To those in my neighborhood

In the fall a new elementary school will open in the new city center (along with the rec center, library, etc.). A committee has been working hard to determine where the boundary changes should take place to fill this beautiful new school (two story... houses 1000 students!) As of now, my house will not be affected by any of the possible boundaries in that my kids will not be moving to the new school. However, my family IS still affected by this change. If you live anywhere near this new school, your family will be affected as well. Why? Our neighborhood schools are overcrowded. That's the whole reason they're building new schools. So, they take a few students from each of the surrounding schools and put them into the new schools to lessen the overcrowding. We want to attend this meeting and "vote" for the boundary change that is best for us. We want to lessen the crowding problem at our own schools. The kids hardly have any asphalt left the way they've been building portables out here! Please, if you can, attend this open house. It will only take a few minutes of your time to look over the maps and other information available. Rate the maps in order from the best to worst, and offer any comments about the boundaries. Though this vote will not decide the boundaries, the commitee will use the information to assess the feelings of the neighborhood. It will greatly effect their final decision.

The meeting is tomorrow, Thursday, October 9, from 6-7:30 pm at Fort Herriman Middle. If you have any further questions, check the district web page http://www.jordandistrict.org/general/boundaries/herriman/ or call or e-mail me. Thanks!

Jury Duty, with lots of little details

I spent time online the night before my big jury assignment, planning the best way to get downtown at rush hour and determined that TRAX was my best option, even though it meant walking a couple of blocks from the nearest station. I looked forward to reading my book on the train and a leisurely walk in the quiet morning. I planned to leave home at 7:15, hopefully arriving at 10000 S. in time to catch the 7:15 train, but would still be on time if I made the 7:53 train.
The alarm clock blared early. I drug myself out of bed anyway and was ready and pulling out of the driveway at 7:18, three little minutes behind schedule. I could catch up if I hit the lights just right. Heading down 13400 S., I considered the possible routes to the station. I-15 would be crowded, it might be best to take Bangerter all the way to 11800… just then I glanced down at the dash. My van was full of gas. I’d filled it myself late last week. But I didn’t take my van. I left it for Nate in case he had to take the kids somewhere. His car was empty. At least that’s where the needle pointed. How empty was it really? I had no idea, and wasn’t about to take any chances. So I stopped for gas. Then one wrong decision after another left me stopping at a ton of red lights.
The train station parking lot was packed. I could see the train waiting there. I jumped out of the car and started walking toward the train. Then I ran. I looked ridiculous but whatever. I no longer had the time cushion I’d been planning on. I had no idea what they did to late jurors. Then the train left. It actually left! I debated chasing after it like you see in the movies. I stood there on the curb dumbfounded. Did I get back in my car and try to make it on the crowded freeway? There was absolutely no way I would be there on time. It didn’t matter what I did now. I might as well wait for the next train and prayed I wasn’t held in contempt of court or something. Worse… I didn’t want to have to go again the next day.
Have you ridden TRAX lately? I started to read my book, but it felt like the train was bouncing all over. I’d remembered such a smooth ride the other times I’ve ridden. Without my book as a distraction, I kept checking the time. The minutes rushed on by, like the scenery out the window. I don’t know what time it was when the train stopped at Gallivan, all I know is I practically flew out of my seat and onto the sidewalk. I speedwalked those two blocks and took the steps in the building two at a time. There were a bunch of people in the waiting area, but none of them looked official. I asked one of them if they had any idea where I needed to be for jury duty. A lady directed me to a room. I peaked in the window. They were watching a video in there. I was sure to make a grand entrance. The lady at the front gave me a nasty look as I stepped in the door and found a seat. After the video all about the glories about jury duty they called roll. Only my name wasn’t called. I panicked, thinking maybe was in the wrong place. Then I’d really be late to wherever it was I needed to go. She asked for my name. I was on her list afterall. I filled out a questionnaire, ate some taxpayer provided snacks, and received my $18.50 cash for my service. Then we moved in to the courtroom next door where the judge asked us all a bunch of questions. “These are the attorneys. These are the witnesses. Do any of you know any of these people? Do any of you have any close ties with law enforcement?” This was my opportunity. My hand goes up. “My husband spent the ten years working in law enforcement… No, it wouldn’t effect my ability to make a decision in this case… blah blah blah.” Following a quick potty break, the judge announced the 4-member jury. I wasn’t called. So that was it. The end of jury service. I walked out of the building at 10:30 am. I enjoyed my leisurely walk to the train station in the quiet morning. I read my book until the train began to bounce again. I stopped at the mall, the bank, and made it home in time for lunch.

Crap

Just in case you've been dying to know, my luck finally ran out. After putting off jury duty five times, I finally have to serve! When I didn't have to appear today I hoped that meant I'd be safe for the whole week. When I called tonight I had to listen to the message twice thinking I'd heard it wrong. So, I'll be driving in rush hour traffic to arrive at the Salt Lake City Court at 8:30 am tomorrow morning.

