Routine..new & old

What do frantically shopping for jeans that will fit Cooper, buying a pair of jeans for Hunter in the hopes he will wear them at least once, and traversing retail establishments looking for that last elusive pencil case have in common? It's school time again and it's bigger and better than ever.

Hunter is a senior. I think some dust just flew in my eyes. How can it be? This I know for sure: Senioritis is a real ailment and Hunter is stricken with it. On his first day of school, hold on tight people because this is going to come as a huge shock to you, he wore basketball shorts. The shorts are new. The shoes are new (as usual). The shirt...is old. He's just that kind of kid.

Cooper enters the 5th grade and we were able to enroll him in a school near my job. He has been belly aching about getting back to school all summer and I'm fairly certain he couldn't have waited a second more. He wore his new jeans and hoodie, but the shirt is older. Taking after his older brother, he'd decided the more shiny the shoe, the better.

I'm back in school with a double dose. I began my fantastic job as the Technology Instructional Coach at East Middle School and I started my new semester at BSU. I know I'm still in the honeymoon stage of my job, but I LOVE it. I move fast, really fast. Lunch lasts 10 minutes at the most. My tasks are diverse. Unfortunately, the glitz of my job has overshadowed my normal love of my grad classes. I'm delving deep to find some motivation.

Kurt, Cooper & I ride to our various locations together every day while Hunter heads to seminary (early morning for the 1st time). Gracie peeked her bright eyed head out for a goodbye on the 1st day as well. My busy life was just amped up and hopefully we, as a family, can rise to the challenge.

Reception at Hotel Fairhurst

It was a grand event. The stage was set in her favorite color with a sprinkle of flowers and a puff of balloons.




140 cupcakes adorned the triad of tiers and a chocolate fountain bubbled and pulsated with delight.





We were all there to honor our good family friend, Barbara Lee Raynes and her new groom, Lincoln. My grandma was a hostess beyond measure as she mingled and mixed with friends old and new.




It was such a magical evening that guests arrived 30 minutes early and stayed 30 minutes late. What a wonderful time was had by all.

Back in Blackfoot

Family reunions. Gotta love 'em. Kurt, Cooper & I headed to Blackfoot, Idaho for the Lon & Ruby Lott family reunion. As you know, my sister also lives in Blackfoot, so we had a partial sister reunion as well. I would love to share all the photos I took at the Lott portion of the weekend, but I was always so freezing cold that getting my camera did not appeal to me.

I will say this, some of my more daring family member joined in a human pyramid that weekend and I know a certain scrappin' sister-in-law took a photo. I'm really hoping she will email it to me (both sides) so I can post it.

The reunion just wasn't long enough. I feel like I got a small dose of Lotts and a small dose of Pearsons, but not enough of either.

I did take my camera to the park when Misti & I took the kids. So, those are the pics you get. I have to mention the fact that every night we came home smelling roasty and we just pulled that aroma with us into the Pearson household. Many of you know my niece Bostyn tells it like it is, so it did my heart good when she would lean toward me and take in a long sniff and exclaim, "You smell goooood". For some reason no one else in the Pearson family backed her up.

One more thing. I did get some Pirates Booty from Misti and this delectable chex/golden graham/coconut/almond/gooey snack from Jen. If you beg, she might just give you the recipe.

Punctual...Oh how I wish

We were supposed to leave town an hour ago. Here we are. Things happened. Things out of my control. I'm Type A and punctuality is very important to me, but...

• There was a glitch in Kurt's payroll software and he couldn't leave work until it got fixed


• Kurt did not pack a single thing last night


• There is a weird sound in the van we are going to have to look at (when he is done packing)


• We still need to eat dinner at some point
  

Why is it when you are leaving town, something is bound to bog you down? (Catch the rhyme?) Wish us luck and hopefully no tornadoes will track us down. I'll report on our adventures or misadventures soon.

(Right now I'm using all my mental energy to help Kurt know what he needs to pack next. He said he was done 10 minutes ago. Still waiting....)

I cannot believe it is August and, oh, how things have changed!

Sometimes, when I'm writing posts for the blog, I wonder if I'll ever be able to come up with something interesting to write about again (interesting to me at least). What I have found is I have a lot more to write about the more frequently I write because the longer I wait the more experiences dissipate and become an unmanageable mess. So today is a fresh start with a rewind beginning.

