The Runnin’ Utes

(Is this still politically correct in light of the fun the “U” is having with the “Ute” name right now?)

Is summer over?! It's hard to believe its September already. What happened to August? Toren and Dane went back to school on the 15th and Brigitta went back on the 24th. Dane started football on the 8th and then soccer practice started for all 3 kids the last week of August. Oh, and Dane made up his swimming lessons. And I spent a lot of time in the van driving here and there. Football practice is everyday but Sunday and Monday. Sorina has noticed her kids are missing, but she's doing well being the only one home. I guess it's time to start "play dates."

Sorina: She has a baby doll she got last Christmas that goes pretty much everywhere we go. Buckled in the van and shopping with us. Oh, and we had better not forget the bottle for Baby (that's her name). Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Eric saw her true nature the last day of camp. She runs around in panties or a pull up quite often at home. She does not like wet or dirty clothes. So at camp, she stripped down to her pull-up and continued to run around. I teased her about being naked and next thing we knew she was running around naked (literally). I looked but could not find where the pull-up ended up. (Grammy: It was in the trailer on the floor with some towels that needed washing.)

Toren: He likes 1st grade, actually he loves his teacher: Mrs. Love. He has a bit of a hard time getting used to the long day, but I think he's made the adjustment. He likes eating lunch at school and more recesses; you know the important things in life. Toren has never been a morning person, but he is doing a great job of getting up and getting ready for school in the mornings. He's flying to Disneyland in September with the Wilson's for his cousin Kalli's 5th birthday (she went with him on his 5th birthday).!

Dane: He likes 5th grade and his teacher is Mrs. Ferry. She plans to work a part day so he will have another team teacher soon. Dane thought he wanted to play football, and then he started practice and he wasn't so sure anymore. However, he's being a trooper and sticking to it. It's a big time commitment and a lot of work, and he gets a few extra bumps and bruises. Fortunately, he only complains more about nearbumps and near-bruises that come from his siblings than from the ones he really gets from football. He's had 2 games and its fun to watch him and his team play.! He decided he liked football more when he actually got to play a game and put everything he'd been doing together. He has a bit of asthma that's crept up on us. He had an attack in the middle of the night in July when his Dad was at Scout Camp. Dane was pretty scared. He has an inhaler now for football/running.

Brigitta: Apparently this has been the most boring summer of her life. She was so excited to get back to school and be in touch with more friends. She and I together read a lot books this summer. Aunt Amy got us started on the Shadow Children Series, so she just got the last one at school this week and finished it, now it's my turn! We read all the Deltora Quest Series (15 books - longest of these is 200 pages), The Divide, Return to the Divide, Daughter of Venice, Harry Potter 6 and some others that I cannot remember right off. Her English teacher this year will give her extra credit if her mom or dad read the same book she reads. Guess we planned our summer well. Unfortunately for me, I have to do book reports. School never ends. Shawn did tell her they could read a philosophy book together, and each could then write a report on it. She did not answer him, and within a few minutes was talking to me about doing a report on a book we read.