Grandma Moon

This weekend Grandma Moon passed away. She was 95 years old and lived a tremendous life filled with community involvement, raising four children, and supporting her very talented husband. She saw many changes and lived through some amazing historical events which no-doubt shaped her can-do attitude. I have many memories of Grandma Moon: visiting her house for the holidays, her apple pie, attending her 50th anniversary celebration in Sanibel, FL, her 90th birthday celebration, visiting on her back porch and introducing my daughters to her when they were babies. She was always smartly dressed, knowledgeable about so many things and inquisitive about what was going on in my life. While we will love and miss her, Grandma had poor health these past several years and it was time for her body and mind to rest. We look forward to celebrating her life with family this November when we can all gather together. 

In the meantime, I am finally seeing progress in my head cold and starting to feel better just in time for my classes to start. I was so happy that I didn't even cough once during class yesterday! This darn congestion has lasted forever and even saw a telehealth doctor who gave me the advice to take IB profin because of the inflammation in my sinus cavities. Well, that did the trick and within 12 hours I was feeling less stuffy and better. Unfortunately, Anna caught the cold and had to stay home yesterday. She's just congested like me. I'm glad it's only a head cold as so much other stuff is going around. Hopefully, she can mend for their first race this weekend. 

Other than that we were busy this weekend with a fun sleepover for Paige. Her friend Abi moved to NC this summer and was back in town for a celebration for her dad. I got the girls together for the evening so they could all visit. This is a sweet group of 5 that go to our church and do things together at youth. They are silly and giggly and trying so hard to be grown up teenagers. But they have a good relationship with one another and love the Lord. I'm so glad Paige naturally fell in with this group. She seems to have lots of friends in lots of places. We were happy we could still host the sleepover despite illness in our house. I just kept Anna separated from the group and to be honest the girls were holed up in the playroom the entire time, laughing and being goofy. 

As for the rest of the week, we're watching Hurricane Idalia closely and will see what they decide about school. I have to teach tomorrow and I'm hoping the worst of it comes after I am done. It will be a tropical storm by the time it gets to us so I'm not too worried about it. I just wonder if they will do virtual school for the girls. We'll see! At least Chick-fil-A has a new caramel crunch milkshake. Delicious!

Bill signing and college move in day

This was our first week of school that met for the whole week. I could tell by the end of the week that the girls were tired. We'll need to build back up the endurance! So far it's been working well for me to pick up Paige and get her to practice on time. She's been enjoying the team and it sounds like they have a bunch of new runners this year. I'm excited to see them all run! Check out this picture that a friend found on the Girls on the Run advertisement. That was taken 6 years ago!

While the girls were getting into the groove of school, Patrick was busy with a bill signing. He got the Paid Parental Leave Act passed last spring but they had the official signing ceremony this week. When he was asked if he knew of a pregnant teacher that could attend and speak, he knew just the person! Carson Coomes has become a dear friend and was Anna's orchestra teacher for all of middle school. She and her husband are expecting their first child in October and after a little convincing, she was so excited to attend the bill signing. She spoke on behalf of teachers and nailed it! Both she and Patrick got a fancy pen from the ceremony along with a copy of the bill. Needless to say, Patrick was excited. 

I've been holding down the home front, but have already started getting involved in some hot topic issues around the district. Last spring, our district figured out that it was illegal to hire security personnel to direct traffic and they were removed. So now we have no traffic directors which is presenting quite a mess as well a safety issue. Another mom and I are starting a grass roots campaign to spread information about how contact the correct representatives and departments. Hopefully, we can get people away from griping on social media and actually doing something productive. 

I also had the pleasure of meeting up with one of my high school friends who will occasionally visit Columbia to see a long-time family friend. This time she was in town to drop off her oldest child at USC. He's now a Gamecock living in the same dorm on the same floor that Patrick I lived in during our Sophomore year. It was fun to catch up and then drop them off to move-in. I had the faintest thought that not long from now, that will be us!

