First Day of School

 Hi!

School started this week. I wasn't really ready for school to start. I love summer so much. There are so many things to love about summer: I love being warm and being outside. I love going on walks after dinner when the sun is still shining. I love lazy days with no schedule. I love having my kids home with me. I love planning activities and trips. I love swimming and warming up right when I get out of the water. I love seeing you be creative when you get bored, and being friends with each other!

My love for summer started when I was little and we would come home to Utah. Remember how I lived in different countries when I was in Elementary and Junior High? That's the same ages that you guys are now! When school was finally out at the end of June (the school year seemed to last forever), we would pack up our stuff and head home for our Winter break, because it was Winter in Chile in July! The anticipation of coming home for the summer just about drove me crazy. I had dreams about being there for weeks before we left. We stayed with Nana and Great Grandma and it was like paradise for me. I loved cousin time, Grandma time, eating American food, popcorn and fireworks on the 4th of July, staying up late and hearing the crickets outside, and playing outside on the real grass. We stayed until around July 24th and then it was time to go back to real life. 

I have to admit that I liked school, even though it didn't compare to summer in Utah. School was pretty great too. 5th grade was my favorite year but 8th was a close second. It's fun to make friends, feel responsible, and learn new things. I think you guys like school a lot too. You were excited to go back and didn't seem sad about summer being over. I believe that you guys love summer too but that you like school just as much. That is great! We still try to do something fun on early out Fridays, and we still see cousins and grandmas throughout the whole year!

Lulu, you are in 9th grade this year. You were super happy with your A-day classes when you first came home on Monday. You love your seminary teacher and signed up to play some of the opening songs on the piano! Accompanying isn't easy and I'm proud of you offering! Your first song, Come Follow Me, is coming along! You're also excited about yoga and band and you're gonna do great at Honors English. B-day has some harder classes but you're gonna do great:

Hammer, you are starting 7th grade at the big Junior High School. We walked through your classes a week before school started and I could tell that you were gonna pick up on that quickly. You have a map-loving kind of brain so once you figured out the logic behind the numbering, or at least memorized those 2 weird classroom spots, then you were good to go. You said that you have made new friends and I am excited to watch you learn trombone:

TJ, you made me laugh when you came home from school and said that you have the best teacher ever. She must have made quite the impression on the first day! She has a popcorn maker, waffle maker, cotton candy maker, and a million Mickey Mouses in her classroom. You're excited for all the parties and fun times ahead and for the learning challenges that she told you about. I'm excited to watch you progress in 5th grade Spectrum. 

A, it was your birthday on the first day of 3rd grade! You took candies to share with your new class. I think this is the first time that you asked why we put you in school when we did, making you the youngest in your class. That wasn't an easy decision but you are so smart and keep up with everyone else in the grade. You're also tall and fit right in! You are going to love your new teacher and you're excited to have some friends in there. 

So, here we go with another year! You will all do great if we can get organized and have a routine after school. I'm so proud of how well you do with learning but also with how kind and respectful you guys are. I love you!

Mom