I am really tired tonight, but wanted to start an entry anyhow...

because it has been almost a week since I last wrote. Things are going fine here! It's just been a really busy week. We had to get the kids ready to start school last Thursday, and there were supplies to be purchased and clothes to get ready (read marathon laundry), and Bingo actually needed to be registered TO start school. We did that on Tuesday... When we got there for our appointment, the office was all locked up and we found our guidance counselor in the lunchroom at a staff lunch! What was scheduled to be a 30 minute appointment ended up being closer to an hour and a half, but we got everything taken care of that could be done at that appointment, then were told to return Wednesday for his actual schedule, and to pay the fees associated with being in high school (free public education my butt... We paid $64.00 for the privilege of having books, a locker lock rental, ID, and gym uniform, and another $50. for his school pictures package! None of that included lunch money....) We returned to the high school as directed on Wednesday afternoon and took care of business. Our sophomore and senior took great pleasure in giving our new freshman a tour of where his locker was situated in relation to his classes, a synopsis of the strengths and weaknesses of his respective teachers (interesting to overhear...), and, a rundown of the fastest way to get from point A to point C in any given situation. They introduced their "new brother" to people they knew (I guess I was just there as decoration, lol) and Bingo was as ready as he could possibly be when we got home.

The first day of school dawned grey and rainy, and the kids decided to walk early so they had a chance to get situated and organized at school. From the photos I'm sure you get an idea of how thrilled they were with the weather at 6:50 a.m.
Bingo was unhappy that he couldn't find his "hoodies" to wear, although he did have an umbrella he could use. It wasn't cold so much as it was damp.

The walk to school is a little over a mile, and begins in our "addition," through the front entrance of it, with a right turn onto the main road.
The walk goes past the Mascoutah City Cemetary (not fenced in or anything!),
a corn field (something you don't see much of in Minneapolis proper, but we have a few within walking distance of our house here!), and the athletic fields and student parking lot. (Sorry for the blurriness of the pictures--Bingo took them as we were driving to the school). In good weather it's actually a pleasant walk, although I am guessing it is more difficult when burdened with backpacks, text books, and in our sophomore's case, a clarient on top of everything else. Still, when I was their age I walked over a mile to school myself in rain or shine or heat day (barefoot in the snow.... just kidding!).

Anyhow school seemed, but their reports to go well, all did their assigned homework this weekend so we are off to a good start, and, everyone is even headed to bed at a reasonable hour! Spike and I took the opportunity to go out to breakfast after we got everyone out the door on Thursday morning, and it was nice to spend that time together celebrating the start of their school year and the end of his summer term (his fall term starts in early September).

The remainder of our week was spent cleaning and readying for the party we had here Saturday afternoon and evening. It was supposed to be in part our "Mascoutah" wedding reception, however many people had plans and were unable to come; Still, we had a really nice turnout of friends of the kids because GI Jane's fiance's band decided to play a live concert in our honor, some parents of the band members, some neighbors, and some friends of ours.


The kids played "RockBand" in the living room, taking turns on the instruments, we grilled and ate and drank sodas (and beer for the adults), and had a good time. At dusk the real band got organized and set up, and they had performed three numbers for us when the police showed up to let us know we had gotten a noise complaint. We are fairly certain we know who it came from (Spike had checked with all the neighbors bordering us prior to the party and they were fine with the band playing--we promised to keep the volume down and to be done before 10 p.m.--the city's noise ordinance goes into effect at 11 p.m. so we would have been fine otherwise, but there has to be a sour grape in every bunch...). We had the kids turn the volume down even lower, and they were allowed to continue playing. The highlight of their numbers for me was an adapted version of "Stacy's Mom", sung to the words of "Ray-Ray's Mom," which had all of us laughing uproariously and had the lead singer begging Spike not to punch him! I should have known something was up when the lead singer pointed out Bingo, and introduced him to the audience, then pointed me out as his mom... As the band moved into their 6th number, the police showed up again, and once more were very friendly and supportive. They reported they had received a second noise complaint from an "anonymous" person, and even though they didn't feel the music was too loud or disruptive, they still had to come out and ask us to turn it down. We ended up having the kids finish their number, then shut it down. They were disappointed, but we have to be respectful, and while we all have a pretty good idea of who the complaintant is, we have no way of knowing for sure... Anyhow, it was fun while it lasted. I have never before hosted a private party with a live band! They did some "cover numbers" as well as 2 of their own original songs. The party broke up around 11:30 or so, and we had a very nice night!

I want to end this entry by showing a picture of Bingo hard at work reading the first two chapters of "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee:
If you look carefully you can see the book resting on Spike's pillow, where Bingo is absorbing the novel using the scientific process of "multi-pillow-transference"... (He did actually finish reading the first two chapters after he woke up).