World Class Student

Yesterday Jackson was chosen as the "World Class Student of the Week" for his kindergarten class. As you can tell by the picture (far left on the bottom row) he's thrilled. (hee hee) He actually was very excited when he saw me walk into the assembly because he knew it meant that he was the chosen one! Being the student of the week comes with many perks, one of which is line leader, which apparently is pretty important in kindergarten. Way to go Jackson!

Hurricane Ike Refugees

The silver lining to Hurricane Ike is that my cousin Matt and his family came to Dallas! We were pretty concerned about their family when we saw the news footage of the aftermath of Ike. Fortunately their home was fine. Fortunately Matt was already scheduled to be in Dallas for work, so Carrie and Danny came with him. Fortunately, for us, they stopped by for dinner one night and we got a chance to meet little Danny and catch up. And fortunately for Matt, Wally recorded the BYU game so he didn't have to miss out on that! After a couple of days, Matt and Carrie still didn't have power in their neighborhood, so Carrie and her sister (and all of the kids) headed out on a road trip. Matt stayed with us one night and Jackson couldn't have been more excited! "When will Uncle Matt get here?" he kept asking me. And then the power came back on in Houston. Jackson was a little bummed, but we were happy for the Hong's! Maybe we can meet up under more favorable circumstances!

Leapin' Lizards!

Yesterday I was vacumming my house (my favorite chore!) when I saw something scurrying across the floor out of the corner of my eye. My initial thought was "YIKES! GREAT BIG SPIDER" but upon closer examination I discovered that it was a lizard. In my house. And so I did what any other rational person would do-- I started screaming and dancing about. Kelsie, Jackson, and Chloe ran to my rescue but they all froze when I pointed out the unwelcome visitor. Wally wasn't home (not that he would be much help if he were home-- let's face it, when it comes to critters, Wally is a bit of a pansy) so I told Jackson that since he is my firstborn son that removing the lizard was his responsibility. He takes after his dad and refused. Good thing Kelsie was there! She grabbed a cup and trapped the lizard, then took it outside and let it go on the trail behind our house. She definitely earned her keep this week!

3 Down 1 To Go

You know how you just have a gut feeling after you take a test? Well, Wally's gut feeling after this last test was that there was no way, save divine intervention, that he could have passed that test. He moped around for two days before he finally came to grips with the reality that he just might have to retake it. For three weeks we dared not mention the words "CPA" or "test" fearing a relapse of the moping. Everytime someone would ask how his test went, I would cringe. I knew the results would be posted soon and I prepared for the worst.

And then, this morning, I got an ecstatic phone call from Wally. He passed! 75 is a passing score. Wally scored an 88. Yep. All that moping for nothing. Oh well, we'll take it!

Little Lady

She's 16 months, but she might as well be going on 16 years. My little Chloe is growing up and I'm not sure I'm okay with that. Last week I told her it was time to go bye-bye. She darted up the stairs and descended with a pink purse over one arm and a pink bracelet on the other. She is definitely a princess.

First Day of School

You know that commercial that shows the dad shopping for school supplies with the music "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" playing in the background? Well, that's how I felt by the time school started this year. I have really been struggling with the fact that my little Jackson is starting kindergarten (especially here in Texas where kindergarten is a full day). But I have to admit that our last week of summer changed all of that for me. We had lots of rain so we couldn't go to the pool and it seemed that the dreary weather brought out the worst in all of us. The kids fought constantly and I wasn't exactly cheery myself.

And then Monday came and Kelsie ventured off to the new and wonderful world of 3rd grade. Jackson and I went to kindergarten orientation and spent one last afternoon hanging out together. And everything seemed to go back to normal. We just needed a little structure in our lives.

Jackson's first full day of school was Tuesday. It was a crazy morning, trying to get 2 kids dressed, fed, and ready, but somehow we got them both there on time. As much as I hate to admit it, I think I will have to start waking up earlier. (Yuck!) I had these grandiose dreams of getting so much done while the kids were in school and I wasn't nearly as productive as I hoped for, but I did get a chance to clean the house and have a couple of hours to myself while Chloe slept. I didn't turn the tv or the radio on all day, I just enjoyed the peace. By the time 3:00 rolled around I was so anxious to hear every detail of Jackson's day. I wanted to know who he sat by, what he did, who he played with at recess, what his favorite part of the day was, and on and on. And when I picked him up and asked him how his first day was, all he said was "Fun! Can I go play now?" I think I missed him more than he missed me.

Violated

Sadly, my computer has contracted a virus. I feel so frustrated and, well, violated! The particular virus that my computer has is worse when I am online, so even checking my e-mail has become an ordeal, thus no posts on the blog.

We decided after weighing all of our options, that it just might be time to buy a new computer. I was a little hesitant because it's a big purchase that I wasn't exactly planning on, but it arrived today and I have to say it is totally worth every penny!

Look for updates and pics from our trip soon.