FMS Cheer Camp

Beginning of 2nd Week of YSI

We dropped Devin off this afternoon again. It was much easier than the first time. I knew he was going to have fun and what to expect so I was not worried about him. He was a little unsure of this week in the beginning because it is Art and Humanities and he did not want to do the creative writing or the art. However, after going the first week and having so much fun, he did not seem to mind it as much. Plus, one of the classes was Computer Cartooning and he was excited about that.

This week Devin is taking Pottery, Creative Writing, Computer Cartooning and Philosophy. I think it will give him a pretty neat taste of some new things he has not been exposed to.

It was so funny watching the kids when we came back today. Those that were returning from last week all spoke to Devin and seemed really excited to see him. I really enjoyed the moment when two girls came running up to Devin and said "you are wearing black and that is so cool cause I'm wearing pink and we match." I thought he was going to turn every color pink. It was great!!! I love that he is interacting with friends and fitting in. Devin has never been the social butterfly that Emily is so it was nice to see.

Being sneaky parents, after we left Devin, we wanted to see if he caught up with the girls after we left on the way back to the dorms, so we drove over to the dorms and watched. Yep, he caught up with them and looked like he was having a great time. He is going to kill us when he finds out. Emily was so shocked we did it and she wanted to know if we would spy on her and we told her absolutely, that it was our job as parents! At least she won't be shocked when we do it. She has been warned!!!

End of 1st week of YSI

I was so excited to see Devin on Saturday. I know he did not miss me, but that is okay. The Resident Mentors (RM) took pictures of their week and it was really cool that they sent home a copy of the slide presentation with each of the students. I pulled out some of the ones of Devin to give folks an idea of some of the things he did. I looked like a lot of fun!!

These strange folks are the RM's that kept up with the kids all week. All of them are currently in or have just completed their time in the Advanced Acadamy (early entrance into college). Most of these guys are between 17 and 19. The blond girl has just graduated from the program and highschool and is entering Yale in the fall as a Junior. Very cool!!!

I think this might be Chemistry, but I'm not real sure.

I thought the next slide was very cool. They made these kalediscopes on the computer in math. Pretty neat.

The RM's again. Apparently, when you play crab soccer it is necessary to wear war paint!

Okay, does anyone else see that my child is not paying attention? He was not happy about making things with the paper. He called this arts and crafts and he hates such. Too bad. It is good for him!!

In Chemistry, his professor blew things up and they got to play with Liquid Nitrogen. Devin said this was his favorite thing all week. They even made ice cream with it.

Not sure what this is about, but I thought it was pretty funny. He is even sitting beside a cute girl! Good going Devin!!


Toga Party! You can just see the tip of Devin's head in the back. Bet you he is not wearing a toga!!This is my favorite picture of all! Something I thought I'd never see! My son dancing with a group of girls. I think it is great. He looks like he is having a great time. Apparently they had to work pretty hard to get him to dance, but once out there, he had a great time. I'm proud of you Devin for trying it and having a great time. That is what it is about. Don't let your fears hold you back! It feels good to just let go and be free.

They really liked the game 4 corners. They were playing this when we arrived and while we were waiting on the presentation to start.

The first thing Devin did when he got home is get comfortable and right to the PS3. I think he missed that more than anything! Maybe Raven.


I'm glad you had a great time Devin!!

Fairplay Jaguar Cheerleaders

This past Thursday was Emily's first party with the other Fairplay Cheerleaders. They had a pool party late afternoon and had dogs and burgers. As you can see from the pictures, the first thing they did once in the pool is start to stunt. Looked pretty good too considering they have not had their first practice yet.






This is Emily and her friend Anna Butler. They pretty much hung out together the whole time.

I got to meet some of the moms and even met someone that lived close (Anna Butler) enough for us to car pool! That was awesome and such a relief. I was wondering how I was going to make all this work when Barry travels, but having additional help is fabulous.

Not only did the girls get to hang out a bit, but they got their uniforms too. Doesn't she looks so cute!

She told me it finally feels almost real!

They start camp on Monday and she is very exited. They have camp Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I took Wednesday off so that I can help with lunch, take pictures and get to know some of the moms. (I also have a dentist appointment at 7:00am - YUCK)

Two weeks till school starts! This summer went by so fast! Emily is so excited about school starting and Devin is not excited at all.

Happy Birthday Melissa

Emily's best friend Alexandra asked me last week if I would help her do something special for her mom's 40th birthday. Of course I told her yes. You cannot turn a request like that down!!!

Alexandra and Emily spent all afternoon making posters and signs for our living room. I was given instructions to bring home balloons too! They worked so hard on everything. I was really proud of them.

I got home and started supper and Melissa came on over. I think all the posters and decorations really surprised her.

Present time!!!

We had a great time and it was tons of fun being about to do that for such an awesome friends. Not only is Alexandra Emily's best friend, but I consider Melissa mine.

Thanks Melissa for being such an awesome friend. Happy 40th Birthday!!

FIrst Day of YSI

Last Saturday we took Devin to Univ. of West GA for his YSI (Young Scholars Institute) which is sponsered by an early entrance into college program at the University. We got there at 3:00 and helped Devin get settled into his room.



Despite the frown he has, he is actually pretty excited. He just did not want me to take his picture. Typical teenage boy.
They had a notebook ready for him when we got there that has his schedule for the week. Below is Barry and Devin checking it out.
After getting Devin settled into his room we had a parents meeting to let us know what to expect. They told us the kids would always be escorted by a resident mentor and that they always travelled in a large group. They also went into a bit more detail about the Advanced Acadamy. Generally students apply during their junior or senior year of high school, but there have been a few as young as 13. So technically if a student started in his freshman year of high school, he could graduate from high school and college at the same time. Crazy huh! Devin was excited about maybe doing this and asked if he could take the SAT again this year. You need a 1250 on the math and reading sections. He scored a 1020 last time so he has so improving to do before we can consider this.

Devin will have Geology, Math, Physics and Chemistry this week. He is most excited about Math. He is really looking forward to actually learning some new things.

After the meeting, Barry, Em and I headed home. It is so different at home when one of the kids is gone. Emily was excited about having us all to herself. She did not have to worry about being picked at all week! Peace and quiet is a beautiful thing.

Lazy Weekend

I love a lazy day where we can just hang out and have fun.



Don't you just love our giant muscles?

Oh yes he did!!!