It's been a couple of tough weeks....

In north Georgia (3 counties east of where we live), there was a mass shooting at a high school.  2 teachers and 2 students were killed.  9 others were hurt, but are all expected to make a (physical) recovery.  Emotionally - there will be hundreds and hundreds of students (if not all 1900+) who will not be OK.  The community is small -- about 20,000 people. They're bigger than our (city) school district -- they have 3 high schools in their system, but are apparently all very class. The 14 year old who committed this heinous crime had made online threats the previous year.  And - for some reason - his dad "gifted" him an automatic rifle this past Christmas?!  Both are being tried for murder. 

We teachers at my school (at least those that I talked to in our "open glass" building)... we were all VERY impacted by this. Our administration did not say anything to us the following morning. Students didn't talk about it.  Some of my upper level students -- I asked how they were doing -- and some of them said that they were used to it.  That this was "normal" to them.  Which is REALLY REALLY disturbing.  Really really sad that they are de-sensitized to this.  It is NOT OK. 

The previous week - there was a celebration of life for a former MHS student (who graduated more than a decade ago) - a police officer in the county north of us who was killed in the line of duty.  There was heaviness around our school the previous week as well (especially with the teachers and staff who have been teaching there for a long time. His family's restaurant (close to the high school) always supports student's sports teams and student events there. We have been there for baseball banquets and dinners.  We don't know their family personally - although a lot of folks we know are friends of theirs.  There was funeral procession that started in the county above ours (Paulding Co) / and ended at the cemetery across the street from our school.  There was a celebration of life at the family restaurant near our school a few days later.  Members from the City of Marietta + Paulding Co community flooded both. (the mayor was there.... but the biggest "celebrity" in our town in the police-dog, Barney. 

He's an emotional support animal that is a part of the city school system.  I love that he (and his owner - a MPD officer) went to the celebration of life! 

We didn't do either of those, but took a meal to his family this past weekend.

And - also that week, there was a SNAKE in my room.  Seriously!!  

Luckily, it was a full-grown (single) snake... not a snake baby with lots of siblings and a bigger mama.  eek.

On happier news, we celebrated Mercer's adoption day this week.  16 years ago we went to court to finalize his adoption!  

He had his 1st baseball practice with a new team + Isabella had an appointment, so we all met back up for dinner (orange chicken for him) from a local schezwan restaurant that we ALL like (so it's a treat for us too) + a strawberry cake from a local bakery which is delicious (another treat for ALL of us as well! ha ha!) 

We didn't really do a gift this year, like we normally do - so I ordered some clothes (with his input) that will arrive soon.

So - his 1st practice was this week (Thursday) and the team played in a tournament this weekend !! 

With only 1 practice under their belt?  Not cool.  They didn't do that well on the 1st day.  Isabella and I didn't go, but it sounds like he didn't play much.

They did better (and won a game) on the 2nd day.  (Isabella and I went to this one... it was a BEAUTIFUL day!)  Mercer - personally - had a better day on day 2 of the tournament and the team did pretty well overall too.  Mercer played in the whole game and he looked like he was having fun.

Mercer in his new (blue and white) Wahoo's jersey. 

(This is the name / logo from a minor league team in Pensacola, FL that is on their jersey and hat for this local 17u travel team.)

Last weekend was Labor Day weekend. We were home - doing projects around the house.  Todd cranked on the falling garage.  He had ordered wood to build temporary walls to make sure that the thing 1 - doesn't fall down in general + 2 - doesn't fall down while he's working inside!  I was working in the yard or doing grading (under a tent!) to sit outside and make sure to be there in case something did happen. 

Luckily, nothing did! 

But - that is just PART 1 of the re-build... stabilizing the thing. PART 2 will be to re-build one wall.  PART 3 to re-build another wall.  PART 4 will be for re-siding & painting the whole thing. 

It's going to be a long, long process - as Todd will be working around baseball now to work through the different phases. 

ugh

I took a mini-trip to north Georgia that weekend (when Todd was NOT working on the garage) - a friend of ours sold their house in Atlanta and moved to the mountains.  It was a bit of driving but, it was nice to get away for a few hours... and to do "something" over the holiday weekend.  I didn't take any pictures (were hoping to see bears that she keeps reporting seeing, but didn't see any.)  It's OK. 

