Document text
Oh, if only it could last Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Brothers Sean, 4, left, and Bobby Breazeale, 8, found a little beach sand to toss around at Ashland's Garfield Park on their last day of summer. Vacation's over - and for some kids, that's bad news indeed By JILL BRISKEY The trick to Labor Day is making it last, according to 12-year-old Medford resident Rachel Barry. Before trading the freedom of summer for a backpack full of books, Rachel and her friend Amanda Atkinson, 12, did their best to enjoy Monday, the last day of summer vacation. The girls settled on a sleepover Sunday night, followed by a day of hanging out with friends before ending up at Tinseltown to watch "Summer Catch." "We're trying to make it the best," said Rachel, a soon-to-be seventh-grader at Hedrick Elementary School. "It's our last." "We just wanted to have some fun, you know ... before we have to go back," Amanda said. "I like school and everything. I look forward to seeing my friends but I hate getting up early," said Carrie Longan, a junior at Cascade Christian High School. "That's the worst." Carrie took part in an inter-league soccer game at Hawthorne Park on Monday, along with other classmates from Cascade. Chelsea Dumont, 8, is ready for fifth grade at Central Point's Mae Richardson Elementary School. Chelsea, along with her brother and sisters, spent Labor Day goofing off at Garfield Park in Ashland. "I'm kind of excited because I get to wear all my new clothes," Chelsea said following some hard play inside the water park. "That's the best part." Nearby, 8-year-old Bobby Breazeale threw handfuls of sand at his 4-year-old brother Sean inside the volleyball courts. Bobby can't wait to see his new classroom today and show off his backpack. "It's new and it's red and white and has a water bottle," he said. "It's very cool." Not everyone enjoys Labor Day and or the events leading up to the first day of school. "It's hot ... I wanna go home," 11-year-old Roseburg resident Evan Peterson told his mother inside the Rogue Valley Mall while shopping for shoes on Monday. "I hate school. Period." Shirley Peterson said she and Evan drove to Medford for some last-minute shopping because, "time just got away from us." "Give him a week and he's back in the swing of things. He's OK once he's there a little while," Peterson said. "But he just hates giving up summer." At Dairy Queen on West Main Street, 10-year-old Stan Miles said he didn't want to talk about what grade he will be in this year. Although he thinks he'll like his new teacher and he doesn't hate school, Stan didn't want to talk about which one he will attend today. He just wanted to finish his large hot fudge sundae with whipped cream and a cherry before it melted - the last one of the season. "Ice cream doesn't taste as good after summer," Stan said. Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.