Thursday, January 23, 2014

A Cactus we will grow

*Warning: Kristi rant ahead - skip to *** if you'd rather avoid *

*Dusts off soap box, steps up*

I am appreciative of the fact that there is transportation that safely takes Noah to and from school every morning.  I know that I would have no problem getting him there myself (school is only about a mile away) but I know that he enjoys riding the bus immensely.  I am thankful.

BUT

45 minutes.  That is how late the bus was yesterday afternoon.  20 minutes.  That's how late the bus was this morning.  In fact, since school got back from break the bus has not been on time once.  And from my front door it is .3 miles (I googled it!).  Most fortunately, with it being as cold as it is, I have been driving to and from the stop lately, otherwise the kids and I would be popsicles!  It drives me crazy to think of driving that short distance but I am so thankful I have been.  And I have yet to figure out what the actual issue is.  When the weather is bad, OK, I understand a few minutes, but the fact that Noah has not made it to school in time for the announcements once in the past two weeks really irks me.  Worse, there has been a new driver in the mornings that seems to have changed the route.  So now every morning after we've already waiting at the stop for at least 10 minutes the bus ends up driving right in front of our house!  If they're going to change the route why can't they add a stop?  This morning not only was Noah late to school, but so was Mikayla since we had to wait for the bus and then I was in turn late for my MOPS meeting.

So Farmington School System - what are you going to do about this?  I know multiple parents have been calling to complain but it seems to be having little or no effect.  There's no reason that it should be 5pm when I get my son home in the afternoon when his bus should be dropping him off at quarter after 4.  It's unacceptable.  If you're going to providing bussing (which again, I am grateful for) you are responsible for making sure the students get to school ON TIME in a safe manner.  Fix it!

*Steps down, puts soap box away for next use*

***  OK, it's safe to come back now ***

Sorry for the side track, but dang!  I was annoyed yesterday afternoon (that'd probably be putting it mildly) but didn't want to blog about it in case it was a fluke.  But this is getting out of hand.  I'll keep everyone posted on any change that (hopefully) happens here soon.

In the meantime, it's been a good Thursday at the Gatchel house.  Mikayla had a wonderful day at school, I got to go to MOPS (and be reminded of the fact that the Moms that I am friends with there are AMAZING!  So needed that this morning, love to you all!) and Noah (when he finally made it there) learned all about snails in school today.  Plus my amazing husband fixed the heater in the family room last night and I can actually feel my fingers and toes as I type this up.  He's my hero.

Tonight, after we finally all made it home, had dinner (corn bread waffles!) and got through bath time, I finally tackled the sopapillas as a dessert for tonight while we put together our "we've been there" state.  If you're curious, you can learn all about sopapillas here (Oh wikipedia how you've become my friend through this project!).  I finally got to try out my new deep fryer and everyone enjoyed the treat.  You'll note that on our state for the map, Grant and I both have actually been to Arizona.  I was there for work, he'd been there in the past to visit his Aunt and then we were both there together in 2006 for our honeymoon.  We even got lost in the Camelback Mountains together!  (No joke!)

We also had more mail to open!  My friend Morgan has family in Tempe who was actually visiting this past week and brought a couple of Arizona items for the kiddos.  You'll have to check out the pictures to see what Noah was REALLY excited about.  Thanks so much to Morgan for asking her and Dawn for helping us learn about Arizona.  The participation of so many people, including complete strangers continues to amaze and delight me!

Still planning to tackle the bathroom painting this weekend but not sure what else we'll be up to.  There is a huge Fire & Ice Festival in Rochester, but it's kind of a drive and if the temperatures don't warm up at least a little I'm not sure the kiddos will be up for it.  But maybe :)  Plus I'm hoping to dive into the wonders of the Grand Canyon with the kiddos a little bit more as I know especially Noah would be really interested.  But a normal Friday tomorrow to figure it all out!  Until then...

Arizona Fun Fact of the Day:  From the 1950s to the 1970s, anyone growing up in Arizona knew about the Five Cs. The Five Cs of Arizona are copper, cattle, cotton, citrus and climate. The Five Cs were once very important for jobs in Arizona, but not as much as they once were, although they still play a part of Arizona's economy.

 Too cold to take them outside, but a walk inside with the girls sounds nice

 I love when Noah gets home and they genuinely WANT to be together and play together.  As soon as they got in the house they were making plans to play a game together

 First run on the new deep fryer!

 Poofy sopapilla

 I coated ours in some sugar and we filled them with honey - yum!  The whole plate disappeared somehow tonight...

 The great items Dawn sent us from Arizona

 Our "we've been there" state - Grant and I love Arizona!

 Sopapilla snack

 Looking at the coloring book

 They are ridiculously excited about growing their own cactus.  Noah's first words "Oh my gosh, I always wanted to see a real cactus!"  We explained it might take awhile to actually see it...  He's not deterred, though, it was all we could do to get them in bed tonight after that. Be looking for our planting over the next few days :)

Thanks so much, Dawn!

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