It's been a while

We've been kind of busy lately with school starting, birthdays, and family visiting! It's been one of those months again. Here's are run down. Paul started class on August 2nd. He goes Friday afternoons which is kind of a bummer, but we get to see him for a little while Friday mornings. We one year from September 25th! Yes, I am counting down. The girls started school on August 10th. It was quite a new experience. We went to the school's meet and greet thing a few days before. Their teacher is very nice, very organized, and very good at what she does. We are excited for the school year! I've been walking them into class so I can tell her who's who. They have their names on their backpacks, and they are different colors, but I just let her know who's wearing the blue shirt and who's wearing the yellow shirt. On the first day of school, I was saying Bye to Olivia when the little boy next to her tugged on my arm. He told me that Olivia is very pretty. She said matter-of-factly "I am not pretty. I  am brave." Since then, she has told me that he tells her that she is pretty a lot and that she doesn't want to be pretty, she wants to be brave. A little nervous for teen years...! The following week, my mom and brother, Rand came down to visit. Rand will be living with us for a while. He's working at a boys' ranch a little south/west of us as a Rancher. He has seven days on and seven days off. We're excited to have Rand here for some extra hands on his days off! It was really nice to have Grandma visiting also. We ran errands and sewed new pillows for the living room. We were very sad to see her go. Maybe we'll have to take a trip up that way! The twins turned 5 on August 22nd! I can't believe I have five-year-olds! They are getting to be very grown-up! Mrs. Overson mentioned that they were getting a little frustrated with scissors at school. I haven't really let them play with scissors much. Long hair and scissors seem like such a big temptation for little people! So, I decided to let them practice. They were making "paper salad", and Elin need help in the bathroom. I swear I was only gone for a minute! I came back to Olivia standing by the sink and a small patch of a hair on the floor near her feet. She looked up at me and said, "I wanted hair like you." She has given herself very stylish side bangs. Not much gone, but we had some discussion on scissor rules and all that stuff. I've let them practice more since, but with some good supervision. Ewan is an excellent cutter! Ewan and Elin are enjoying some quiet time at home while the girls are at school. It is really quiet with the twins gone, and once they come home it's like an explosion! We haven't done anything on Ewan's list of things-to-do-while-the-twins-are-away besides walks and going to the park, but we'll figure out all those projects after we've rested a bit! I kind of just want to sit for a few minutes! Elin got moved into a toddler bed now that Rand will be in her room. She loves being in with the girls. The twins are usually exhausted by 7, but Elin is still taking a very long nap mid-day so she could sit and talk to me for a little while longer! As I was sitting with her a few nights ago, she said, "Mommy, you can leave now." I said, "What?" trying to get her to say it in a kinder way. She said, "You can leave Olivia, Aislee, and my room now. Please." She's kind of a sassy kid and very vocal with her opinions! Other than that, we are good. Just surviving the beginning of school and life!