The Stages and Growth we have come to at this moment in time!

This begins Drew's 10th year as Branch President. ;) It is been 9 years since he was called. My how time flies.

We just re-connected to the internet. Life was chaos for a while and something had to go. But we happy to be back on line.. now we need to finalize a time schedule so all can have fair turns. Drew has started his Masters in Education. So far so good. But it has only been 3 weeks.

The boys are busy with Terry Tuesdays, Scouts, Cubs and Beavers, friends, home study seminary and math 10, computer game time, homework and such. I have taken a back seat to all of this since October when I badly sprained my ankle. The change of pace was nice but my head wants to head out and jog around the track or go 100% with Boxer Blast but my ankle isn’t ready for that yet. I have to settle with walking, since I can finally walk without a limp, and I will watch for a nice enough break in the weather and head out for a bike ride. I want to head over to Sointula for a bike ride and a picnic at the beach with a friend. So a few jaunts around town should get me ready for it, don’t ya think?! (Fingers crossed.)

We had a great time over the Christmas break. We visited with all the family members we could and spent a lot of time in the snow. I loved it. I tried cross country skiing and snow shoeing for the first time. I loved snow shoeing although I did over do it the second time I went out, I had to crawl up a couple of hills to get back to Grandma’s house. Drew offered to carry me up the hill but I figured I could do it! I didn’t regret it, one bit! Drew loved spending time in the snow! I saw how much he misses the mountains and the winter activities, no wonder he is such a home-body in the winter here on the coast where the weather is wet and grey. It makes me want to get a cabin up at the local mountain, Mount Cain. Sigh, one day, maybe.

September and more, a little late but still relevant

September is always a new beginning in the life of a student, teacher and a family of students with a Dad who is a Teacher. So begins a new chapter in the Neilson book of life. Alick is in GRADE ONE!!! WHOOOHOOOO! Everyone is on the same schedule for once. Hyrum is in Grade 5, the 2 of us will head off to ‘Camp Homewood’ in May with the Grade 5’s of Port McNeill. It should be a great time! Dexter is in Grade 7, High School next year. Carter is in Grade 10 when all things start to count toward the new graduation portfolio. We are awaiting Math 10 to arrive from a distance education school. We hope to have greater success with the material at home than in the classroom.

I find the daunting task ahead as I prepare to live within our small space with growing boys a bit overwhelming, yet one step at a time, one day at a time, things will fall into place. To begin with I moved the computer desk to a corner that I think will work better. I removed one couch from the house and put a table in the corner of the dining room for a study spot. I am slowly creating a ‘house of learning’ for the boys. There are areas of their learning that need some attention whether it is practicing multiplication tables, creative writing, reading or actual homework, it all needs a place in the house where they can work without distraction from others. In our humble home of 1200 sq.ft. it can be a challenge to find such a space but it is manageable. I love the fact that families adapt to whatever the circumstance. Where there is a will there’s a way. Right?

Our summer time together was a relaxing one.

We spent a week in Washington at the beach. The Pacific Ocean is cold there too but the boys had fun running and playing in the waves. 4 Generations of family together and 2 meals were taken care of by each of us on a rotating basis so I had a great break from the monotony of cooking for a family that rarely agrees on the same meal more than a few times a week. The variety was awesome!! I felt right at home there. The weather was comparable to here.

On our way to Pacific Beach we stayed in Bellvue. Drew, Dexter and Carter attended the temple and did quite a few baptisms. What a wonderful way to start the vacation time for them! (I went also on my own) It was hot in the Seattle area and the boys melted. I loved it! I look forward to soaking in the heat every summer. Our cooler climate here gets to me from time to time.

The rest of the summer was spent hanging out at home. We went swimming, watched movies, played with friends, fished a bit, picked berries, hiked and went on a couple of picnicking trips. I camped once with the boys and Drew, Dexter and Carter went to Young Men’s camp to Sproat Lake, near Port Alberni. It is nice to be getting back to the routine of life after a relaxing summer of lazy days.

Drew spent most of the summer learning and writing papers for University. He completed his 9 course this last weekend! This means a raise from category 4 to category 5, about $500 bucks a month. His grades have been awesome. We are awaiting the results of 4 classes. I think his average is 3.85. :0) I am so proud of him!