The only other "thing" we did that was an adventure over Labor Day weekend, Isabella and I went on a quest for goat cheese (for her - I don't like the stuff) and olives to "re-create" something she tried and liked this summer at VBS.  We tried to visit a couple of nearby goat farms, but didn't have cheese anymore or weren't open, so we ended up at Whole Foods and spent time in the cheese department with the cheesemonger who entertained us with samples and suggestions.  He thought it was cute that an 11 year old was this into cheese and olives!  that's our girl~ 

This past weekend, we went to pick up plants from someone in our community to add to her collection in her room... and we went to an Asian market (that we drove by on the way to the plants) to pick up some dragon fruit + we picked up a couple of other unusual things / had fun looking at all of the unusual varieties of fruits & veggies / the fish on ice / live fish in the market.  She is definitely adventurous! 

Isabella and I are doing the caterpillar / butterfly release thing again this summer (which goes into the fall).  

The butterflies flew away too quick once she opened the cage to get a photo.  Only "in progress" of release photos so far.

But - we have 21 new baby caterpillars which hatched on a leaf that was in our garden that -- hopefully -- we'll get some nice butterfly releases from in a month or so!  (thumbnail included in the photo for scale / size of the tiny tiny caterpillars!!)  so tiny!

I love the last 2 photos in this series of some full-sized caterpillars that she was playing with earlier this week.  Of course, she put a caterpillar on her nose... 

in this picture there is pure JOY.  

In the next, she is cringing because it tickles so much!

And.... a few more funny / cute photos from the past couple of weeks...

And a wrap with the closing of the Paralympics in Paris.  We watched a tiny bit of this - it was not on the main TV channel - you had to go seek it out (which is commentary on what the TV channels think is important).

We watched a little bit of wheelchair rugby, blind soccer, and high jump by an athlete who was an amputee.

All of the athletes have amazing stories of perseverance.  One of the stories that sticks with me from these past couple of weeks:  an archer from India with no arms shooting a bullseye in the opening round of her sport!

From a reporter writing about this story:  

The strenuous efforts and the utmost excellence exhibited by the Olympic athletes have always baffled the world. But what's more awe-inspiring is how people with physical challenges become living proofs of fortitude and eminence in the Paralympics. 

Yes - it's true.  I wish that it got more viewer-ship because it does rise to the top of how to keep going even if life does not go the way you want it to!  

What a whirlwind!

The last week of summer + the start of school was an absolute whirlwind!  

Even though we've been back at school for 2 1/2 weeks - I'm still in denial... and trying to wrap up summer projects!  The "big" project we set  out as a goal at the beginning of summer -- but didn't start working on 'til after we came back from California -- was Isabella's room.  We really got the bulk of the work started before we left for the impromptu baseball trip... and we worked really really hard once we got back to get it (mostly) done before school started.  

It has been quite a transformation & surprisingly things have been coming together as we're adding accessories.  

  

Most of the renovation was cosmetic finishes (except for re-building a window sill and a little bit of gypsum repair), but there was a lot of research / ordering / installing new things in her room to help turn her room into a "boho" pre-teen room.

Above are some visioning photos pulled off the web. (boho is my word... she just wanted a plain green comforter, a swing, brown walls + plants)  

This photo is the working document that we dropped images into to see how everything would look together.  We used many of these items in her room, but not all of them. 

She loves her canvas & macramé swing. 

(This picture was "in progress")

This "rag" rug is super fun and soooo soooo soft!   It now lives under the canvas swing.

I added the macramé plant hangars, 

but she liked the vibe and picked out these macramé dream-catchers to round things out. 

The last touch:  repurposing an old framed mirror that a neighbor no longer wanted / turning it into a burlapped-covered cork board.

Done!  (as of last night - before this blog was posted!)

She has gone CRAZY over researching her plants.  We had zero house plants before her room conversion, now there are quite a bit in her room!  She made a spreadsheet, downloaded a light level app on her phone + some sort of AI plant advice program on her computer.  ??!!   She also set morning & afternoon timers to open blinds, water, rotate plants towards the light.

No wonder we didn't have indoor plants before.... it's apparently a LOT of work !?! 

Here's where the nursery conversion had started - In progress: the fish nursery (with the pink ribbon added once we brought Isabella home) / the crib and curtains were being taken down.

