Back to School

Not to sound like a broken record or anything, but seriously, where in the world does the time go?  I can't believe we've come to another back to school post.  And not just any back to school post.  But the back to school post that I have been dreading ever since the day I figured out the my oldest would start his last year of high school the same day that my youngest would start kindergarten.  How has this happened?  I still remember Taylor's first day of kindergarten like it just happened.  I've said for years that I feel like once they start kindergarten, we might as well start saying goodbye because life just fast forwards after that.  And this just proves my point.  How can he be thinking of leaving us already? ( I was just thinking of leaving my own family for crying out loud!)  And now seeing that Taylor is here already, I'm watching Kaya head off to school everyday just knowing that it's going to be over before I know it.  I try not to make a big deal about it because I know the kids love each new year and each new experience, and really, I would never hold that back from them.  I'm happy for them and I love the people they are becoming.  It's just killing me to watch it all play out is all.

Taylor is experiencing some fairly major changes for his senior year.  The first is that it has worked out this year for him to have early morning seminary rather than the online class he's taken for the last three years.  As hard as it is to get up so early and try to be alert at 6:20 every morning, he is loving the experience and really enjoying being with the other youth from our branch.  The reason it has worked out for him to do the early morning seminary which is in Marshall, is because we no longer have an Albion High School.  After years of declining enrollments and declining budgets, the decision was made last spring to have Albion  become a K-8 district and to send all of the 9-12 graders to Marshall High School.  The decision was met with outrage from many and resignation and sorrow from others, but it has turned out to be a positive thing for those high school kids.  All the budget cuts here meant that they had virtually no extracurricular activities and really slim pickings for classes.  Now, most of those kids are finding that all those extra opportunities are worth leaving town for.  Taylor has enjoyed the classes that he has there and the bonus of going to school with his friends from church too.  He also is continuing to split his day between MHS and the Battle Creek Math and Science Center which just opened a seriously awesome new building in the old Kellogg Cereal City museum. He's continuing to enjoy the teachers and friendships that he has made there.  He's participating this year with the National Honor Society and Boy Scouts (he has his Eagle project approved and now just needs to do it), and even managed to make the Cross Country team this year--something we've been encouraging him to try since middle school.

With the school changes, Kendall went from being among the youngest of the students to the oldest.  They wound up closing the elementary school across the street from us (to me the saddest part about this whole thing) where all of our children except Kaya spent their elementary school days and they put kindergarten through 8th grade in the former junior high/high school building.  At first Kendall was very upset about the idea of going to school with little kids again, but he's now really enjoying the experience.  He's always been such a kid magnet (see photo in previous post of him dressed as Snow White while playing with his cousin and sister) that most of those little kids just adore him and he has become quite the popular guy.  He's doing well in all of his classes and is a favorite among his teachers and his own classmates as well.  So pretty much like always.

Lynnsey is enjoying her first year in the 5th and 6th grade program called ALTEC (Albion Technology Education Center or something like that).  All of the kids get an iPad to work with and use so many resources for learning that would have seemed impossible when I was in 5th grade.  She is having a great time.  She loves her teacher, she loves her great big but cozy classroom, and she loves that all of her best friends wound up in the same class with her.

We thought Spencer would have the best year ever this year considering that his 2nd grade teacher from last year moved up to 3rd grade with the rest of the class.  But the new school threw him for more of a loop than we could have expected and that combined with the new classroom being very small and crowded seems to have contributed to a rough year so far.  He does still adore his teacher who is amazing.  And many days are just wonderful.  But other days we get the call from the teacher or the social worker or once even from the in school suspension teacher telling us that he had an outburst or was refusing to cooperate.  I am convinced, absolutely, that he has sensory processing disorder.  Taylor underwent treatment several years ago and I would like to do the same for Spencer, but the place we took Taylor to has changed.  The lady who ran the center has retired and now they don't do as much occupational therapy with kids so it is a harder process to even get them evaluated.  So right now we are working closely with his teacher and the school social worker who is also amazing, to help him develop coping methods.  At home we have a reward chart that he colors in after each good day.  It's a big chart and will take a long time to fill in, but the end reward is a new bicycle which he desperately wants, so he's trying hard and we are seeing some improvement.  He's an incredibly smart kid and is excelling academically (when he isn't throwing his math in the trash).  He has a very high reading level and is one of the top math students.  So hopefully we can get him through this tough adjustment and on to a fabulous year...

