Fingers Crossed

Today was Matthew and Malia’s first day of the new school year. Malia was excited to go back because she is a very social creature and gets lonely and bored when she is away from her friends for too long.

Matthew was excited to go back because this year he is a mighty sixth grader!

In addition, he is hopeful that he will have a more positive experience this year. Last year there was a personality conflict between him and his teacher. It’s not that he got in too much trouble or anything (although it was more than he normally would which was kind of a warning sign for us), but his teacher’s teaching style and personality was definitely not a good fit for Matthew. Some of the kids and parents really liked her, but neither Matthew nor I had much love for her. It turned out to be a very negative and stressful year for him and we’re both hoping this year will be much, much better.

Party Animal

The yearly Pioneer Day block party has become one of those things Malia really looks forward to. It is like one last big blow out before the new school year starts. She was super excited this year. I mean, what’s not to love? The road is closed so she can ride her bike right down the middle of the street. She can run around with all her friends and eat her dessert first. There are games, fireworks, and an entire section of road set aside for sidewalk chalk. She gets to stay up past bedtime. And there is face painting, which she loves. 

This is another of those events I don’t love because of the heat, but I’m really glad my kids enjoy it. I have fond memories of the many ward parties I attended in my youth and hopefully Malia is creating wonderful memories.

The Search Begins

Our much-trusted allergist retired in December. That means we are on the look out for a new one. Matthew had his first appointment with a different allergist today and to be honest, I came away completely under impressed and a bit ill at ease. Our previous doc was very proactive. Her main goal (besides keeping Matthew safe, of course) was getting as many foods back into Matthew’s diet as possible. As such, she did blood work and skin prick testing every year. Allergies are not a static thing and can change over time as the body changes and grows so she was always looking for those changes. Through her constant vigilance, over the years we’ve been able to add almonds, coconut, baked milk and eggs in bread to Matthew’s safe food list. Those few things have made worlds of difference in terms of choices for him and I will always be enormously grateful for all she has done for us, including handing me tissues and talking me through the ramifications of having a food allergic child at our first appointment a decade ago.

Today’s doctor basically came in, asked why we were there, and gave us the results of his bloodwork. The only reason he did any skin prick testing was because we asked him to test for milk since our previous doc was ready to recommend Matthew do a food challenge for baked cheese. He was not proactive in any way and we didn’t feel like he was even listening to Matthew which is a definite warning sign for us. Not only is this Matthew’s life on the line, but he is wise beyond his years and is fully involved in any allergy related decisions we make and has been for years.  I don’t think Matthew was comfortable either and his trust of his doctor is so important that we will definitely be looking for someone else. Finding a new doctor is not a task I relish. It can be so hard finding one that is a good fit for us, especially since our previous one was so fantastic.

The Phantom of the Opera is Here…Finally!

One of my favorite things about giving the kids experience gifts for Christmas is that Kevin and I get to do fun things as well. As you can imagine, I was terribly excited to give Nathan tickets to see “The Phantom of the Opera.” He has wanted to see this show for years and was desperately hoping we’d be able to get tickets ever since we heard a couple of years ago that it would be coming here. We got lucky and were able to snag tickets. It made for a fantastic Christmas present and after seven months of waiting, today was the big day. The anticipation had Nathan in a state of high excitement. He was grinning like crazy as we waited for the show to start.

And the grin did not waver after the fact. Not only was he completely thrilled with the performances of the cast, he was totally mesmerized by the sets, the lighting, the effects…the stage crew side of him was just as entranced as his performer side. And rightly so. Christine and the Phantom were very well cast. Christine actually sounded like the young girl she was supposed to be (although a very talented one) and the Phantom was about six and a half feet tall which added a lot to the imagery of his domination of Christine. The Phantom’s make up was fantastic, very grotesque. The sets were amazing, so clever in the way they turned to portray different locations and changed as the actors moved within them. Although he has heard all the music many times before, seeing everything in context gave him insights into just how masterfully the music conveys the progression of the story. And the lights. Oh, the lights. Nathan has fallen in love with designing and running the light boards and was absolutely fascinated with the lights and the effects they created. Sometimes experiences can fall flat after such intense anticipation but that was not the case today. He came away feeling completely satisfied with his experience. He was “geeking out” about everything, not just to me, but to my sisters via text.

As for me, the last time I saw the show was during my senior year in high school. I loved it then and was definitely not disappointed today. In fact, I felt like today’s cast was better than the one I saw at my two previous viewings of the show. And it was so much fun to watch Nathan’s reactions! We had a wonderful time!

Cool Cousins

Although we really like year-round school for our littlest scholars, it does have its challenges. One of those is that Matthew and Malia have different vacations and school breaks than their older siblings and all their cousins. Since those two will be going back to school next week, today was their last big play day with their cousins before the new school year. We met at Papa and Grandma’s house for lunch and play. The big boys played games while Malia and Kate played in the sprinklers.

This is how Matthew spent his afternoon.

I’m so grateful that my kids love their cousins and enjoy spending time with them!

Growth Curve

We were in the Lego store earlier today because we had some time to kill before my scheduled appointment at the Apple store. Matthew walked in, stood next to the big old Lego man and said, “Look, I’m taller than someone!”

Steppin’ Out in Style

The shoes to beat all shoes have finally arrived. Nathan is totally pleased…and so dashing. 

 

Family Time

Summer is family reunion time and while my dad’s family doesn’t go all out every year, for the past few years the only time we’ve seen each other is at funerals. Some of my cousins decided they wanted to have a gathering that didn’t require a hearse, so they planned a shindig. While I don’t know many of my cousins and their families all that well, we did have a good time catching up. This is probably my favorite image from the gathering.