7th grader in the hizzy

last week, the old lady joined the bean and me as we headed to school for the first time in months for textbook pick-up day.  it was a great chance to say hello to their teachers, pick up all of the stuff they'd need for classes, and see their friends.  the bean was super excited and for once i didn't have to bribe her with anything to get herself ready and into the car.

of course, we picked the busiest part of the day to arrive.  this left me and the old lady standing in a properly socially distanced line to grab the bean's schedule while she excitedly went to talk to her friends.  everyone wore masks, which made it kind of funny because it was a little tricky to figure out who everyone was.  hopefully nobody thought i was being a standoffish bitch because i really didn't recognize a lot of people.  heh.

and since we weren't going to be able to get our actual "first day" photos, we settled for these:

the school had booked a local ice cream truck, and after the kids went through each line to get their materials from each teacher they received a ticket to grab a frosty treat.

while the old lady is definitely an old lady at heart, she really still looks like a little kid.  as we were meeting the bean's new spanish teacher while she was still off talking to her friends, the teacher looked at the old lady and asked her which grade she was in.

"seventh," she said.  and then our eyes met and i could tell she was totally cracking up beneath her mask.

the teacher continued to make conversation with her for just a few seconds before she stopped her and told her she was just joking and that it was her sister who was the actual student.  hopefully she won't hold that against the bean when school starts.  oops (okay, i'm fairly certain she won't because she was super nice).

ice cream!

and as of yesterday, the bean is officially a 7th grader.  holy crap.

doesn't seem like that long ago that we took this:

sigh.

and this will definitely be one to remember, because it's so different from all the rest.  she's got a sweet setup in the office, thanks to the hub, and so for two days a week she'll be in here from 8:00-3:00 (the days she has her art elective class) and two days from 8:00-1:30.

they have fridays reserved for catch-up, virtual meetings with their teachers if they need it, small group zoom meetups, doing homework, etc.  but let's get real...we've got 3-day weekends for the foreseeable future.

and while she was in class, i headed off to the traditional first day of school brunch with some of my mom friends.

it was really nice to see everyone again, even for just a brief meetup.  the biggest bummer was not being able to toast with our traditional mimosas, because the restaurant was out of champagne.

thanks, 2020.

see ya, 6th grade!

the last trimester of 6th grade for the bean was definitely not like anything we could've possibly imagined.  while the transition from regular school to distance learning was fairly easy for her, she really did miss her friends and her teachers.  thank goodness for technology, because between zoom and text messaging, she was able to keep in touch with everyone on a regular basis - but still, it wasn't the same.  and it was a big bummer for everyone that they didn't get to do science camp or their end-of-year trip to knott's berry farm.  damn you, COVID.

but she was super excited when two of her oldest friends did a stealth drive-by and dropped off some fun surprises for her on the driveway:

and she was pretty happy to be able to participate in a surprise birthday car parade for her BFF, mini cee.  she spent an entire morning working on this poster for her:

it went by so fast though, as those things do.  mini cee looked really excited to see her friends as we all drove past, waving and shouting birthday greetings to her.  and the bean told me that she texted her later that afternoon to tell her that she hung the poster in her room as soon as she got back inside. so sweet.

the bean was the first one to get to plug in her laptop and do some actual work in the new office that we'll be sharing.  the dogs were perfectly content to sit at her feet while she sat in class that day.

junior high academic awards were done via zoom this year, and while i'd received an email that gave me the heads-up that she was going to receive one i just assumed that it was acknowledging her spot on the principal's list.  we were all surprised and proud when her yearbook photo flashed on the screen with the announcement that she'd earned the 6th grade history award:

i finally got to pick up her cheer portrait for this season.  she swears she's done with cheer (and who knows if there'll even be a cheer season anytime soon), so this photo is extra special.

