Temple Open House

The Raleigh Temple is finally renovated and there was an Open House all this week. We were able to go on Saturday. I was so excited to show the children what the inside of a temple looked like. The temple will reopen in mid-October.

 

Pictures werent allowed inside the building but we got pictures after we finished. I hope the children could feel the Spirit there. They asked lots of quesitons.

 

On the drive home we stopped for lunch. We ate at a 50's diner that was really good!

However, on the way home, things took a turn for the worse. Paige threw up all over herself and the middle seat. We stopped at a gas station for a cursory clean up but, in reality, we just had to all live with it for 45 minutes until we reached home. Then I spent a good amount of time cleaning the car, car seat, clothes and carpets. Fun.

Brendan's Math Class

Because Brendan did algebra last year (9th grade math) and the middle school doesn't go any higher, he was to take his math class (Math II - 10th grade math) online this year. There was a big hullabaloo about how and where he would take it. No one at the school seemed to quite have a plan nailed down and what the district AIG lady was telling me wasn't the same as what the school was saying. Upon further pestering on my part they said that he could come home early and do it here if I was willing to come into the office, sign him out and pick him up every day. Or he could do it in the back of a math class at school, realizing that the teacher of the classroom wouldn't be able to help him if they were teaching. After weighing pros and cons, finally it was settled that we would try him sitting in the back of the AIG 8th grade math class and working on a laptop. I was concerned that it would be too hard for him and he wouldn't have any help, or that he would be frustrated and disrupt the classroom. I waited to see what would happen.
However, so far, it hasn't been an issue at all. He is excelling at the online course and often finished things early. He likes it. My only concern is that we have yet to find any math that challenges him yet. I wonder what it will look like when we do.

Jason's Birthday

For his birthday Jason wanted to run a marathon. He's turning 40 so maybe he wanted to prove something to himself. He left early in the morning to go to the Weymouth Woods Marathon and sent word to me when he thought he would be finished. The race was an hour away so he wanted us to come and meet him at the finish line.

 

We arrived a bit early so we spent our time in the Nature Center by the finish line. It was pretty amazing. It had a puppet show and a large playhouse that looked like a tree. The kids could read books and play games.

There were also a lot of specimens to hold and investigate. There was a microscope for smaller specimens. The kids were having a blast and it saved my sanity while we waited for Daddy.

  

There was also a huge picture window with rocking chairs that you could sit in and enjoy the nature around you. I sat there and watched the runners pass by, looking for Jason.

Finally, I saw him. We went back outside to wait at the finish line.

Yay Daddy Jason!

Eva made him a banner. :)

While he cooled off,  Paige found these huge pine cones. I am such a mean mom that I said they couldn't come home with us.

Jason has a friend that lives in Pinehurst so he was able to go to their house and shower. Then they took us out for pizza. There is this pizza shop in Pinehurst that is seriously amazing!  He and his wife all have grown kids so they loved chatting with mine. Such nice people.

Back at home he opened presents. Eva made him some art for his new office.

Darby bought him a challenge coin from Amazon that had the armor of God on it.

 

I bought him the label maker he wanted. Not a super exciting gift but it is waht he wanted. And he was pretty happy about it.

He always likes to have apple pie a la mode instead of cake. Happy 40th!

Hurricane Dorian

It's hurricane season again and this year we faced Hurricane Dorian. It smashed into the Bahamas but by the time it got to us it wasn't nearly as bad as last year's storms. We still got tons of rain and a considerable amount of wind. Everything is fine though. School was cancelled  today and yesterday but, because it was not a state of emergency, the kids will need to make it up with some of the days off in October reverting back to working days. Post was closed one of the days too so Jason got to be at home with us. We did puzzles, played games and snacked. it was a fun little "vacation" though it is making getting back into the school routine harder.

Cumberland County Fair

For labor Day we went to the Cumberland County Fair. I always love a good fair.

We started at the exhibits, which are generally my favorite. We saw the livestock, the arts and crafts and the produce. After that we walked towards the fairway. There were all sorts fo vendors. Jason wanted to try his hand at axe throwing. For a first timer, apparently he is pretty good. He won a plastic axe.

We also went to the petting zoo. Brendan didn't want to go inside (he was having a hard time with the noise, crowds and heat) so I stayed out with him. I wish I had gone in. Jason came out to show me that there was a camel, a baby zebra and a baby kangaroo in there that you could pet!

 

  

We rode a couple of ride and tried a couple of games.

 

And we ended it all with a trip around the carousel.