"The laundry is under control, the house is decently in order and halfway clean, I really need to work on my on-line photo albums." "But I'm so far behind that I can't imagine getting very far on that project and boy will that be frustrating...maybe another day." "But I'd really like to send out a little bit of an update just to let everyone know what's going on here." "Well, you could set up a blog just to give out some information and post a couple pictures." But the expectations are too high for a blog, you're actually expected to post something frequently enough to keep people interested and I just don't know if that will happen....I just can't handle the pressure! :-)" "Stop worrying about it and just do it. It's the easiest way to update everyone for now and you'll just have to send an email later to let everyone know if you add something to it." "Fine, I'll try it." (I promise I haven't lost my mind and all of these thoughts were kept inside my head!)
So, I spent more time than I'd like setting up this blog, adding pictures, etc. and then I couldn't believe it yesterday afternoon when Hallie said out of the blue that she had finally started updating her blog again! I could have saved a lot of time and just directed you to her website! With Hallie's blog you will find things to be very honest, straightforward and just telling it like it is! You can view it at http://halliesadventures.blogspot.com/. (By the way, Carlie has felt fine ever since we got home from Open House last night!)
Fall has FINALLY arrived here in Bloomington, Indiana!!! We went outside this morning and the temperature was only in the upper 60's. Hooray! The next few days promise to be "fall-like" and it's just about time!! We have had unusually hot weather this summer and a severe drought so the rain we got just a couple days ago was more than welcome and the drop in temperatures feels wonderful. Leaves are already starting to change but unfortunately some of that may be due to the lack of rain. Our Fall colors will be affected to some degree but we're still hoping for some reds and oranges in a few weeks. I keep silently grouching at the lady down the street as I pass her house every day and see her Fall decorations on the porch already....isn't it way too soon?? However, I do realize that September is already flying by and before you know it I'll wish that I had started on my Fall decorations a little earlier. This does tend to be a pretty crazy time of year for us, that is why I named our blog "Pedersen Pandemonium." It's not quite that bad but you get the idea.
On Wednesday, August 15th, Hallie started 6th grade, Zack started 4th grade, Brock started all-day, 5-day-a-week Kindergarten and Carlie lost all her best friends from 9:00am to 3:15pm! So far we are thrilled with their teachers and everything is going really well. Needless to say, being down to one child during the day is a breeze and Carlie loves to run errands and shop so we have a great time together. She's also spent some time with Daddy at his office and she loves that too.
Sports going on right now are as follows: Hallie - soccer - one practice a week and one game a week; Zack - football - two practices a week and at least one game a week; Brock - flag football - one practice a week and one game a week. Hallie also started back up on her piano lessons. So the only night or day without a practice or game is Friday!! The nice thing about each practice or playing field is that there is a playground in close proximity so the children not practicing/playing always have something to do. Plus with the weather turning nice it's a great way to be outdoors.
Probably the biggest change in our lives in recent days has been Paul's completion of his tenure folders. This project pretty much consumed his Spring and Summer (not to mention the last six years of hard work) and on Friday, August 31st, all the craziness came to an end! Whether or not he is granted tenure is of little matter to me at this point, just having him return to a "normal" academic work schedule is enough! Plenty of smaller projects had to sit on the back burner while he documented every last detail of his 6 year academic career so now he is enjoying catching up on those smaller projects at a much more relaxed pace. The tenure process is now out of our hands as it moves up through the different levels for approval. We won't have final word on it until March of next year but each month we'll hear the results of how the different committees voted on it. There's so much more I could say about how much time and effort went into this project and our expectations for the process (both negative and positive) but I think I'll let it go at that and just show you a picture of the completed project.
We enjoyed a visit from Dad and Mom Estes during the long Labor Day weekend and we squeezed in enough activities to last them for awhile. They got to see Hallie, Zack and Brock each play one of their games, we hosted a Korean meal for 28 people (so delicious!!), went apple picking at an orchard, took them with us to our department's annual picnic at Bradford Woods and on Labor Day we had lunch together with Rev. and Mrs. Ralph and Emily Tilley and Julie (Tilley) Vick, her husband, Kent, and their three children. We're sorry that Rochelle and Ian couldn't come too. We had a WONDERFUL time reconnecting with some great friends that go wayyyyyyy back and it couldn't have been a better way to spend the day. The only sad part is that we did not take one single picture!!! How maddening!! We were way too busy talking, I suppose!
I promised "Aunt Liz" a picture of one of the outfits she sent up with Dad and Mom. Carlie doesn't mind posing especially when she's cooler than cool with her sunglasses on top of her head! Also, a new shirt for Hallie from Aunt Liz. She'll be here with us from September 21-30 and we can't wait...that's just around the corner! We LOVE it when Aunt Liz visits and ALL of us get very spoiled!
I'd have to say that here in Indiana we can get quite the range of activities. In the past couple of weeks we've done everything from a pre-season game watching the Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts (Go Colts!!!) to watching a tractor pull in Elnora, IN (translation....small town in the middle of the corn fields). Both activities were a whole lot of fun and we had never been to a tractor pull. (By the way, the Farmall "H" tractor that you see below is similar to one that Dad Pedersen used to use on their farm when he was a boy!)
So, that's some of the "stuff" going on around here. I can assure you that there won't be another post for awhile...I really do need to catch up on my shutterfly pictures if I have extra time. I think I'm only caught up through April!! That was my big project when the kids went back to school and so far, those huge chunks of time that I thought I would have just haven't appeared. Hey, if that's my biggest problem for the day I'm doing fantastic!
By the way, I finally decided to get my own e-mail account so from now on, please correspond with me through gmail at 6pedersens.jen@gmail.com. You can still reach Paul through the other email and he'll forward your message on if you forget.
The six of us wish all of you a very wonderful Fall season and if you're ever in the area, please stop by. We're only 1 hour from Indianapolis, IN, 2 hours from Louisville, KY, 2 hours from Cincinnati, OH, 4 hours from Chicago, IL, 4 hours from St. Louis, MO, and 8 hours from Traverse City, MI :-) !!!!
You thought that was it didn't you?!?! I decided to add the annual portraits of all four kids that I took a couple months ago to add to the "gallery." I took the usual "smile like you're having a great time" picture and then we decided to take a fun picture that they actually did enjoy smiling for. It depicts their interests at this age, or at least some of them. Hope you enjoy them.
Carlie - 2 1/2 years old
Brock - 5 1/2 years old
Zack - 9 1/2 years old
Hallie - 11 1/2 years old
