would even like to take those classes!  She also has the option of going to Orchestra two or three days a week (it alternates).  She misses Exploratory on those days but it doesn't effect her grade in those classes.  It’s kinda like sneaking in an extra class!  Anyway, she is still playing the violin, so she was excited to be able to participate in Orchestra. 

Kanyon starts 3rd grade this year.  His teacher is a new-to-the-school teacher.  Her name is Mrs. Briggs.   She is young and has her hands full with a classroom of boys.  There are a few girls in there too but it sure seems like there are a lot of boys!   She really likes Ipods and she has several for her classroom with various apps on them for the kids to play after their work is completed.  Kanyon was very excited when he heard about that.    He leaves Mrs. Briggs’ class every afternoon to go to Mrs. Duncan’s class for ALP Reading.  It means he tested well on his ISAT and qualified to be in her advanced class.  He was excited about that too.  He really likes Mrs. Duncan.  Kanyon was also excited about going back to school because of his favorite game:  4-square.  He plays that game with a bunch of friends EVERY recess.  Who knew there were so many rules! 

Both kids are doing great and I am so excited to see what the new year brings. 

Labor Day

So while Leonard was fishing his life away in the remote wilderness of Alaska, the rest of us decided to go to Idaho Falls.  I didn’t have the camera so therefore, I took no pictures.  I will just have to steal them from my sister-in-law, Jana’s blog!  Thanks Jana! 

Uncle Paul was home to help us unload the car and help us settle in while Grandma and Grandpa were catching the end of Kalli’s soccer game.  Kalli even managed to score in the final seconds so that her team won!  Way to go girl!  We made ourselves at home and were excited when they walked in the door.  The next day, Thursday, we hung around the house and made pickles.  We canned 70+ quarts of pickles!  I brought the cucumbers from Coeur d’Alene and we spent the day canning them.  It was totally worth it because the pickles are amazing!  Courtney, Jana, and Dad all helped Mom and I throughout the day. 

The next day, Friday, Courtney’s kids had the day off from school so we went boating!!  It was a lot of fun and something my kids have been looking forward to for awhile.    Here’s where the picture-stealing comes in! 

Kaydra and Kanyon tried wakeboarding.  They both almost got it.  It was cool to see them try!

Kaydra

Kanyon

They are pretty proud of these pictures because even though they fell quite a few times trying to get up, these pictures make it look like they knew what they were doing!  Pretty fun!

Miranda would have been happy to spend hours on the tube.  Unfortunately, the rain came in the afternoon and we packed up quickly and headed home.

Saturday found us at the Eastern Idaho State Fair.  We go there mostly for the food, but it’s fun to do a few things while we are there too!

The kids rode a few rides and we visited the petting zoo.  They milked a fake cow (for some free milk!) and ate more food.  We also ran into a few of the Aldridge kids there, Jason, Pearl, and Charlotte and her husband, Robert.  Fun to catch up with a few cousins.  A few of the little kids managed to win a stuffed animal in the drawing they had because it was kids day.  We came home with a giant stuffed wolf-dog thing that Kanyon won.  Yay!!

Sunday we went to church and visited with our friends from our old ward.  It was good to see many of them there and nice to still feel at home there.   We also went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Great – Parry that morning and it was good to see them.  Then Sunday night, my dad’s parents, Grandma and Grandpa Great – Fuller, came over with Aunt Karen and the Aldridge kids to have a fire and roast S’mores.  We said goodbye and thought we’d seen the last of them but then they returned in the morning for breakfast after their car broke down on their way home.  After a quick shuffle of cars, they were on their way again and so were we.  We left Monday morning and headed for the long drive home.  The kids traveled really well and we didn’t have any car trouble along the way, so I feel blessed for that. 

It was a great trip and we wish that we could spend more time with all our family down there.  Sorry we missed many of you while we were there.  Maybe next time! 

Thanks for the fun trip and fabulous memories!

Gone Fishin’

Ever since Leonard and I met, he has wanted to go fishing in Alaska.  Every summer he would ask if he could go fishing in Alaska and every summer it seemed we had something going on.  Having a baby, moving, building a house, going to school.  It just never seemed to work out.  Well, this summer, he wouldn’t take no for an answer!  Just kidding – I actually said yes this time!

He has really been wanting to go fishing in Alaska with his Dad, and his brother.  It happened this summer.  They went with another family that they grew up in Coeur d’Alene with – the Livingstons – plus a couple other tag-a-long friends.  There were 9 of them total and they all slept in a cabin managed by the forest service on an island near Wrangell, Alaska.  Leonard had been planning this specific trip for the past few months and was so excited when the time finally came.  It started off a little rough….

They had to catch a plane at 5:00 a.m. which meant Leonard left home at 2:00 a.m. to pick up his dad and then head to his brother, Kelly’s house.  They got there around 2:30ish and were trying to get Kelly’s attention without waking up their baby.  They were shining flashlights in the windows.  Finally, Leonard texted Kelly to let them know they were there.  Leonard and Neil went in and brought out Kelly’s stuff to load in the pickup.  Kelly was in the shower so they were waiting for him to finish up when Leonard noticed a man in black running in the street with a GUN!!  He turned to tell his Dad to get out of the street when someone behind him said, “Police! Put your hands in the air!!” 

It seems from the neighbor across the street’s point of view that the house was being robbed!  Strange truck showing up at 2:30 a.m. …..flashlights going on and off….people carrying out armloads full of stuff to the truck… So he called the police!!  They thought they had caught a robbery in progress! 

It took a little explaining to convince the officers that they were going on a trip and picking up his brother.  Leonard said he thought they finally believed them when Sara came out in her bathrobe and admitted to knowing all three of them.  What a way to start a trip!  Thank goodness no one was hurt and that they finally made in on their way to Spokane to catch their flight!

They finally made it to Alaska!  They went grocery shopping for the week, got their licenses, and headed by boat to the island where they were staying.  Let’s just say they were a little excited!!

Leonard took so many pictures that I can’t put them all in the blog.  They had a great time.  They caught all different types of fish, saw whales, dolphins, and ate crab most nights for dinner.  It was a rough week for him.

While he was gone we spent some time in Idaho Falls.  I’ll write about that in the next post – but there won’t be as many pictures because he had the camera!  I am glad that he finally was able to go to Alaska – he’s already planning the next trip!