Online School Day 1

Nathan and Zachary have officially started 8th grade. Their first day of online school was the same day as the solar eclipse which was cool but a little of a distraction. Savana and Keanu Moore came down to watch from our house since Lincoln was in the path for a total eclipse and Omaha would only have a partial eclipse. Grandma and Papa were also visiting.

Saying it was a rough start would be an understatement. We are an Apple product family and so using Windows for the first time in a decade didn't help at all. The school gave them each a Windows based tablet/computer. I was eager to set expectations right from the start and that meant setting a breakfast/scripture reading time each morning at 8 am. I don't really care what time they begin working but they must have breakfast and scripture study with me. That isn't negotiable because they will start working early and not remember to eat until 11 am and then be really grumpy from not taking time to eat a good breakfast.

The boys began their day by getting up at 7 am and getting a jumpstart on their work. They each began with Language Arts. I knew we were in trouble when they were still working on same subject four hours later. They were grumpy/mouthy/disrespectful and I was ready to put them in the car and head to the nearest middle school to drop them off. I'm sure glad Mario wasn't home that morning because he wouldn't have tolerated their disrespectful behavior towards me. They both would have been grounded for at least a month or more. But I'm a pushover and all I could do was laugh at how dumb I was to think that online school may actually work for us.

Fortunately, by lunchtime, we took a break to go watch the eclipse and to eat. They finished up Language Arts and moved on to the other subjects which proved to be much easier. I'm sure getting accustomed to the new computers helped. The boys worked well into the late afternoon and had a lot of Tuesday's work completed too. Fortunately by time Mario came home from work, peace had been once again restored at the Perez home. But it did make for some good memories and I'm pretty sure our morning became a comedy routine for Mario's first ROTC class.

Missouri, Florida, North Carolina, and Back to Missouri

We moved out of our home the end of June and took off for a three week vacation with Summer.  It started with a  trip to see Melissa and her family.  We have the best time going to visit them and spending time at Jeanne's lake.  I sure wish I was rich and could afford to buy a house on that lake (if one ever came up for sale.)  The boys got a long well (as far as I know.)  The weather was absolutely perfect and it was just so relaxing to be outside soaking up that beautiful scenery.  Summer had fun chasing her frisbee and learning to swim.  She can swim without lifejacket but fetching a frisbee in the water without it proved to be too difficult so we had her wear the jacket.  Zach spent most of his time fishing.  I know that is suprising!

After Missouri, we headed to Florida.  We stayed with Billy and Kristen for a few days while Summer visited a petsitter.  It was the saddest thing ever.  The petsitter sent me pictures of Summer watching for us out the window.  Apparently she sat there most of the day.  It broke my heart.  But as usual, we had a blast with Billy's family.  We went boating several times, played in his pool, and had a front row seat to his city fireworks display from his house.

It was great to see Charlie and Mel with their beautiful redheaded children.  Henry finally warmed up to Summer.  But I think his favorite place to pet her was when she was in the kennel.  He didn't want to eat dinner because he was busy playing with her.

After a few nights at their house, we packed up and checked into a rental house with our friends, Lindsey, Greg, Gage, and Maddox Andersen.  Gage and Maddox are 4 and 3 so it was different being on vacation with little ones. Other than not sleeping well (which didn't bother us at all), they did really well.  It makes me excited for the day that my children bless me with grandkids.  We spent each morning exploring different beaches near Englewood, Venice, and Sarasota. Then in the afternoons, we'd play in the pool and finish the day with games.  We love to play games with Lindsey and Greg.  Their favorite beach was the one that is close to our home in Venice-Manasota Beach.  Greg loved it so much that he went home and told his mom that he wanted to move to Florida.  She said she'd follow him there. I love Pat so I need them to follow through with these plans.  Ha!

Lindsey and I are both petrified of lightning.  One day we went to lunch on the boat with my parents when a storm hit.  We thought it was cleaning up so we go back on the boat to go back to the boat club.  The storm got much worse.  Lightening bolts were striking around us.  The rain was pelting us to the point it hurt. My father could barely see where he was going.  It was scary!  Nate said he wasn't scared because he thought if lightening struck him, he'd die instantly.  Seriously, that's how scary it was for me.  I thought we were all going to die. Mario and Greg did get shocked from holding the metal bar on the boat.  They didn't tell us until hours later.   But we made it back safely and Lindsey and I will never forget that day, I'm sure!  

