September started off in a very eventful way. I was subbing for Ms. Cannon and we had an internal lock down drill. An internal lock down would be used if there was a threat in the school. During an internal lockdown the blinds have to be closed, the door to the classroom locked, and the window in the door blocked. The kids have to huddle in a tight group in a designated area of the classroom (far away from the door) and they can't talk. The administration goes around the school testing all the doors to make sure everyone is in compliance with the rules of lock down. You can hear their footsteps approaching the door as well as see and hear them jiggling the lock. We all knew it was a drill but it was still really intense. It took me a bit to get the kids to calm down after the all clear was sounded . As if that was not enough, about a half an hour later the power went out which also meant the internet was down. The assignment the teacher had left was an on-line assignment. I am grateful for all the times I have subbed in Mr. Willets' classes and he has had me play getting-to-know-you games with the kids. The kids had a blast playing "Psychiatrist". One kid leaves the room while the kids in the room decide how they are going to answer the questions (say "um" before you answer, tap your pencil while answering, cross your legs, answering as if your question was the previous question, etc). The psychiatrist comes back in and asks random questions while trying to figure out what is going on with the group. My favorite was answering with answers that were in alphabetical order. What is your favorite fruit? Apples Where do you like to go on vacation? Beach. That do you like to do in your spare time? Canoe. It took the poor kid until the letter P or Q to figure it out. It was a fun day. I can now use this game to get the kids in these classes to get their work done more efficiently with "If you get your work done, we can play Psychiatrist."
Labor Day weekend was a time to regroup and re-energize. We got a bunch of small projects done around the house and yard. Mostly we enjoyed sleeping in and doing things at our leisure.
Oh, and there was a tornado warning - not just a watch, but a warning. The clouds were scary and swirling all over the place. The photos below are of the sky over the grocery store. You can't see the movement of the clouds but it was really terrifying. Cones kept forming in the swirls, but nothing reached the group, thank goodness.
September 5th was the big Court of Honor where all the merit badges earned at summer camp were awarded. Nick got 5 merit badges done! He is getting closer to Eagle.
 |
| They had a stick-pull competition and Nick won! |
September 9th was a busy Saturday. I spent the morning at in-service for seminary and rushed straight to Naomi's soccer game as soon as it was over. Immediately after her game, we ran home and got her ready for a roller skating party. That night was the ward variety show. Each organization was asked to come up with an act to mix in with those that had volunteered. The Young Men danced to the Russian anthem being played on a tiny accordian while someone marched across the stage with the Russian flag. (Don't ask me, I wasn't in charge, but it was entertaining to watch the boys crack up at themselves while doing their dance.) Jeremy won the joke contest. Random people were called up to tell prepared jokes. When they called Jeremy's name he told his own joke and the audience liked it best (that might also be that his family cheered really loud for him as well, but...). Here is the winning joke:
Sherlock and Watson decide to go camping. Sherlock wakes Watson up in the middle of the night and asks him what he sees.
Watson: The stars.
Sherlock: Exactly and what can you deduce from that?
Watson: That each one of those stars could represent another galaxy or a planet with life and they have been there for hundreds of thousands of years.
Sherlock: Very deep and thought provoking, but wrong! It means our tent has been stolen.
 |
| Jeremy and his trophy - it was delicious. |
 |
| I had to add a picture so you could see what I was trying to describe. It was very interesting. The boys in the background are cracking up. |
Later that night, as we drove into the driveway, the moon and the clouds were sooooo cool. Naomi grabbed the camera and caught these pictures (see below) of the clouds before hurricane Irma. Keep in mind that the hurricane was still down in Florida and was not really heading our direction, but tracking well west of us. Kind of ominous and breath-taking at the same time.
September 10th, Rick and EllaRene were supposed to visit us after they went to see Charlie off on another tour of duty. The plan was to fly to Lousianna for to see Charlie and then drive east to see us and Bradden and family. Hurricane Irma was tracking right over Knoxville so they decided to just go home instead of try to drive through all the rain. We were sad they weren't coming but we completely understood. Irma slammed into Florida's west coast and wreaked havoc on the entire state. The east coast of Florida, up into Georgia and South Carolina, saw record flooding because of the storm surge. This came only three weeks after Hurricane Harvey destroyed parts of Texas with record-breaking amounts of rain. Texas was still digging out of that mess when Irma hit Florida.
