Zackrison Sister Update

It's my turn to host the weekly Zackrison Sister Update.  Enjoy!

Sarah:

Last Week:

• The boys started school!! Woohoo!! So excited to be back in the routine.
• Finally finished cleaning the postal cabinet & (mostly) put the room back together.
• Met RZF at the Gateway and let her watch Huck & June while I tried stuff on at Anthro. I finally took the sandals back I bought last April (love Anthro's return policy!) and got a few things I'm excited about (love Anthro's sale section!). I saw the table I've been wanting at Urban but they wouldn't sell me the floor model and confirmed it's sold out online. 
• Loved having Rachel around for the weekend - I'm always pretty disappointed about not having my siblings around, but am glad we're in a place that people tend to get back to from time to time
• Took all 4 kids up to SLC for a Lower Lights fireside. Remembered again why I'd vowed not to do that anymore.
• Had fun watching Scott recording with The Lower Lights online (http://www.juneaudio.com/livestream) and stopped by to play bells and handclap in the background a couple times. It sounds like they've had a great time and gotten so much done - can't wait for the new albums
• Went to dinner with the other "band wives" on Friday night - tried out the new La Jolla Groves - was pleasantly surprised at how good it was
• Had the carpets and upholstery cleaned - it was high time and looks so much better!
• Saw Mom & Dad's new house - their furniture is looking great and I'm so excited for them.

This Week:

• Rooftop concert on Friday! I think we've got most jobs delegated pretty well to the volunteers, so I just need to follow up with them. Oh and also maybe make some vinyl logo stickers and get the merch area spreadsheets ready. Need to make arrangements for the kids on Friday
• Work - turns out I have the same work habits and I did study habits - namely procrastination. I have a presentation next week, which they gave me 2 weeks to prepare. Better get started!
• Get into a better after-school routine to get homework and practicing done, and do better at getting to school on-time.
• Go to Seven Peaks one last time this season
• Arrange a playdate with some new little girls who have moved into the neighborhood - June is having some serious friends withdrawal since the neighbor twins moved and her other friends are all in school. 
• Figure out how to gently tell the Fall Festival Silent Auction committee that I can't exactly help them like they'd like me to.
• yardwork

Annee:  No photo this week. We'll just have to picture in our minds pretty Annee!

Last Week:

• Sent Darin off to school.
• Attended all of the back-to-school nights leading up to the first day of school.
• Helped atire and coif four children for the big first day!
• Drove and picked everyone up from school on both Thursday and Friday.  We'll ease our way into the 7:15am bus pick-up time!
• Once I got everyone off to school I had to turn my attention to getting ready for the Baby Shower.  I was on the planning committee, and my responsibility was to provide the location, and the decorations.  As it turned out, I had a lot of fun crafting up a beautiful setting for the shower.  I'll have photos up on MOM soon.
• Had a dismal week of running.  Dismal!  
• Felt an earthquake and prepared for a hurricane, all within the same week.  The hurricane, which I referred to as "Irene" sort of came and went without much to-do around here.  We had gusty winds, and blowing rains for a little while on Saturday, but that was the extent of it.  

This Week:

• Running has to be at the top of the list.  I am now behind one long run.  Hopefully there is still enough time to make up for it. 
• My first full week of the school year.  Time to settle in and find a rhythm for my days.  I'm really looking forward to it.  
• Attend Book Club.  The selection was "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close".  I love that book.
• I started a patchwork dress last weekend.  Maybe this week will be more settled and I'll find time to get back out there and finish it.
• Go grocery shopping at the beginning of the week.  Have dinner planned out for the whole week.  No last minute scrambling or shopping.  That is the goal.  I'm thinking of trying the chili in a jar, cooked with cornbread on top.  It seems so fun, that maybe the kids would actually eat the chili!
• Write the primary program!  
• Piano lessons start back up this week.  Life is slowly but surely getting back to normal.  
• That's it.  I feel like it doesn't sound that exciting, and honestly, I'm kind of hoping it isn't.  I don't think I made it to bed before 1am even one time last week.  I'd love for this week to be at a much slower pace.  We're back to needing to wake up daily by 6:30am.  That has to mean that bedtime returns to 11pm at the lastest!  Kind of sad, to make that concession, but life runs so much better this way.  Time to get on board.  

Ana: 

 

 

Last week:
-Had my 34 week appointment and ultrasound.  Baby is no longer breech and my placenta is way out of the way meaning I get to go into labor!  (hooray right?  Somehow even 6 years later going through labor doesn't sound like a plus even though I know it is in this situation).
-Bought Jack some closed toe shoes since evidently rainbows aren't permitted school footwear.  And here we've been teaching him flip flops are the perfect shoe for all occasions.
-While getting ready for kindergarten orientation we got a phone call saying there was 1 open space at our home school if we wanted it.  We changed gears and went to that orientation where we got to go into Jacks classroom, see his desk, meet his teacher and the other kids in his class.  His teacher is awesome and he couldn't wait to start!

This week
-Jack's first day of kindergarten!!   He was sooo ready and said other kids he knew were scared of kindergarten he was only excited.  No tears were shed by him as he bounced into the classroom.  I shed a few happy tears to see how prepared and awesome of a kid we have.
-I fell coming out to our car off a curb after Jacks swim lessons and am currently being monitored at the hospital (written Monday evening).  No real harm appears to have been done but I guess any time a pregnant woman falls on her belly even lightly they want to monitor her for a few hours and do some sort of blood test. 2 hospital visits in 2 weeks.  I'm seriously awesome.   And now all my plans of making Jack his requested first day of school dinner are down the drain.  So silly of me.
-I still need to buy a baby car seat so we can take this baby home when he's ready.

