The whole reason for us renting a "vacation home" only minutes from the home we owned just a couple months ago came to a sudden end last Thursday morning as I waited in the car outside of the seminary building waiting for my three boys. They were tapping at the car windows a full half hour before they normally do and telling me that seminary was over for the day because the high school was being closed due to smoke in the building. Over the course of the next few days, we learned that the school would still be closed on Friday, and then for the whole next week.... and then for the week after that too. Well, that last week of cancelled school also happened to be the last week of school for the year, suddenly the high school, and thus my kids seminary class, was out for summer break a full two weeks earlier than expected.
And here we are in a house we rented so they could finish the college semester and the seminary year. Well... the college is already out, Noah graduated last weekend. And now, seminary is out too. And here we still are. While we are anxious to commence some actual traveling, if only to end the constant "We thought you moved" comments every time we show up to church one more time, we have been keeping busy in our two months here:
School: The kids are still doing school, mostly the same as ever, some math, some Spanish etc. But there has been an added emphasis on finishing up the history books we are currently reading together so we can pack them away and decide if we are bringing any out of storage to read this summer. In fact there has been a rush to read several books that we just can't take along, Fionnula has been working her way through a whole stack she wants to read before we go. The older two boys have been focused on completing the college semester and, for Noah, graduating.
Pictures: Our first seven children were born before we owned a digital camera (before most people owned a digital camera). So a huge project that had been hanging over our heads for several years now was to scan all those old family photos. Well we finally did it! Technically, Kris did it, but I am allowing myself partial credit for being the person who removed them from albums, stacked them up pre-scanning, and then received and replaced them back in albums post-scanning. After our photos were done he also scanned and uploaded a collection of my grandmother's old photos dating back to the late 1930s, so that's pretty
awesome.
Appointments: We have been to doctors, dentists, pharmacists, eye doctors and orthodondists. Shots are updated. Braces are off. Glasses prescriptions are renewed. Cavities are filled.
Sewing: Okay, this is mostly me, but I have been working to get a couple quilt tops and various little projects done so I can pack away all my sewing.
Eating: We are still trying to finish off some food storage items! We have been eating whole wheat everything for two months, and still we aren't going to quite make it through all the wheat. I try to fit rice into as many meals as possible. Spices are a particular challenge. Still, we have done pretty well working through a lot of pantry items: oatmeal and cream of wheat, lentils, hot cocoa mix, pasta, canned beans and tomatoes and nuts (so many nuts!) as well as the few remaining freezer items. Anything that green chilies can go in, has been extra spicy lately. What is left will go to accommodating friends willing to see what they can create from our much too large stash of bean noodles.
And we go for walks, visit our friends, play at the park, go to our favorite places one more time, or find the places we haven't been yet so we can experience them before we go.... oh, and watch the sun set over Pikes Peak every night because we are really going to miss that.
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