<p>Congrats to EmmyBet’s D!!! What a great way to finish high school! I hope we get to see her on youtube.</p>
<p>FlMathMom - congrats on getting the FAFSA done. H already did the Profile in Oct so I guess it is now my turn to do some heavy lifting and get the FAFSA done.</p>
<p>Emmybet that is just wonderful news-good for her!</p>
<p>Go emmy! Excellent news re: your D’s concert.
We finished the FAFSA today and feel relieved knowing it’s out of the way.
Just my two cents re: sports and choices. I’ve seen too many kids put their eggs in one basket only to be passed over in the end. I second the opinion that the school should be one that D or S would love even if the sport weren’t a factor. You just never know…injury, fickle coaches, etc. Still, it’s great that your S has been “shown the love.” It must feel great knowing that years of hard work are paying off.</p>
<p>Congrats to all with new acceptances!! I am always so excited to hear the good news…okay and a little envious, too, since we’ll be waiting and waiting.</p>
<p>Emmybet: Congrats to your daughter! What an achievement!</p>
<p>Okay, video story. Don’t ask me to videotape for you. I was taping S1’s last high school soccer game and doing what I thought was a great job until…we went back and viewed the tape. It was a new camcorder and green denoted standby while red meant taping. I had the whole thing backwards – every time I thought I was taping, I was actually turning the darn thing off and when I thought I was turning it off, I was taping. So, I have lovely footage of the stadium seats and absolutely no tape of his last game. I’m not sure I’ll ever live that one down. Not as bad as the time I got the car stuck in the garage with the cartop carrier on, but one that they still talk about.</p>
<p>Emmybet - I got chills and tears in my eyes reading about your talented, passionate daughter. Only the best to her!!</p>
<p>Arisamp, how wonderful that your daughter’s getting recognized for her hard efforts at fundraising. I remember your posts and it sounded like it almost did her in at the time. I don’t need a camera either…I can just picture her expression on finding out about the award. Kudos! </p>
<p>Fog, OMG!!! You mean spur of the moment like that, kiddo flew cross country alone? Hats off to both of you. I can assure you, although songbird is 17 going on 40 in many ways, that would not have worked for us. Oh, she would’ve gone…but mosb would’ve been on the plane…at BOTH of our preferences. </p>
<p>They all grow up at different rates, in different ways. Independent travel is very impressive. Good job! Can’t wait to hear how it went! </p>
<p>Momjr, glad your older d is over the mono. Hope she has a healthy, fun, and successful 2nd semester.</p>
<p>FlMath, I am jealous beyond belief. Absolutely beyond belief. Truly, I would go through app season all over again TWICE to avoid this atrocious (to me anyway) finaid stuff. </p>
<p>Emmy, congratulations to your d! That’s a wonderful honor and achievement, and the best part is how happy she is about it, and her beautiful sentiment about why she was selected. Very nice.</p>
<p>Ohiomom, kind of a dirty trick of the manufacturer, don’t you think? Who in their right mind associates green with “off” and red with “on?” Not sure I can get you off the hook on the cartop carrier incident, though. How in the world did that happen? I’m sure there’s a perfectly logical explanation…just can’t think what it might be. Do tell.</p>
<p>Oh gosh! I forgot to congratulate Arisamp on her daughter’s fantastic accomplishment. That is very special.</p>
<p>Emmybet-congrats to your D, what a wonderful achievement!!</p>
<p>Thank you - and I, too, want to congratulate Arisamp’s D. It’s wonderful when hard work pays off in significant and surprising ways. I’m glad she feels appreciated, especially if she wasn’t expecting to.</p>
<p>You know what’s nice about this audition being over? I can start nagging again! No, seriously, I was holding back on asking her anything potentially stressful for a few days, because I truly didn’t want to blow her concentration or confidence for that audition. But this morning we had a check-in of what’s next. She let me know she’s in control - 2 more app essays, a scholarship essay, and her audition “package.” Most schools require recs, essay, photo, resume, etc. to be brought to the audition and some want it sent in advance. She has the essay written, but has been slow asking for her recs. But we’ll get all of this sewn up by the 15th. That will be a happy day!</p>
<p>I don’t know how D2 would do on a quick flight across country. Probably fine - she went to see my folks on her own as a sophomore, flew to camp alone, and went to Europe with a group. But the suddenness would be jarring. It must be amazing to be 17 and have people flying you in to meet with them. Most of us never get to do that as adults!</p>
<p>EmmyBet and Arisamp - Congratulations on each of your daughter’s fantastic accomplishments and recognition. Wow. You must be so proud! And congrats as well to those with acceptances coming in: there is a lot to celebrate. I love seeing everyone’s news.</p>
<p>Nothing to report here - three apps. in, three to go. We should get a couple of EA decisions by the end of the month, but we’ll be hanging in there until April for all decisions.</p>
<p>Arisamp: I’m so pleased for your daughter. The recognition is so much sweeter because she worked so hard and really wasn’t expecting anything in return. Perfect!</p>