Other random things:

Paige and I went to her school's Open House this week and I got to meet all of her teachers, except PE. Interestingly, he's the one I've wanted to meet because he's been a bit out there. So much so that I had to tell the administrator and principal that maybe a classroom observation was needed. We'll see what happens there. I love the rest of her teachers! She and I also went on a walk one evening and saw a beautiful sunset in our neighborhood!

And of course, there's Teddy. Living his best dog life which basically means he sleeps all day some where near me. I'm not sure he's going to like when I go back to teaching, but such is life. 

I didn't get any pictures, but we also went to the first home football game at the high school. Anna painted up with her friends and had a good time. I made it to halftime and that was enough for me. Ha!

First day of school

I'm happy to report that I had my stuff together this year for the first day of school. Not sure what happened last year, but we had it under control yesterday! The lunchbox notes were in their bags. Pictures were taken. People were on time. I even managed to get Paige's medical form for her migraines signed from the pediatrician and back to the school by the end of the day. Whew!

The new routine this year is that I take both girls to school at least three days a week. We'll figure out what happens when my classes start at the end of the month. But for not I drop off Paige and then drive to the high school to drop off Anna. I know school traffic will improve in a couple of weeks, but ugh I hate carline and school traffic and construction traffic. It's hours of my day in the car. But things were smooth in the morning and everybody was at their school with plenty of time to spare. 

The house was definitely quiet and Teddy was glued by my side or snoozing most of the day. I got lots of stuff done, including making the annual first day of school giant cookie. Yum! While I love licking the beater, I think I would have rather had the girls home. We'll get used the new routine soon.

Patrick said his first class was good. He has over 30 students and more seem to keep coming so I'm not sure how that's going to work. I'm hopeful a couple of them decide it's too early for them and they switch to the other section instead. For now, he's teaching Madison and several girls from the cross country team so that should be fun. 

I picked up Paige at our after-school parking spot hack. Thank goodness because she needs to get home, change and then I have to drive her out to the high school for practice. It worked well yesterday and she was there in plenty of time. Paige had a great day at school and really likes all her teachers. I loved hearing her chat away about all the details. 

After practice all of my people were finally home and we ate some yummy baked ziti I made. I try to make the first few days special with meals and such. Anna said her day was "fine." She was being her typical teen curmudgeon, mostly because summer was over and her favorite teacher left at the end of last year so she's sad. I think overall she had a good day and is settling into a new routine. She even had us laughing about her first trek through the metal detectors and some students in one of her classes. She and Patrick spent a good portion of the evening browsing for used cars. I'm sure that will help my carline predicament!

So, day 1 is in the books! If you need me, I'll be in carline are getting things done before I start my classes. 

Last day of summer and it was a BIG one!

School may have snuck up on us this year (thanks school district for giving us one week less), but I sure maximized the preparation factor on our last day of summer. First and more importantly, we have BIG driving news....Anna is now a licensed driver!! She passed her skills test this morning. Its kinda funny that her very first day of summer started with the 8 hour drivers training class and then she finished her driving test on the very last day of summer. While I know she was nervous, she said she felt like it went really well and even aced the parallel parking. Her instructor agreed and said she did great. I just loved how excited she was at her accomplishment. She promptly asked me to drive her to Chick-fil-A for a peach milkshake while she texted all her friends. Ha!

After spending a considerable amount of time at the DMV, I got Anna to the high school to help with Freshmen First where she got to see her friends who are rising 9th graders. She signed some more people up for cross country and their team is looking pretty good this year in terms of numbers. 

After dropping her off, I went to Paige's school to give over her migraine medication and of course, there's more to that than there needs to be so I had to take the form to her pediatrician later. And of course, I'm also sending in more paperwork for each child just to begin the year! Not to mention the fees....what exactly is a "general fee?" That sounds to me like taxes which we already pay. Ha!

I made it home to grab a bite before dropping Paige at the skate rink for a youth gathering. It was 80s themed and she rocked her yellow skates. Then it was back home to do more paperwork, followed by driving to go pick her back up. I'm kinda glad I have another driver now!

