School pictures

Each year I begrudgingly buy these school photos and I’m so glad I do. They are great ways to actually slow down time and see the physical changes that occur in a year of the kids life. 

Ellie is a junior already! She talks about business and psychology as job options. 

Max is a freshman and increasingly talking about going into the military. 

Clair is in middle school and loves it. She still wants to be a pediatrician and she shows great interest in coding. 

First day of school

The first day of school seem to be unsuccess for all three kids. Ellie started her junior year. Max started his freshman year. And Clair started sixth grade. 

Clair absolutely loved her day. She has been telling me over and over how amazing it was. She said her favorite point in the day was when her math teacher told her to get out their notebooks and he actually proceeded to have them do math. She is so excited to be in an algebra class as a sixth grader. Some of the kids caught her a genius which embarrassed her and also made her feel somewhat proud. Clair told me that middle school is much better than elementary school and she thinks it’s going to be a great year.

Max told me he had a good day. He was worried at breakfast that it would be hard to find somebody at lunch. But he did find a couple friends to sit with at lunch despite them not being his best buddies. He says that he likes his teachers. He should have a Good first half of the year because two of the four classes he has he has repeating from eighth grade. He got bees in them and quite frankly didn’t really mastered the material so we wanted to try to start high school properly.

Ellie said she had a good day. She’s enrolled in a community college class so enjoyed the freedom of not having any class during that period of the day. I think she’s finally feeling comfortable at the school and Knows her way around and what she can get away with and what she has to take care of. I didn’t get to talk with her too much about her day because she went home with her friends to celebrate their birthdays. I hope to hear more about at least day tomorrow. 

I did take the obligatory first day of school photos this morning, although they were quick and basic.

Clair met Olivia so they could walk in together. We got a couple cute pictures of them, leaving behind the elementary school and moving on to middle school together. It was great having each other as they started their next journey.

Finally, this one doesn’t mind getting pictures with me and even even Still holding my hand. I know this won’t last for long and I am trying to soak up every minute left.

T’Was the night before school started?

Another summer has flown by with the kids. Tomorrow Ellie starts her junior year of high school. Max starts his freshman year of high school. And Clair starts her first year of middle school.

It’s weird, not having anybody in the elementary school after 11 years 12 years something like that. They went to great elementary school.

Each of them have things they’re looking forward to when they return to school. For Ellie and Max it’s more social. For Clair, she’s excited about some of her classes and some of the social side of things.

The summer flew by and each of the kids got to do things they enjoyed. There was also a lot of hanging out at the house as we were not spending a lot of money because I’m still not working full-time.

The highlight for the family beach week. The highlight for ellie was probably Young Life camp week. The highlight for Claire was probably math camp week. The highlight for Max was probably spending time with his friends at the lake.

As we embark on another school year, I pray for God protection over the kids in the schools and that he shapes them as he wishes them.

This afternoon we had a little fun at adventure Park with Gramma to celebrate the day before school starts. The four of us had a really nice time.

Max is working

 Max has to earn $950 for a computer he busted this school year. So, he's working with David a lot this summer. He's cleaning up and don't some manual labor. He's learning a little bit about carpentry and construction, but mostly, he's working hard as a laborer. I think this is great for him. I think it's good for David too. 

On day 1 I get this picture of his finger wrapped in duck tape. He cut it pretty bad and learned a hard lesson about working with knives. 

Max came into my office after Day 2 to tell me how tired he was and also how he felt like he had really accomplished something today. He says working with Daddy makes him feel good about his day.  This makes me so happy! 

Last week he went away with David for a few days to work on a project. This picture is them taking off. It's taken nearly 10 years for David to use the passenger seat in this van!

I hope he keeps growing. I know he will. Sometimes the maturity is visible, and other times it's not. I guess this is what teen years are. 

Keep striving Max!

Ellie loves Young Life Camp

 Ellie decided to try Young Life camp last summer and loved it. She's been looking forward to going this summer since returning last summer. 

I think she loves the silliness and the independence. The camp seems to be non-stop fun and silliness, with little oversight and rules. I would probably struggle, but she loves it. 

This year was a success again. Except, unfortunately, she hurt her feet badly within a couple hours of arrive by jamming them into the bottom of a pool from the slide. (No way that should have been possible and I think that the facility should be adjusted to be safe, but I digress.)

She had 5 nights away in NY State at a lake. She was in a cabin with no AC. She played in the lake. She made new friends. She took a lot of videos. She managed to deal with her foot pain. She really enjoyed herself. 

As a parent, it was really hard to be away from her knowing she was in so much pain. I was worried she needed a Xray and I still think somethings not right. I'm praying these feet will heal. 

She tells me that she's making a video and I'm looking forward to it. 

This was the only picture I got all week, other than of her painfully black and blue feet. 

Good times!

Day 4 drop off

She’s ready to go! 

Math Camp

 Earlier this year, Clair was introduced to the opportunity to earn an invitation to Math Camp. Clair loves math and generally feels she is rarely challenged in it. She loves when it's hard. So, this idea of Math Camp became a strong goal for Clair. 

After much work and initially thinking she did not qualify, she got the invite in May. We quickly took the opportunity to sign her up. And, here we are, in New Jersey for the week, at Math Camp on the college campus. 

Clair loves the idea of college. She's my youngest and she's the only one who has asked to visit a college campus. She has her journey planned out already.  I'm really excited for her and for her interests. I love visiting college campuses and traveling. So this is super exciting to me too. 

We arrived on campus Saturday and got all checked in. The camp runs a total of 5 days. She was excited and not too nervous. Her only nerves come around when she thinks others are looking at her, such as when I'm picking her up and dropping her off. 

The camp is a mix of competitions and lectures. The things she's learning are somewhat over her head and somewhat interesting. She says the most fun has been meeting a couple of new girls she enjoys talking to. She does also enjoy the competitions, but finds it disappointing that the majority of the kids in her group speak Mandarin during the competitions and she can't follow. Yes, most of the kids have come from China for this competition. 

Each day she gets more confident and independent. She is managing the day with little help. She's on campus for 12 hours and 2 meals a day. She has independent time too. She doesn't reach out to me much except to tell me she needs an app or that she's ready to be picked up. 

She was giving me a hard time about all the pictures I took Saturday. I was capturing my visual memories. 

Last night she didn't want a hug when I picked her up and people were watching, but as soon as we got out of the car at the hotel, she was her snuggly self. I can see her growing each day - more independent and confident. I know it's good for her. I am excited for her. I am also just a little sad to see these snuggly years coming to an end. 

She's still my girl and loves hanging with me and doing adventures. What a great week for her!