First Day of School

It's the first day of school! Here are some pictures. We have a tradition of snapping some pictures before they leave for the bustop.

8th graders!



And now some pictures from past years:

3rd grade

4th grade

5th grade

last year - 7th grade

My Not-So-Quiet Night

Both of the girls were supposed to babysit tonight. B and I were looking forward to a quiet night at home. We bought steaks to grill on the new grill and were going to watch the Olympics. We were talking about how our family life is reaching a new phase, where the girls have their own social lives and we'll be left on our own more and more. (Not that I'm complaining -- it's been 13+ long years since we've enjoyed that lifestyle!)

Then M's babysitting job was cancelled. Oh well ... No romantic evening, but still a quiet night at home. Then she went to the swim club ... Quiet night for just the two of us was back on! Then B got called to work, so he left to drive to Baltimore. Oh well. Quiet night with the house all to myself! Yipppeeee! I poured a glass of wine and settled in to finish reading my book (Loving Frank by Nancy Horan - I'm reviewing it as a potential candiate for my book club.)

Then it all fell to pieces. M called from the swim club and asked if "they" could come back to the house with her and watch a movie. Who is "they", I ask? Three girls and two boys ... FIVE friends. And two of them are boys. EEEK! I am not ready for this!

I laid down some ground rules - they have to stay downstairs in the family room. No coming up into my office/playroom to play Wii, or going into any bedrooms. No "purple" (boys=blue, girls=pink, contact between boy+girl=purple!)

So much for my quiet evening at home. I'm now banished to my room, although I will make occasional "passthroughs" to check on the scene. And I will keep a listening ear on the family room. If it gets toooo quiet, that's not a good sign either! Too bad we got rid of our baby monitor -- it would come in handy for eavesdropping right about now!

(The worst part is when L finds out that M had a little party get-together while she was babysitting. You'll be able to hear the outrage five states away!)

Update at 9:00 pm: Another friend is on her way.......

Some New Pictures

Some cute pictures of the girls from today.

Mega Sleepover

The girls had three friends sleep over last night (for a total of five girls!) They call camped out in the family room, sleeping on the couch and air mattresses. They had a mega movie marathon, ate pizza and ice cream, and laughed well into the night. Actually, I was surprised -- they didn't stay up that late. I was envisioning it going on until the wee hours of the morning, but I think they were all asleep by 1:00 am.
These are fun times for middle schoolers. Well, until the girls all go home and I try to get M&L to clean up the family room! Then it won't be too much fun for any of us ...

No News

Well, we're still in limbo.

M&L did get their schedules. They are on different teams. I called the school this morning to find out why and the guidance counselor said she didn't know and would call me back. So I don't know what's going to happen. M is -- once again -- in all the same classes with L's best buddy. Life is just not fair. That's mainly what L is upset about. M does not want her schedule to change even one iota - she is happy with it as is. L wouldn't mind being moved into M's team, but she realizes that she still wouldn't be in classes with her friend. So we'll wait and see what the counselor says. I did talk to the girls' friends who are twins, and they are on the same team. Go figure. Update: I heard back from the counselor. Apparently, the request letter was received and the girls were slated to be together on yet a third team. So she offered the option of switching to that team, or leaving things as is. As M would be extremely upset about moving, I asked her not to switch them. I did ask if L could be switched into M's team and she said she didn't think so because the Advanced Science classes were already very full, but she would check into it. But, I don't think it will be possible, and they will just have to deal with two different teams. M is happy -- L is uneasy. It's definitely a huge convenience for them to have the same teachers/classes/homework assignments/test schedules/projects, etc.

We are also still waiting about volleyball. We are waiting to hear back from one of the coaches - well, actually two coaches. We were supposed to get a call yesterday, but didn't hear anything. We will have to make a decision tonight to go with the one team that we are definite about. Which is fine; that is Lauren's first choice and not a bad option for her first year.

Waiting for Word

Lots of anxious waiting this weekend. The middle school schedules were supposedly mailed out yesterday, so we are thinking that they will appear in the mailbox today. That's been the pattern for the last two years, anyway. Last year, we were at Smuggler's Notch when the letters came, so our friend got our mail and called us with the news. (I'll never forget it - we were at the Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory when she called!)

The middle school is organized into teams, and there is no clear "winner" among them, so I am not worried about their placement. I'm more concerned with their scheduling and who else is in their classes. I'd requested for them to be on the same team, but not the same classes, but to have the same lunch bell. This has worked out great the last two years, but this year there is a new principal and I don't know if she will approve the request. Plus, there is so much DRAMA dealing with the fallout of who is in class with who. For both 6th and 7th grade, L's best buddy was in all of M's classes and L was NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT! As if it was somehow M's fault.

We will also be hearing the outcome of the final volleyball tryout. After the mega-marathon weekend of tryouts before the lake, L has one final tryout tomorrow morning. Then the coach will call all the girls and let them know who she has chosen. We have heard back from two teams already, and will make a decision after we hear from this third one. I really want L to have the final say because I want her to be happy. I want her to like the coach and the other girls -- this is a big commitment, with three practices a week and traveling to weekend-long tournaments twice a month. All three of the clubs have advantages and disadvantages. One is more expensive, but much more convenient. One is more elite and competitive, but also more clique-y. One is well-organized, but the coach is not as personable.

So, we'll see! I will have some news -- both academically and athletically -- to share by Monday!

Meet My Girls

These are my twin daughters. This picture was taken at The Baths, in the British Virgin Islands. We stopped there during our sailing vacation in June.  I love that they are grinning from ear to ear - it's an indication of just how much fun we had on that trip!