End of Kids' Summer in Pictures

This week marked the halfway point of the 1st quarter of my school year.  It has flown, no doubt mostly because I leave every school day thinking there were not enough hours to get everything done!  Never a moment to breathe at first, though overall it does feel a bit smoother than last year.  I am thinking every class has its own personality.  Our first year we had a lot of oldest kids and girls.  Second year- boys, energy, and kids who had spent their preschool year not at preschool due to covid.  This year- lots of youngest siblings of previously taught kids, a better boy/girl balance, and kids that mostly were in preschool last year.  One of these days I think there will be so many books written about the covid impact on students.  I have heard teachers from kindergarten, 6th grade, 9th grade, and first year college tell me the differences they see in how prepared students are for the classroom...I mean, how unprepared and immature they are compared to usual.  Sure hope it evens out sooner rather than later and we don't have to go back there again!!

This week also marked the last week of summer for my kids and another Open House.  Matt had to work, which made me a little nervous to tackle the 3 schools alone, but it was probably the least stressful Open House ever.  I think part of it is that when I had 3 in elementary, we were going in with a car load of supplies, all the kids in tow, tons of papers to fill out, crowded classrooms, trying to make it to all three in the allotted time for the school.  This time, Allie and I headed over to RPES alone, met her sweet teacher and got to acclimate to her small classroom (15 kids!) with some of our favorite families who also have kids in her class.  She was thrilled to find out her class mascot is a panda and cannot wait for school to start.  

Then I switched her out for Allie and Julia and I went alone and met her 3 core teachers with very little drama or fanfare, though it was really strange to be in a building I knew like the back of my hand before, but hadn't seen since the day before the quarantine, 2/12/20.  Julia liked her first impression of her teachers a lot (especially that her science/social studies teacher said he doesn't give HW), but is a little worried about not noticing a single friend in her classes.  Hoping she makes some sweet new ones!

Then I switched Julia out for the boys and we went over to Orange, where it was crowded, I had no idea where anything was, but enjoyed seeing familiar faces, having the boys show me around, and actually laying eyes on their teachers for the first time, as our time at Orange had only given parents virtual sightings so far.  Both the boys have a much easier 1st semester (e.g. both have French that sadly (for me at least) is an easy 100 and even Joshua in French IV won't come out knowing much more than he learned in middle school.  And Gray has "Lifetime Sports" which is next level P.E.) so hopefully they get off to a great start because next semester holds a busy lacrosse season and two AP classes for each of them, which is our first venture into AP besides me and Matt's own high school classes.  Gray finished up his summer counselor job last week and declared he didn't like it.  Joshua finished his counselor job and bus garage internship, which had him working 48 hrs/week for a couple weeks this summer.  He says he could see doing either one again.  He clicked so well with the bus folks that he went back extra times just of his own volition.  He learned a lot there, but they also had some relaxed times sharing meals together and talking.  We are so glad it worked out to get his hours done this summer!  Both boys are about to start some fall lacrosse stuff and contemplating off season basketball at school in order to possibly try out for the team.  It's about to get super busy again.

A lot of our best August memories centered around weekends at the rec watching/coaching Gray's team.  He's about to play one (truly) last season because they added in a fall season for teens, but it's hard to imagine it being better than this summer's experience.  Of course there was the fact that they won almost every game plus the championship, but the community was super fun and that made each game more special.  It was the first time Gray and Will got to play on the same team and we added in another family friend, an acquaintance or two of the boys, and some other kids that just meshed really well together.  We had a couple pool parties, including one last one after the championship in which coaches Matt and Dennis awarded each player with a certificate.  Gray got the "havoc wreaker and hustle" award, which is such an apt description of his play.  I love watching all my kids do their sports, but it was seriously so fun to watch Gray out there, never holding back, making plays happen, handling the ball really well, just going for it.  We still say he hasn't met a shot he didn't like, but he has really grown as an athlete and you just gotta love those moments where there is some crazy scramble for the ball, he somehow comes up with it and throws up a bizarre shot and it somehow goes in.  

Other August happenings were trips to Mimi and GrandGene's (each girl separately for the first time and they loved it!), hanging out with Nanny and Pa, doctor appointments, birthday parties, pool time, ice cream parties, lost front teeth, new braces, starting our new church, rec center camps, dates, driving practice and shoe shopping with Gray (along with epic bojangles detour), finishing our second Narnia book, driveway cornhole, pickup lacrosse at the field, YoungLife outings, movie nights, and more things I'm sure I've already forgotten!  Here is our August in pictures...