REWIND: July ended on a high. I'm officially employed which means I'm excited, nervous, anxious, relieved and very busy. My job title: Technology Instruction Coach. Can you imagine a better job? When technology and creativity combine, the possibilities are endless.

I finished my summer classes. This summer marks the end of me ever taking classes full-time again. I'll take one this fall. ONE. It seems strangely fabulous.

I went to Moodle Boot Camp. I love saying that because people either pretend they know what I'm talking about and just nod and say "uh huh" or they ignore me and swiftly change the topic of conversation.

I went to the pet and doll parade with my sister, Laura and kids in tow. If you don't have this type of parade, it's where children can get dressed up and/or dress up their animals or dolls and be in a parade. It adorable.



July also signified the end of summer for Hunter. He has basically been gone the entire month working. It's great because he is never anywhere he can really spend the money he is earning. Sadly, his car broke as well.

Another incredible event occurred in the Fairhurst commune in July. My sister Kelli joined me in my current decade..the 30's. I'm on my way out and she is just starting the journey. My sister Misti and my grandma and some wonderful friends surprised her with a chocolate party.





TODAY: There was so much more that happened in July, but it's already fading away. So let's talk today. Today I went to the doctor's office to get a TB shot for the school district. While I was there I was able to hear a man tell about recently getting bit by a rattlesnake and having to walk miles to his vehicle afterward. He said you don't die, it's just very painful. Is that true? I don't plan on testing his theory. I don't really believe it anyway...I think he just got lucky.

I also had to go to the County Superintendent to get an official seal on my MT teaching license. I was SO happy I was able to walk right past the incredibly long line at the motor vehicle dept to the one lone stall for the Superintendent. It was worth all the glares and hateful glances.

Did you know it's Beanie Baby time at McDonalds? Cooper is well aware of it, so today I ordered myself a happy meal so he would get 2 little goodies. Is that against some McDonald rule or something? I did feel a tidge guilty about it.

For the next 2 days I have more Moodle training here in town and then I'm off to the Lott reunion this weekend and to see my sister Misti & her family. I have one more wish floating loudly through the universe and that is hoping my house will sell. And it will.

Bang!

It's July and "Bang" seems to be the theme thus far. Of course you except some bang on the 4th of July and this year was no exception. Part of DJ and fam, Kelli and fam, & Kurt, Cooper & I staked our spot on Central Ave. to watch the annual 4th of July Parade. We were there for over 2 hours. It was a fabulous parade, but 2 hours is a long time with 4 small children, 1 nearby smoker, and melting ice cream. Later, the guys lit off our fireworks which are always a hit. This year the only injury belongs to me with a slight burn on my finger from trying to stick a still hot sparkler into the box so it wouldn't end up on the ground somewhere.

Another bang we can't seem to get away from is the bang of thunder as storm, after storm, after storm rolls in. The 4th of July ended with the bang of a storm and a 4 hour blackout.


Kurt called 911 when he heard two bangs late one night. He's pretty good at deciphering gunshots from fireworks, but I think some manufacturer tricked him.

We have been also lacking in the "bang, bang, bang on the door" department. No one has knocked down our door to steal our beautiful home in Meridian which sits empty and forlorn, just looking for a loving family. In addition, no one has knocked down my door to hire me. It's a bit sad for me as I've just been waiting to teach and now no one wants to retire.

Now that I've banged this post out, it's time to bang out some homework.

ps. I promise I won't do another play on words post for at least a week or so!

Oh Wo!

Wisdom teeth. The troublemakers of one's mouth. Prior to moving, our fantastic friend & dentist offered to remove the last 3 of Hunter's wisdom teeth. Hunter was up for it, so off he went. I think he would have dragged his feet a bit more if he knew what was coming.

The tooth pulling went as fine as could be expected. This was about 10 days before we moved. Hunter lumbered down to the basement to recover in his cave. The first few days, he managed the discomfort with the X-men Trilogy and vicodin. Monday, things took a turn for the worse (we moved that Saturday). He was in so much pain, but couldn't miss any school because he had to finish out his semester early.

He looked miserable and was barely holding it together. Tuesday he walked in from school & wept (which he never does) because the pain was too much. We took him back to the dentist to find out he had 2 dry sockets. Figures. Hunter is the man of many strange anomalies. For the next 3 days he went in every day to get the holes packed and then would rest. Needless to say, he couldn't help much with the move but I'm so happy he was almost healed by the time we headed out and now we don't have to worry about that issue any more.