Halloween

Before it becomes too much of a distant memory, I thought I would give a quick Halloween update. First, Emily did some market research on the whole Killer Queen idea and decided to kill it. It turns out that "Killer Queen" means absolutely nothing to the kids in her grade. LOL. So, she just went as a prison inmate.

I thought I would be able to get more photos later in the day, but that didn't happen, so these are the only two that show her costume. She went to a Halloween party in the evening, but didn't do any trick-or-treating. On the one hand, she said she didn't want to, but on the other hand, she thought it was sad that she didn't. She did help me pass out candy, though. We had a good turnout, with people ranging from probably 4-years old to 20-years old. 

As is usually the case, the whole holiday went too quickly, but there is always next year!

Quick Check In

Yes, it has been a long time between posts, so I thought it would be good to do a quick check in, particularly since last week was a week of check ins for Emily. We had her 14-year check up with the pediatrician and her fall parent-teacher conference with her advisor. Not surprisingly, she is doing great on both fronts. She is officially 5'3" which is over an inch taller than last year at this time and she is expected to continue growing, so there is no doubt that she will be taller than both me and Abbie. School-wise, she is doing well in her classes. However, the workload this year has been significantly greater than the past few years, much to her dismay. Also disappointing, she feels like she hasn't really connected with any of her teachers this year. In past years there has always been at least one teacher that she really liked and that seemed to really like her. That definitely makes classes feel more like drudgery.

Emily has taken an interest in learning to sew, so I found a woman that she can take sewing lessons with. We had one lesson a few weeks ago and she took to it really well. Unfortunately, school has kept her so busy that she hasn't been able to practice with it since then. Hopefully she will still remember what she learned when she finally gets a chance to work on it again.

She is also busy with babysitting gigs. She now has two families in the neighborhood that she babysits for. The one job just requires her to play endless hours of dinosaurs and transformers with a 4-year-old boy. The other job is a bit more demanding in that there is a 6-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy, both of which sound pretty active. It tires her out, but both jobs are walking distance and both pay very well, so that is good.

Emily's favorite holiday, Halloween, is just around the corner. She has a prison inmate costume that she is planning to wear. She is considering splattering it with blood (red paint, obviously) and wearing a tiara with it, which would make her a Killer Queen. LOL. She has a party that she is planning to attend, but she isn't sure how late she is going to stay out on Thursday, as she has been so busy and tired lately. Regardless, I will be sure to get photos!

Back to School!

Ready for the back-to-school party

The summer that seemed like it would never end has gone too fast. Emily's class had their back-to-school party at Pinstripes last Friday. We went and set up her locker yesterday. Today is the first official day, although it is only a half day. 

1st day of school!

Her schedule involves the usual suspects - art, show choir, English, French, cross country, honors algebra, physical science, and world history. The biggest challenge will be for both of us to adjust our sleep schedule. I have become accustomed to going to bed late and sleeping in, so having to be out the door before 8am this morning was a little painful for me, but Emily was pretty chipper about it!

Keeping Cool

All in all, it hasn't been too bad of a summer so far. We have been trying to keep cool, though. We tried the pool one day. It felt lovely, but the chlorine bothered Emily's skin, even after just a couple of hours in the water. 

To try something completely different, we decided to take a short trip to Carlsbad, NM to see the caverns. It was still hot during the day, but the low humidity made the mornings and evenings really lovely. Of course, the caverns themselves were very cool, which felt great. 

Emily was okay with the trip but her opinion is that if you've seen one rock, you've seen them all, so she lost interest in the caverns pretty quickly. LOL.

 

Tomorrow, she will return home from another week in Minnesota, which provided some cooler weather, but also a lot of rain. She won't have to worry about that when she returns home. We aren't expecting rain any time soon (sadly).

We are just about three weeks from Emily's first day of school, so I have already started ordering her books and we have already picked up most of her school supplies. Now, she just needs to get that pesky summer work done!

Summer Camp

For the 2nd year in a row, Emily had a great time at summer camp. She came home saying, "I loved it! I can't wait to go back next year. The food was gross and there were flies all over it, the lake was gross and smelly, and some of the girls in my cabin were really rude." Um, what? LOL.

Birthday at Camp

Apparently, despite all the downsides, she really appreciated the time without technology. It sounds like she had plenty of time to reflect, write and draw in her journal, and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Cards with Lola

Ready for the Dance

Unfortunately, she started noticing a sore throat shortly before camp ended. By the time she came home, she had a fever and felt pretty miserable. It turned out to be an adenovirus that dogged her for the next couple of weeks, so the rest of June was pretty subdued. She did a short trip to Minnesota, but was pretty fatigued for most of it. 

Now that July is here and she is back to her old self, she has gotten back to doing daily workouts. We have also managed to do some organizing in her room, which will come in handy when school starts again. As for her summer work, that is still on the "to-do" list. Somehow it always comes down to the last minute!

Happy 14th Birthday, Emily!

It's hard to believe that 14 years have flown by already, but they have! This birthday is unique in that it is the first one for which Emily has not spent the day with us. Yesterday, I dropped her off for two weeks at summer camp. When we booked it, she knew that she would be celebrating her birthday at camp, but she was totally fine with it.

On the way to camp!

We sent along bubble wands and noise makers for her cabin mates, so hopefully that will be fun. If nothing else, maybe it will be a good way to break the ice with a bunch of girls she has never met before. There should also be birthday cake at camp, so all is not lost. LOL.

With her camp counselors

Because she knew she would be at camp for her actual birthday, Emily had a small birthday party last Friday. It was a low key swim party. We got lucky and the weather cooperated and the girls seemed to have fun together. 