<p>Fogfog: Impressed by your ability to pull this off quickly. S1 would have balked at a cross country trip alone at 17…especially on such short notice. He’s so much like my DH – they both need sufficient time to prepare (worry) about things like this. S2 would be on that plane in a heartbeat! Different kiddos. Hoping your son has a great experience.</p>
<p>MOSB: As for the cartop carrier, my DH attached it to the van loaded it the night before we were to leave on vacation and left the van parked in the driveway because the it doesn’t fit in the garage with the cartop carrier on. In the morning, I was packing the remaining things in the van in the pouring rain and thought, it is crazy for everyone to walk through this pouring rain to get in the car. I’ll just pull it in the garage. I don’t know where my head was at the time – obviously not working at full speed, because I KNEW that the van wouldn’t fit in the garage. In any case, I pulled the van into the garage – yes, it did go in. BUT, as soon as I did it, I realized what I had done. It went in because the cartop carrier is designed aerodynamically so that it is narrower at the front than the back, so it slid into the garage, but there was no way on earth that I was getting it back out. I had to go to confess to my DH. We unpacked the carrier, took it off the van, and had to put it back on and repack it in the pouring rain. So much worse than it everyone had gotten a little damp running through the rain to the car. What was I thinking??? I earned many “durf” points (awarded at our house for doing something really dumb) for this stunt. Had a hard time living it down, as not only did we all end up getting wet, we left at least an hour late for our vacation – and I am always the one prodding everyone to get moving and out the door on time.</p>
<p>Ohiomom - I almost drove the kayaks into the garage that way one time because of rain, but someone luckily stopped me. Little aside: we drive them down on vacation whereever we go and it is a sight to see four projectiles strapped precariously to the top of a minivan. One time, my son did the straps and sure enough, I could see one particular projectile easing its way forward going 70 down the highway. Luckily again, we stopped in time before some mayhem ensued! 
Emmybet - YAHOOOOOOO!!! And a tenor sax to boot (my dd2 plays tenor and I know how little light shines on them during a normal band arrangement vs. a violin) - makes it spectacular!!! Congrats on this and many more to come!
Arisamp - Congrats!!!</p>
<p>Oh Amanda, we do the 4 kayaks on the car on the highway thing too and it really does make the car a juggernaut. Add a couple bikes on the back and its even crazier. I am always nervously checking out the straps but so far so good. We are thinking of getting more kayaks to leave at my parents house so we can go back to having all the bikes on the car. Or getting a trailer so we can have all 4 kayaks and all 4 bikes. Or just retire now to a place near water. ;-)</p>
<p>Glad I am not the only one!!! We always get alot of funny looks from people when we pass them like we are using our car+kayaks to joust or something (my kayak is a long long one at 17’)</p>
<p>Ohio - your heart was in the right place. That is what counts.</p>
<p>Bikes, kayaks, skiing…In our house, we believe, G-d created sports to provide us with ways to injure ourselves. It never fails. We stick to reading and surfing…channels that is. I’m envious of all you athletic families.</p>
<p>Amanda and LOP: I would like to be a kayaker! We do rent them on a family outing every summer --such fun! Wish we lived close enough to water to justify owning some. I can picture you heading down the highway with the kayaks strapped on the car. I’d be watching constantly to see if they were still there. We did have an incident once where the cartop carrier popped open on I77 heading south and our belongings were strewn along the highway and in the median strip. We can laugh about it now, but at the time…</p>
<p>Thanks for the congratulations. You folks did nail it - she worked hard on the fundraiser because she wanted to and didn’t expect any reward. The fact that she’s being recognized now is totally unexpected and very very satisfying. She also got a great recommendation letter from an adult involved in the fundraiser - originally intended for a scholarship, but I suggested she forward this letter to the other schools on her list as well. Shows her leadership skills and initiative - and can’t hurt, right?</p>
<p>Ohiomom - sorry, but I am sitting here laughing at the thought of the van with the carrier stuck in the garage. Sounds like something I would do We don’t go kayaking, but do bike a lot - so am familiar with the bikes rattling around at the back of the van. H has gotten less and less careful with putting these on as the years go by - I hold my breath each time we go a long distance on the highway with the bikes on the van.</p>
<p>
sooo jealous. My kids play sports but we just can’t seem to get it together to do athletic activities as a family.</p>
<p>Us, too.</p>
<p>We were playing cards with D1’s BF over break, and teasing him because my girls know more about video games than he does. “Well, I was always outside playing sports/boating/snowboarding/you name it” was his excuse.</p>
<p>That shut us right up …</p>
<p>^^ I totally feel the shame…</p>