 

Ie Li:

 

 

Last Week:

• Park.  The weather was beautiful all week long.
• Library.
• Earthquake.
• Air and Space Museum as a family.
• Hung things on the wall.
• Cleaned the house.
• Painted a side table
• I couldn't sleep Tuesday night so I just got up and organized the storage room some more and ran on the treadmill.  I was up until 5 AM.  It took me three days to feel normal again, but in some ways, I feel like it was a gift to me.  It's like Heavenly Father knew I wouldn't be able to get it all done without that time.  I'm really grateful for that.  I even contemplated staying up all night one night a week forever more, but the recovery is really rough.  I just need my sleep.
• Hired a babysitter to play with the kids on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons so I could cross some more things off my list.  Then hired her again for Thursday afternoon so Steve, Mei Li, and I could go to the back-to-school event.
• Spent all Friday preparing for hurricane Irene.
• Hurricane Irene came and went.  It was very uneventful for us, but my heart hurts for those who suffered for it. 
• Watched Season 1 of "Downton Abbey."  Thanks for the recommendation, Rachel.
• Sewed a pink nightgown and a turquoise first-day-of-school dress for Mei.

Next Week:

• Mei starts kindergarten.  I am entering a new motherhood phase and I feel a little sad about it all.  Life was so crazy/good when all three of them were home.  She only has half-day kindergarten so it will still probably feel a little like preschool, but with a bus.
• Spend Mi Na's nap time playing with Stephen.
• Continue half-marathon training.
• Wake up early everyday.
• Sew a couple more dresses for Mei.
• Parent orientation for Stephen's preschool.
• Catch up on blogging.

Rachel:

Last Week:

• Earthquake!!  On Tuesday at 2pm we had a 5.8 earthquake here in VA.  Our office building evacuated and because I was planning to get lunch anyway, I headed home.  Our firm closed for the rest of the day so Ken and I spent 3 hours outside in the wonderfully cool weather running, walking and popping into stores we've been meaning to visit.  We came home, made dinner and I worked in the evening from home.  It was so awesome. 
• Almost signed up at the farm co-op store in Vienna.  Will consider this further.
• Have felt very organized and on top of my work situation. It's a great feeling.
• Spent some lovely time in Utah. Activities included: shopping with Sarah, Huck & June, recruiting event, returning GG, visiting fabric stores & Downeast, visiting mom & dad's pretty new house, dinner at La Jolla Groves and CPK, a crazy huge stake activity which included a hot air balloon, quality sister time, watching kids on giant trampoline time, visiting the Lower Lights in studio, etc.  It was short and sweet.  Thank you all for having me.
• Flew out of Provo on my way home!  It was AWESOME.  Accidentally overslept (sorry mom!).  Left Sarah's at 7:45am.  Was sitting on the plane by 8:13am (after forgetting my laptop in the car thus doing security twice).  Flight departed at 8:35am.  You cannot beat that kind of convenience.  It was cheap too.  I will fly through there every chance I get.
• Returned to VA to a house that was very well stocked for a hurricane that never really came.

This Week:

• Christine's BDAY!!  Let's celebrate shall we?
• Major work time.  Just over 2 full weeks to the Sept 15 deadline.  My senior is out of town for the next month so I'm filling her role.  Very exciting.
• Call the hair salon and get a reimbursement for the skirt that was ruined on my last visit by bleach spots.  Sad.
• Call REfind about ordering the light fixtures I want.  Inspiration photo here.
• MAKE THE WEDDING ALBUM.  I don't really want to pay to extend the event online... Ugh.
• Ken's sister is coming to visit Friday through Tuesday!  Need to get the guest room in order and plan our activities. 
• Book our Christmas flights.  They're only going to get more expensive from here.

Christine:

Last week:
- Spent the first half of the week in Morgantown for the start of the school year.  This included a big free concert put on by the school with a lot of supposed big names that I've never heard of, mainly just because I'm not so much in on the hip hop and rap scene, but it was still fun nonetheless.  I ended up being in WV for the earthquake and didn't feel it, though others in the area did.  I was actually pretty sad to have missed it.  I came home to a few broken items that had fallen off the shelves.
- Worked Wednesday and Saturday.
- Went to Rehoboth Beach all day Friday as everyone was panicking and preparing for the big hurricane.  It ended up being a nice beach day, and it was pretty interesting to see all the little shops boarding up their windows and hearing all about the mandatory evacuation.  We made it out that evening luckily without hitting much evacuation traffic.
- Went out to dinner with a girl from high school who I haven't seen since high school.  It was random but fun to get caught up and always nice to see a familiar face from home somewhere far from home.
- Got bored waiting out the big hurricane Saturday night while everything closed early.  It ended up being a pretty big letdown, I didn't even lose power ever.  But ultimately I should be grateful seeing as a lot of areas were much more impacted.
- Rode bikes around the monuments late Sunday night.  I think this is possibly my favorite activity in DC.

This week:
- Turn 24.  Weird.
- Go to Utah!!  I'm flying out there Thursday and am excited to be there for the rooftop concert Friday night! And to see mom and dad's new house!  I currently don't have a ticket back but I'm planning on staying for a couple weeks, not really for any reason in particular just to spend time with family and friends there.  I feel like it's probably the last chance I'll have to go out there for an extended time so I might as well take advantage of my free time.
- Work Wednesday.
- Hopefully run more than I did last week.
- Finalize everything for an apartment.  I settled on a place and just need to get everything signed and finished in time for Jaklyn's arrival next weekend.