Anna Grows

1st Day of Senior Year  Senior year is underway!  Anna began classes on August 21 for what is going to be a busy year.  She is excited for most of her classes, which include: Government (a very cool teacher and no shortage of material to talk about in this class) English (They are reading Hamlet  this year) Digital Art Probability & Statistics (the teacher said this class is for the kids that have not enjoyed math up until this point) Choir (possible choir trip to Nashville in the spring) Studio Art & Design 2 Human Anatomy & Physiology (lots of lab work) Joe & Theresa attended back to school night on Thursday which included a special session at 5 PM for senior parents on all of the deadlines (graduation will be June 4) followed by meeting all of Anna's teachers, complete with bell schedule, from 6-8 PM.  It was a full evening!  The choir teacher noted that after several years, the pie guy is retiring (this was the annual fall pie sales that...

Today our guest blogger is none other than Anna herself writing about her recent trip to Japan.  Enjoy!   One of the Big Buddha statues we visited  As I'm sure a few people here have heard already, I went to Japan last month. My school organizes a trip to a different country every year and anyone is allowed to go. We had a group of about 40 people plus 6 or 7 chaperones. The first major hurdle of the trip was the flights. Since our group was so big, we couldn't get everyone on the same flight. So, while 20 or so people got to take a direct flight on ANA to Tokyo, I had to fly Air Canada to Toronto, wait for 2.5 hours, fly 14 hours to Narita, and then drive an hour to Tokyo. Eventually though, we got there. Our first hotel we stayed at was very nice but very small. I could reach my entire body across the two beds and touch both walls! One of the main defining features of Tokyo is the amount of people that live there. The high volume of people results in buildings being bui...

 Anna had a rare four consecutive days off the first week of August and took the opportunity to make a quick trip to Ohio.  Theresa dropped her off at the airport curb on Tuesday morning and Anna hopped a quick flight to Dayton, where Grandma & Grandpa picked her up.  Anna served as the driver for the rest of the trip and drove back to Paulding.  Grandma & Grandpa enjoyed having Anna around and hearing all about her Japan trip .  Anna always enjoys her visits to Ohio and was able to help with the garden and a trip to the new Pancake House restaurant (they have huge portions).  Anna flew back on Friday in time for work. Grandma is still on her antibiotic regimen.  Since her arm is in a sling, she cannot sleep in bed and has been sleeping in the recliner at night.  The family room as at the opposite end of the house from the bedrooms, so she has her phone to call Grandpa if needed.  During Anna's last night, Grandma woke up at 4 AM and ...