Those Summer Nights

One of the most amazing things about our evening walks was the colors of the sunsets.  They were breathtaking.  It was such a peaceful way to end the day.

This was the sunsetting at Lake Pawtuckaway, from Grammy's backyard. 

July Odds and Ends

There aren't many, but here are few odds and ends from July:

Selfie in the car  on the way to the beach. 

Nothing says happiness like Starbucks (more gift cards please!). 

Elizabeth and I started off her birthday with a nice run. 

Bathing beauties at the pool club.

 Emily, enjoying her brief time as an only child.

Vacation Mornings

Some of the best times of every vacation are spent on the beach before the masses arrive.  Dogs are allowed on the beach before 9 and after 7, so we always make sure to get a walk in during both of those times.  We had some great mornings on Wallis Sands this year.

After a stormy Sunday, Monday morning started with dark skies but that didn't stop the girls from going in the water. 

Nothing better than a little healthy competition. 

Birthdays

As always, the girls received birthday gifts while they were on vacation, which always seems to make their birthday celebrations last a little bit longer (and they love it).  The girls received presents from Grammy and then Elizabeth received a gift from Uncle Peter and Aunty Kathy.  Finally, when we got back from vacation, Elizabeth received a few gifts from us, in addition to Draco.

Opening presents at Grammy's house. 

Ginger Snaps bracelet.

Ravenclaw Pen

High Pass

As one could probably glean from previous posts, Elizabeth had an amazing experience at Choate.  She met people from all over the world, made so many new friends and was overcome with sadness when it was time to leave.  Emily and I were able to attend the final presentations for her class, which were very impressive.  It was also neat to meet so many of her new friends - and I must say, it filled me with pride when person after person told me that they loved our Elizabeth and that she was such a good person.  Elizabeth felt like, for the first time, she was with "her people" - kids that thought that it was cool to be serious about school and who loved to talk about Percy Jackson, Harry Potter and other book series.

Last week, we received Elizabeth's final grade for the Writing Workshop.  The Choate summer programs grade, from low to high, as follows: Fail, Low Pass, Pass, High Pass and Honors.  Of course, Elizabeth was determined to get an Honors grade, so you can imagine the disappointment in our house when she learned that her final grade was High Pass.  We found the teacher's criticism of Elizabeth's work to be spot on: issues with revisions brought her grade down; she needs to give herself time to more fully support and expand upon her content; she often had interesting ideas, but didn't push herself sufficiently to revise and develop her thinking enough.  Her teacher also said that she shows true promise as a writer; that her outgoing personality helped create a positive classroom dynamic; that she was a positive presence in the class; and was always willing and excited to participate in activities.

Despite Elizabeth's disappointment in her final grade, Lee and I were pleased with what she accomplished a Choate.  A wise friend pointed out to me that if she achieved the highest grade while with exceptional students, Elizabeth could come to the mistaken impression that she will always be at the top of her class - which could result in her being unable to cope with the disappointment she is sure to encounter in high school.  Moreover, the great challenger, from our perspective, was whether she would be able to survive away from home for two weeks, generally cut off from communicating with us but for a few minutes every evening.  And she didn't just survive, she thrived.  She loved just about every minute of her two weeks.  Her dorm advisor reported that she was diligent with her time during study hours; dutiful about her responsibilities in the dorm; attentive and respectful during dorm meetings; got along well with the other girls and took advantage of all of the organized social activities.

While she would love to go back again next year, I think that Elizabeth realizes that this summer was a "once in a lifetime experience" (as she told Emily the other day) and that she will spend next summer studying for the SSAT and other school entrance exams.  Our girl has big dreams. 

Elizabeth's teacher welcomed us to the final presentations.  He actually mentions Elizabeth in his little speech.

Elizabeth's final presentation, which was about Ireland.  They were only supposed to speak for 45 seconds or so.

Elizabeth's section of Writing Workshop, with Mr. Olins. 

Sign in the window at her dorm. 

Elizabeth and her friends, working on their last night before presentations. 

She took a lot of photos on the last morning. 

Saying goodbye to Choate.

Meet Draco

If you are a loyal follower of the CSC, you that Elizabeth loves animals and that she is always look to take on more responsibility.  For the last several months, she's been talking about getting some sort of lizard.  Rather than wait for the inevitable business case, we decided that she could get one for her twelfth birthday, as long as she did the research to figure out which one was best and as long as she picked something that she could care for by herself.  One she heard the news, she dove head first into her research and figured out what would work in our house and with our busy lifestyle.  She eventually decided on a gecko and Draco moved in a few weeks ago.  As hesitant as I was at first, he's actually starting to grow on me a bit....

Researching and watching countless youtube videos with Lee. 

Draco is an albino gecko, so she named him after the very, very pale villain in the Harry Potter series. 

Every time they feed Draco, this is what happens - everyone in the family watches him hunt his prey. 

Not sure how she has any of my DNA.  I'm not sure that I could ever do this.