Congratulations @jjmek15 ! I hope your family enjoys a wonderful weekend…
Hey @VickiSoCal there’s a girl from our school going to St. Andrews too. Just thought it was interesting because it’s not a super common destination. At least there will be another SoCal kid there.
@NolaCAR That’s a fantastic write-up. Thanks so much - so many great suggestions and ideas, and I am sure I will use many of them! I was looking at Newport for a stop-over… now we will definitely have to spend a night there. I read about Multnomah Falls and also Oneonta Gorge and would like to hit one or both of them.
Just got home from my DD’s graduation. It was a great night. I only got emotional when the kids entered the arena, but after that it was all cheers and happy times. I can’t believe it’s over. sigh
@eandesmom Love your road trip story - it is remarkable that we were able to survive before cell phones, lol!
Our plan so far is that we’ll arrive in Seattle late at night, spend the next full day in the city, and head for ONP that evening and spend two nights there. I was torn between that and staying a second night in Seattle and just one night at ONP. I only decided two nights in ONP because I really like the looks of the hotel we got there, and I was having a hard time finding a good place (at a decent price) in Seattle. After ONP, we aren’t 100% sure - maybe head down the coast and then into Portland, or head towards Mt Rainier and then Portland… we are open to any suggestions 
Congratulations @greeny8 on your daughter’s graduation! Congrats to any other families celebrating graduation this weekend. I can’t believe graduation is here. I started the countdown today as my son’s graduation is one week away. Super excited!
@jmek15 thanks so much for making that list!
D received her grad present (laptop) back in the fall because she really did need it then. We made it clear that this was her graduation present, so there won’t be any other gift-giving (other than from her grandparents).
QOTD: what dorm stuff are people buying? D will be in a triple so I hesitate to buy anything other than bedding – there’s a good chance that none of the nifty organizer stuff they sell at Bed Bath and Beyond would even fit anywhere.
Dorm stuff: As little as possible. Part of this is recognizing that we have to get it all back to Alaska next May—so linens, and D17 can buy herself a couple posters and maybe a teakettle if she can ever figure out whether one’s allowed.
Dorm stuff - lots. D is going to school in the south. We like to decorate. We did, however, decide against the futon because D decided she didn’t want to loft her bed.
D17’s last day of school was yesterday-went in at 11, dropped off her last project for IB bio, wore her Roll Tide tank top, and was back home by 1 pm. For her it was a little anticlimactic because she decided to start college early and is already doing an online course that has homework, but I also don’t think it’s entirely sunk in yet that she’s “done” and she’ll never go back.
Dorm stuff-no shopping yet. I’m not sure how good my quilt will come out because art skills and craft skills are two entirely different beasts. Being a good crafter requires huge amounts of precision and patience, neither of which I’m blessed with in abundance. The hierarchy that places art ability above crafting ability is ridiculous, in my opinion, and I’m glad to see some fine art galleries are starting to do stuff like show quilts and woodworking along with painting and sculpture.
About one more week to the graduation ceremony. Parents aren’t allowed to bring “cameras with removable lenses”. Yes, this from the school that tried to soak me for a $50 yearbook picture. One last jab at our pocketbook from them. It’s ok, though, I’ll take all of the pictures with her in her graduation regalia before we ever leave the house, and I won’t be buying their pictures.
I opened up my online shop yesterday and now you can buy mugs and prints made from my artwork. The internet is a very cool place-I had no idea that could happen. The girls showed me how to do it-they’ve been waiting for me to pull the trigger and were thrilled to help me (because it meant I didn’t badger them about college because I was too busy figuring out how to get artwork onto a shower curtain, lol).
What’s the feeling about bicycles on campus here? D17 wants to, but we so rarely ride bikes here that the ones in the garage have flat tires. I have a feeling that the same thing will happen at college…
Any of you or your kids at SciOly nationals today?
On laptops, we’re shopping around now for DS17. I’m thinking of going light and portable, but adding a docking station, monitor and full size keyboard/mouse.
