another school year

This is her "take my picture but I'm going to act like I don't want you to" look. So far she's had her schedule changed 4 times. But she seems to be rolling with it. I can only describe her reaction to middle school as exuberantly enthusiastic. Yes, Maddie. And I'm not talking about snowboarding. It's SCHOOL! Wow, who would've thunk it. So far she's tackling her homework as soon as she gets home (except Fridays -have to work on that so she's not waiting until 8pm on Sunday, like this past weekend). She really is impressed by her teachers. I don't know if it's because her classes are all geared toward the "gifted" population & so they're taught differently than traditional classes so that appeals to her. Or maybe it's the stimulation of having a different teacher for each class so she's not bored sitting in the same classroom all day. She's still a bit reserved -like she was at her new elementary school all this past year. I'm hoping she can come out of her shell & let the "real" Maddie shine out for everyone to see (not just for me!). She told me that she may want to drop orchestra because it's "just not my thing"; she'd rather be in drama. I'll have to write a letter to request it, though. Hope it works. It'd be nice for her to be in some kind of drama activity -as a healthy outlet for all her own drama ;P


what the little's did the day before the first day of school: drew tattoos on each other & then proceeded to take pictures of them. What can I say: It's a wonder Nikki never got into drawing "tattoos" on herself. I mean, she was the child who was raised around the tattoo scene.


and an artistic shot of an ankle tattoo. Not bad for a 6 year old photographer/photo shoot director, I think. These two littles kind of keep me in awe.

Lib, ready to rule the roost. She's familiar with her new teacher because Fi had the same teacher last year.





Fi with her schultuete. Garrett reminded me at 1am the night before that Fi needed one. Oops. How could I forget, right? I mean, it is the family tradition handed down from my own German mom. My siblings & I each had one. Nikki & Maddie had theirs. Of course the littles will have theirs. So I broke out my crafting supplies -had to work with what I had on hand. Not bad, huh? (Lib's already planned how she wants hers designed next year -Sonic the Hedgehog will be involved). The teacher was fairly sparing with handing out the candies, so the schultuete still sits in the classroom. Maybe she's using them as treats or rewards? Little Chrissy -I mean Lib sneaks in after school to get a piece for herself occasionally. (Indeed, Fi brought it home today, passing out candies to her friends & teachers that she saw on the way to the car.)



And a reminder: how little they looked last year. They've grown leaps & bounds it seems.