We are in a very busy season with the kids right now.  April has been crazy, and with about four weeks of school left, the crazy will continue through May.  

James finishes track season this week – a separate post all about track will be coming soon

While we live closer to both schools and ballet now, the number of trips back and forth hasn’t changed.  One day last week was a marathon day.  I picked Anna up from school at 3:30 pm, dropped her at home on my way to get James at 4:00 from an after-school band rehearsal, went back home to make a quick dinner so Anna could eat early, took James to track practice at 5:15, came back home, took Anna to ballet at 6:00, went home, picked James up from track at 7:15, and picked Anna up at 7:45 pm.  Kenny typically helps with the evening chauffering but had a commitment this particular night.  

I want to remember these days and what they were like.  When the kids were babies and toddlers I remember thinking that the “running around years” looked so fun and cool!  And they are fun and cool!  A day will come when I will miss carting James & Anna around.  

Dress-up day at school

Last week it looked like we might need to evacuate our home for a nearby grass fire.  It was a warm, very high wind day, and a fire started about a mile away.  Other nearby neighborhoods were being evacuated so Kenny asked me to start putting together some clothes and toiletries for all of us.  He had been out for a few errands, and couldn’t get home due to road closures in our area.  James was at school and Anna was home with three friends over.  So, another mom offered to get James early from school, Anna’s friends started helping her pack, and within 30 minutes or so, we had a suitcase and Kenny’s laptops packed. 

We are grateful in the end we didn’t need to leave our house and that the fire was taken care of.  That evening I was completely exhausted.  Packing that quickly and expecting a knock at the door asking us to leave was a bit stressful and I was done.  I scratched the new recipe I was going to make and instead made comfort food – scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast.  I was surprised by how tired I was from this event and how many emotions there were because of it.  We learned two things from this day: 1. Don’t neglect to pray for rain!  2.  Make an emergency evacuation packing list.  I didn’t even think about photos and keepsakes – just the necessities.  A list would be very helpful. 

Two days after the fire we had colder temps, a little rain, and snow.  Enough snow to cover the peak again!  Gotta love springtime in the Rockies.  And, James and Anna are getting used to jumping on the trampoline in all kinds of weather.  Look closely and you can see the snow.