The last day of school is always bitter-sweet. My kids love school. I love that. When I was a kid, I loved school; although I may not have always admitted to that. It's always a little sad to say goodbye to friends for the summer and, for me, to acknowledge that another year has passed. (Yah, you probably already know all about my issues and time passing too quickly...) It's a super exciting time, too. It's so good to look and see all that the kids have learned and accomplished in the school year. The very best part, though, is that I get them all home all summer long!!
This was Matt's first year of middle school, so it was also his first year with a real yearbook and a yearbook signing day. So fun! He had a blast. Matthew had a fantastic year at school! He adjusted so well to middle school (once again, it was me who struggled...) and really enjoyed it. He made great new friends, loved playing the trumpet in band, and was on the honor roll all year. What a kid!
Rachel also had a great year! She came along so well in preschool. She is reading and is so ready for Kindergarten in the fall. (Which, no big surprise, I'm kinda struggling with.... Perhaps I need some therapy :)....) She also met some super new friends and just adored her teachers!
Sweet Bailey is just so completely happy that her two favorite people are home for the summer. It has been so fun to have some one on one with my littlest buddy while the "big" kids were in school, though.
Matt got out at noon on the last day of school. It was so fun because he got to come with us to Rachel's preschool graduation. It was seriously the cutest thing on earth!
After graduation, we headed home for the rest of the Last Day of School festivities! I'm not even remotely joking when I say I LOVE the last day of school. Below is a picture of the traditional attack with silly string. Yes, they know it's going to happen. Yes, they know that I show no mercy when it comes to silly string. But, NO, they never know when it's going to hit! This year we got them on their way back inside after taking out trash and recycling.
Our family tradition is to have a big last day of school dinner. Each year Steve and I pick out a country or region and base our dinner around it -- food, decorations, etc. We have had a Hawaiian Luau, Mexican Fiesta, Chinese, etc. We plan it all out and then surprise the kids. They know that we have a dinner every year, but we wait until dinner time to tell them what kind of party we're having. ( For a few years one of us would get them out of the house, then bring them home to the decorations up and the food out. This year, we just sent them upstairs.) Well, this year we chose to have our own mini Mardi Gras. We made chicken gumbo, macaroni and cheese bake, and beignets. Yum! After dinner, we kicked back, stuffed ourselves with the beignets and vanilla cream sauce, and watched a movie.