And Kaya.  My little Cutie-Kye is loving everything about kindergarten.  She adores her teacher who is actually a first year teacher and has so much enthusiasm and energy.  She loves the new friends that she has made.  And she loves learning.  It is fun to see the world through her eyes as she describes each new learning discovery.  As much as I miss her during the day, I love seeing her so excited.

Having a smaller district means that they do have a bit more funding.  So the kids are getting Specials this year.  They love having art back again after it was cut last year.  We have an amazing music program again.  The kids can actually start taking band in 4th grade so Spencer is looking forward to next year.  They are enjoying gym and sometimes even getting to use the pool! And a favorite of all of the kids has been the STEM classes they take (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).  They got new state of the art equipment and thanks to a new grant, each classroom is getting a Promethean Board (kind of like a cross between a white board and a giant iPad) and the third graders get the next set of iPads.  Overall they are having a fun year so far and in spite of the issues leading to all these changes, most of the change has been pretty positive.  Hopefully now we can see more growth within the district instead of the decline over the last decade or so.

A Long Hike Back to the Beach

After many long hikes throughout the summer, the time finally arrived for the boy scouts to complete their 20 mile hike to finish up their merit badge.  They decided to drive to a spot along a trail leading from Kalamazoo to South Haven and hike the 20 miles from there so that they would end up at Lake Michigan for a picnic and swimming.  Most of the families of the scouts agreed to meet them there to join in the fun at the end and then drive their scouts home.  Kalen, Taylor and Kendall all made the hike and I drove to the lake with the rest of our kids.  We timed it perfectly and arrived at just about the same time.  The boys (and men) were all exhausted and sore but really thrilled to have made it.  And it did make it better for them to have the reward of food and a swim in the cool water waiting for them at the end.

The temperatures had warmed up significantly in the two weeks since we had been there and the water was amazingly warmer than it had been when we were there with the family.

It was a really fun way to wrap up a fun and busy summer before school started and the real craziness began!

Reunion Time

Awhile back it was suggested that the Potter side of the family should do an annual family reunion.  We've had a few unofficial ones in the past and most of them have been here in Michigan.  But the idea was presented that each of us should take a turn to host the reunion each year.  Technically it would be my mom and dad's turn first, but with Spencer's baptism this summer and our not planning to go out west till next summer, it was decided that Kalen and I would be in charge first and then my parents will take their turn next year followed by Alison and Mike the next and so on.  We looked at other locations but with the baptism, it just wasn't going to work, so we just planned to have everyone come and stay here in Albion.  

The Utah crew arrived first--actually about a week before the scheduled reunion.  Susannah came with her two kids so that was fun for our kids to get reacquainted with their cousins.  Especially since Christopher was just a couple months old the last time we saw him.  It's been a long time since I was the "cool" aunt but Christopher sure latched himself onto me and followed me around like a little shadow jabbering away constantly.  Such a cutie.

Kendall is a huge kid magnet always and this is one reason why--he is totally game to do whatever the kids want, even if it means putting on a Snow White dress that is  5 sizes too small.

We had a wonderful day at the Detroit temple before the big crowd came.  It was really fun to be there with both of my parents and my sister performing work for our ancestors on my mom's side.

After a slower but fun week of visiting, the official reunion could begin.  The Bramhall's arrived from New Jersey and our whirlwind week was off.  We really missed Andrew and Marni and their kids and Melissa and Cody and their kids, as well as Samuel who was stationed in Afghanistan with the Air Force; but we still had a very large group and a whole lot of fun.

