The Nitty Gritty

Hi Family! I need to make this brief because the first day of school is TOMORROW! Isaac stayed home with the boys this past week while I've been setting up my classroom.  The beginning of the year is always bittersweet.  We're so sad to end summer vacation, but excited to see our friends again.  We're hoping and praying that this will be the last year of our PhD adventure. Isaac is working hard to finish his dissertation. Our biggest wish is that he will find a job somewhere on the west coast so we can stay near family. He is doing his dissertation proposal in September. Please keep us in your prayers! Van has had a lot of fun dressing up this summer. He is dressed as "a hunter". He is very excited and nervous for Kindergarten. Tonight, Isaac asked Van what he was worried about with school. He said, "That I won't make any friends." I assured Van that he will make lots of friends because he is funny, nice, and friendly! Van...

This week we did a lot of things on our summer bucket list. We don't actually have a formal list, but I've had some things rolling around in my mind that I wanted to do with the boys before school starts.  This is what we got to do: 1. We saw Paddington in the theater for the discounted summer movie price! 2. We did a service project that we found on justserve.org  We visited a home about 3 miles from us that houses elderly people called "Blessings of Joy". We weren't sure what to expect so we took some games and picture books. It turns out, the patients couldn't play the games we brought so we read them the stories and then Will and Van sang some primary songs. Then Van wanted to perform two of his songs that he wrote himself titled "Do you even know me?" and "Mommy, I love you." Van is our little performer. Once he sang those songs, he then wanted to dance for the patients. So, I turned on  "Uptown Funk" from my phone, he...

Oh boy! It's HOT! On Tuesday, I was going nuts being here at home with the boys. It was our first day back from Utah without dad or grandparents around. Thank goodness I had a dental appt in the afternoon to give us a change of scenery. The good news is that by the end of the week we were able to get in a good routine and I've had SO MUCH FUN spending time with the boys. Isaac spent the week teaching a summer class at ASU so the boys and I had some good bonding time. I found a summer break challenge from one of my favorite bloggers, Cara Carroll (a first grade teacher and mom of two boys) and knew it was the solution to our long days! Basically, the boys have to complete a checklist before they can play video games or watch Netflix. In addition to daily chores, it includes 30 minutes each of reading, playing outside, building/creating something, and doing smart work. For our outside play, we've been going swimming because that's the only thing we can do without melting...

We spent the most of June in Utah with our family and loved ones. We love escaping the heat and spending a good amount of time with family to make memories. This trip could not have been better! Here's what we did: We love love LOVE stopping to see the grandparents on the way. First, we stayed with Grandpa Steve and  Grandma Dana in Las Vegas for a few nights. We visited the Desert Museum and enjoyed some tasty root beer floats. Then we saw Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Bickmore in St. George. The boys sang a few songs. William even came up with his own rap, something about the toilet--a typical subject for 7 year old boys.  Van and Nellie are the best "frienemies."  Will loves playing with baby Naomi.  Gwennie and I had a lot of fun together playing restaurant and singing songs.  We went to music weekend at Doug and Linda's Solace Ranch. There were over 60 people there to celebrate Linda's 60th birthday. Doug hired a band, ...