Last Day Of School...

Yesterday was the last day of school! 

As of 2:00 PM yesterday, I officially have a 4^th grader and a 2^nd grader! 

I went to Josh’s class party first as his started at 10:45 (I got there too late for outside games :( ), but I chatted with him while he ate pizza!  Then we watched the slideshow his teacher put together of the whole year and I was on the brink of tears the whole time!  It’s so awesome to get a glimpse into what fun things the kids do all day!  As a wonderful bonus, the teacher included a copy of the slideshow with her gifts to the students. 

After the slideshow, Ryan and I rushed down to Kylie’s classroom as those kids were just finishing their pizza and were ready to watch their slideshow.  Again, I was on the brink of tears the whole time.  At the end of it, all the kids ran up and gave their teacher one huge hug.  This was a sad last day for them because this was the first class she had ever taught at their school AND she taught them for both 2^nd and 3^rd grade. 

After their slideshow, they went outside to play games and I went and snapped a few final pictures of Josh in his Luau themed outfit.  His party was done (it was so frustrating that his teacher did their party so much earlier than everyone else did), so after I got the pictures, Ryan and I headed back outside to Kylie’s games. 

After all the parties are done, all the kids line the hallways for the 5^th grade clap-out.  This is where all the 5^th graders, in their matching t-shirts differentiated by classroom colors, run through the halls while everyone claps for them.  It’s their last hoorah!  Guess who was tearing up?  Yep…and I still have two years before it’s my kid going through that! 

It’s so strange how I noticed, for the first time, such a difference between Josh’s class and Kylie’s class parties.  Josh’s was fun and whimsical and Kylie’s just had an older feeling.  For the first time, the kids really seemed older.  They are more responsible and can do everything themselves.  It’s hard to explain but it really hit me that Kylie is really growing up…  

After that, we headed home for the last time this school year.  As we walked the path away from the school, I really, really felt so grateful that my kids go to such a fabulous school.  God has blessed us so much that I can’t even begin to thank Him for allowing our kids to have so much fun each day and to learn so much! 

Rachel came home with us, and Josh and Noah played together the rest of the afternoon.  Ryan went down for a much needed nap (he was so tired at the school), and I got some great one-on-one time with Colton. 

I sat back and reflected on how awesome the kids’ school is.  I think about how I missed all of this kind of stuff being homeschooled, and I can’t for the life of me understand why people homeschool their kids when they live in fantastic districts like we do.  I know it seems petty, but every time I’m at the school, or the kids are telling me about their days, I feel such sadness that I never got to experience any of that, and I’m so glad that my kids get this opportunity. 

That night, we headed out with our neighbors to Schmidt’s.  It has become an annual, summer tradition to hit Schmidt’s with them, and this time we picked the last day of school to go.  Included in this trip was a visit to the old-time candy store to get bubble-gum cigarettes :)  We only had to wait about 50 minutes, which is short for that place, even on a random Tuesday night. 

Dinner was fabulous and the kids were great.  It’s amazing how much easier these dinners have gotten over the years.  The first year I was pregnant and Ryan was young, last year Colton was about 6 months, and this year, all we had to do was keep break, mac and cheese and some sausage in front of him and he was happy!  We didn’t even have to really worry about the other kids, except to help Ryan get food off the buffet. 

It was a fabulous way to end the school year.  I know that I’m going to blink and it’s going to be the first day of school again…that’s how it always is!