In progress:  the owl bedding for the "little girl" room.... before the tree and flower murals were painted on the wall.

And plain brown walls / plain bedspread for the "big girl" / Pre-teen room.... This one was also in progress -- but the same wall complete with window boxes: before the decorative finishes were added above the bed.

(thankfully there's still an element of "little kid" -- with lots of stuffies)

The day after we got back from baseball, I jumped right into school pre-planning.  I did not want to do any "brain work" yet, so I did manual labor... for 3 days of my planning period.  (between meetings).  Thankfully, Isabella still has "teacher camp" -- this is her last year of it as she's aging out.  But she enjoys going and I'm glad she has something to do during the planning days!!

Graciously, someone offered the aid of a student worker who was wrapping up his summer job at the school for 2 of those days.... AND.... the construction teacher came to help on day 3 as well.  Last year on my own, I installed 6. We knocked out 22 more monitors in those 3 days. 30 of my 32 (dual) monitor sets are lifted off of the desk!  (I had to order 1 more kit to pull parts from so that I can install the last 2.)  I'm motivated to get them done SOON!

These poor guys were drinking prune juice for a "man (baby) shower" where their wives were in tow / watching & laughing.  I was horrified b/c I remember what it did to Mercer when we had to give him some as a baby.)  

We also worked had a team (drive-around-town) scavenger hunt to round out meetings  and team-building before school started.

Isabella and I had a social outing (well, technically, Todd and I were supposed to have a social outing.... however the last baseball tournament from his Scouts USA team that he was supposed to play in ( when he was invited to the Georgia Seniors Little League in Florida) -- it was pouring buckets in Atlanta and it got cancelled.  So, the weekend after we got back from Florida, Todd and Mercer went to that make-up tournament... and no one was the wiser!)  I took Isabella as my "date" to a bar for a fundraiser dinner for our church.  (There were a handful of other kids there too, but she hung out with adults. These gracious church friends doted on her (one of which is pictured above - Rob works at me)  The event photographer took this one and sent to me.  I'm not in the picture b/c I was at the bar getting Isabella a Shirley Temple.  :)

I had a social outing with some ladies to hear poetry and imbibe in "Gothic" theme cocktails at a really interesting venue in town.

The exterior of the trolley barn in Inman Park has always intrigued me.  Now I know what's inside.  (I looked up the history - lots of things moved into this space once it was no longer being used as a functioning trolley barn... there was even a basketball court inside at one time!  But mostly now it is used for events. 

And - one final "summer project" I tackled was to pull together a CV for teaching an architecture class (part-time) at the local college... this happened technically after I started pre-planning at school.  Who knows if it will go anywhere, but at least I gave it a shot ??!!   

(There were MORE summer projects on the list, but they didn't get any traction / there wasn't time!)  Sadly, it went by way too quickly!

Mercer also got right back to work and went on one more field trip with the summer camp.  He ended work on a Friday with a water-slide day and cookout.  Then he had a few days off and the house all to himself.  He didn't make as much money at this job because it was literally for only 8 weeks of the summer (which he missed 1 full week (for his mission trip) and 2 partial weeks (for the last minute baseball tourney). I think he enjoyed it though, as he was sending us photos from the different venues where they went.  In a way, he sort of got to be an older camper along with the kids!

He told us that his boss liked him and would like for him to come back the next summer.  We'll see!  

(I guess it will depend on his CURRENT travel team schedule next summer.... which he has not started with yet. During many of the evenings once we got back from Florida + a couple of evenings after school started, Mercer had baseball tryouts!  He didn't get offers from a couple of the teams that he wanted to, but the next week he tried out, he got 3 offers!   Hopefully he has a better season than he did this year!  His 1st travel team year - Mafia - really bad.  His 2nd travel team year - USA Scout - better but not great.  His 3rd travel team starts in early September - the Wahoos - hoping for a good one!)

Here are our "back-to-school" photos:

Mine is the day before school started - in my room before I left for the day.  Room tidied up & ready for students. 

(I hate taking selfies!)

This is my 5th year at Marietta.  (2 years of science & STEM before MHS in a public middle school + 4 years of middle/high at a private school) -- which makes this year # 11 for me in teaching.  Yikes!

