September Chores

Always lots to do around here, but thankfully not as much to do as when we lived in Washington, where September brought the flush of fruits and veggies to be harvested, pressed, or stored. Plus we usually butchered the meat animals in September or October, had to get enough crab to store for the winter, and enjoy the last moments of warmth before the long winter…. Fall is actually a season I miss living here on Maui because September and October here are the dry months and it was truly hot and dry. It even got up to 90 degrees for a couple of days. Whew.

Anyway, I actually can’t remember all that we did, but I think we probably demoed the back garage and lanai area so we could start building back there. I also had loads of chicks to take care of, both the human and chicken kind.

The girls saw me washing out a bin and decided it looked like a nice bath.

 

I had some depressing news when I took the kids to the orthodontist:

If you haven’t already noticed, they are both going to need braces.

I already suspected that, but I didn’t anticipate the price. The first ortho quoted $9800 for Camden! With no guarantees or promises of things working out or anything. It was $9800 just to try something he thought might work. I asked what would happen if his idea didn’t work, and he left the room and his office manager said, “Sorry, if it doesn’t work we will have to try another treatment.” I asked if that was included in the price. She said no. That would be another $3400. Sheesh.

I don’t get mad very often, but I said thank you for wasting my time, in not so many words, and made an appointment to see another orthodontist. He suggested the same lines of treatment for the kids as the other ortho, but at half the cost. I liked him better. But, it made me realize I need to probably shop at every ortho on the island or I’ll be mad if I hear about someone cheaper halfway through.

Seriously, though… have you read The Glass Castle? The girl tried to make her own retainer out of found wire. I was considering the same thing. It’s crazy that my kids’ braces will cost more than my car. I could buy ten cars for one set of braces.

Actually, I could even fly Cam to Las Vegas 24 times for the same cost. Anyone there want to do his braces for free?

Don’t worry. I didn’t bring any of this up in front of my kids. I don’t want to make them feel guilty about their braces. And it did make me especially grateful for my parents and what they did to get my teeth straight.

And Ana’s teeth aren’t a major emergency, plus her braces won’t be enormously expensive. Cam’s though are pretty serious. We have him pulling on his jaw every night to try and get it to expand. Every time he goes to the dentist, the dentist freaks out and faints. At least he never has any cavities. Sheesh.

 

Elsie was delighted to make a birthday card for her BFF Sophie.

 

Po was delighted to spend some time at the beach.

 

Cam pretended to surf with his buddies (he finally did it last week all by himself).  And he’s not as short as he looks… his friends are both 12.

 

 

Ana and her friends at the beach.

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Ember holding Po at the beach (enough beach photos yet?)

 

And the most exciting thing was when my sister Sonna and her husband Sloan welcomed baby Luke into the world!!! I haven’t even met him yet, but I know that he’s 100% perfect.

 

And here is a glimpse into my girls’ fashion sense.

 

 

And Jonah and Cam making some sausage. Looks lovely, eh?

 

And of course, we had many swim meets. We loved getting the kids back in the water after their summer break. I would say they loved back in the water, but they have a love/hate with swim right now, so I didn’t want to stretch the truth.