Welcome to Crystal Lake

It’s been a while since I have really updated this blog. Sure I posted a #WordlessWednesday, but I know that is not enough. Moving is stressful and for me I have a tough time with change and establishing a new routine. But I am working on it. I promise that as soon as I can I will be back to updating this blog and my other one five days a week and commenting on my favorite blogs at least five days a week.

We arrived at our new home in Crystal Lake, Illinois on Friday August 8, 2014. Crystal Lake is a city located in McHenry County, Illinois and is one of the northwest suburbs of Chicago. It is named after the lake which is 1.6 miles west south-west of downtown Crystal Lake. The city has a population of approximately 40,000 people.

After a week of living here we are beginning to get settled. School starts on August 25 so I have been in a mad dash to get all the kids registered and ready for school. We live approximately a mile away from the high school to the north of us and a mile away from the elementary school to the south. We also live a block away from a nice park and all the shopping you could hope for is within a five mile radius. I think I am going to like it here.

our new home

Registering three kids for elementary school was simple. All I needed to do was go to the district office with our lease and their birth certificates and fill out some forms. I was gone for about 2 hours and now they are all set. Transferring a high-schooler to a new school is a different story.

My advice for families moving to a new school district is this: if you have a high-school student don’t move until he or she has graduated.

Chris and I talked about moving out of Spokane but we wanted to wait until our oldest had graduated first. That was our agreement until this job opportunity became available. He told me that he needed to get out of sales and this other department would be a perfect fit so he just had to apply for the job. I am a very supportive wife and just want him to be happy. We had no idea that he would actually get the job.

So here we are in a a new school district, new city, new state and new laws for getting your kids in school. Registering a student to Crystal Lake South High School is a three step process. First, you need to enroll the student. Next, you need to register the student. Then, the student can work out a schedule.

Because my daughter is a senior this year it is especially important that her transcripts from her old school get transferred to the new one. We need to make sure that she has met the requirements for seniors and is signed up for the courses and credits that she needs in order to graduate. I called her old high-school requesting her transcripts and other documents so that she can get registered. That was when I found out that she has outstanding fees from text books that she returned late so by law they can not send out her official transcripts until her fees are paid in full. We have to mail in a check first. But there are other documents that they can fax to Crystal Lake South in the meantime. We are still waiting for those documents and school starts in ten days. We can not proceed onto step two. She still isn’t even enrolled. I am frustrated and growing more impatient as the days go on.

For the time being I am going to try to forget about school and enjoy the beautiful weather, the weekend and our new community.