Breakfast at Jade's

We celebrated Jade's 8th B-day with a fun "come as you are" party. We served a stack of pancakes (thanks Nate!) decorated with whipped cream as a birthday cake, fresh fruit, egg & bacon casserole, and juice. We had a pajama fashion show, decorated book marks, and made shrinky dink charm bracelets. It was tons of fun!

Sisterhood and Some Really Great Pants

When I still lived at home I spent many nights up late talking with my sisters about friends, clothes, and boys. After we all grew up, my sisters moved away, life got busier and busier, and the telephone conversations never quite compensated for those missing late-night talks.

To catch up on lost time, we planned a weekend just for the girls at a condo in Park City.



We enjoyed singing along LOUDLY at Mamma Mia and dancing WILDLY in the aisle.



We shopped the outlets without complaining husbands and whining kids.



We celebrated our Mom's upcoming birthday.



And we tried on each other's clothes... Actually it was ONE pair of Lynnette's really great pants!

Preschool & Pigtails

So it's been a while. As it usually the case when I don't have time to write, we've been busy having fun. So here's a quick update.





We took a fun little weekend trip to Midway for our annual Swiss Days reunion with Nate's family. The kids loved "camping out." Actually they slept in a trailer the first night and at the Homestead the second night. It hardly qualifies as camping. They loved swimming in the pool, feeding the horses, and making boats to float down the creek.

Logan started his second year of preschool last week. He's attending at A Step Ahead with Carrie Palmer just up the hill from our home. She's a real gem. I happened upon her preschool when I needed one for Jade's Pre-K year. She had just moved to the area. I was immediately impressed with her organization and academically focused curriculum. So far Logan loves it! His favorite part is playing outside on the tramp and swing set, and eating snacks. Typical! He already took a sick day on Thursday thanks to a random 24 hr. fever. Whatever it was went away without any other symptoms and without spreading to anyone else in the house. Thank goodness for that!

After attending a Jade's friend Ali's baptism on Saturday morning (thanks for inviting us Ali and congratulations again!), I left all three kids with a new babysitter (one of my piano students) for nearly five hours while I attended a Utah Federation of Music Clubs luncheon at Thanksgiving Point. It always makes me nervous to leave the kids with anyone, but this girl is so cute. She came toting a bag of "goodies!" I resisted asking her what she had in the bag until I came home so she could reveal the surprise whenever she wanted to. Can you believe she brought Polly Pocket toys for Jade and dinosaurs for Logan. It was the best idea! She has younger siblings at home, so I think she probably raided their toy boxes so she'd have something new and exciting for my kids. The kids thought she was the best! I'll definitely call her again.

Aeris weighed in at 16 lbs. last week at her weight check. Since she's continuing on an up pattern, there are no major concerns. Her hair is really growing out. I was thrilled to put it in pigtails for the first time yesterday! She now has two bottom teeth and pulled herself up to standing on the side of her crib today when I put her down for a nap. The nap got put off for another hour while I (FINALLY) moved her mattress down from it's newborn position. The therapist came last week and loved all her progress!

Hold the Nuts Please

I'm officially an EpiPen carrying mom. I took Logan to the University of Utah Health Center this morning for allergy testing. First of all, for anyone who hasn't experienced allergy testing, it's totally miserable. After the nurse spent probably 30 minutes getting a very detailed history of Logan's health, the doctor came in and again discussed every detail of Logan's health. We then talked about which items to test him for. I was all for testing for plants as well as foods. Why not get as much information out of this appointment as possible? The doctor, though, limited the list to a couple of controls (items we knew he wouldn't react to), a histamine (to show what a reaction from him would look like) and 11 nuts. Then two nurses came in. As he sat facing me on my lap, they drew 14 dots on his back with a purple sharpie, and then brought out the pokers. One at a time, they gouged his skin next to each dot inserting a liquid just under the skin's surface. He flinched at the first one, then when they didn't stop there, he started to get mad. "Hey, that hurts!" Finally, he turned his head around and told her quite seriously, "DON'T do that again!" Luckily they were about done by then, because his patience had definitely run out (thank goodness I hadn't told the doctor to test for plants too!). Unfortunately the fun was just starting. They told me we had to wait for fifteen minutes while his body reacted. In the mean time, even though the spots itched like crazy, he wasn't allowed to touch them. Poor kid. So I took him outside for a walk. We counted all the Jeeps in the parking lot and admired the motorcycles, etc. When we went back in, he had three huge welts on his back and three smaller ones. The biggest welt was from a cashew, the other two big welts were pistachio and pecan. The smaller welts were the histamine, and two different kinds of walnut. The nurses measured the welts and surrounding redness, then the doctor came out and measured and inspected them too. Then they finally applied some hydrocortizone cream to his sore little back. The doctor recommended a blood test as well, so we'd have a better idea of whether he'll ever grow out of the allergies. As if he hadn't been through enough, then I had to put him through a blood draw, from both arms! It was all so sad! He'd earned a big treat when we got home. We meet with the doctor again in a month to discuss the results of the blood test.