Julie A. Duncan

Very first bus ride So today started magnificently. We were on time for the bus. Then, as we were waiting, our neighbors across the street came over with their mom and introduced themselves. The girl's name is Hadley.....and she sits across from Ashley in the same class! How cool is that? We told Ashley that her classmates were no longer strangers; they're her neighbors! Wouldn't it be awesome if they became good friends? I picked the girls up and we headed to Lawton for Jordan's first gymnastics lesson and Hailey's first dance lesson at Graceful Expressions. Things were going well. We were the first ones there and the teacher told them they could all go jump on all of the equipment. They were having a lot of fun. Then Ashley ran up to me and told me she had changed her mind. She wanted to take gymnastics instead of piano. There are good positives to this: less driving back and forth trying to drop people off and pick them up, less money since we would get...

The first day brought excitement and jitters both. They were all excited until we actually got there. Then even Jordan became a little subdued and wide-eyed as they sat outside their classroom with all the other children. After dropping Hailey off, I came back by Jordan and Ashley and asked if they had talked to anyone. They both looked at me like that was the craziest thing they had ever heard! Hailey with her teacher, Mrs. Camden Hailey did pretty well and didn't seem scared much at all. She was the first to her class and after taking a picture with her teacher, she was ready to sit down and wait outside the classroom. I stayed with her until a couple of other students showed up. When I picked Hailey up she was just a chatter box as usual: "We getted to play two times on the playground and I went potty two times cause I keep drinking and drinking and drinking. We getted to play on the centers. I played at the road things and the books. You only get to play in two a...

The day is finally here. We've told our girls from the beginning that one day they would be Elgin Owls. That day is now. We went to meet their teachers tonight and for the first time I can say that I think they are really going to like it. Jordan was all ready to put everything in her desk. Jordan was the most outgoing I've ever seen her. She talked to every person she met. She would introduce herself and then Ashley. Then she would launch into some story. She told everyone - even the principal - that she is going to start gymnastics on Thursday. They had one boy from Fletcher who was in their class last year that they knew was coming to Elgin. I had been praying that he might be in their class so they would at least know someone. He's sitting across from Jordan! He was king with her in the parade last year so she says she's sitting next to her prince! She was dancing all around and just wouldn't be quiet or still. She says she is sooo excited about going to...

Summer is coming to a close. The Beginning of Year Faculty/Staff meeting on campus is tomorrow. We meet the girls' teachers on Tuesday evening and Elgin starts school on Wednesday. I start school next Monday. I know that technically summer doesn't end until sometime in September, but let's face it, summer really ends when school starts. It's flown by and I didn't get to do nearly the things I wanted to. Things that didn't happen: trip to Leonardo's Discovery Zone, riding the train by Quartz Mountain, lots of learning opportunities for my children via daily lessons with the people they stayed with, blogging every few days, going swimming at the water park, going roller skating, and enjoying a long summer break. Things that DID happen: going to Roman Nose State Park and swimming in an Olympic-size swimming pool, swimming lessons, getting to help all week in Vacation Bible School, going to the Minton family reunion in Arkansas, having the family over for th...

It has been the hottest summer I've ever lived through. The last time we had highs that were under 100 was sometime in early June. I don't even remember it now. Every single day of July was over 100 and August isn't looking much better. So, how have we been coping? Today's forecast from Channel 7 The first few weeks in June, when it was only in the upper 90's, our upstairs air conditioner went out for three weeks. The girls slept downstairs and Greg and I slept in our room with a fan going. The first week or so, the house managed to get down to mid-70s by the next morning and it wasn't so bad. We had a few nights that it got down in the upper 60s at night and we could open the windows. The second two weeks though, it only got down in the 80s outside and we didn't get it any lower than about 80 or 81 inside at night. It wasn't fun. I admit, one night I caved and went and slept on the couch for a few hours. We were so incredibly happy when the parts ...