We went out another day on the boat tubing. I'm shocked Lindsey got back on the boat after that first experience.  But we had a lot of fun and no one got hurt thank goodness.

We got away on Sunday and spent some time with Grandma and Papa playing games.

Unfortunately, it was time to head back north. Mario and I long for the days we can live in Florida.  Each time we go, we get excited that it's getting closer each day. We decided to take a little detour and go through North Carolina to visit Michael and Rose.  Zach adores Michael and I can see why.  They have similar sense of humors.  Mario and I were laughing at how similar the two of them are but in reality, Zach is a lot like Mario who probably has same humor as his dad.  Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of North Carolina.

Then it was back to one of our other favorite vacation spots-Jeanne's lake.  Melissa was so nice and went fishing with Zach a lot.  Have I mentioned that he likes to fish?!  We discovered that Summer really likes to torment fish.  It was quite fun to see her go after them.  I don't know if you can tell, but she brings me a lot of joy!  Her shenanigans crack me up!

Then it was time to pack up again and head back to Nebraska to a new home.  What a wonderful three weeks we had visiting family and spending time with friends.  Thanks everyone for making it a memorable trip for all of us.

A Move to Lincoln and Homeschool

So we finally found a house in Lincoln, Nebraska and are all moved in.  It was quite an ordeal to find a place to live in this college town.  First of all, the rentals are expensive and rundown.  The landlords have no incentive to fix up houses that will be destroyed by college students.  Mario found a subdivision in the far south side of Lincoln that he loved and persuaded a landlord to drop the rent $400 a month so that we could afford his house.  The landlord has been wonderful and even agreed to put up a fence for Summer.   It is a beautiful home that is still more than I want to pay but we love it and are getting accustomed to it, the ward, and neighborhood.  The one downside is that there are some great fishing ponds in the neighborhood so I rarely see Zach and when I do, all he talks about is fishing.  HA!

The biggest news of all is that we are trying homeschool (online) for 8th grade.  We originally found a home on the east side of Lincoln that we loved but the school was awful so that's when I looked into online options.  We decided against that home and our new home is in a good school but the boys were all excited about trying online school so I figured we'd give it a shot. Not much to lose since it's only middle school and not high school where grades really matter.

We are using the k12 curriculum through a public school in Omaha.  It requires us to go up to Omaha for classes once a week but I figured that would work perfectly for us to see Eric, friends, and going to the temple.  Everyday I second guess my decision to do this.  It is quite a sacrifice for me because I am accustomed to having A LOT of time to myself and I won't lie, I love that alone time.  But I only have my boys home for 5 more years so as my blog says, I am going to try to enjoy the journey and try to love every minute I have with these two rambunctious 13 year olds that I love so much.

It will be an adjustment for all of us and I'm sure that I will threaten more than once a day to put them back in traditional school.  Haha.  But really, I'm hoping that it will be a great opportunity for our family and it is something that works so well that we will want to do it for high school too.  That may be wishful thinking.  

Happy 18th Birthday Erin!

Today is Erin's 18th birthday!  Happy Birthday Louie!

I won't lie, it's been a hard day.  I thought maybe we could just ignore it and hope we wouldn't remember the date (I rarely know the date).  But of course, that's not going to happen since it's the day after Eric's birthday.  Last year I did all of Erin's favorite things on her birthday.  But since we moved, I couldn't do those things unless I went back up to Omaha and we were just there yesterday.  It just goes to show that service helps you forget yourself because July 17th this year, the boys and I went to volunteer at homeless shelter and that day was way easier than last year on that date.  This year her birthday is much harder and that is probably because we didn't get out and do some service in her memory.  I'll make a note of that for next year.

But despite the sadness, I am so grateful to have her for the 16 years we did have with her.  I'm a different (better) person because of her.

I took Summer for a walk this morning and began to think how I wished Erin got to meet Nicole and Summer, the two new people in our lives.  Haha.  I just called Summer a person.  That's how much I love her!   I thought about how much she would have loved both of them.  But the Spirit quietly whispered to me that I don't need to wish that because Erin does know them.  She is just on the other side of the veil and the veil is quite thin.  I know without a doubt that Erin is with us much more than we realize.  For that knowledge, I am so grateful.

I love you Erin Lou and miss you every single day.

Eric is 20!

I'm officially old! My oldest child is no longer a teenager.  How in the world did time fly by that fast?He and Nicole came down last Friday night to celebrate the big milestone while Melissa and her kids were down. Eric has been experimenting with a vegetarian/somewhat vegan lifestyle so I was surprised when he requested Hawaiian pork with rolls for dinner.  