We spent the afternoon getting supplies and outfits ready. Lunches are made. First day of school signs are printed. We went over the game plan for drop offs and pick ups. Right now Anna is not driving to school because sophomores can't start until after Labor Day and more obviously, she doesn't have a car. We'll get there. 

hello updated command center

Just as Patrick was heading home for the day, Anna and Paige took their first solo ride in the car. It was just around the neighborhood, and he happened to pass them, not realizing they did their inaugural trip. I wish I had seen his face as they passed by. He had enough to say about it when he got home though! Paige of course was as animated as usual and Anna was a responsible driver. 

We also managed to surprise Patrick with a silly string fight. Now this is something we usually do at the beginning of summer, but Patrick was in TN and it just never got done, so we saved it up for the last day. He definitely wasn't suspecting it. Ha!

We capped off the day with the annual measuring. Anna still grew an inch this year, but is slowing down. Paige is almost as tall as Anna was last year when she started 9th grade and gaining fast. I'm glad to say that Patrick, Teddy and I did not shrink. Whew! These faces get me laughing every year!

So there you have it. Was it the relaxing and fun last day of summer I would dream of? Nope. The DMV is not what I would call relaxing and fun. But it was an exciting day. And now, ready or not (mostly not) another school year starts tomorrow!

Last weekend of summer

That country song with the chorus "hold on summeeeeerrrr...." is playing in my head. The girls are still soaking in all they can of what's left of summer before school starts. They had several fun things this weekend that kept them distracted from the inevitable. 

First up, Anna finished up her last driving class on Friday and her instructor said she's ready to take the road test any time. I also practiced a bunch with her last week and Patrick took her out a couple of times this weekend after he returned from DC. She's nailing that parallel parking and backing thing. So, stay tuned for the next step! 

Paige and I enjoyed some time at the youth cookout and frisbee event on Friday afternoon. We sure have enjoyed having our youth intern, Malcolm in town this summer. He's been a great fit, scripturally sound and a real encouragement to the students. We pray he will consider staying at BPC when he finishes college in December. 

Meanwhile, Anna went to a sleepover with her besties. They decided they would have a cooking competition and divide into teams to make a meal and dessert. Anna and Brantley made chicken tacos, guacamole and churro chips. Say no more...they win in my book because TACOS! Caroline and Katie made Italian chicken, noodles and salad with breadsticks and a chocolate/peanut butter cake. I'm glad I didn't have to judge! The funniest part was that Anna and Brantley had already done a lot of prep while Caroline and Katie spent two hours putting together their meal. I know they had a lot of fun and the Powells were quite full after all the tasting. 

Paige and I hung out and watched Guardians of the Galaxy. She's working her way through all the Marvel movies. Patrick was on his way home from DC so I filled for the typical Marvel movie watcher. She's a pretty cool kid to hang out with. 

On Saturday morning, we picked up Jonathan and headed to the zoo to meet Malcolm and Katie. Paige arranged this whole zoo trip for the four of them and was so proud of her initiative. Malcolm and Katie were very sweet to take the time to chaperone and walk around with them. Katie was a former youth in the group when Patrick and I led. She is now a math teacher at the high school and helps with our youth group. Love that full circle and this sweet family! Well, they had a blast. I was able to get them all into the zoo with our pass and they did all the things. Katie told me later how mature Paige has gotten and just how fun it is to hang out with her. 

We ended Saturday with a little frisbee golf outing. A friend at our church put it in for his Eagle Scout project and it's attracted so many community members. Patrick, Paige and I tried our hand at it and it was lots of fun. Anna was so worn out from staying up until 2am that she passed (out). 

Sunday was also tons of fun with church and then a hangout at the Soongs pool. I didn't get any pictures if you can believe that, but we had good food and company. It was nice last hurrah on a hot day. We're so grateful for ALL of our friends who are our village in raising these girls. 

And now there's one day of summer left. Boo.