Kentucky (The First Week)

We got into our cars and drove from Iowa to Kentucky. Yeah for a play ground at a rest stop! Our big truck with all of our belongings showed up on the 18th.  We had two great guys help us unload the truck.  The Elder’s Quorum showed up that evening and helped us with our piano (not something the moving guys cover). 

Monday before the truck came, Sammi and I went to Eastern High School and registered her for school.  We quickly learned we aren’t in Texas anymore.  The schools here are very different!  Her core classes are all honor level.  She also has Choir, a computer class, and art.

Tuesday I spent in ARD meetings for the girls – also being reminded that I am NOT in Klein ISD anymore. Bella was supposed to attend preschool for one more year.  And Kentucky is supposed to honor her out of state IEP.  Nope.  That’s not how they do things.  So she is in Kindergarten now.  Joy and Bella are in the same class.  It’s small.  It’s no where near what they had in Spring.  They now ride the bus for 2 1/2 hours a day – and no one has a problem with that.  They leave my house at 8AM and return at 5PM. Everyone is so excited by the school they attend.  Chenoweth is evidently really hard to get into.  I don’t care.  To me it’s a school. I just wish it was closer to my house!  My poor babies!  (Yes, they do wear uniforms now)

 

Jessi and Lizzy have it even worse though.  They attend Kammerer Middle School.  Which is a joke to put Middle School in the name of that school.  It is a glorified Elementary School or a military prison – I haven’t decided yet.  Jessi is in 8th grade.  She has four core classes and one elective.  They walk silently on strips of tape on the floor during passing periods.  They are escorted from one class to the next by their teacher.  They stay with the same group of kids all day long, expect for their elective period – band, orchestra, choir, or PE.  For that class, they are escorted to the gym, where their elective teacher picks them up and escorts them to their class.  Five periods a day. Treated like 3rd graders, and Jessi says the material is about a 4th grade level.  LIVID doesn’t even begin to explain my reaction to that school.  The only reason we didn’t walk out the front door is Dr. D, the Orchestra Director.  She is awesome!  She and I had been emailing before school started.  When the counselor brought us down to meet her, she hugged the girls and gave them a welcoming gift.  She worked out with Jessi how she could play the harp (she is the ONLY harpist in the entire county!) in school.  Everyone keeps telling me what a good school Kammerer is.  I really feel bad for my girls!  We’ll see what happens, I’m seriously considering home schooling.

Picking up Jessi after mutual on Wednesday, we took this picture:

So grateful to be a couple of minutes from the temple.  That is a blessing I need badly right now!

Thursday we closed on our house.  I was not in a good mood, at all.  Everyone else was so excited – we were finally closing! The deal had been salvaged despite all of the set backs.  I was sitting there fuming and thinking about the terrible schools and a few other things I wasn’t liking.  Why should I be happy to be financially anchored to this county and this state?  My poor husband!  Walking into closing, I told him, “We don’t have to do this!”  Poor guy! 

We went out to lunch afterwards to a restaurant Jason had been to with a bunch of guys from work.  He loves their moles.

This kind not this   :)

Afterwards to make it up to him, I bought some Blue Bell ice cream called Kentucky Delight. I thought it was a nice mixture of Texas (Blue Bell) and Kentucky.  Everyone enjoyed it!

Jessi started her harp lessons here.  Not sure what we are going to do about the harp.  In order for her to play at school, the harp is at school.  It is locked up in Dr. D’s office.  Dr. D goes to other schools before and after Kammerer, so Jessi has no access to the harp before or after school.  Therefore the only time she has to practice is during Orchestra period.  Which is not ideal, but the only solution we could come up with.  She likes her new harp tutor here, but she doesn’t get to practice much and never on weekends.  Ugh.

Brother had his VIPS Orientation Meeting.  It was the same time as harp lessons, so Becca, Brother and I went without Daddy.  VIPS promises to be wonderful!  I am so excited for Brother – so very, very excited!  Becca made Brother a fish for their bulletin board.

Random: The girls finding the costumes again after all of this time.  The big girls have loved this new Coke campaign!

Initial impressions:

1. Kentucky is beautiful – so green and lush.  Love the trees and the rocks

2. The weather is great!  Yes, there is humidity, but NOTHING like Texas.  We are outside every day and loving it!

3. The roads feel SO NARROW – seriously wondering if they are deviated from the norm! (To be fair, I do drive a bus!)

4. The street lights are longer – seriously longer.  It’s great if you are coming up on a stale green cause it’s probably gonna stay green.  Just be ready to sit for a bit at intersections.

5. The people are so NICE!  Truly nice.  Extremely polite.  I feel like I’ve stepped into Stepford Wives or something.  Everyone is just so nice. Maybe not open to new ideas, but super NICE.

6. The city reminds me of The Woodlands – you are driving through trees and then you exit and wow, there is a city here.  Everything is really spread out.  Everything you could want is here, it’s just not right near your house.

7. Small families – most people have one, two, maybe three.  Everyone is SHOCKED by my seven!

8. Lots of women work.  More so than in Houston it feels like

9. Schools here are so unbalanced.  If you can afford it, you send your kid to private school.