August 2018

August in photos:

More bus selfies

The morning commute

We love a good rental

Rainy days

Hand-made harmonicas in Scouts

F r i d a y

Snuggles

Lauren is showing some alumnus pride 

Man's best friend

S u n d a y

First Week of School

We are pleased to report that everyone survived the first full week of school. The new schedule that involves being at a bus stop at 6:40 each day has been embraced, and we have made it there daily with a smile.  

Bus Selfies

We have been so happy and thankful to have smiles each morning before middle school.  

And, we have discovered a love for bus selfies and are embracing anything that helps pass the commute time.  

Tough Girls

Grace was a trooper to start school right after getting braces. Unfortunately, that was the earliest time she could have them, and she did not want to have to get them later in the year. For many reasons, it was unavoidable.  

Lauren also had some dental work before school resumed. She sustained a mouth injury last December and needed to see an endodontist two days before school started for an invasive procedure. Again, also unavoidable.  They got through the first couple of days at a new school and were tough as nails about it.  

They were ready to begin the first full week, with less discomfort, and with sincere smiles. 

First Day of School 2018

We have been gearing up for school for a while. George is entering second grade like gangbusters, and the girls are eagerly beginning middle school. Poor Grace got braces and a palatal expander yesterday so she isn't smiling in the above photo because smiling is painful.  

The girls are excited because they can take a foreign language this year. Naturally, Lauren, being a total Francophile, wanted to take French and join the French club, but Skip presented some compelling arguments for her to learn Spanish. Lauren conceded, and the girls spent an hour a day each summer studying Spanish.  

At registration, the girls learned that the school would be offering a foreign language carousel, wherein they would study Spanish, French and German.  And... the first language studied would be French. I thought she would be excited, but she was a little irked about spending five hours each week of her summer on Spanish, which will be taught in the spring.  

Other than that, the trio are very excited about the coming year.  

Registration/Meet the Teacher

As much as we hate to admit it, all things must come to an end. We have had a wonderful summer. We have had lots of physical activity, relaxation and even some studying/skill sharpening, and we have enjoyed having no commitments.

The girls are eager for middle school, and although George would never admit it, he is ready to return... at least to see his friends. Reluctantly, the trio are ready to take the first steps back to school. 

George is excited to be entering second grade. He is completely ready, but he will miss his sweet teacher from last year. 

We packed up all of George's supplies and carted them to school for "Meet the teacher". George filed away all of his supplies, reunited with his best bud, ran around wildly for a few minutes and just generally gave his teacher a glimpse of what she can look forward to for the next several months. 

These two guys are actually seated at the same table... that may last about five minutes. 

The girls registered previously, but there was a second, subsequent day for locker decorating. We really hadn't planned to decorate, but when I saw the condition of their lockers at registration, we made an emergency trip to Target for supplies. Grace's poor locker had old stickers that had been affixed about 25-30 years ago back when adhesives were serious (read: not removable). Their lockers were ripe for a dramatic before/after. We came back on locker move-in day, armed with magnetic wallpaper, a shelf, room spray and some magnets. Carpet has been ordered and will arrive soon. 

All of their supplies have been moved in, and they are ready to go. Here's to 2018/2019!

Gracie Gets Braces

Last year before school started, Gracie had to be brave and have some dental work completed. Her permanent teeth could not come in properly because they were trapped by some stubborn baby teeth that wouldn't quite move out of the way. Initially, she was slated for five extractions, but two of her teeth loosened and came out on their own. Therefore, she bravely had three extractions.

We waited all year for her permanent teeth to come in, and once that happened, she was ready for braces and a palatal expander. As a funny side note, Grace asked to have clear braces, and when they called me back after they were finished with the appointment, she smiled an adorable metallic smile. "Uhm... are those clear?" I asked.

I mean, that didn't look like the brochure, but maybe I was unclear about what clear braces would be. They failed to note her chart with the clear purchase, and she ended up with metallic braces. Gracie smartly accepted the metallic, not wanting to have to have them removed and clear reapplied. Lauren immediately made a pact with her that she wouldn't get clear when her time came, and George made a pledge to do the same. Sibling solidarity.

Long story short, she looks totally adorable either way.