School starts tomorrow.
And I want more than ever before in my life to freeze time.
I’m not ready! We’re not ready. How in the world did summer flip by so quickly?
At the end of our trip (three-and-a-half days ago) Dave had to take a quick jump straight to China for work and the kids and I (along with our friends) made our three-layover twenty-four hour trip back to L.A. from Thailand (so much more about that later) on Friday night, slept at a hotel for three and a half hours, then Max and Elle flew home to the desert and I flew up to SLC to meet my mom at the airport and drive the twelve hours straight from there home.
I was so excited to see these ragamuffins of mine I could hardly stand it:
We made a quick stop to figure out why our tire was looking a little flat. They found a screw in the tire and fixed it before we took off on our long drive. I am in love with Discount Tire.
I said silent prayers of gratitude the whole trip that my mom was with me because the jet lag was so bad I could have never done it alone…and because oh, how I adore that lady. She and my dad took care of the three little girls while we were gone and I can never thank them enough for that.
After my measly first leg of driving, she took over while I slept for a few hours in the back:
And drove us through stuff like this:
…and this:
Have I mentioned that my mother is a saint?
We got home close to midnight. The kids filled with pure delight to be together again and to be HOME and see their things and sleep in their own beds…for a few hours because church was bright and early at 8:00 the next morning.
Since then we have been scrambling.
One toilet is broken, our sink is leaking like nobody’s business, our car battery died so although we were able to get it fixed yesterday it is still sitting in a pile of dirt left over from summer adventures in the driveway while we have been taking double trips all over creation to get it fixed and get a couple things taken care of for school in Dave’s car. There are stacks of laundry and mail and lists of things to get done all around me.
My three-year-old niece gave all her cousins haircuts at Bear Lake while we were gone so we’re trying to figure out what in the world to do with this hair before Lu starts kindergarten tomorrow:
(Believe me, this picture doesn’t do the huge chunks missing justice…)
So, needless to say, there are no clean notebooks and freshly sharpened pencils waiting for tomorrow morning (yet) and we missed the high school orientation while we were gone.
BUT, we made the elementary meet-the-teacher night last night.
Our fridge is filled.
Elle got her braces off yesterday:
…and our minds and hearts are filled up to overflowing with summer memories that will last a lifetime.
Luckily I have hundreds of pictures of all those memories I haven’t even looked at yet to help cement them into our memory.
It’s been a summer we will never forget…and that we will forever be grateful for.
And I am going to now try to get a good attitude about school starting 🙂
i am exhausted just reading that!!
Way to go Elle, she looks like she's about to burst with happiness about those braces been taken off!
Poor Lu, i think it would look super cute in a little bob, or inverter bob!!
I hope you will have a chance to relax a bit after such an exhausting experience, it must have been really hard. Here we have a month left till school starts but it was just today that I realized that I actually look forward to begin the fifth semester:-)As a child I had a friend once who had to let her hair cut because her brother stuck his chewing gum on top of her head. He said he had no better idea where else to put it.
Oh and I like Elle's pink necklace so much!:-)
Wow I am tired just reading all that, good luck!! Thank goodness we still have 2 weeks to finish everything before school starts, but this summer has definitely flown by!!
I bet Lucy will look adorable with short hair :), gotta love when kids give haircuts.
And Elle looks beautiful!!
Whew! I need nap after reading that!
I love your family happenings and your blog. Y'all are a breath of fresh air!
oh my! Good luck to you and yours! I feel just the same…I had a plan to absorb so much more of them, and now there is no time left. What did I do with the summer?!
Your family life is so thrilling and I love that! What a whirlwind of travel and activity. Elle looks so pretty and happy sans-braces, and Lucy is adorable no matter what her hair looks like. Hope everything comes together for school tomorrow!
perfectly priya
wow your kids really had a short summer holiday, here in Sweden we get out early june and start late/mid august. But I'm in university and start early september.
Also I enjoy your blog and I hope you really do "get to those things later" that you say you will. You seem to say it a lot 😛
I'm glad you're mom drove. After a long flight over time zones it is week worth the money for another to drive or hire a car even. It can be as dangerous as driving while texting or under the influence.
I think of that movie from years ago about a high school football player who while driving tired crashed his car and lost the use of his legs. Fortunately no one else was involved in the accident.
Oh my gosh, how lucky Elle is! She looks so different (:
Booo! School shouldn't start until after Labor Day. I'm so happy that your summer was full of fun and family! What a great way to spent your summer.
I've just started reading your blog a few weeks ago and this post is my favorite. Why? Because it makes me not feel like I'm the only one who resides on the crazy train! Choo choo.
Happy first day of school tomorrow and thanks for all the inspiration.
Your family is beautiful. Love reading your blog. I own a salon in South Carolina and we have little girls that come in all the time with chopped up hair from either a friend or self experimenting. It is easily fixed, so no worries 🙂
i am so glad you share my love of discount tire.
awesome hair, lu.
and i am so glad you took a picture of elle without braces, because i could not have mentally pictured it! i was so used to them… but i am sure she is thrilled to be done.
I can't believe your kids have to go back to school all ready! Our summer hasn't been nearly as busy as yours and I feel like it's all ready over when school doesn't start for another 3 weeks here! Wow!
Oh my!! Lucy's hair! Bet you won't forget that one for a while. 😉 Too funny.
Could you not have gone to the 8:00am service but a later time?
I hope you can find some time to breath soon! Congrats to Elle on getting her braces off . . . so exciting and she looks great!
EWOW! I was holding my breath through much of your story without realizing it. I hope you're breathing and not runing our of breath. Sounds like a whirlwind of activity but a happy whirlwind. Glad you are all home safe with memories to last a lifetime.
I don't know where tht E came from but it's an interesting work – EWOW?
We have all enjoyed walking with you through your summer. I know the school year will be a challenging and good year of new experiences and fun. Elle looks beautiful with that smile. Lucy's hair is cute! Chop in a few more layers and she'll be great!