Two Weeks Down!

Well, with the first two weeks down, I think the girls are finally "settling" in. They have finally gotten their schedules like they want them and have had tests in most of their classes. Academically they are being challenged big time. They will be fine - its just going to take some major adjustment and learning some study habits they have not had to have before.

Volleyball is great. The best part came from beating Westside last night. How sweet that victory was. We really thought Alys' junior high team would really struggle this year, but they have suprised everyone with wins over Marion and Westside. Alys is playing so good! The Sr. High played at a tournament in Memphis at Briarcrest this past weekend. We went with no expectations and were pleasantly suprised by beating everyone we played and winning the tournament. It was a much needed confidence boost we needed facing Westside last night. It was a nail biter - going five games - but we pulled it out in the fifth. Anna played great - digging up all they could offer!

I'm a little ticked off that I apparently have shingles. I finally broke down and went to the Dr. earlier who verified what I thought. She gave me medicine and I have every intention of being fine by tomorrow. Funny, when I looked on the internet for causes - the first two were fatigue and stress. I have none of that in my life so who knows where this came from :-) Later.........J

They Survived (barely)!

(Tuesday) Well, they survived - that is about the best I can say. To say it was overwhelming is the understatement of the year. To walk down the halls with over 600 kids and know just a handful of people - no familar faces in sight - it was just a bit much. They made it - it wasn't pretty - but they made it. On a positive note, they did like most of their classes - had some teachers they think they will love - others they weren't so crazy about. But they were ready to go back this morning with smiles on their faces. I think they realized if they could conquer the first day - just maybe they will make it.

(Thursday) Well, its day four now (according to Anna - only 173 more days left this year, but who's counting), I think they are finally getting settled and getting the hang of things a little better. Alys ran a couple of errands for a teacher yesterday without getting lost - she was so excited! Anna has finally got her schedule fixed like she wants it - she moved from Trig-PreCal to TCM (transition to college math) - the trig was just too much for her - she moved from PreAp English to AP English - she is pleased with that - Rise Rothe is the teacher for that and she is looking forward to having her.

We played Valley View Tuesday night - it wasn't very pretty. The junior high (Alys) won the first game much to everyone's suprise - Valley View's junior high is very strong - the second and third games didn't go our way but Alys played her tail off - I was really proud of her. In senior high (Ann) we were up 23-19 in game one but just couldn't finish it and lost it 26-28. The next two games weren't even close with Valley View winning easily. Ann played very good - she had some amazing saves. As always she made me proud. We play Marion tonight - another tough match - they have a couple of girls that are HUGE. Hopefully we can play good and take care of them.

First Day of School

Well they're off! After a fairly calm and tear free morning the girls got off to their first day at Nettleton. Of course, they got stopped by a train, then the traffic was backed up for a couple of miles down Nettleton, but after about 25 minutes (makes the drive to Paragould look pretty good, lol) they finally made it there. Wish I could be a fly on the wall.........J

It's All New!

Well, here late on the eve of the girls first day of school - I can tell its going to be a long night. I can't tell you the last time I "put the girls to bed", but tonight I literally had to lay down with both of them till they went to sleep - and that sleep was benedryl induced. I think they are both shocked at how nervous they are. Alys knows several people in her class, and has one friend that has the identical schedule as her so that is good. Ann on the other hand knows about three in her class and has no clue if she knows anyone in any of her classes - add to the mix she and Garrett are finally really over (meaning not talking everyday on the phone like they have been doing since they "broke up") she is in really bad shape. I don't think I have ever seen her like this in her entire life. She is just pitiful, its breaking all of our hearts. We are just hoping for a really good day tomorrow - good classes - nice new friends - and for Garrett to leave her alone and let her move on. This will be my first time since they started to school, that I didn't take them to school. I would love to just go with them and hang out all day - but I guess thats probably not gonna happen. I do have friends in both the junior high and the high school offices and I feel sure they will be hearing from me regularly tomorrow.

The girls both had volleyball jamboree's last week. They both did great. Alys and her team won some and improved as the night went on. Ann's team lost all of their games, but got a lot of kinks worked out so they can be ready for Valley View on Tuesday night. That is one game I would just as soon not have to play.

That's all for now - let's hope and pray I have happy girls tomorrow afternoon..........J