Back to School/ All About Hair

3 out of 5 of my kids went back to school yesterday. I have mixed feelings, but I thought posting would help me sort them out.

When they are home for the summer:
~ We spend more time doing things we want to, instead of things we have to.
~ Days and evenings don't fly by as quickly.
~ Our youngest Natalie, has siblings who will entertain her for hours.
~ The kids spend more time together.
~ I feel like a better mom because there are less things to forget.
~ I love the relaxed pace and spontaneity of summer days.

Of course, I have to include the cons so I will present a balanced picture.

~ The inevitable whine... "Mom, I'm bored!"
~ And the close second, "Natalie won't leave us alone!"
~ The house stays a constant mess. Its not the cleanliness I worry about, its the ensuing chaos. They can't find things, things get lost, broken... and I feel like I can't think when there is so much stuff lying around. I wish I could be blind to it, but so far that doesn't work for me. Luckily I can usually get everyone to pitch in to keep the house from turning into a disaster.
~ Me and Dave go on less dates in the summer - not on purpose, probably because we spend so much time together in the summer.

So my my 8th grader and preschooler are still at home for 1 more day together. I will be curious to see what a 13 yr old and a 4 yr old have in common. So far my 4 year old has been bossing around my teenager. He's loving it!

All about the hair...


One thing we always do before school is perm the girl's hair. Its actually a permanent relaxer, but in the black culture, most people call it perm for short. If you are mixed race, you can pretty much get hair across the spectrum. Nicole's got the easiest hair, its on the thin and easiest to straighten. Her Aunt Kathy gave her a fabulous new hair cut for 6th grade.


Jess got thick and extremely nappy/kinky hair and a very sensitive scalp. We decided to cut Jessica's hair really short.

This is what Jessica got from me....I never wear my hair like this, but this is how big my "fro" is. Its thick, hard to comb, expensive to maintain...So I usually get extensions, which are so much easier with my hair braided underneath.

Natalie's got thin, but kinky hair. Here is how Natalie's turned out:
Before:

After:

6 things I loved about Bear Lake this year.

1. Seeing my kids anticipate our trip months ahead of time. Bear Lake is a guaranteed vacation, even if money is tight... and they love it! The girls like to draw a list of things that they want to take and start packing months early.

2. I didn't feel pressure to do anything I didn't want to. I have always felt guilty about not loving water vacations. I didn't grow up doing the boating, swimming thing, so its not a relaxing vacation for me. This year, I just did what I wanted and didn't worry about the water. I read, I exercised, watched the kids play in the water etc... It was fun.

3. A break from dance - summer months are hard when you own a dance studio- most people want time off, so we operate with 1/3 of the students... however we still have 100% of the bills to pay. I teach more to help us save a little money, but I want a summer break too! Bear Lake means I get a break from teaching.

4. Spending time with the whole family. Dave's brother Brian, and his new wife, Sam were the only ones who couldn't make it, so we had most of the family there, which is always a blast. Steve and Tiercy surprised us by coming up for a day. I hope that my kids will want to vacation together when they are all married with children of their own.

5. I only gained one pound. Every year, I gain 5-10 pounds in the 3 days we are there. Its because I am way more active at home... I teach dance, I exercise, I clean the house..etc. So I dread it a little every year because it is frustrating to know that I will gain weight. This year, I brought alot of my own snacks. I walked everyday on the beach, ran 2 days and did zumba in the rec room one day.

6. Bear Lake gave me another reason to love facebook. I didn't take any pictures because I forgot my camera. Thanks to my sister-in-law, I snagged some off of facebook. I don't like to forget to take pics, but its one less thing to worry about sometimes:o)

I am so happy to see the kids making fun memories with their cousins. I sure hope we can vacation just a little more before they get too old. I'd be happy with just one more vacation a year. Bear Lake can be our exteneded family vacation and then if we could do something as a family, I'd love that. We'll see. School starts in 9 days... the kids are excited...and so I am I.