And- the annual "rolling of the high school" tradition by the seniors.  The school always has news crew cameras in front of it in the mornings. 

Isabella is at something called the Sixth Grade Academy in 6th grade (obviously!)  Technically, she's in middle school, but they separate 6th graders from the 7th & 8th graders at the middle school.

Yes - that's a phone in her pocket.  She just got a cell phone (on our Florida baseball trip) and... had it only for a few days before she got into school and they have to put it in a "Yonder Pouch"  ha!  We are totally OK with that!! 

Our school district is trying it out this year for the first time for 6th, 7th & 8th.  It will probably filter up to the high school next year.  

At this point (blog post), we've been in school officially for 2 1/2 weeks now.  Since it took awhile to get her room 99% done / ready to post on this blog... here are some other things that have taken place:

- Isabella did belt testing for her purple belt.  She passed.  And then she quit taekwondo! 

She did really well in it. She seemed to like it a lot.  But - for some reason she didn't want to go anymore.  (I wonder if a middle school friend said something?!) She dug her heels in / refused to go.  It was really out of the blue!  Todd and I were disappointed because we thought it was really good for her.  Maybe she will change her mind at some point and go back to it?!

- She is continuing with horse lessons every other week.  She trotted a lot at her last lesson!!  (she wants to go fast -she really wants to "canter", but the instructor doesn't want her to at all.  The trot is slightly faster, with average speeds of around 8-12 mph. Next is the canter, which is about 12-15 mph. (Seems like the horse had other ideas than her coach and Isabella was there for it / enjoying every minute of it!)

- We thought she was going to play the french horn in the 6th grade band, but she came home with a euphonium!   

She refers to it as a "mini tuba!"   it is really really big!   

- And - one more thing for Isabella: she got her lower braces on.  She's baring all of her teeth here.  Sorry it looks like a growl!  

- There's not many pictures of Mercer in here.  So - here's one with a recent haircut.   (He did go to an ENT and we got to watch a tube with a camera go up his nose, but that's not the best photo for the blog...so we'll stick with the haircut picture)  Ha!

- He also went to the church youth pool party & the organizer sent me this photo - M would never let me snap a shot of him like that!  (Isabella was invited to the youth event as well -- as it was for 6th - 12th grade youth, but she didn't want to go.)  

Note, M is NOT the one in the zany Buc-ee's swim "outfit."  ha!

And - just before school started through the first couple of weeks of school.... in our household, we watched EVERYTHING Olympics!  Paris 2024 ~ From the opening ceremony to the closing ceremony and everything in between!  

The opening ceremony was unique in that the athletes were introduced in the procession / "parade" as they were floating down the Seine River.

Some of my favorite events were the different races that went through the city or though the countryside and you just got to see & experience the beauty of the chateaus, castles, and monuments. 

And - one of the "final 4" basketball games was definitely mine & Mercer's favorite....where the US was down against Serbia and scrapped and fought their way back to get to the Final game against France.  (which they ended up winning to take home the gold)  That game against Serbia - Mercer and I were on the edge of our seats.  I had to text Isabella and tell her I was NOT meeting her at the bus stop after school because the bus was arriving in the last couple of minutes of that game!  :)

Of course, what was televised here in the US - usually with a delay - was the main events:  basketball, gymnastics, track.  There were so many medals won across all of those events.  Moments of people pushing through injury.  People who were out of the games last time, but persevered and got back into the games. 

Talk about the oldest medalist - USA horse rider who was 58 years old!  (and there were some competing in the equestrian events that were even older than that!)  Talk about some of the youngest medalists at 14 years old!  (there was an 11 year old who was competing in skateboarding!)  

Discussions about mental health on the athletes and the need for self-care. Watching some new events and learning about some sports that we were not so familiar with. 

And talk about what is expected, however, sometimes the unexpected happens.  (This one - I didn't think the American won - it was a photo finish for sure - a fraction of a second.  5/1000th of a second to be exact!

It was the "lean in" that got USA a gold medal on the 100m... it's not the foot that crosses that counts, but the torso.  

wow!

LOVE this comparison -- with Lightning McQueen from Cars movie.  ha

There were extra features on our local channels about athletes from Georgia -- many of them gold medalists. There were losses.  There were people who got disqualified. But overall - it was just a great family 2 week watch party that EVERYONE in our family could get into.