First Day of School

Princess N took the motorcycle to school!

Miss E wanted desperately to attend school with Lady A.

Finally!  Miss E was able to go to her school the following week!

So excited!

Deal of the Day!

I got a call from my brother this morning.  Andrew said he was in the area and asked if I wanted to get together with him "later".  I asked what his definition of "later" was.  He said about noon.  I told him I would be done taking maternity photos for a friend by then.  We could certainly get some lunch and hang out.  Andrew said he was here for Endeavour's stop on the way to L.A. and that the shuttle would be on display until sometime tomorow morning.  I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to make it out to the airfield because of the prior commitment.

Instead, almost immediately after we arrived at the park, a low flying airplane came past.  Sure enough, Endeavour was piggybacked on it.  I fumbled for the zipper on my camera case & pulled out the camera just as the plane disappeared behind the trees.

Later, it made another pass, but this time I had my camera in hand.

 

The girls were amazed and I was thrilled that they were able to see it as well.  It has been difficult for me to know that many of the things I grew up with around the space program will not be everyday things for my children. 

 

Fire drills for shuttle launches and regular space flights are intertwined with the memories of my childhood.  I know Princess N has seen at least 2 shuttle launches and Lady A has seen one of the last night launches. (the first night launch since the Columbia accident if I remember correctly)  But, Lady A was a baby still.  Miss E, well, her only experience with the space program of my childhood will probably be what she reads in history books and what Michael and I remember.



Today was a sad reminder of the end of an era.  With so much emphasis on playing it safe, I pray there will be men and women who are still willing to take the risks that so many astronauts and engineers and pretty much everyone who worked with the space program were willing to take.  With our ever changing technology surely there must be some way to appease those who only consider safety with the risks others long to take.

I'm not taking Drama!

Continued from Whirlwind of Schools

My school started on the same day as the big girls.  History is a breeze.  Don't misunderstand.  I have the same professor as I did for my first History class so I know (for the most part) what to expect.  It is still hard work and I still have high standards I must meet, both my own and my professor's.  I am excited though because I know what to expect and what my professor expects from me.

My other class has been a bit more complicated.  Learning the ins and outs of photography have been a great challenge to me.  I do think I finally understand aperture and shutter speed better than I did when I took Photography in high school.  The work in the darkroom has been simply amazing.  Michael has said that he knew I enjoyed photography before, but he hadn't realized just how much of a passion it is for me until I started this particular class.  I have loved finding creative ways to fulfill my assignment requirements and seeing the finished product is rewarding.  Using and manipulating the film to determine the final product is not quite as easy as a few clicks of a mouse, but the possibilities are exciting to uncover.

There is only one issue with my Photography class and I just discovered it this past week.  I have been so excited about the photography that I have somewhat neglected my History class.  I had 6 assignments due between this past Thursday and tomorrow (Sunday).  One assignment was the same as an assignment from the previous History class.  I used my previous paper as a guide & rewrote the assignment.  I have one assignment left to complete (due tomorrow).  I dislike pushing the deadlines for turning in work as I have done with this particular section and I fully intend to manage my time between the two classes better.  In other words, even if the assignments aren't completed until close to their due dates, I will at least have the reading finished.

As for the drama in the title... My very first picture overwhelmed my camera.  The estimate was over $120 to fix it.  I had seen a camera advertised for sale at the school for $200 that had 3 lenses and a couple of filters with the camera body.  Since I was unsure if the camera was still available, I asked a friend if she had a film camera.  She did, but was not going to be home until late that evening and was going to be out of town the following day.  I ended up borrowing one from the college library and my friend got home earlier than she anticipated.  I borrowed hers because the camera from the library was probably purchased when the school opened 40 years ago.  I managed to get my assignment completed and was able to purchase the $200 camera.  All of this occurred over the course of about 24 hours. 

I now have a "new" camera and a new plan for making sure I don't neglect History for Photography.

Overheard

 I have been dealing with a very painful tooth (probably root canal on Tuesday!) and was propped up on the couch trying to wait for pain medication to work.

Miss E walked into the living room and sat down next to Lady A. 

Miss E then loudly (and sadly) announced: "I wish I had homework too!"

It was all I could to not to fall off the couch because I was laughing so hard.  Lady A & Princess N had both been complaining about homework & Miss E was begging for some.

Whirlwind of Schools

Our lives have been a whirlwind lately. 

We made the (very) difficult decision to return to public school this year. 

We still believe homeschooling last year was the right thing to do.  We learned quite a bit about our girls and their needs as far as parenting vs educating.  The older two are enjoying being back with some of their school friends and I am enjoying my time with the little one.

Princess N has some amazing teachers.  They are all determined to help each child in their classes succeed, while placing responsibility on the student to take part in their own education.  Princess N is also very excited about her PE class at this time.  They are working on an archery unit.  Upon finding out that archery was the first unit, Princess N went to talk with her coach about what kind of equipment they will be using.  Princess N sounded a bit disappointed that the draw weight for their bows would be only 6-9 pounds.  (her personal bow has a 25 pound draw) 

Lady A is enjoying being with a couple of her friends from kindergarten.  The boy who sits next to her is really nice and I was able to speak with his parents at the open house this week.  The boy's dad was in the military several years ago and told me that if we needed anything while Michael travels to feel free to contact them.  I love how military and former military members take care of each other.  Four of our past five duty stations have been a good distance from a military base.  We have received so many offers that begin with, "If you ever need anything..."

Back to Lady A and school though... :)  She comes RUNNING home with a HUGE grin on her face almost every day.  This was certainly the right thing for her and her super extrovertedness.  Is extrovertedness a word?  I might need to look that up.  <--according to my spell check, extrovertedness is not a word.  Maybe I should try to get it into common use and then the dictionary can use a picture of Lady A as the definition.  What do you think?

Miss E started preschool at a local church this week.  She is attending two days a week.  At the "Meet the Teacher" night, she marched in and started playing with the other children.  She also gets to sit beside her best friend from church.  On Miss E's first day, she didn't even tell me goodbye.  She was up until almost 11pm because she was excited to go to school just like her sisters.  On Lady A's first day, Miss E grabbed her backpack and kissed Daddy goodbye because she was going to go to school with Lady A.  It was sweet, but she was crushed when I told her she had to wait a week.

And now... I'm going to follow my sweet sister-in-law's precedent.

What is that?

To be continued.....