Don't Let Your Kids Take the School Bus on the First Day of School

Emma and Matthew really wanted to take the bus on the first day of school (a new experience for them). We arrived at the bus stop 10 minutes early. We waited and waited. Finally when the bus was 20 minutes late we walked home in order to drive to school. Just as we pulled out of the driveway we saw the bus and the kids still really wanted to ride it. So they got on the bus and I followed it to the school to make sure they made it in alright. They were really late! That wasn't even the end of our bus troubles.

At the end of the day I waited for Emma and Matthew to arrive at the bus stop. Finally the bus arrived and they didn't get off the bus. I asked the bus driver where they were and she casually said they got off at a different stop! I ran to the car and started driving around the neighborhood. I knew that they would not be able to find their way home on their own (being so new to the area) and that they were probably worried. I drove all around the neighborhood and I couldn't find them. But I found the school bus again. I walked up to the bus driver and told her I couldn't find my kids and asked if she had seen them. She hadn't.

So I continued to drive around, stopping and asking people outside if they had seen my children. A few minutes later I found myself behind the bus again and a little boy who had just gotten off was staring intently at me. I asked him if he had seen Emma and Matthew. He said the bus driver picked them up again and they were on the bus. Relieved, I went to the bus and brought them back to the car. They looked flushed from the heat and from all of the walking (there are a lot of hills here).

We didn't take the bus the following morning because we had to take Ben to school about the same time, but when we saw the bus driver this morning she said, "Thanks for giving me another chance!"

Lesson learned here: Wait a few days for the system to get the kinks worked out before you put your children on the school bus.

Jacob's first day of 8th grade.

Emma started 5th grade.

Matthew started 1st grade. He was very excited!

Benjamin stayed in his PJ's the first day of school, but attends preschool 2 half days a week.

Lake Tahoe

We spent three days at Lake Tahoe this past week. Darren's company reserved him a room at the Embassy Suites Hotel for a retreat. The kids and I decided to tag along! Darren's itinerary kept him fairly busy but his company did take him on the Tahoe Queen (an old Mississippi style river boat that served dinner and hosted a 4 hour tour). He had a great time. The kids and I spent the three days biking, exploring, swimming, jetskiing and hiking. Lake Tahoe was beautiful - more beautiful than what words or pictures can adequately capture. If you come and visit, we will gladly go again. 2 Thumbs up for Lake Tahoe!

We brought our bikes with us and rented a bike trailer so I could pull Benjamin.

We biked to Camp Richardson and stopped for icecream.

Swimming at the Hotel

Jetskiing -

Matthew giggled and screamed with delight, and Benjamin cried and screamed because he wanted to get off (a lot of water splashed in his face when it was his turn). Jacob would have preferred it if I would have gone faster and made some sharp turns.

Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe -

the second most photographed place in the US

(the Grand Canyon is first).

Hiking to Cascade Falls at Emerald Bay

First hike this summer that Ben did all on his own - no one carrying him.

Way to go Ben!

Pyramid Lake

One fun thing about moving to a new state is that there are plenty of new things to do. A co-worker of Darren's recommended we try out Pyramid Lake. It was only 40 minutes away. We have already decided that this will be our 4th of July location since it is the only place in Nevada that fireworks are legal (it is on an Indian Reservation). So this past Saturday Darren took us to check it out. The kids had a good time playing on the beach, but Darren and I were pretty grossed out by how murky and green the water was. It might have been better at a different spot, but we both agreed - 2 thumbs down for Pyramid Lake.

Who says you can't have a picnic without chips?

I enjoy cooking and food preparation. When I was growing up, I watched my mom whip up a batch of this and that quickly and easily as if it wasn't really a big deal. She always had dinner on the table. When I got married 15 years ago, I followed in her footsteps and just started making dinner for Darren. It made him so happy that I've been hooked ever since. I like cooking and food preparation because it makes people happy.

This past Monday, I went a little crazy.

Here was the menu:

Double Batch of Poppy Seed Bread

Footlong Sandwiches

Fruit Boats

Baked Beans

Family Night Fudge

The kids helped me with the preparations.

When Darren got home from work we went to a park close by and had a picnic dinner.

Emma helped with the fruit (and everything else, really).

Jacob helped with the sandwiches (custom made on one side for Emma with no pickles, lettuce, onion, tomatoes, or peppers).

Matt and Ben and Emma helped with the fudge.

A wild bunny in the park. We see these creatures

everywhere in Reno (including our backyard). It always makes me stop and smile. The kids love seeing wild bunnies everywhere.

We had a great evening, and nobody even asked why there weren't any chips.

Reno

Several people came to help us move in Saturday night. Benjamin fell off the moving truck and sported a huge goose egg that has turned into 2 black eyes.

The view from our back yard.

Our home in Reno.

Some things that are different here: no sales tax on food and no income tax. But the food is much more expensive, so I don't think we'll feel the difference. For example, a box of granola bars was on sale for $3.50 today (compare that to UT $2). A box of cereal was $5, a loaf of bread, $4.50. I opened up a can of olives and they were huge!!! Another difference is the cost of preschool. I could have sent Ben to preschool 3 half days a week for $65 in Utah. Here, the cheapest I have found so far is $285 for 2 half days a week!! I asked someone why Reno is so expensive and I was told it is because it is so close to California.

The people are nice. So far everyone has been really friendly. One family brought us groceries the evening we moved in, and then we received a dinner invitation the next day. Someone invited me to a play date yesterday. This has been really helpful with our transition, since a lot of the time I am missing Utah a great deal.

It has been great to be together as a family again. Darren was living here with no furniture before we came and he loves having somewhere to sit down now, and loves coming home for dinner with the family.

Moving Day

We moved to Reno, Nevada on July 30, 2011.

I was actually doing OK until someone came up to me and said, "This is really sad." After that I had a tough time keeping my composure. I was honestly so touched by the army of workers who came to help (40 or more). We really needed the help since Darren and I both had doctors tell us in the past week not to lift anything (Darren was recovering from surgery for a hernia and I had another episode with my back.) Darren and I were both amazed that everything fit into the truck.

We waited 13 years to build our first home and never intended to leave after living there just 21 months. We truly loved living in Silver Lake.