Sum, sum, summertime . . .

I guess I'm going to have to find a different way to prioritize my writing.  I used to love to sit down and blog in the mornings after school runs, while I ate breakfast and sipped my coffee, before I got busy doing everything I did in a day. Now the busy starts before I even hit my snooze button so making myself sit down to write is getting harder and harder.

Last time I was with you it was because I was forced to stop my marathon so that workers could repair my sewer lines.  Today I have a minute to check in because I have to wait here for the Gas Company to come out and figure out why they overcharged me last month by about $150.  Sometime before noon . . .

Our summer was really a whirlwind.  Usually we are so bored and sick of each other by the end of August that we are all craving the beginning of the school year, but this summer went by so fast no one had a chance to get bored.  We went almost non-stop all summer long and school starting just felt like another step in the march.

About an hour after I finished that last blog, the plumbers at my house discovered that the second leak under our slab was a worst-case scenario situation.  We spent the entire week under repair and living at my mothers.  At one point there was a man sized tunnel leading from underneath the front bathroom to the end of my kitchen cabinets, all the way across my living room.  When they finished we had four huge concrete slabs instead of finished flooring with damage to much of the surrounding floors.

I was happy to have the work done and the peace of mind that would come with the repairs, but I was left with big decisions on what to do next.  I just finished putting in some of these floors last summer, just before school started (the tile in the kitchen was not quite 2 years old as well) and now we were going to have to start at square one.  Before I could contemplate all the ramifications though, we moved straight into VBS:

It was a great week.  I loved teaching 4-5 year olds with Riley and he and I both made some new friends.  Tyler was appointed as a crew leader assistant and worked with Ms. Stephanie on Scooter's Groovy Green crew.  Stephanie loved Tyler and told both me and the church staff repeatedly how responsible he was and what a pleasure he was to work with.  Scooter is determined that next year I will be a crew leader for him since Riley can finally move out of preschool's Hello Yellow and be Groovy Green as well.  I think that will be fun too, but I'm going to miss my preschoolers.  Hello Yellow is pretty darn awesome!

After VBS was over we had a quick week filled with baseball, t-ball, hair cuts and prepping for camp.  That next Saturday morning Tyler and I got on a bus headed for Lake Travis with 500 6th, 7th & 8th graders.  That was an amazing experience and I really can't wait to go again.  The kids are just amazing and it's an overwhelmingly peaceful experience to be exactly where God wants you to be, doing what He's asked you to do.  We had so much fun, Tyler even talked me into trying the zip line, an experience I'll never forget but probably won't repeat because climbing the tower terrified me more than the zipping part!

When camp was over we jumped into finishing our baseball seasons up (I know I took pictures, but can't find them anywhere) and then enjoyed the beginning of an unusually mild July for Texas.  We spent a weekend at Lake Texoma with all our Barrow cousins at the beach.

My kids definitely know how to chill at the beach.

Independence Day found us at Rowlett's picnic and fireworks with lots of family and friends.  It was so nice to be outside for the holiday and not miserable in the heat.

Once our holiday was over with and while our insurance company figured out what to pay us for all our repairs and our new floors, I got down to business taking bids on the work.  I had contemplated doing the labor myself again, but we were able to upgrade our floors and I wanted them done professionally.  Plus, it's a whole different ballgame replacing everything at once instead of pacing it out like I did the last time.  I started bringing home samples and interviewing contractors.

We also had a quick weekend down to Austin to visit with my sister and brother.  While we were there we got to see my nieces, Kali & Cori, who were staying with their dad in Austin.  We had a lot of good food, game time, swim time, movie time and cousin time!

Tyler was spending weeks with his dad after camp and then coming home for violin lessons and orchestra classes here and there.  We were so happy to see him when he came home!

We made a couple trips to Six Flags on our passes which let the little guys finally experience the water rides there.  Tyler brought a friend to ride the big coasters with him and even Scotty got to come along once for a family day together.

Scooter spent some time doing OT in July for handwriting, including a 2 week handwriting camp.  He was not thrilled with me that I made him do the work, but he worked really hard and his writing is so much more legible for school starting.

By the end of July, my parents were packing up to leave for Wisconsin for 6 weeks.  They helped take care of my Aunt Kaye while Uncle Bob had a much needed surgery and recovery time.  Just after they left Texas, we moved back into their house so that our old floors could be ripped out and the new ones could be installed.  We had kitchen appliances in the living room to do the kitchen and then later had everything packed up and moved to the garage to have our new super-thick, hand-scraped laminate put in.  It was crazy!  In the middle of it all, my washer/dryer connections started to leak and were evidently just days away from bursting so we got to do even more plumbing!

The packing up/moving furniture process was a nightmare, but those floors went in so fast and the results were amazing.

Almost every wall needed paint in my house after this whole thing was over.  The kitchen and living room walls were in such dire straits, we decided to change our color up a little.  The office also got a new color since I couldn't figure out which paint I used last fall.  We went with a darker grey than before.  I had been hesitant to go darker, but I love the results.  Once walls were either touched up or repainted, all the trim had to be re-caulked and repainted as well.  It was a job!  I finished all the work with one week to spare before school started so I could get the rest of our prep done as well.

And in the midst of getting kids ready for school, I was prepping for a different kind of semester myself.  I am taking 3 online Lit and History classes to get my feet wet again.  I'm hoping to transfer next fall and complete my BA in both genres while getting certified to teach.  While I worked, my friends approached me about working for them this fall.  I hadn't been planning on working outside the home, but guess what y'all?  ALL my kids are in school.  Even my baby.

So off to work I go!  I'm loving it so far, but I started on the first day of school so it's been pretty insane.  I work while the kids are in school and can take off when they are on vacation.  Hoping everything continues to work out.  We are still figuring out how to make all of our new schedules work together and let me still manage our family/home.  I gotta tell you though - as busy as I am, I love my family, my life.  These kids are amazing and Scott and I are so blessed. 

I know it's tough to find time to write, but I keep snapping pictures  (Love my iPhone!!!) and trying to soak up my time with these boys.  Tyler grew 3 inches in 2 months this summer and started 8th grade this year.  It's becoming very clear to me how little the time is that I have my munchkins to myself.  I'm trying to love every second of it - even the crazy ones.

Oh - and now the Gas company has figured out what they did wrong and fixed the problem.  I guess that means it's time for me to go to work for a couple hours.

Love & God Bless!