Back to School - 2019

FOUR kids, SEVEN schools.  And me - 4th semester Grad School.  Between us, we had EIGHT First Days Of School.  Spanned over a 3 week period.  It was INSANE - and here we are well into September and I don't think we have it all figured out just yet.  So many new routines, new class structures, new BUILDINGS!  I would have never dreamed the LAST first day of school for my Twisters would be so incredibly new, different, and hard to manage.  I plan to break it down kid by kid, but first, let's look at the calendar:

8/12 Monday      Emma    Redland Community College concurrent classes start
8/14 Wednesday Emma   Meridian Tech Year 2 Metal Fab starts
8/16 Friday         Emma    Mulhall-Orlando High School Starts (Senior Year)
8/19 Monday      Lara       First day Stillwater Public Schools (Senior Year)
                            Jake       (7th grade)
8/20 Tuesday       Lara       First day of OSU Concurrent classes at the high school (on MWF, She doesn't have "school" until 1pm)
                            Mom       Grad School classes start
8/28 Wednesday  FINN!     FINALLY gets into his brand new school for 2nd grade! (after 2 false starts and delayed meet the teacher and lots of traffic, transportation, and logistical hurdles)

Dream Weaver Prints

EMMA

Emma.  Class of 2020.  This girl is all over the place.  Redland Community College for online concurrent courses, Meridian Technology in Stillwater for Metal Fabrication Year 2, and her last few high school credits at Mulhall-Orlando High School.  She is wild and fierce and takes no crap from anyone.  She loves big and draws a deep line in the sand.  She is still driving the old 1996 Ford F-150 truck to get her to and from.  And as of right now, she wants to go to Oklahoma State University and major in Mechanical Engineering.  Here's to a senior year that flies by because we know you are ready for the next step!


LARA

Lara.  Class of 2020.  This girl is loved by so many.  We call her "Momma Lara" and she cares so deeply for her family, her friends, her babysitting clients, and her "boys!" She is taking concurrent classes at the high school through Oklahoma State University and has ONE credit each term at the high school.  The rest of her time she is tooling around in her silver 2006 VW Jetta and working athletics!  She is a manager/trainer for Varsity Football, Wrestling, and Baseball again this year.  She is planning on going to Oklahoma State and majoring in Sports Management and joining a sorority. 

JAKE

Jake.  Class of 2025 - 7th Grade at Stillwater Middle School.  My gentle giant.  He stands 6'0", and depending on shoes and time of day, he is taller than me!  He spikes his hair up for added effect, too.  Still just 12 - doesn't turn 13 till January.  He is a shoe ADDICT (I think we're at 16 pairs - mostly Nike basketball shoes with crazy names) and ready for school basketball to start.  He is still working out and playing travel ball out of Oklahoma City with the AET 2025 team. He is in 2 pre-AP class and his electives are PE, Art, and Musical Theater.  We can't wait to see him in the school musical this Spring.  He is a Renaissance Man!

FINN

Finn.  Class of 2030 - 2nd grade at the BRAND NEW and finally open Westwood Elementary School.  We had a few false starts and didn't find out his teacher until the evening before school started.  But we're off and running now!  He has THE BEST second grade teacher on the PLANET!  Mrs. Fox had 2 of his older siblings (the other one's teacher is no longer teaching), and we are THRILLED she has Finn as well.  He loves video games - Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite, and dozens of others.  He plays on his iPod (old iPhone) and our desktop computer.  He also loves Netflix and YouTube.  He sings non-stop and LOVES to tell a good story!  He can read at a 4th-grade level and is also advanced in math.  We're so excited for his second grade year!   

We are off and running.  So many classes and teachers to keep track of!  And it will go by very quickly.  We are looking forward to all the milestones this year.  And a bit somber about the first of the LASTS that are already happening for the girls.  This school year will fly by - just as they all do!

(I am still doing the weekly 2020 Project blogs counting down to the girl's graduate as well.  You can see those posts by clicking here!)

Here's to a FANTASTIC 2019-20 school year, Little Dream Weavers!

Back to School 2018

The "Official" Weaver First Day of School 2018 was Thursday, August 16, 2018.  But, because we are "that" family and cannot every do anything the simple way, it looked a little different in a few ways.

