Whoa it’s late…, and yes it is Tuesday, but it’s still the weekend in these parts as far as we’re concerned since the teachers are on strike.  

Schools across the state all closed last Thursday and we find out each afternoon whether they will be open the next day.  
There is something nice about the unexpected schedule freedom but the underlying issues causing all the commotion are real and raw and serious.  I wish I knew an answer to this funding problem.  In my opinion, being a teacher should be one of the most revered jobs in the world, and should be paid competitively to allow for the best of the best to compete for the job, and they should be compensated accordingly.  I hope something can change to make that happen but I also know there is so much going on in the budget…hoping changes can be made to make things happen that will cause a positive shift to happen in our education system.  There is much more to be said about that, and someone else could say it much more eloquently, but those are my thoughts for today.

SO, our weekend actually started when the last bell rang last Thursday…there was no school the next day and the kids took the business of joyously celebrating their freedom seriously.  I packed and delivered a day early for BrainFood:

And took Claire out on a little lunch date since we had been neglecting that excursion for the last little while.
Elle arrived first thing Thursday morning, fresh from her red-eye flight, still tethered in so many ways to her Hawaiian life, unsure if she really could tear herself away for a whole summer.  Yet she was also filled with excitement about the adventure that lies ahead: Jerusalem.
We were all excited to get her here, but Bo was the most visibly enthused…she could not contain her excitement to see that Elle Belle and if I had time, I’d upload the video of her practically jumping over Elle in pure excitement.
She brought home a nice souvenir:  an infected reef wound which is nasty so I’ll keep the picture small:
She had gone to the doctor in Hawaii twice and was on antibiotics for that thing, but it kept getting worse.  So our first stop was Urgent Care here where she got all doctored up and taken care of, but had strict orders not to get in the lake…which was our plan for the day, dang it!
But since everyone else was so excited about that little planned excursion and there was no school, Elle was happy-go-lucky to go along anyway.

 She got to meet her cousin’s new little baby for the first time:

We soaked up that girl for the day and a half she was home, trying to get her unpacked and re-packed.

A couple months ago when we got all Elle’s Jerusalem information we found that there was a required group meeting up in Utah the day before she left which parents were encouraged to attend.  I didn’t think I could make it, but low and behold, there happened to be an awesome quick fare to get up and back so after a little deliberation I seized that opportunity.  Max was moving apartments at the same time so it turned out to be a serendipitous adventure for me to help those big kids and for Dave to have some quality time with the kids here.

So I headed out in the wee hours of Saturday morning and did some of this:

(I want to always remember that hike filled thick with goodness in a discussion Max and I had on the way down the mountain.)

And this:

 …and this:

 (sushi stop with cousin and Max’s roommates)

…and this:

…oh and this:

(Sunday dinner at my brother’s house.)

And this:

 (sisters came to meet us too…)

And this:

All those kids made it to the top of the “Y”…pretty outstanding (Max and Elle had other commitments so they had left after dinner).

We stayed up late discussing “choosing” faith and belief and some of the most beautiful scriptures I will have to share in a “Sunday Ponderings” post this week.  The spirit was thick and beautiful sitting in that little family room that night.

We checked out Max and Noah’s work that is progressing wildly and happened to be celebrating their first release of the software they are designing right that very day.

Loved getting to see it and experience it in person up there.

The next day Elle and I headed to her Jerusalem meeting together, and this screenshot of the map to get us there is the only picture I have, darn it.

I was SO glad I got to be there, so interesting to reminisce the days when I was the one heading off to that Holy Land (I need to post some pictures of those good old days soon), to meet one of Elle’s new roommates, (who happens to be the daughter of a friend I knew in Salt Lake years and years ago), and for the opportunity to share in the prep of getting her out the door on that next adventure, and give her one last hug before I scrambled off to catch my flight and get back five minutes before Grace’s coaches showed up to help set up for the end-of-season tennis banquet at our house.

(Grace had already set up all those tables…she rocks…and it was the best night, but that’s a whole post of it’s own with tennis-wrap-up stuff soon….)

Claire utilized her time off school today by “shadowing” a few friends at a charter school (still in session) today. 

Grace is deliberating over two summer job offers she got (!!)…she’s so grateful and has worked so hard for those…that deserves it’s own post as well…soon.

Lucy has built and destroyed and re-built practically every Lego masterpiece she has, and has organized all the playdates she can talk me into.

Dave and I swapped places, he had to take off for some business right as I was returning, and is en route home as I type.  I cannot wait to get him here.

Elle is in New York City as I type on a layover, wishing she had enough time to go see her new cousin there, and prepping with her big study abroad group to head out over the ocean to the Holy Land.  She was filled with a little extra trepidation last night, she vaguely knows only one other girl who’s going (a fellow BYU Hawaii student), and change is always a little intimidating.  But she’s already made a bunch of new friends on the first leg of her journey and that excitement is seeping out.  She is so lucky and she knows it.

Max’s first post-mission semester of college began today and he’s bracing himself for all that comes with college classes accompanied with part-time work.

So, it’s been a wing-dinger of a weekend. 

And I just got an email that school will indeed resume again on Thursday, so we better take advantage of our one more extra “weekend” day tomorrow. 

As for tonight…it’s our “Tech-Wise book club” I talked about back HERE.  Man alive we have a lot to discuss, I’m trying to figure out how we can touch on all the things we’ve all been pondering lately in our allotted time.  Wish us luck!  I am hoping to post a collection of thoughts from that tomorrow…and hoping that whoever else read the book will chime in with thoughts and suggestions.

The end.

16 Comments

  1. That picture of Max in the little car is hilarious. Man, if I could have legs like you and Elle!! I'm a dancer and dance instructor but I definitely don't have the ideal dancer body and you guys do. Sorry, just wish I had legs like you gals. [random thought over]

    I thought I had a big family but I think you guys just might have me beat!

  2. It’s unfortunate that this seems to be the first time Elle is in a situation where she knows only one other person. I hope her foot heals quickly.

  3. I love your positive attitude about the school closing situation! I don't really know what to think about it as a teacher myself. Here in Massachusetts the unions are very strong and they do protect the teachers, but I see the other side too. The students deserve the very best, but so do the teachers! It's so hard.

  4. BYU does have a swim team with adult members endowed and wearing garments so suits can’t be that hard to find. They aren’t wearing scuba suits. There is no designated commandment about what makes a swim suit modest.

    1. The above posters are asking about modest suits. What in heavens name is a modest suit for a Mormon other than one that stays on the body in the water? The schools run by the church have their water athletes in perfectly ordinary suits. Nothing particularly special.

    2. Kms to answer your question, when people refer to “modest suits” they are referring to one pieces or tankinis. Not bikinis. Everyone is entitled to how they want to respect their body. Some Mormons wear bikinis, others wear one pieces. Not our place to judge either opinion

    1. Dang I'm not sure where she got it, and she's deep into her transition into Jerusalem ten hours ahead where it's tough to get a hold of her, but I'll come back and report if I get an answer 🙂

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