Yesterday, for his official birthday, we took him to lunch at a restaurant in Midtown (in Omaha) called Leadbelly.  It was great to see him on his actual birthday.  Unfortunately for him, he had to rush to urgent care after lunch because he had a growth on his neck that was getting infected and he was worried that the infection would get to his brain.  Fortunately, everything was ok and they gave him antibiotics to clear it up.

Happy birthday Eric!  

Eric and Nicole

I left a cliffhanger on my last blog post intending to get to it the next day or so.  But here we are several months later.  The big news was that Eric and Nicole got engaged while in Europe in May.  Eric proposed on a beautiful hike in Switzerland on May 17.  I'll be one lucky mother-in-law because Nicole is a sweetheart and seems perfect for Eric.  Their personalities seem very similar, and it helps that she already likes quilting with me.  Haha

Congrats Eric and Nicole. We love you both!

Catch Up Post

How in the world have the past few month's gone by soooo fast!  I like to update my blog with my phone but for some reason the app isn't working right so I'm getting way behind.  

Today was the last day of school.  My boys are now officially 8th graders.  Boy, do I feel old!

I've been busy making lots of bags.  Too many bags! My boys keep asking me why I need so many bags.  Truth is, I don't.  I just enjoy making them.  They challenge me because I am not good at reading patterns.  I enjoy the challenge but I also enjoy a quick project.  I can make some of the patterns in a day and others take me just a couple days.  Nathan even made one for Summer's stuff for traveling.  BTW, traveling with a puppy is like traveling with an infant. My whole backend of the car is full of puppy paraphernalia.

I got a new (used) car.  Mario hated me driving a Prius because he felt it was a deathtrap.  He bought a 2006 Honda Pilot.  So without our Prius, our newest car was a 2008 and that actually belonged to Eric.  So I told him that I was fine selling my Prius and giving my brother, Charlie, my minivan and getting a newer SUV.  We really fell in love with the new Highlanders and Pilots but both were out of our budget. So I got a 2012 Toyota Highlander and LOVE it.  I thought I would just keep it for a couple years and upgrade to a newer one but honestly, I don't see any reason it.  It's perfect for our family.   Best part about it, it looks like my beloved minivan so I am not even sad about giving it away.

For Easter, we got to color eggs with our favorite friends, the Andersons and then again with Melissa and her kids.  I've never seen adults get into Easter coloring like Greg and Lindsey.  They take it to a whole new level!  Melissa, Justin and Max were able to join us for Easter weekend which was a real treat.  Eric and Nicole decorated our traditional Easter bunny cake.  Summer obviously has never had sugar or else I'm sure she would have devoured that cake while we took the picture!

Right after Easter, one of my best friends, Becky Jones, got to fly into town from Idaho.  It was a miracle that she was able to come because she had a rare allergic reaction to medication and almost died.  She has a long recovery ahead of her and she was pretty miserable while here, but it was so great to see her and attend Time Out for Women with her and Lindsey and Jenny.  One of the highlights of our trip was running into (stalking) Jenny Doan from Missouri Star Quilt Company.  Becky and I are HUGE fans and we had to get a picture.  

Then on our way to visit Melissa's family, I just had to stop at her store since it is on the way if I take the back route, and guess who the boys wanted to meet as well.  They were super excited to get their picture taken with her as you can see in their faces.  She asked for a picture to be taken on her phone too so she could share it with Rob, who heads up the Man Sewing videos.

After our little field trip to Missouri Star, we finally made it to Melissa's house.  We were lucky because Mom and Dad flew up a few days earlier so we got to visit them too.  Going to the lake is seriously one of my kids' most favorite things to do.  It was Summer's second trip and boy does she love the lake just as much as the kids.  But oh man, do the boys worry about her the ENTIRE time.  I kind of threw Summer on that paddleboat with Zach or else he would have never let her on.  I can't even imagine what they are going to be like as fathers with their children. 

That's about it. I am saving one HUGE family update for the next blog entry. It deserves one all to itself.  But as far as Summer is concerned, I can't imagine loving her anymore than we all do.  I didn't even realize how much I missed having a pet.  She has been such a  great companion to me as I am home all alone all day.  I take her everywhere I can and she is just the best traveler.  We couldn't have picked out a better puppy.   Mario is clearly her favorite now.  At first it was me, but no one can beat the belly rubs and playtime that he gives her.  Who whole body just wiggles whenever he enters the room.