We spent an afternoon at Turkeyville and had a ball on the trains, as usual.  And losing a whole lot of quarters in the game room.  And spending even more money on candy in the gift shop.

Sunday was the main event--Spencer's baptism day.  Spencer was very excited and it meant so much to have so many family members there to celebrate his big day.  It was an amazing, AMAZING day.  There was such an overpowering spirit there.  Spencer asked me to speak on baptism, which I did.  He's the first of my kids to ask me to speak at their baptisms, so I was honored to be asked. Spencer asked Taylor to baptize him and Kalen to confirm him.  I know Taylor was pretty terrified to do it, but he agreed.  I cannot even put into words the feelings I had watching my oldest son perform a saving ordinance for my youngest son.  Just wow!  My niece Isabel sang a beautiful solo and then Kalen did the confirmation.  Again, the spirit was amazing and I guess several of the men in the circle felt it incredibly.  I just love the gospel of Jesus Christ!

After the baptism, we went to the park for a fun summer concert.

The next day we enjoyed an afternoon at the bounce castle where the kids played on the slides and inflatables and everyone had fun trying to win prizes with all the games.

Spencer was a big winner with this game--250 tickets!

Probably our biggest excursion was a big day trip to Indiana to go to Shipshewana--major Amish country. During the summer, they do a giant flea market in addition to all the other shops and things around town.  We had fun checking out the flea market and bought a few things including a beautiful Amish-made Sunday dress for Kaya that cost all of $7.  Then we checked out a bunch of the other fun shops around town including letting all of the kids try out an antique early 1900's carousel. We wrapped everything up with a genuinely real Shaved Ice.  Not a snow cone but real Shaved Ice like I used to have when I was growing up and our family would sell it at the fair every year.

Another big excursion was a trip to Lake Michigan.  We had tried that a few years before when we had everyone out to visit for Kaya's baby blessing but we went to a beach in St. Joseph that had major security patrols and if the wind was blowing at all, they wouldn't let anyone in the water.  So no one got to swim that time.  Since then, we had discovered the beach in South Haven that didn't have the major patrols and was actually a better beach, so we were excited to finally let everyone experience the lake.  What we didn't plan on was a "cold" spell.  For a couple of weeks during the summer, the temperatures had been in the 70's  and low 80's if we were lucky.  It made for a lovely and pleasant summer, but with the lower temps, the lake water was absolutely frigid!!!  We did have fun anyway.  The kids spent plenty of time in the water and there were a few crazies (Taylor, Jonathan, David, and Timothy) who even swam way out to the buoys.  I don't think I made it in much past my knees.  It was just so shockingly cold.  Maybe even colder than our Lake Superior dip last summer in the U.P.

There was a lot of sand play since the water was so cold!

Taylor's face pretty much sums up how cold his trip to the buoy was.

Actually got one of Christopher looking at the camera!

Tired little Barrett.

Nice and cozy in a beach blanket!

Almost to the buoy!

We hiked out to the lighthouse just before leaving .

After so many bigger excursions, we also did a few smaller ones.  We went one day to a movie, The Croods, at the historic Michigan Theater in Jackson.  And another day we spent hiking around the nature center.

I think with all the fun places and things we did, it was pretty unanimous that the favorite activity of pretty much everyone was our trip to Swain's Lake.  Jonathan had brought along his little boat with a raft for pulling people and we all took turns going for rides both in the boat and in the raft.  We brought a picnic for everyone to graze on when they took a break from the water and we all just had fun playing in the water for the afternoon.  Everyone was reluctant to leave when the time finally came.

When we weren't off going and doing, we had lots of fun visiting and eating and playing.  It was such a fun reunion and I really hope that we can keep this up every year.  We are already looking forward to next year in Utah.  And really looking forward to not being the ones in charge!