It has been a fun summer and I am really behind in my blogging! Hard to believe summer is almost over and Amara will start the school year at her new school next week. But let me fill you in on what has been going on recently.
Amara and I have had a couple of wonderful beach days! We’ve had our usual sleepovers, watched some great movies, done some baking and made a lot of gummies! Amara and I were really excited to try out our new gummy worm molds! The Modern Gummy which is the company that makes the gummy bear molds we use emailed me and asked if we would like to try out these new Gummy Worm molds in exchange for reviewing them on Amazon. If you or your grands ever want to make gummies I highly recommend their molds! The detail on the bears is amazing and the worms look like the kind you buy at the store.
Since Amara has started making gummies I have been on the lookout for different Jellos. I found these crazy Jellos at Big Lots which we used for our first batch of worms. Amara asked lots of questions about whether she would be able to eat them. We explained it was just flavoring and not alcohol but she was so sincere in her questions! There is a running joke around here that Justin (Amara’s Daddy) doesn’t like me because he won’t make me Margaritas! It really is just a joke but Amara loves to keep things going and told her Dad he couldn’t have any of the Margarita gummies! Funnier yet was when she tried one. She looks at me and says, “I can see why people like Margaritas!” That Jello really did make neat gummies – they were extra sparkly. The piña colada ones were kind of bland but we liked the Strawberry Daiquiri ones, too. We are becoming gummy experts.
We also had a summertime visit from Fred and his parents. Usually they come to visit at Christmas time and I get fake snow for the kids to play with. Since we had so much fun with Orbeez when the girls came to visit I thought it would be fun and it was supposed to be warm! I didn’t tell them what I had planned but I told Fred and his Mom to be sure and bring a change of clothes. We had a blast! We finished off the afternoon with hot dogs and the brownies that Amara and I had made the night before. l love that there are Orbeez in the yard again.
Speaking of having made the brownies the night before – it is a good thing we did as Amara slept until noon when I woke her up! She has been sleeping 12 or 14 hours a day for the last month or so. Jenna attributes it to another growth spurt! She has grown ½” in just the last 2 weeks and is now over 5’4” tall. I think she is taller than Aunt Sandy! As a reminder Amara comes from tall stock! Her Mommy is 5’10” and her Dad is 6’4”. They did one of those calculations and it says she will be 5’11” when she gets done growing! Jenna used to always tell me that when she was taller than me she got to be boss. She had a growth spurt at 18 and blew by me! I wonder if she will let Amara be boss if she is taller.
UPDATE: While I was writing this Jenna called to say they measured Amara this AM and she grew another 1/4″!
We have a few things yet to come before the big first day. Amara is coming over tomorrow to make gummies to take to school and share on her first day. Friday she and Mommy are getting their “back to school” haircuts and I get to go with them. I would get a haircut too if I could figure out what the heck to do with it!
As I write this Amara and her parents are at Registration and Orientation. School will officially start next Tuesday. When the students got their acceptance letters back in April the 7th graders were given an opportunity to test for math placement. Amara got into Advanced Math. She has always been a good math student and was on the Mathletes Team last year. Getting into Advance Math means her schedule will allow for Spanish, too.
Amara got to meet a lot of her new classmates last weekend. OCSA hosted a swimming party and BBQ for the new Production and Design students and their parents. She made a couple of new friends and reconnected with a friend who had left Santiago a few years ago. Amara was so excited that they both got into OCSA and even more excited that they got the same conservatory!
She has so much fun in her future! I can’t wait to watch it all unfold.