My kids were convinced that the day school started I was driving up to Cheesecake Factory to celebrate.  I didn't but I thought it was a great idea!  They know me so well...

Monday Spencer had 10th grade day at the high school and Allison had 7th grade day at the junior high.  They each got to meet their teachers, eat pizza and just get comfortable with the school.  I thought it was a great idea and it helped ease many first day of school jitters.  While they were doing that Robyn was doing her school assessments at Lincoln.


Switching our bodies to school schedule is super tough!  I felt like I needed a nap all week long.  Spencer and Allison and Taylor started school Tuesday and Robyn Wednesday.  To help with the back to school blues, it was a monsoon all week with terrific rainstorms and thunder and lightening during the night and school hours and then sunny afternoons.  We drove Spencer to and from school the first day and then he has been taking the bus since.  The bus comes only a few blocks away but to get there by 7:15 he is having to get up at 6:15 - a really, really tough obstacle for him but he is doing it so for.  Allison is in a carpool with a few friends, so she doesn't leave till 7:45 with Robyn's carpool picking her up at 7:40 and Taylor's bus picking him up at 9.  It makes for a stretched out morning with everyone leaving at different hours but we are starting to get into the groove of it.  I have decided with getting Spencer off early and trying to get family prayer in that I needed to give up my early morning workouts.  So I am switching to late morning instead and just working on my to-do's in the morning instead of later.  I realized that its harder to get up and going with a functioning brain when I don't run first!

Taylor obviously got his photo taken after Jer had left for work!

Spencer and Allison have been freaking out a little bit about the class difficulty levels going up quite a bit this year.  I honestly am a little worried about Spencer.  But they are excited about getting all their supplies and new books and Spencer had to get some fancy calculator.  Spencer even found a club he really likes.  I think it was the name - Technology Student Association.

We have had the usual ups and downs of emotions with a new school.  Robyn was so excited her first day that she got up at 6:30, got all her jobs done and was sitting on the steps 30 minutes early, ready to go.  The next day she spent the morning sobbing that she didn't get up early enough to finish her jobs so she wouldn't have all afternoon to play.  So tough.  She was very concerned that she started school on a different day so her first day of school wouldn't have the special breakfast, mom packed lunches, cookies after school etc.  So we did two first days of school.  Kids did inform me that my second batch of cookies were the worst I had made and that I should just stick to chocolate chip which they love.

Spencer has been working on getting his eagle project all ready to go and meeting with the city official.  Some days like when he goes over on his own to ask to help our new neighbors move in and comes back two hours later, sweaty and happy I am so proud.  Other times like when he is driving our family around the neighborhood I am biting my nails.  And then comes the time he is taking 20 minutes to make a smoothie muttering mean sayings under his breath about Allison because she took the last of the almond milk and he is determined to make her wait as long as possible for the use of the blender.  Enough to make you scream sometime.  Such is life with a teenager.  Saturday night he went to a dance with our neighbor McKay again who is disabled.  He has learned that all the cute girls dance with McKay.

Allison is working to stay true to herself amid the different attitudes kids are putting on with starting junior high.  But she knows some amazing young ladies which helps a lot.  Robyn was invited Wednesday to a birthday party...for Wednesday afternoon at 4.  I picked her up from school with the invitation in hand at 2:45.  When I told her I couldn't make that work she was super sad.  Allison promised her a sprinkler party.  So the next day Allison and her friend decorated cups, made treats, invited some little kids over, turned the sprinklers on and gave Robyn her little party.  Allison said and I agree that she deserved super sister brownie points.

Last night Jeremy and I got to go see a play, She Loves Me.  It was really good.  I have seen You've got Mail which is a modern adaption of the story but never the play.  There is a scene where the girl walks around singing how wonderful this guy was because he brought her vanilla ice cream.  Jeremy said just substitute cheesecake and you've got our relationship!

Taylor started not doing so great Friday and threw up that evening.  He looses weight so fast and is super thin at the moment.  But although not eating or drinking much he is smiling and perking up.