4 kids. 5 schools. 3 different “First Days!” Looks like this! Emma - 16: Meridian for Metal Fabrication (first day 8/15), Mulhall-Orlando HS for Junior Year (first day 8/17); Lara - 16: Stillwater High for Junior Year; Jake - 11: Stillwater Middle School for 6th Grade; Finn - 6: First Grade at Westwood. WHEW!

Because of all the craziness, there were traditions we missed, pictures that didn't get taken, and general chaos!  BUT!  I did get Emma to come see us for a few hours after her first day of Meridian to (try and) get a few back to school pictures.  I wanted one of all 4 kids, and then some of the girls.  Can you believe we FORGOT twiTO TAKE THE HANDS UP PICTURE?!??!?!?!?!?!?  GUYS!  I am truly remorseful.  I may have them re-enact it next time they are both in the same place.  I am kicking myself for that one!

Time just marches on.  I cannot wrap my head around the fact that I have 2 drivers, a middle schooler, and my BABY is at the elementary school all by himself!  These last 7 years have flown by.  A BIG FAMILY with lots of activities keeps us busy, so time flies.

We all got together on Wednesday after Emma was finished with her Meridian Tech classes and had a little photo shoot.  Here are some of my favorites:

MY BABIES!  11th, 6th, 1st

Class of 2020

"IT WAS HIM"

(Trying to hide the brace) SO HANDSOME!

Sassy

And of course, it would noy be the first day of school without the Dream Weaver Prints First Day of School signature signs!  The girls took thiers early, but the boys were on the actual first day of school!  I got a couple fun pics of the biys as well.

Wait, WHAT?!?

They all had great first days.  Finn was slow to warm up, but his teacher said he is doing great!  Jake loves middle school!  Even on crutches!  Maybe it is all the special treatment... Lara is already super busy and super involved and super social.  Trying to learn time management again.  Emma is doing the 2 school thing and also needs to set extra alarms.  Here is to an amazing year!

AND THEY’RE OFF! One fiery red head off to move mountains. One gentle giant conquering school on crutches. One tiny miracle struggling with being “alone” at the big school. Here’s to a GREAT day!

Mom and Dad had a breakfast date at Braum's after we got them all off for the day.  First time it's just been the 2 of us all summer!  ;)

The One About Good Times and Tan Lines

July 28-31, 2017
Holy COW!  These girls are trying to squeeze every last drop of life out of the last few weekends of summer!  I’m exhausted just thinking about it!  But it makes my heart happy to know they have such great friendships and families that treat them like their own.

After a mid-week float trip down the Illinois River with her Eagle Heights Church friends, Lara went to a fun (Almost) Back To School Party at her friend Molly’s house Friday night.  They have a great yard with a perfect hill for a giant slip-n-slide, so they do this a few times a year!  They had water, and soap, a hill, and a tarp – perfect makings for a fun party!  There was a water balloon fight, too.  Lots of fun!

On Saturday, Lara got to play her favorite roll: Basketball Sister!  Jake was invited to play on a team that he’s never played with before, and she was right there with us to make it a fun weekend.  It’s a plus that she actually likes basketball and knows what’s going on!  She’s a great helper for Finn, too.  We were playing at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, so she got to see another University, too!

Lara also has a J-O-B of sorts for the next week.  Our friends the Hatfileds are taking an end of summer (before the CRAZY resumes) summer trip to the lake.  And they have chickens.  LOTS of chickens!  So, Lara (and the rest of us it seems!) are helping care for the critters while they are out of town.  This means we had to leave EVEN EARLIER for basketball this weekend so she could be the chicken lady each morning!  She is very good at it, and makes it look good, too!

Emma spent the last half of last week with her Nana and Grandpa.  My mother has declared she is too old for teenagers!  LOL!  (She said she was too old for pre-schoolers about this time last year with Finn.  My kids apparently wear her out!)  On Friday, Emma went to White Water with a friend, his brother, and some other kids they know.  Emma and Lukus were friends when they both went to school in Stillwater.  She’s at the M-O, and he’s now is Cushing, but they are still great friends!  (His mom was my sorority sister and roommate in college; they live in Perry). Emma and her new friends had the best time at White Water and stayed for the summer movie night.  They decided since it was so late getting back to Perry, that Emma would just stay with the neighbor girls that were on the trip, too! She said they stayed up most of the night playing video games!

