First Month of Eighth Grade

Well, I meant to post about the first day of eighth grade, and that didn't happen.  Then, I planned to post about our first week, and that didn't happen either.  So, here we are about four weeks in, and I finally found a few hours before bed (and before the beginning of week five) to write about our first day, first week, and first month of eighth grade.

To say we weren't ready for the first day of school is an understatement.  I did manage to take Lewie sneaker shopping on one very hot August afternoon. (We even treated ourselves to yummy chocolate crepes at the Choupette Creperie & Cafe in New Haven beforehand as seen in these pictures.)  

I managed to buy him a backpack, pencils, and a few notebooks prior to the first day, but we soon learned that his teachers wanted other items--post-it notes, a small stapler, folders, and a graphing calculator.  No problem.  He had everything by week two.

To be completely honest, Lewie wasn't super excited to begin school this year.  For one, most of his friends are one grade above him, so they started high school--he wouldn't see them in the middle school hallways like he did last year.  Secondly, he wasn't ready for the end of summer.  He still wanted one more sleepover (which we did fit in the weekend of Sept. 10th) and a few more relaxed days to hang out with friends and family by the pool.  It's fair to say that summer came to a screeching halt once August 29th hit--with announcements to remind us of standard routines, schedules, and calendars,  So far, Lewie has had picture day and several days of standardized testing.  Us parents had "Meet the Teachers" night--on Oct. 13th, we'll be meeting to discuss the annual 8th Grade Trip to Washington D.C.

Lewie appeased me by holding this sign one last time. 
I don't think it would be fair for me to ask him to do this again in high school.

On the Friday before Labor Day, we "allowed" Lewie to have his traditional day-off from school to go to our beloved, small, amusement park called Lake Quassy.  (We've been going to Quassy on the same day for the past ten years [with the exception of 2020], so we couldn't break our annual ritual now...)

Let me be clear; every year at Lake Quassy is fun, but this year seemed to be perfect.  Besides our normal rides, we were able to enjoy the Quassy Queen boat ride, the waterpark, and their quaint beach, which is not always in the cards for us.  We laughed, treated ourselves to yummy treats, rode on our favorite rides, and then laughed some more.  The only difference this year is that Lewie couldn't go on the Pirate Swing seven times in a row like he used to...  After one or two rides, he'd tell us he needed a break before going on again.  Is his "iron stomach" changing?

Fall is officially here, and now we're getting ready for all things October.  (October is one of my favorite months!!)  I still have to post about our summer vacation to Utah and our fun summer days in general.  I will find the time--I promised myself.  In the meantime, I hope everyone had a good start to the school year.  Here's to our last year of middle school and making it great!