My DD14 (Industrial Engineering) recently purchased an inexpensive and very portable Acer Chromebook, which she loves, and now plans to pair it up with a more powerful full size windows laptop. On most days, all she needs to drag around campus is the light Chromebook, and only needs the more powerful windows laptop for applications programing, etc…
Dorm Stuff, my DD14 and her roommate went nuts, they lofted the beds, and got everything from TWO mini-fridges, microwave, TWO Keurig coffee makers, furniture, rugs, art, shelving, blah, blah, blah. And of course, they picked a room on the 4th floor. #:-S
On the other hand, my son thinks he can just throw some cloths into a laundry basket and head up to school. :-"
My kids never made it to nationals. We have two schools that have dominated the states for much of the past several years. Two schools have done well at nationals as well winning 5 national titles in a row between them a couple years back. One of their middle schools won six national titles in a row and with a gap year, won another. So other teams in the state were pretty much participating at States for fun. Though this year a different school made nationals.
Good luck to all participating. Its a great event/group. Wonderful opportunity for science kids and great group of kids as well.
And good luck to everyone whose kids are still competing. Tough to do with senioritis. True dedication.
@MotherOfDragons S17 is planning to take a bike, also currently with flat tires from sitting in our garage. Hard to know how much he’ll use it until he gets there, so he’s taking his old one, nothing new and fancy. If he ends up using it a lot, we can give him money for a new one for the holidays, and if he doesn’t use it or it gets stolen, he’s not out much. Fortunately, we’re driving two cars to move in, so we’ll have room. Need to look into how those bike locker things at Bama work.
@jmek15 I don’t think I’ve thanked you yet for all your work on that list. Thanks! =D> And, congratulations on the graduation weekend! We did two sets of balloons: one for college colors and one for HS colors.
dorm stuff We haven’t even started that, although he did get a towel set as a grad gift and we have a couple of usable items from D14’s freshman year.
Congrats to all those already celebrating graduations! My D doesn’t get to have her senior banquet and grad ceremony until late June, although she will be done attending classes nearly 2 weeks before then (the kids in other grades have NYS Regents exams during that time, so unless a senior is missing an exam they need to graduate, they get to stay home.)
Re: dorm shopping. Besides bedding, the only thing we know for sure D will be bringing is a variable temperature electric kettle. I think the majority of care packages I send her at school are going to come from her beloved Golden Moon Tea.
we did not make sciOly nationals this year. We at least do well at Regionals and always make state.
It does seem in our state the same teams do go year after year.
D is not too concerned about Dorm shopping, having traveling and been at summer camps year after year. First concern is packing for 8 weeks being a counselor at camp
@mageecrew Fort Clatsop in/near Astoria is pretty cool. It’s where Lewis & Clark spent the winter. There’s an old shipwreck, the Peter Iredale, at Ft. Stevens State Park in Warrenton just outside of Astoria. Jessie Honeyman Memorial State Park near Florence is a place where you can see the Oregon Dunes and also do some canoeing/kayaking on the lake. Off-road rides on the dunes are available around there too. And don’t forget the Tillamook Cheese Factory - go for the samples and stay for the ice cream.
@dustypig Depending on the type of dorm your D got, she may want to coordinate with roommates about 1 or more fans if it’s a classic that doesn’t have AC. Some kids figure out some clever way to attach a little holder to the bed frame if they are on the top bunk for a phone, alarm clock, etc. Pribably be getting a study lamp too. Our older son has a small foldable drying rack for towels, swimsuits, workout clothes, etc that works well and doesn’t take up much space when not in use.
Dorm stuff: Because college is a plane ride away, we will be buying stuff locally (or buying online and shipping to campus, or using Bed Bath and Beyond’s ship-to-store). I’m happy to buy the basics – bedding, towels, etc, plus a big area rug. And I will buy her a decent desk chair. D will have to spend her own money for any additional “decorating”. She is thinking of buying an inexpensive king-size padded headboard to put down the long side of her bed, to make it into a comfy day bed. I think that’s a waste of money, but it’s not my money.
Bike: We’ll buy that locally, too. D has picked out an inexpensive bike at Target. We can order online, have it shipped to the store, and pay a little extra for assembly. She can easily ride from Target to school. She likes the ones with low step-through frames (so she can ride in a skirt), and a basket. We’re buying an inexpensive one so that we are not out much money if it gets stolen, and it will be less likely to be stolen in the first place.
We plan to rent a small storage unit for the summer, to keep the bike, desk chair, headboard thing, and whatever else isn’t coming home for the summer. It looks like it will be about $25 a month. That’s far cheaper than shipping stuff home and back to school again.
We plan to shop in Edinburgh before goign to St. Andrews.They have a used bike fair on campus the first week, hoping to pick up something cheap, obviously shipping would not be worth it.
@youcee there’s supposed to be a local get together soon for admitted students, so we should meet some people there.