The Golden School Year

I am calling this my Golden School year because it is the one and only time all my school age children will be at the same school, on the same schedule. That means one drop off and one pick up each day! I am also hoping that by optimistically calling it the Golden School Year it will be as awesome of a year as we had last year.

Mason is in 6th grade with Mr. Crenshaw as his teacher. Mason was experiencing a bit of anxiety leading up to the new school year. I realized that this is the first time he hasn't had to start over at a new school after 2 years. (Kindergarten and 1st Grade at Scera Park, 2nd and 3rd Grade at Rohwer, 4th and 5th at Legacy) I think that subconsciously he was preparing for another hard year of starting over because that is the cycle he has gotten used to. I talked to him about how this was the first time he got to stay at a school for a third year and continue on with the friends and teachers he knew and liked. After he realized that was probably where his anxiety was stemming from he felt much better and has been looking forward to be a 6th grader at Legacy. I think continuing forward at a school where he is comfortable and feels that he belongs is going to be great for him. I can't wait to see where this year takes him.

Brynn is in 4th grade with Mrs. Stone as her teacher. I am so incredibly proud of Brynn and her positive attitude going into this year without a single friend in her class. She is excited to have Mrs. Stone as her teacher and is confident in her ability to make new friends while maintaining friendships with her friends in other classes. This little girl amazes me every single day.

Miles is in 1st grade and in his first year of the Spanish Immersion program at Legacy. His teachers are Maestra Amy and Mrs. Welcker. The first days of school held quite a bit of anxiety for him as he wasn't sure what to expect in a class where he couldn't understand or communicate with his teacher for half of the day. It didn't take long for him to figure things out and he hasn't had a problem since. I'm so proud of him for not being afraid to do something hard.

August 27, 2018
Today. I watched 5-year-olds all over pose on their doorsteps for pictures and line up in excitement for their first day of kindergarten.
Today my porch stood empty where there should have been one more kindergartener smiling with a new backpack on.
Today dreams of what might have been filled my mind and broke my heart.
This week marks 4 years without Ellie.
I miss her everyday, but today I miss her even more.

Three Flying Fish

Another summer - another season with Flyin' Fish. This year Miles took the plunge (see what I did there ;) and joined in the fun. I don't know why, but seeing my kids hop on their bikes each day and ride off to swim team just makes me feel like they are having the kind of childhood experiences I want them to have.
Miles was SOO nervous for the first meet. We told Miles to dive in and streamline kick for awhile before side breathing and using his arms (he actually slows down a lot with his breathing). He took our advice to heart and swam 3/4 of the way across the pool in streamline before even taking a breath. Brynn had a blast swimming with her two best friends, Kristi and Grace this year. Ryan was a trooper sitting through all of the very long meets. All Miles wanted to do was get an airhead for finishing first in his heat. On the final meet he finally got that airhead. I was praising Miles for all his hard work this summer going to practice and listening to his coach and his response was, "I actually would usually just go underwater and not listen to my coach." Well, at least he's honest. The kids had such a fun group at swim team that mainly consisted of them and their friends from the neighborhood and school. They loved having McKenna as their coach and she loved them, too.  At the last meet I was standing with Miles waiting for his race and the mom in front of me turned around and asked, "Is this Miles?" When I told her yes she went on to tell me, "I am McKenna's sister and she has told us all about Miles. She LOVES him. She says she is going to name her first child Miles after him." Oh boy, somehow I have a feeling that is not because of his exemplary behavior.
All of their hard work really did pay off and it was fun to see all of the improvement they made in 2 short months.

(Insert Results)