Emma’s Saturday night was spent at an open rodeo in Chandler with another friend of hers, Dylon, and his family.  This was the first rodeo of this kind Emma had been to and she said she learned a lot.  She also said that Dylon drove home from the rodeo because his mom doesn’t drive at night, and he’s an angry driver. LOL  She also leaned that all 5-6 year old younger brothers are annoying.  She thought Finn was bad, but then she said his little brother might have been worse.  But, another fun night of memories for her!  She got back to Nana’s sometime around mid-night!

 

Sunday, believe it not, we were all back together for a little bit.  All EIGHT of us!  Nana, Grandpa, me, Dad, Emma, Lara, Jake AND Finn!  Jake was back to the basketball tournament in Tulsa, and Emma came with my folks to catch a couple of games.  We had a late morning game, then a long break so we all went to McAlister’s for lunch!  It was loud, crazy, and too many conversations to track!  Just the way I like it! 

Emma had to head back before the tournament was over to go take care of her horses.  We were sad to see her go, but it was nice to all be together for a minute!  Lara was a trooper and stayed with us through the end of the tournament.  It was a long day with long breaks between games, and even though I know she was bored, she was a pretty good basketball brother fan this weekend.  We ended up second, and finally made it home about 9:00pm!  She ate well this weekend, though. I loved just having her there and getting to have spontaneous and random discussions!

I'm pretty sure they are both spending this Monday trying to recuperate from all their weekend shenanigans!

We turn our calendars to August this week.  Emma has enrollment on Tuesday.  My boys have it Wednesday, and Lara has schedule pick-up the next week.  Football practice starts in a week.  Summer is truly closing down.  I am so glad I am writing these weekend memories down!  What comes next? Another busy weekend I’m sure!  School starts in 2.5 weeks!  These girls will get every last drop out of summer 2017!

Thanks and Giving

Last week, the Dream Weavers were invited to an event celebrating the achievements of numerous blood donors associated with the Oklahoma Blood Institute.  They gave out awards for chapters, locations, drives, and individuals who went above and beyond to make OBI successful this past year in their efforts to save lives.  We were honored to be invited, and even more honored that our Finn was a special guest at the event!

The nigh started with introductions, and then a nice dinner presented by Oakwood Country Club in Enid.  After dinner was well underway, the presentations began.  When it was time for our area, Finn was introduced, and Britt and I got to take the podium and briefly tell our story of how 6 blood transfusions saved Finn's life during his 84 day NICU stay.  We are so grateful for the organization, the blood drives, the staff, and especially the donors!  One of the most special moments of the evening is when we got to meet one of the specific donors whose blood literally saved his life!  Her name was Kristi, and she sat at our table for dinner.  We really enjoyed chatting with her and getting to know her better.  Finn, who is usually very stranger averse, took right to her and charmed her!  He was a little rambunctious during dinner, but he was the hit of the party!

April 2012

August 2013

The Key Note speaker for the night was a young man named Tyler who lost a leg and had NUMEROUS injuries from a grain elevator accident in 2011.  He had 96 units of blood during his extended hospital stays and various surgeries.  He has made it his life  goal to donate back all 96 units.  IF he donated every time he was able, it would take 15 years.  he has a good start!  We were incredibly blessed by his talk, and were honored to meet him!  He is an OSU Cowboy, as well, so he is a GREAT role model for Finn!

For being a part of this incredible night, Finn received a giant gift basket!  It had a Mike Gundy signed football, a cute little outfit, a bath set, gift card for a photo session, candy, cards, and a HUGE teddy bear made out of OBI Bedlam Blood Bash t-shirts!  It is bigger than he is - and we will cherish it always!

Last week we also celebrated Britt's 49th birthday!  He has been legendary since 1964, and we love him so very very much!  We showered him with "As Seen on TV" gifts, and took him to eat at  Fuzzy's!  What a great day!

Back to school shopping is almost complete, and enrollment verifications are half done.  School starts in 2 weeks!  WHERE has the summer gone?!?