Vacation Recovery and School Bus Woes

The week spent in Arizona (and Utah) at Lake Powell and Sedona was wonderful. I think my sister, Elaine, and her husband, Marty, should receive some sort of award for all the work they did in preparing for this endeavor. The houseboats were spacious, the weather great and the company even better. There's not much to write...we spent 5 days on the water of Lake Powell eating, sleeping and playing in the water (water skiing, jet skiing, and sliding off the boat's slide into the lake). It was great to see my family. My dad showed off his piloting skills departing from one of our beach sites. We all were sure the boat was going to hit rocks, but somehow this former Thunderbird pilot threw the boat in gear at the right moment and avoided disaster.
We were all so proud of staying on an early schedule in AZ so that when we got back home it would be easy to get back to Eastern Time. Unfortunately, the Olympics prevented that. Michael Phelps is a hero in this house. Having 2 daughters who have competed in swimming, watching swimming is a must. Who didn't enjoy the US team's victory over France in the 4 x 100m? What a race! And then to imagine that Phelps is downing 12,000 calories a day!
With school starting Monday, we were trying to get the girls to bed early and up early so that the 6 am wake-up time next week isn't such a shock to their systems.
Hillsborough County is desperately trying to save money this year. One way is to change the busing system. In a county with 209 schools this is no small feat. And while I can appreciate the difficulties in trying to change, I don't understand how the school system has no information available to parents a mere 3 business days before school opens. A friend of mine spent over an hour on hold yesterday, simply to be told that the schedule for the IB students had not been finalized yet. Huh?!?!? 2 weeks ago, I was told that the Imp's bus stop is 3 miles from our house...state law says it has to be no more than 1 1/2 miles. I guess when everyone starting complaining, they had to redo a faulty schedule. The current buzz is that accurate bus schedules will be available tomorrow at Open House. I'm not holding my breath. Fortunately, most days the Imp will be travelling in a carpool. But there will be days, especially in the afternoon, when she'll need to ride the bus.