Update

We're back in Utah, our temporary permanent home, and enjoying ourselves. Jon and Nina started school on Monday.

Jon is in 2nd grade and has three cousins (of various degrees) in his class. He has a morning teacher and an afternoon teacher. By yesterday afternoon, he had managed to leave two lunchboxes and two sweatshirts at school. So, this morning, I went in to collect them.

Nina is in 1st grade. She loves school, so she is very happy. This morning when I told them we were driving to school, she assured me that Jon had not lost his sweatshirts or lunchboxes on the bus. I guess she was afraid she might never get to ride the bus again, because Jon was scatterbrained.

The best things about school: riding the bus, recess and lunch. Aren't kids great?

Michael is in Kindergarten this year. In Utah that means that he starts a week later than everyone else. It's been rough. He did go in for assessments on the first day of school. His appointment was at 2:30. He came downstairs fully dressed with his backpack on at 9:00. When I told him he still had 5 and a half hours, he asked, "Is that long?" At noon he asked how much longer. Roy and I showed him where the hour hand had to be pointing before it would be time to go. He sat and stared intently at the clock for 10 minutes. I finally distracted him enough to survive the rest of the afternoon. I wonder what afternoon kindergarten will be like? If Monday was any indication, I'm going to start praying for morning kinder in Alaska...

DJ is going to miss Michael when he goes to school. They fly around the house and yard as superheroes, cowboys, lone rangers (yes, I note the oxymoron), etc. all day long. I love that they play so well together. Fights do erupt, but they are relatively short lived and infrequent. They are also quite good about including Naomi in their play, which is very cute to watch. Of course, they usually exclude her as soon as she starts stealing their stuff and not following the rules they have set.

I have actually been able to fulfill my church responsibilities two weeks in a row. I was asked to be a cub scout den leader in June. It's a lot of fun, though scheduling a time when we actually have boys present is a bit challenging.

Derek is spending his last day of a week in the field. He has really enjoyed it, which is not normal for him. He's not much of an outdoorsy, camping type. He much more of the live in a hotel with a maid type. But, he's been learning stuff that is actually new and applicable to his job. Novel, I know.

DJ, Naomi and I are going to be heading to Texas in 2 weeks. This time, we'll be taking a plane, instead of driving. I'm very glad of that. Jon and Nina are dreadfully jealous. It will be Naomi's first plane trip. We'll see how that goes. Hopefully she gets as rave reviews from the other passengers as Michael did at the same age. We'll drive back with Derek. I'm looking forward to it.