I had a lot of fun with family this month. Papa Ron came to visit and brought his new girlfriend Linda. I thought she was really nice. We went for a walk at the park and enjoyed some Shakespeare's Pizza. They also came to one of Emily's soccer games. Linda's son-in-law is from England and they had him call me. I LOVED his voice!!! He even said he had been to where Harry Potter was filmed. I was so enthralled! I got to go swimming with Corinne one last time before school started. We celebrated Corinne's birthday at Papa Rodney's shop later that day.
Mom ran a 1/2 marathon in Kansas City one Saturday and Dad got donuts for us. The next day, we went to Devil's Icebox in Rock Bridge State Park. It was so cool and I wish we could have done more exploring. I loved how cool it was in the cave. Papa Rodney and Nana Arden visited with us on Labor Day and it was nice to see them.
Emily spent a week in Washington while Mom and Dad were at work. That meant I got to be home by myself for almost a week! I had to take care of Molly and Athena, but otherwise, I could hang out in my room and listen to music and read and whatever else I wanted without anyone bothering me.
I have been nervous, excited, and blah about starting 7th grade. I tried out for the Oakland Middle School volleyball team and made it! Then again, everyone made it so it didn't seem as special. I was worried about not making it at all. We have had practice pretty much every day after school. Our first game was at OLLIS. There were only 6 of us eligible to play, so we played both the A and B game. We struggled a lot against their A team, but were pretty matched with their B team. We ended up winning the 2nd set, but had to forfeit because we were only allowed to play 4 sets a day. Our next game was against Thomas Jefferson from Jeff City. It was a home game. We played pretty well, and won a set against them. Our third game was against Jefferson Middle School. We had more players then, and our B team lost, but did better. Our A team did great! We won our first set, lost our 2nd, and won the 3rd! I scored the winning two points. It was so awesome to have some success. I think we would do better if more of our girls could serve.
I got my schedule and had to do some changing. I have French, Theatrical Arts, and FACS in addition to the usual 7th grade core classes and Advanced 7th grade math. I went to tour the middle school again so I knew where my classes were. I feel more comfortable this year with navigating the school. Someone on our volleyball team tested positive, but we were not considered close contacts because of masking. Several of my friends did have to quarantine, and I kept waiting but never had to. I am fully vaccinated though, so I wouldn't have to quarantine unless I had symptoms. I did get to go to a football game to cheer on our school one Thursday night with my friends. I felt so grown up going to Battle High School for the game.
Ironically, math has become my favorite subject. I really like my teacher. English has become difficult, but only because I don't think the teacher likes me. I completed an assignment and she claimed she never got it. I ended up having to spend my lunch and RTI time redoing it. When Dad emailed her about it, she was very passive aggressive and rude toward me the next day. I just want to be trusted by the teachers. We also had picture day and I didn't make a huge deal out of my outfit or hair this year.
Emily and I changed rooms. I was really hoping to move downstairs, but Mom and Dad didn't think I showed that I was ready yet. I was really disappointed and frustrated. I'm jealous that Emily is getting the room and furniture and colors that she wanted and I am stuck with the old stuff. My furniture should come in soon and it will be set up downstairs. It will be hard to see my new room get set up and not be able to use it. I'm making the most of it and I'm trying not to show my disappointment.
I am looking forward to what the next month brings!
I really enjoyed the trails and hiking in the woods