we celebrated the last day of actual schoolwork with a delicious take-out sushi dinner:

and then the last week went by in a blur.  one day, they got together on zoom and played a bunch of games and reminisced about the year.  the next day, we got to return to campus briefly so that we could return textbooks and pick up all of their personal items that had been left in their lockers.  because they staggered the times based on students' last names, she only got to see a few of her friends but was able to say hello to all of her teachers.  her math teacher had just announced that he isn't returning next year, so she'd scrambled to sew up a cute little present that she was super excited to give him.  even with his mask on, he was visibly touched as he noticed the effort she'd put into it.  she'd outfitted him with a tiny mask and the iguana is some sort of inside joke the class had with him.

on the last day of school, the two homeroom teachers hosted the final zoom meeting to hand out a few final awards.  she was given a character award for "courage," and it was really nice to hear what the teacher had written that gave examples of how they'd chosen that specific trait to highlight for her.  the kids turn in little anonymous notes that they give the teachers to praise their classmates, and she beamed with pride as she heard all of the kind words her peers had written about her.

i'd dug out the ol' chalkboard to take the annual "last day" picture, and this time around we had her pose in front of the not-quite-complete fireplace.  next time we take a commemorative photo here, it'll look different - but so will she.

the hub kept making her laugh as he made faces and did silly dances, and this is my favorite outtake:

we'd picked up her academic awards along with her locker stuff, so i had her pose with those too.

a little later that day, we were in the middle of our dance fitness workout (shut up, it's the only way i can get her to exercise with me) when the doorbell rang.  she was so stoked when i answered the door and brought this giant basket of cookies and brownies sent by her grandparents:

i loved how she'd inadvertently color-coordinated with the gift.

and then i was also pleasantly surprised to check the mail and find that something i'd ordered for her weeks ago had magically arrived that day too.  i handed her the package and she squealed with joy when she opened it to find this.  i mean...doesn't everyone need a giant squishy boba pillow?

and now my girl is officially a 7th grader.  holy cow.  she's only got two years left at this school, the one she's been at since she was 5 years old.  it's all going by way too fast.

look out world, the bean is in junior high

i have lots of other stuff to recap, but first...

this was yesterday after the bean finished up junior high orientation.  it was for students only, no parents allowed, and they got to meet their teachers and go through the motions of changing classes, plus taking care of locker setup.  i didn't get to take any other pictures, but i did manage to get this one, with one of her oldest and dearest friends:

i was lowkey excited when she reminded me yesterday to update the ol' chalkboard that we've been using on the first and last days of school.  because, after all, she's in junior high now and i had no idea whether or not she was still going to let me continue that tradition.  and so after she got herself and teddy tucked into bed for the night, i pulled it out and found the chalk and got to work.

this morning, i went to barre and got back to find her already fully dressed and playing with the dogs.  i knew she was a little nervous for the first day, but she seemed to be calm and ready to take it on.  i think orientation did its job to help get some of those jitters out, and she was totally happy to pick up the chalkboard and pose for my annual photo.

when she asked me if it was okay if she asked her daddy to take her to school, i think she thought i was going to be bummed about it.  she'd had him take her to orientation, and i admit i got my nose a little out of joint for that one, but can i tell you?  i HATE driving to school on the first day of the year.  the parking lot is always a mess, it's insanely crowded with every new kindergartener's entire family present to watch their precious walk into school on their first day (of course, i was one of those twice upon a time so whatever), and i knew the bean wasn't going to want to take any pictures anyway.  so i was actually really relieved to be let off of that hook.  not to mention, i had plans for the annual first day of school breakfast with some of my favorite mom friends and i really needed to get cleaned up after barre.  heh.

we had a great time as we always do, and even remembered to snag a group shot before parting ways for the day.

i can't believe the bean is in junior high.  and i can't believe the school year has begun.  we had a fantastic summer, and even got an extra week compared to other years, but man...the time went by SO fast.  and now we're just a couple weeks away from birthday princess month, and you know what that means...it'll be my birthday, then the bean's, then halloween, then thanksgiving, then christmas and OMG the year is already over.  holy crap.