School Begins

The first day of school was on the late date of Thursday, September 1st. Of course, teachers including Jeff, always go back to work a week before school starts. And high school sports still needed ten practices before the first competition, so official cross country practice started almost two whole weeks before school. A few days before fall sports began, there was a parent meeting. So even though we had a so-called extended summer with our late school start date, we were not free to wander or go on adventures for the last 2.5 weeks of summer break. 

Jay is in 8th grade, Rose is in 6th grade and her first year of middle school, and Amber is in 2nd grade.

Rose went on her traditional clothes shopping and lunch date with Grama Leslie. Amber was going to go, but she got invited to a birthday party last minute and chose to swim with her friends instead. Rose loves one-on-one time and had a lovely afternoon eating fancy cookies and finding cute shirts with her grandma. 

On Monday, August 29th, I took Amber to meet your teacher night at her elementary school. She has the same second grade teacher that Rose had four years ago.

On Wednesday, August 31st, the night before the first day of school, Jeff gave father's blessings to his three kids. It filled our family room with a sweet spirit and we all felt happy afterwards. 

The big day dawned at last: on Thursday, September 1st, Jay and Rose got up early and were ready for school by 7am. Even Amber was up and ready early even though her school starts over an hour later than the middle school. On normal school days, Jeff will drive Jay and Rose to the middle school, but on the first day of school Jeff had gone in for an early morning run with a few members of the cross country team, so I got to drive my firstborn son to his last first day of middle school and my firstborn daughter to her first-ever day of middle school. Amber came along for the ride because she's too young to leave at home alone.

Rose confidently climbed out of the car and walked to the school with her brother. Later, they both said that their first day was good. Not too detailed, but they each do have a friend in a few of their classes. Rose said she loved all of the food options available for middle school lunch.

Meanwhile, after we dropped the big kids off at middle school, Amber and I had an entire hour at home together before she had to leave for school. So we took the time to read some verses of the Book of Mormon together and then we read a library book that Amber had been begging me to read all week. Amber did most of the reading. Then we filled out her first day of school page that I create for my kids every year.

At last, it was time for Amber to go to school. Jeff texted me and asked if I could drop off a key article of clothing that he had forgotten to pack before his run that morning, so on our way to Amber's school, we stopped by the high school. When I gave Amber the option to be dropped off at the front of the school or on the side by the playground, she chose the playground side. When I explained the after school pick-up plan one more time, she said "I know, Mom! I can do it!" Miss independent. Amber marched confidently onto the playground and never looked back. 

Raising two bold confident daughters is intense.

Head coach and his assistant, walking hand-in-hand down the high school hallway after the parent meeting.

Rose, showing the new shirt she got while shopping with Grama.

Even though the afternoons were in triple digits all week, the mornings were glorious, minty fresh, and 60 degrees cool. This is the view from my bedroom.

The afternoon before the heat advisory took effect, we had one last cross country workout outdoors on the track. Since the girls soccer team was practicing on the infield, the athletic trainer filled a trough with ice and water for heat related emergencies. Amber loved it. She hiked her little shorts way up high and waded in the cold refreshing water. Most of our team took a dip in the trough after the workout. Rose said "I did not get in that water because all of those sweaty people had already been in there and it was gross!"

Amber with the crazy eyes while coloring her nametag at meet your teacher night. She is very intense at school.

The days are getting shorter and I get to appreciate the sunrise again rather than curse it at 4am, haha.

Rose asked me to run 3 miles with her on the last day of summer break. Then she asked if she could wear my headphones and listen to my music while we ran. So... I let her, and spent the run trying not to feel left out or cast aside.

Rose was proud that she managed to stack all of these plastic animals.

Jay's eyes and hair always light up in the most enchanting way when the sun hits them right. I gave him a haircut before school started and he seemed even more manly.

Post-blessing dad-hugs.

The 8th grader. He is growing at the speed of light. He grew out of the running shoes we got for him two months ago. Then he grew out of the school shoes I ordered for him while they were being shipped to our house. We decided that his running shoes will also be his school shoes until the growth slows down a bit. That way, his running shoes might get halfway to worn out by the time he grows out of them again. He is currently a men's size 10.5. A question that haunts me is will this boy be able to stand upright inside our little house by the time he's full-grown??

Rose, age 11.5, grade six. She unearthed her glasses for school after a summer of going without them.

Amber! Age 7.75, second grade. She would not simply stand for her first day picture, but she did make the effort to have matching socks for her first day of school. It made me grin that Amber chose to wear her brother's old cargo shorts and her sister's old unicorn shirt for the first day of school.

8, 6, & 2

Rose requested a middle schoolers only picture.

I dropped them off at the high school by Jeff's classroom because that's where Jeff will take them (the middle school is next door) and the traffic is much better on that side of the school.

What do I do on the first day of school? Go on a run, of course! I had to run a bit later in the day so it was a sweat fest, but still a fun free feeling to come back to a quiet house and have first dibs on the bathroom.

Amber told me a little bit about her first day of second grade, but she was hot, tired, and hungry because she didn't like the school lunch, so she didn't say much.

My beautiful babies, seven weeks ago.

Seven years ago.