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!

The Only Half Birthday Worth Celebrating

Emma and Lara.  Twins.  Sisters.  Twisters.  My first born babies.  The babies that made me a Momma.  Seems like a very short time ago when they were infants and I was begging them to sleep and to hold their own bottles.  And this week, they turned that magical age of Fifteen, AND A HALF!

In Oklahoma, it is a rite of passage at 15.5 years old to get your Oklahoma Driver’s Permit.  Both my girls took Driver’s Education this past summer (right after they turned 15) at their respective schools, so we didn’t have to take any tests or do any driving.  But the joy is in the journey, and we had fun and made memories along the way.

Emma came to Stillwater from Orlando Monday night and spent the night with us.  We got up a little extra early, because rumor had it the lines and wait can be VERY long at the Stillwater DMV!  Plus, Emma had a basketball game that night and to be eligible to play we had to get her to school as soon as possible.  A school 25 miles away.  We were in line on a chilly, drizzly, cloudy May 14.  We were about the 10-12^th people in line, but based on observations we thought we were probably the 5^th or 6^th actual customer.  We were very excited when the door opened at 8am and we got out of the elements, but we knew that was not the end of our wait.

Lara was “L03” and Emma was “L04”, but there were other people with other letters and numbers in front of us.  Lara was finally called back to an agent about 8:25.  She did her thing with all the paperwork we brought, checked her vision, take a picture taken, made her finger print and answered her 8 questions, and she was done in less than 10 minutes.  It was back out to the lobby until Emma was called in at 8:36. Back to the SAME AGENT!  Emma’s took a little longer.  For a dozen reasons – Emma just does things a little slower, plus she talks and asks lots of questions – but the MAIN reason was because the agent grew up in Orlando, Oklahoma!  So, they had old home week.  LOL!  Once Emma was finished with all her DMV steps, it was back in the car and off to the tag agency.

We arrived at the Stillwater Tag Agency at a few minutes before 9:00am.  We considered ourselves LUCKY because the place was basically empty.  Emma and Lara went in ahead of me because I was looking for my checkbook in the car.  By the time I got in the building, they were both filling out the “blue form” with an agent who was working them both at the same time.  She was so nice!  Congratulated them on this milestone, asked them fun questions, and when she took the pictures for their licenses, she let them see the images before the printed the cards!  So nice!  She also let me write just ONE check for the both of them.  WINNING! We were out the door by 9:05am!

Very different than when they were babies!

Time to get these Twisters to school.  Lara drove us from the tag agency to Stillwater high school.  3 miles in town with lots of stop lights, lane changes, traffic and stress.  Oh, did I mention it was lightly raining at this point?  But she got there safety by about 9:20 – only missed the first few minutes of her first class!

Emma and I enjoying Lara's driving!

Now it was Emma’s turn.  She drove from Stillwater High School to Mulhall-Orlando High School.  24 miles, mostly highway, very little traffic, high speeds.  Very different experience (Which is so typical of my opposite twins!).  She got to school about 10:05 – (after a quick stop at her house to drop off her overnight bag) and had missed 2 classes already! But she was there in time to be able to play basketball that evening with her Lady Panthers.

I am glad that is over for another 6 months! LOL!  While I am excited for them to expand their driving abilities and I am thankful for a couple of cute re-headed chauffer’s for the next few months, it will be a whole new world when they can drive off on their own… *sigh*