My firstborn is a senior in high school.
a SENIOR.
I'm not old enough to have a senior. Right?
Well, apparently I am and I do.
Here we go!
The kids started school last week (August 13th) and the week went off without a hitch. Oh. Wait. Except for the fact that Conner slept through his alarm on the first day. Don't worry, it all worked out. We discovered him snoozing when we all gathered for scriptures at 5:30am. We kicked his butt in the shower and we read scriptures around the kitchen table while Scott and I made his lunch. I'm pretty sure the last time I made his lunch was in 1st grade! (I'm not a lunch making mom -- I handed that responsibility over to my kids when they reached 2nd grade).
Conner's schedule is loaded with a few AP classes - Government, Physics II, and Calculus. Lucky for him he has a free period during the day! Unlucky for him, it is in the middle of his schedule so he doesn't get to leave campus early. He spends that free period hanging out in the choir room which is great because 1)he can work on his homework and 2)he is the choir co-president this year so he can take care choir business and coordinate with the director if needed. Over the summer we finally got a 3rd car (for Scott), so our 2005 truck that we've been hanging onto for all these years is finally, officially, the teenager car. He drives Payton & himself to and from school and it is awesome!
Speaking of Payton . . . he is a sophomore this year.
He has been so excited to go back to school and dive back into the Broadcast program. This year he will get to help with the set, the filming, production, and probably even be on the news program. He has come home from school a few times this week toting a tripod and nice cameras from the Broadcast room -- please be careful! He is working on special projects -- specifically a commercial for the Star Wars club -- and there's just something about seeing him with a camera that makes me so so happy! He is taking all the usual sophomore classes. Although the school pulled a fast one on us and got rid of the French program. He took French last year and you kind of need 2 years of a language for college so . . . . rather than starting all over with a new language, he is taking French 2 online this year. Kind of stinks that he has to add that to his work load. But in anticipation of that, we padded his schedule with a "filler" class -- Music Appreciation. And he is loving it. As his teacher (who is also the choir director) said, "we're going to listen to a crap ton of music this year." Nice! Another highlight of the year -- he has volunteered to help with the Broadcast program fundraiser. They bring Panda Express to the school on Thursdays and he is helping with the sales table at lunch table. This also means that he gets FREE Panda so pretty much Thursdays are now his favorite day of the week.
and Anna . . . our 7th grader.
This back to school year felt easy breezy compared to last year. 6th grade was a big transition to the middle school, but now she's completely comfortable there. She has a great schedule and although none of her friends are in her classes, they all managed to get the same lunch so everything is right in her world. She is in year 2 of band, playing the flute. There were some nerves this year regarding band because their beloved teacher, Mr. Williams, left the school for a different position in the district. I'm trying to encourage her to keep an open mind about the new director. So far there haven't been any complaints. She is excited to be in Symphonic Band -- the highest level band at the middle school. Pretty cool that she was able to jump from Beginning band to Symphonic! But I can tell that when she saw the music the first week and the talent of the other flutists she was a wee bit intimidated. I told her that is okay, she doesn't have to be the best right now, just do your best. Another big change for this school year . . . Anna has decided that she likes jeans! Haha -- the last couple years she has REFUSED to wear jeans. Cotton, knit, stretchy pants only for this girl. So when it was time for back to school shopping and she told me she wanted jeans -- I was shocked! But also happy, because, hello? how cute does she look in those skinny jeans?!
I drive Anna to school each day and we were able to catch a few pics in the morning sunrise before jumping in the car. What a beautiful girl! She is going to be 13 in just over a month!
Because I have kids that leave at 5:45 in the morning, I prepare the back to school breakfast the night before -- chocolate chip muffins -- and leave them on the counter for the taking.
I loved all of these cute printables (quotes, banner, cupcake/muffin toppers) from Alexa Z Design - Ultimate Back to School Printable Bundle.
Once the kids were gone I got to enjoy this . . .
a quiet, empty, clean house. Ahhh.
But really, I spent my first day of school at a Zumba toning class, followed by a couple hours of yard work, with just enough time to shower and make some cookies before having to run out the door to carpool.
I made a giant cookie for each kid, with their grade written in M&M's. I found the idea on instagram from @motherhoodmagnified
I've never done the back to school pictures with cute signs that tell you what grade your kid is in. No real reason why, other than I crave consistency and I didn't start when Conner was in kindergarten so I couldn't bring myself to begin something like that partway through the game. BUT, I am game for holding up a cookie next to your face after school. It's going in your mouth anyways, so why not pause for a moment and take a pic!
As I run into different friends and we ask each other how the first week of school went my answer is always, "great! Honestly, our easiest and smoothest back to school week ever."
These kids are going to do great things this year. I know it. My hope & prayer is always that they will be a good example to others, be a light, choose the right, look for opportunities to help & serve, and put their very best effort into everything they do.
