Here I am, catching up on blogging again. This long break was not my fault. Really. My computer wasn't able to upload photos to any websites. It was so frustrating.
But I think I've now got things fixed. So, here I am again.
Sooooo, back in November there was a fair bit of practicing for orchestra. Moving to middle school orchestra has been a bit of a jump for Ashlynn. In fourth and fifth grade, Ashlynn took strings with students her age who were at relatively the same level. Then she joined the middle school orchestra and was with sixth, seventh, and eighth graders who range in experience from just picking up an instrument to as many as like six years of experience. Tons of music has been thrown at them with very little support, which was also a big change.
Adding to that, every student is given a seat in the orchestra, based on their ability (more or less). Twice a week, students can challenge another student for their higher position by challenging them to play a certain section of a piece of music of their choice. This has been both exciting for Ashlynn but also really stressful because she worries about who might try to challenge her and what section of music that person might use. So, we've tried to just encourage Ashlynn to practice and be ready.
Carter's school had a fall festival at the beginning of the month. It was kind of nice to have it after Halloween so it wasn't all about costumes and spooky stuff. As usual, a few of the same third grade moms helped man the third grade popcorn and root beer float booth. It has been nice to get to know those moms more. It's funny how easy it is to bond with mom friends of your first born's age, but to forget to do that with the second child. Well, I'm working on it!
On Election Day, Ashlynn had her final cross country meet of the season. It was considered a league championship and was held at Lacy Park, which is a lovely place to be.
The boys ran after the girls, so the girls cheered on the boys team.
The girls team from Clifton did a fantastic job, and based on some strong finishes from 8th graders and one 7th grader, they earned first place. I was especially impressed with their win because they competed against schools from wealthy areas with cross country programs.
In the middle of the month, Ashlynn invited five friends over to use our new fondue set (for six people) and have a girls hang out session. Growing up I enjoyed that my parents' house was a welcoming hang out for my friends and hope to create that environment at our house, especially during the teen years.
We had both cheese fondue (using a real Swiss variety) and chocolate fondue for dessert.
There was some dancing and a lot of sixth grade silliness.
As has been the tradition in past years, we packed boxes for Operation Christmas Child. The kids filled boxes for kids that match their gender and age. We had some good discussion about what children in need might actually need and appreciate.
Ashlynn and Carter are nice friends. They spend lots of time together just imagining and talking.
And that pretty much takes us to Thanksgiving break!
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