I Love Technology

Thanks to cell phones and text messaging, I have been able to keep in touch with Chloe as she travels with the band to New York City and Doylestown, PA. Thanks to Internet banking I can pretty much tell where she is snacking, eating and buying her souvenirs! The online banking was a surprise perk. We opened a checking account with an ATM/check card so she wouldn't need to carry so much cash; I never intended it to be a way to 'track' her spending. (Her older siblings are very upset that she was able to have a check card at 16; they needed to wait until 18. But that is only because I thought they weren't 'allowed' to have checking accounts until they were 18.) Katie was home for the evening last night and shared at dinner that she had sent Chloe a text message around 1 PM that afternoon. Technology is GREAT.


Chloe and I chatted a little bit via text messages yesterday morning and I learned that she slept a little on the bus overnight and that as of 9 AM they had not stopped for their 7 AM breakfast break. So much for a schedule. :-) She did not have a seat companion so she was able to use both seats in her row. This is a good thing. She was afraid between leaving school on Wednesday afternoon and report time Wednesday evening she would be assigned a bus buddy. At 1 PM she told Katie she was desperate for a shower. At 9:30 PM she called to ask if she could purchase a WICKED T-shirt and at 11:30 PM she called to let me know they were back on the bus and she couldn't wait to be fully horizontal for at least 6 hours! This morning she sent me a message that breakfast was Starbuck's and she was considering a 3RD cup of coffee! Love it.


Their plan for today was a matinee performance of the New York Philharmonic and then a tour at the Empire State Building. After lunch and the tour they are scheduled to head out of the city to rehearse, but as of the beginning of the week they did not have a location for said practice.

The weather is cool but I think Chloe went prepared. I'm just hoping they don't get the rain tomorrow that we have today. That could make for a miserable day as they wait to perform.

I hope she will check in with me later today, but I will try very hard not to be disappointed if I don't hear from her. I just want her to have a fabulous time.

Where Does the Time Go?

We've had a couple of very busy weeks.

Chloe has performed in two local band competitions. (Those performances took up the better part of 2 weekends, but they are so much fun. At least as a parent.) They placed at both events and at the second one they won Best Music Overall! Yeah. They are still working on finishing their show and adding visuals and music. We're more than half-way through the football season and they are still working on the show. I should not be surprised by this, I have been through this before, but it still catches me off gaurd.

The band will leave Wednesday evening (10/22) for their NYC trip and Chloe is VERY excited. She isn't physically packed, but I think she has the mental list of her suitcase contents and could be ready to go in very little time. I'm very excited for her and I hope they have a fabulous trip and perform well at the competition.

EJ has completed 2 out of 4 nomination applications. The essays seem to be the only thing he needs to produce to complete the remaining two. The other documents that need to be included are all pretty much the same so when you request for one, you request enough copies for all. He has really taken ownership of this process and I am very proud of him.

Kate has completed one night class and is anticipating a much easier load for the remainder of the semester. I hope she is not disappointed. She is still loving her field experience in the class room. Today she went on her first field trip as a chaperone. Even though she is officially on fall break she worked at the library yesterday, went to the elementary school today and will babysit over night for her summer nanny family this weekend. Busy girl.

Tonight is Homecoming and it is raining. We have not had rain in so long! I feel sorry for the girls that picked out their pretty dresses that now have to figure out how to not freeze or get soaked and still look dressed up. The band will perform after the game because of the Homecoming events. Looks to be a late night.

TGIF

I don't know why this week has seemed so long and hard, maybe it is because our weekends are so full and not necessarily restful, but I am really glad it is Friday.

Chloe does not have a football game this evening, but the band is staying after school to rehearse for tomorrow's competition. I will pick her up at 9:30 PM. I may need to set an alarm so I'm sure to be awake! I think Chloe needs to be back at school at 10:30 AM tomorrow (which in Mr. Clark time means no later than 10:15 AM). I was all excited thinking we could sleep in a little on Saturday, by 'we' I mean me, but EJ is taking the SAT tomorrow and needs to report no later than 7:45 AM. Since I don't feel it would be fair to make Chloe walk to the HS in the morning just so I don't have to get up a little earlier than I would like, I can't let EJ take the car and I won't be sleeping in this Saturday. Oh well, maybe next weekend?

Chloe told me one night this week that she will probably have the entire sound track of "Wicked" memorized by the time they see the show. She is already feeling sorry for the person that will sit next to her and anticipates being begged to "shut up" at least once. :-)

Katie is in NY with her dad this weekend to attend a family wedding. Chloe and EJ were unable to make the trip because of the band competition and the SAT. Life is full of these tough decisions, but knowing that doesn't make them any easier to decide. I think of the three of them, EJ will have the least amount of fun! :-) Maybe Sunday things will be more entertaining. He would like to go to Athens, GA (UGA) with his friend TJ to visit TJ's sister, Marilin on Sunday after church. I'm thinking about that. I would like to be reassured with a few more details first. EJ will not have a soccer game this weekend because of the SAT. Too many boys this age taking the test, not enough players to play.

This will be the last time EJ takes the SAT and I hope this time he will be happy with his score. I would have been thrilled with his first attempt. But kudos to him for trying to improve. But this spring I'll be signing up for Chloe to take her first one. Goodness!

SAVE THE DATE

I called the Forsyth County BOE this morning to ask if they had a graduation date for South Forsyth HS.

There are only 2 county HS's that have committed to dates and South is one of them. I was told Tuesday, May 26. Time TBA. I had in my head it would be after Memorial Day like last year's class, but that was based on intuition not fact.

So for those of you who have already asked me so you can plan ahead (thank you for considering coming), now you have information to help you make your plans.