Back to school...or not...

Sometimes things just aren't easy. And registering for school in Florida was one of those times. Back in October when I was out making house selections, Jack and I had unsuccessfully attempted to register the boys for high school thinking by doing it then, it would be one less thing we'd have to worry about come January. Well, that wasn't going to happen. And after such a terrible experience at the registration office we determined there was no way we'd pull the kids out midway through the year to deal with what could be a nightmare. We were definitely not in Mason any longer. Surprisingly though, when we proposed to the boys the idea of finishing out the school year in Mason, they were not happy. It was evident they had already mentally prepared and were excited about the move, being able to play a second season of water polo their freshman year, and escaping the cold Ohio weather. Poor Sage who did want to stay was outnumbered and after asking them all to think about it for a weekend, the boys insisted we stick to the plan of moving and really they were the ones we were most worried about. So here we are trying to register the boys for school the day before students start back up and it was as dreadful as the first time I attempted to register them. If the house had been progressing as planned perhaps things would have been easier to deal with but compound our school situation with our housing situation and I was beginning to feel defeated. Even with all my paperwork in hand we still burned through three days of dealing with everything from a disorganized registrars office to registrars that probably should have retired a decade ago to having to wait FIVE hours to finally meet with a registrar to having to return the following day to select classes and then having to wait almost a week for them to be issued their laptops. Private school started looking better by the minute but that would be no easy process either as there is even more paperwork and testing, not to mention tens of thousands of dollars to get that process started. Finally the boys got their schedules only to realize after their first full day that they already had been taught what was being taught. Needless to say it was back to the dreadful registrars office to upgrade every core class that wasn't already an honors class. Of course nothing about this was going to be easy including the fact the school is about twenty minutes away so every morning I have to drive them to seminary at around 5:40. Then I'm back picking them up at 5 after water polo ends at a pool that is even farther away for us. I can't tell you how happy I'll be not only when our house is done but when their brand new high school is done which will be next fall and will thankfully be located just five minutes from our house! The bright star in all of this has been their water polo coach. She and I had been communicating long before we arrived and already she has had our back and is looking out for the boys and the boys are really enjoying playing here.

Next up was Sage. Things appeared to go quite smoothly on her end. We got her registration materials dropped off at her school, the registrar was warm and lovely to Sage, and although they asked Sage not to attend on the first day of school but rather the following day so all the new kids wouldn't get lost in the shuffle, it seemed like it was going to be great...until we got the unexpected call the next day alerting us Sage was registered at the wrong school! We then found ourselves back to square one with her and delayed yet another day in getting her into school. The jury is out on what we think about the schools here but I am happy to report that all three of them seem to be adjusting well.

Sage and I determined there are far worse ways to spend your days waiting to get back into school...Florida in January has it's advantages...



Finally she's in school!



Thankfully after that disastrous first week, Jack arranged for a great day for us at Busch Gardens in Tampa where we felt a lot of love. It was the kids first time there and what a fun day we had despite it starting off a bit wet (the first bit of rain we'd seen since arriving to FL)! It's not everyday you get to feed a giraffe, hold a sloth, pet a tarantula and kiss flamingos! Definitely a way to lift the spirits from the past week.






This is not your ordinary drop tower. Once at the top it turns your chair facing down towards the ground and drops you before bringing you back to your upright position just before getting to the bottom. A true skydiving experience...lol! Definitely a way to take your mind off other things...