So Amy takes the bus home from school in the afternoon. When I was talking with the transportation people to let them know they would need to create a stop at the entrance, they didn't want her bus dropping her off so that she would have to cross the street to get in to the neighborhood. I could see transportation's point of view that even though she was in high school, there were a lot of big trucks on the road. When the trucks come up over the bridge which is on a bit of a rise, they would have a difficult time slamming on the brakes to stop. However, the bus route was originally set up to drop off so that Amy would have to cross the road. It took some persistence on my part, because they were busy at the beginning of the school year, but her bus ride was changed from her being the last person off the bus to the being the first person off. The drawback was that when the bus driver stopped, everyone on the bus was wondering who lived in this neighborhood. Amy liked it better when it wasn't a big deal and no one knew.
Misha also rides the bus. I am not thrilled that she has to get on so early in the morning--6:30 am, however, she says she doesn't mind the time it gives her to read for an hour before school. She commented the other morning as she and I walked down to the entrance that she also likes to watch the sun rise every morning. She used to ride her bike to the entrance in the morning and then back up in the afternoon. However, her bus driver asked her the other day if there was a place at the top of the street where he could turn around. There is a cul-de-sac. So, in making life a little easier for the bus driver and for turning around, he now drops Misha off at the house in the afternoon. The drawback is that she has to walk to the entrance in the morning, and it takes a little longer than her two-minute bike ride.
Kristen is still attending her same elementary school. She carpools with the two other families on the street that have girls in her class. I drive five kids to school every three weeks. I am usually overloaded on the chatter by the time I drop the kids off, but it is wonderful to have two weeks off where I don't have to drive thecarpool at all!
