the Oettli Family: September

Our family was so sad to see summer end, but we jumped right into the swing of fall. The kids are happy at school and are doing well. I am volunteering a lot at both schools and have caught up on projects at home; but I miss the kids while they are gone!

Bud is a very responsible eighth grader. He gets up every morning with his alarm clock and after he showers and gets dressed, I chat with him while he eats breakfast. He is riding the bus to school this year and leaves the house at the bright and early time of 7:05! Not many of his friends ride the bus in the morning and he has to sit by a girl from our neighborhood on the way to school. They are both quite shy and I'm sure the ride is mostly silent. He has not had much homework so far, which he loves. I am the Cub Scout leader again and Bud has really helped me with the little boys. Bud hit a growth spurt this past year and we've had to buy him all new clothes and shoes. He is taller than his grandma and aunts and is almost as tall as me. He went on a campout this month for scouts and is now finished with all of his scouting merit badges and just needs to do his project to become an Eagle Scout.

Rosie is in sixth grade this year and is so happy! All summer she dreamed about being a 6th grader. She told me she no longer wanted to wear bows in her hair and asked Bud questions like, "How do sixth graders laugh?" all summer long. She was thrilled the first day to learn her assigned seat was by her best friend and the boy she had a crush on all last year. She gives us very detailed descriptions about her school conversations with this unnamed boy. She loves doing her homework! I remember Bud complaining and taking hours to complete homework in sixth grade, Rosie finishes in no time and relishes every moment. She was chosen to do her dream job; read the Owl Update morning news. She is the anchor! She stays after school everyday and films the news to be played for the school the next morning. I can't write how ecstatic she is to do this. But, she has had her weepy moments this month; and goes from happy to crying hysterically in ten seconds flat. She had one meltdown while a marble maintenance man was at our house. She locked herself in the bathroom and wouldn't come out. I was mortified! The man just called out, "I have an eleven year old daughter, I can relate."

Coleman is in second grade and had a few adjustments the first couple weeks of school. His teacher expects a lot and Coleman has to work fast to finish his work at school and has lots of homework. After struggling a bit, he now can finish his work at school and home and is doing well. His teacher was impressed with his accuity math scores and his is doing great on his AR reading tests. He reads with Jono most nights; his favorite books are the A to Z Mysteries. Coleman begged me not to sign him up for choir this year and is in the Chess Club instead. Bud taught him to play and he likes it. He comes home from chess club and says things like, "I told my playing partner what moves to make so he could beat me" or "my playing partner got all my pieces but the queen and then the bell rang". He is such a funny kid! Coleman loves that I am the new Cub Leader. He wants to do everything the other boys do. Coleman still loves to snuggle and give hugs.

We love the potatoes and tomatoes from our garden!

Jono and his cousin Chris worked the sideline footballs at the Utah/ Utah State game in Logan.

Our flowers were so pretty this summer and fall.

Rosie pulled out 3 teeth in 2 days. I told her the Tooth Fairy doesn't visit girls who write essays titled "27 Reasons Santa Claus Isn't Real". She said "Can't I at least have a quarter a tooth or round it up to a dollar?" I let her take four quarters out of Jono's change jar.