time flies - even if it isn't all fun

Summer is basically over.  The kids start school Wednesday.

We have made it through the summer and overall I think we have survived.  There have been some fun times, and some hard times, as you might expect, but overall we have made it.

Now it is time to start another chapter.  

School.  

For the last 15 years I have participated very little in the education of my boys.  Even though Alisa couldn't spell*, she still helped all the kids with their spelling.  Occasionally I "helped" James with his math, but even that ended with impatience.  I think Alisa knew this would be a tough transition and so she made me promise to hire a nanny, someone that would be home each day after school, help the kids with their homework and music, and get them off to their activities, so that when I got home, we could focus on other (less frustrating) activities.

Alisa used to get her Social Security letter in the mail, (the one that estimates how much you will get when you retire), and plan how I should spend the $1000/month she was entitled to.  I didn't have the heart to tell her there was no chance she was going to get that much.  So she budgeted for us to get a nanny, and I promised I would.  

It might be too early to tell (the nanny doesn't start till August 31st), but I believe we were "lucky**" to find this person.  When I posted what we were looking for, I had hoped to get at least 2 or 3 candidates, it turned out that only one person applied, and she is perfect for the job.  I guess this could be wishful thinking, but only time will tell.

This past month has been whirlwind of activity.

soccer coaching certification - Josh

soccer camp - Luke

marked generation day camp (http://www.markedgeneration.org/) - James, Sam, Luke

Johnson grandparents moved to Germany

Lava Hot springs - Johnson family (this was super fun)

Scout camp (Uintah backpacking trip) - James (due to a lack of planning on my part, he ended up with a pack that weighed over 30% of his total body weight, luckily it was only a 2 mile hike in, oh wait, it was 6 miles.  Sorry James.)

baptism - Truman

Alice In Wonderland Jr. - Savannah and Rachel

hired a Nanny - Sydney

Camp Kesem (http://campkesem.org/byu)- James, Sam, Luke - This is a free camp for kids whose parents have cancer.  They went last year for the first time, and it is amazing.

home alone - Josh (watched a couple movies with some friends, and tried to recreate Alisa's bookshelf design from our old house, didn't quite turn out the same, yet, but the TV is bigger.)

The current state of my project

Alisa's project (the TV is strategically hidden behind the family picture)
Isn't she beautiful...

*One time Alisa was helping Sam with his spelling home work and he had the word "both" on the list.  He has to spell each word correctly and submit it online to finish so he has Alisa check each word so he doesn't have to do the whole thing over.  She came to his spelling of "both" and said "Sam, sound it out, what are you missing?"  Sam, "hmm. booolllth"  Alisa, "that's right"  Sam, "so I need to add an L?"  Alisa "Yep"  Sam changes "both" to "bolth" and it the only word he get wrong.  He made her do the entire thing. (This was probably the funniest conversation I've ever listened to in my life)-James

**by lucky I mean a blessing or miracle.  Again, maybe to early to tell, but I certainly feel that way now.