First Day of School

Yesterday was the first day of school for all of us.  We were all pretty nervous.  Excited.  Afraid.  It was a momentous day...Michelle started high school.  Ella began junior high.  Gabby went to 4th grade.  I no longer have any early elementary aged children!  My oldest is in high school.  I'm a little overwhelmed by all of this.  And it was also a solar eclipse which made for an especially exciting/interesting first day of school.  1/3 of my students didn't come to school due to the eclipse.  Here in Utah, we had between 90-95% eclipse.  It was pretty spectacular...and also a bit nerve wracking.

Gabby was super excited to wear her "phases of the moon" shirt in honor of the solar eclipse!

But overall, I think things are going pretty well.  Mornings are a bit hectic...Michelle and Ella both have to leave earlier than they have in the past.  But Michelle seems to really like nearly all of her teachers.  She is excited about most of her classes.  She's got French 2, Dance, Math, AP Human Geography, Biology, English, Seminary and P.E. She seems especially excited about French, Biology and Dance.  She's nervous about the AP geography class...it's going to be a lot of work.  But they took a test on Monday and she got 60/63 questions right.  So I think as long as she works hard, she will be fine.

Ella says she has met several new people.  She has the same lunch as our neighbor/friend DJ so she has been eating lunch with her.  She seems to like it so far.  She doesn't talk as much about school (or anything) as Michelle, so it's a little harder to know exactly what she thinks.

And Gabby is excited to have Gracie, Alaina, and Braden and a few other friends in her class.  She says her teacher has a soft voice (not hard to hear...she just doesn't raise her voice).  She seems to be okay with school but not really enthusiastic.  I suspect she has been tired.  But hopefully it will be a good year.

Tonight our home teachers came.  We had a nice visit.  I'd asked Chad about a week ago if he would be willing to give my girls blessings for the beginning of the school year.  He did.  I'm going to write more about that in my personal journal...but what stood out to me was how personal each blessing was.  It was obvious that the blessings came from Heavenly Father and were meant for each girl with their unique mixes of talents and weaknesses.  They were such special blessings.  I'm so grateful for the power of the priesthood and for blessings.

So far my class is cute...but so talkative.  I had been told that by last year's teacher.  And she wasn't kidding. They really are good kids... a bit challenging...but nice.  They just don't stop talking.  Bless their hearts.  It's going to be a fun year.