Lounging in the pool

Unfortunately, we also discovered that Emily, who loves to swim, has developed a sensitivity to chlorine. It turns her cheeks bright red and causes them to sting terribly. Aunt Elizabeth recommended a product that can help, so we will have to try it when she returns from camp. In the meantime, she is going to try to avoid putting her face in the water as much as possible. Easier said than done, no doubt.

As for the rest of summer, Emily is doing a one-week, half-day fashion camp after she returns from sleep away camp. Then, she is going to Minnesota for about a week. Beyond that, we don't have much for plans, but she and I may arrange a few day trips. I'll keep you posted!

Action!

After a couple months of very little activity, Emily finally has some new events to report on. She recently returned from a week in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Her class spent 4 days and 3 nights visiting museums, etc. 

On the bus!

Fancy dinner

She shared a hotel room with three other girls (which is always taxing) and the schedule was jam-packed to avoid any idle hands issues, so she came home pretty tired. Fortunately, she had a long weekend to recover. 

She also got invited to one of the biggest social events of the year - a bat mitzvah party for one of the girls in her grade. The evening portion was a neon party at an event center downtown. There was tons of dancing, food, music, etc. 

Pre-party

This also made for a tired Emily, as the party ran from 7pm - 11pm, so she didn't get to sleep until almost midnight. Although the party was on a Saturday, Monday morning school seemed to come a bit too quickly for her liking. 

Finally, we had her spring choir concert on Tuesday this week. I managed to get a decent video of one of the pieces. You can see Emily on the first row of risers with her hair in a French braid. The song is pretty long, but even a few seconds of it will give you a sense of what she has been working on in show choir this year.

As for the rest of the school year, Emily's last regular day of class is next Friday, which is the same day as Abbie's graduation. Emily has her end-of-year class party at a rollerskating rink that afternoon and then Abbie's ceremony is in the evening, so it will be a busy day. The following week, Emily will have a few final exams, but I don't think it will be anything too major. Then, summer break!!

Quick Update

A recent BeReal selfie

I have not gotten any good photos of Emily lately, so I had her send me a recent photo so I would have something to post. Life has been very quiet around here. Her biggest interest right now, besides drawing, is actually strength training. She is taking a weightlifting class for her PE requirement this spring, so she spends every afternoon in the gym. She is very into getting stronger and developing some muscles. At home, she finds all sorts of workout videos online that she likes. I did one of the arm videos with her one day and it was miserable. :) She really likes the challenge of a good workout, though, and she likes seeing that she is getting better at it over time. 

Other than that, she is ready for summer vacation. She is still doing well in school, but she is tired and ready for a break. Her two-week summer camp is early this year, so she will get a little bit of a break, but then will head to camp by the beginning of June. She is really excited about it, though. As long as the weather is a little cooler than last year, she will be in good shape!

Spring Break

Just a quick update - Emily is very excited to have made it to Spring Break. It is a pretty laid back break for her. With Abbie and me heading to Jamaica for a few days, Emily will hang out with Chad, while also making sure that the cats don't get too bored. :)

She continues the constant hunt for scary movies. She watched Bone Marrow recently. It was recommended by Abbie's friend Eleanor. I didn't watch most of it with her, but what little I did see looked awful. I think she agreed that the story was pretty depressing. She also likes dystopian films, so last night we watched I Am Mother. This one actually got a good Rotten Tomatoes score, but I don't think either of us were happy with the ending.

As for what else has been going on over the past month or so, the answer is 'not much.' The girls competed in the Show Choir Invitational, but it sounds like it was sort of a comedy of errors, so they didn't place very well, 13th or 14th as I recall, but I don't know how many teams were there. School continues to go well and Emily seems to stay on top of her work without much prodding from me. She is already starting to think about summer break, though. She is looking forward to pool weather and her two weeks at sleep away camp.

No News is Good News?

A whole month has gone by and there is very little to report. But, I suppose that no news is good news. Everything has been rolling along smoothly here. Emily is doing great in school this semester, really staying on top of her homework and exams. Her acne seems to be coming under control, which is good news and has her very relieved. 

Things have been pretty quiet on the friend front, but I did take her and a few friends to see Night Swim earlier this month. Emily was very excited about it because it is a horror movie, but is rated PG-13, so its not off limits. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 22% on the Tomatometer, so there is that, but it sort of worked to our advantage in that the theater was empty when we were there. LOL. Movie quality aside, the girls seemed to have fun. Also this month, Emily discovered the Scream movie franchise. She devoured all six of them. I have to admit they do get sort of funny toward the end. 

Also this month, the middle school narratives arrived! Her are a few quotes from Emily's teachers:

From History:

I have loved getting to know Emily both in class and in advisory. I love seeing her artistic skills on display, whether it's in project form or in the margins of her notes. Something I especially love about Emily is her ability to incorporate creativity and even humor into her assignments while still making sure that historical content is front and center.

From English:

From the very beginning, Emily demonstrated both her serious work ethic and her love of learning as an English student. No matter what the activity, she is always ready to engage with the day's lesson, and her enthusiasm and insights add greatly to the class culture. In fact, Emily is such a committed English student that she asked to start a club for students with a similar love of reading, writing, and literary discussion. When Emily writes about literature, she also displays an ability to make abstract connections that are beyond her years. 

From French:

Emily's quiet determination is a lovely contrast to the occasional hullabaloo which can exist in this class! I love her individuality and the way she takes care of her work without fuss.

From Science:

Emily is always willing to volunteer and help in class. She is a very hard worker and you can tell that she takes her academics seriously. She has a great personality and makes me feel good when she pretends to laugh at my not so funny science jokes.

Math, Choir, and Drama had nice things to say, as well, but these were the quotes I liked the most. As we head into February, Emily is looking forward to the three-day weekend for Presidents' Day and is getting ready for a Show Choir competition at the end of the month!