September 11th and 12th we got rain all day long from Irma as she made her way north. It was a very powerful storm and we were only seeing the very edges of it. I can't image what it was like closer to the center of circulation.
I know this picture is out of place, but I just found it and it is relevant to the above story. Lake Norman Charter High School collected a truck load of items for the victims of Hurricane Harvey. The kids really got in to helping those in need. Nick got to help collect the items and load the truck.
 |
| A picture of dusk after the rain had finally stopped. |
 |
| So peaceful after the storm passed. |
September 14th we finally got new tires on the truck. We were waiting for the big, annual sale and praying the tires lasted that long.
 |
| Naomi took this picture because it looked like the school was on fire. She panicked a minute before realizing it was the smoke from the factory across the street from the school. Silly girl. |
 |
| Nick, Isaac and Hunter before the race. |
 |
| I got this, Dad! |
 |
| And he is off |
 |
| The race was really well-attended. |
 |
| His best time yet. He beat his goal by 27 seconds. |
After the race we hurried home to get to Naomi's soccer game. She is an animal on the field and is really good at defense. The rest of the day was spent cleaning the house. It is a never-ending battle and is even worse now that I have seminary in my house every day and I have to keep it clean.
 |
| Nick's new suit. It was on sale at Kohl's for only $15.00 (marked down from $125). You can't pass up a deal like that. |
September 21st Mr. Herron left a full lesson for me and I got to teach about the influential people of The Enlightenment. It was so much fun!
This was also Nick's first day of the "behind the wheel" portion of Driver's Ed. He was so excited to FINALLY get to drive.
 |
| It was Snap-Chat filter day at school for Spirit Week. |
September 23rd the day started off with me taking Naomi to soccer and Steve and Nick playing ultimate frisbee with the LNC Outdoor Club. Steve and Nick spent the afternoon at the car show. Jeremy was at work and Naomi was playing with her friends. Me, I spent the day planning a lesson for the Beehives the next day at church and getting ready for my seminary lesson on Monday. That night was the Women's Conference. Naomi and I staying in our pajamas, ate Totinos pizzas (her favorite) and watched conference at home.
 |
| Who loves to play soccer? This girl, that's who! |
September 26th I went to the DMV to renew my driver's license. I had to jump through a few additional hoops this year because I wanted a Real ID which is a driver's license but can also be used as a picture ID for travelling. I had to provide my birth certificate, Social Security card, Marriage License (because my last name at on my birth certificate didn't match my Social Security card) and proof of residency by providing two bills with my name on them. WHEW!!!! Ms. Wilson was the lady who helped me through everything and she was so pleasant.
September 27th, after I dropped the kids off at school and made sure Jeremy was off to classes I went for a walk and serendipitously ran into Laura Arias. We went on a nice, long walk and had a nice, long talk. Friends are the best!!! I went back home and worked for 6 hours on my seminary lesson for the following day. We were in 1 Nephi chapters 20-22 which are really heavy on the Isaiah. I really wanted to understand the material because I knew there would be lots of questions. Isaiah is fascinating once you really get into it.
September 30th was the first day of General Conference!!! I love this weekend of unwinding and getting to hear from the prophet and his apostles. I always hear something that I really needed to hear.
In between sessions we had a soccer game and Nick did his final day of behind-the-wheel. Jeremy had to work that night so he wasn't able to join Steve, Nick and Phil Tufts at Wild Wings for dinner and then at the priesthood session of conference. Naomi and I cleared out of the house so the "boys" could watch conference without us around. We went to the mall, of course. She got her ears repierced, we picked out birthday presents for her cousins, had dinner at Burger King, got her some Slytherin stuff for her upcoming birthday, bugged Jeremy at work and then headed home when the mall closed. It was a fun night.
THE KIDS SCHOOL PICTURES FINALLY ARRIVED!!!! I love them.
 |
| Naomi, 6th grade |
 |
| Nick, 10th grade |
No comments:
Post a Comment