I know that you've been waiting...

We have settled into a rhythm for the fall. It's frantic at times but consistent. And it's about time since the kids have completed the first quarter of the school year!

Drew is finding his groove in middle school. He is a drummer who enjoys band and jazz band in particular. He is working on forming a band with a few friends. He has expressed an interest in a few clubs and we're working on a way to allow participation. (It wasn't planned in the master schedule.) He likes swimming and has participated in a few meets. The wonder of being an 11 year old boy is that there aren't a lot of swimmers so he has collected a blue ribbon from a relay already. His favorite thing seems to be scouts. He has earned his second class award and been on several weekend events - camping, spelunking, and preparing a ghost walk for cub scouts next weekend.

Ellen is working hard at swimming, though she hasn't captured and first place ribbons yet. Being a 9 year old girl is the complete and total opposite of being an 11 year old boy when it comes to swimming. There are about 15 9-10 girls on our team - and ever other team for that matter. The positive side to this is that Ellen is making many friends in the pool. She is getting more comfortable with orchestra and still likes her violin lessons. We are awaiting delivery of a larger violin which will hopefully make playing a little easier.

It turns out that Megan will be a swimmer. We haven't heard anything about Daisy Scouts, and as I already mentioned, school is 1/4 complete for the year. Her first meet is in 2 weeks. This particular meet requires everyone to swim in 5 races - all 4 strokes + an IM. I expect that she will be disqualified at least 3 times, but hopefully she will learn from it and have fun. She loves piano and is participating in her first recital next weekend. It is a low key Halloween songs event, in costume if you like.

Tim LOVES the computer. He has expanded his options dramatically by mastering the drag and drop. He is particularly fond of one game where you give a character a bubble bath and when he gets out out of the tub he is ridiculously fluffy. Tim cracks up every time. In the hygiene department, he has used the potty successfully but pretty much refuses to give up diapers.

Andy is busy at work. It's year end for them. I'll be making Halloween costumes this week. The girls have school parties this Friday but Ellen doesn't have a costume yet.

OK, the week is about to begin. Off to the orthodontist. Ready, set, go!