the last two weeks of school

I think this is actually a “setting up senior assembly” deal picture below:

(with other student council members)

The kids are really into “senior pranks” here in the desert.  That wasn’t a “thing” when I was in high school.

Is it because I’m too old?

Or is it just something they only do in this area?

I don’t know, but kids think they have to do something crazy at the end of school.  One of the senior pranks got some kids into pretty big trouble this year, so let’s concentrate on the little one that created no dramatic ripples:  Pet Day:

Yep, these girls took Bo with them to school…along with all their friends who took their pets too.

Doesn’t that dog of ours look pleased as punch about that?

HA!  Poor girl.

But she was a good sport.  They kicked all the animals out after first period so that was short-lived but the girls came home with glowing reports.

Lu and I walked and walked and walked to school…this time the storm clouds were so low and gray that we decided to turn around and drive mid-way since we didn’t have time to get drenched:

I’m gonna miss our walking.

Walking that turned more into tandem bike riding by the end since we ran out of time after trying to squeeze too much into our mornings.

Powderpuff football All-Stars game:

(more about that back HERE)

Our church congregation did such a nice little graduation dinner for all the graduating seniors, complete with a little schpeal about each of them.  Here’s Natalie talking about fresh-from-powderpuff Grace:

We didn’t get a pic together there so here’s one from home.

Oh wait, here are our more accurate faces since she is leaving…

…not a smiling matter!

It did.

Here she is running to her spot to get ready for talent-show-round-3:

An excited sister to watch:

I got a little melancholy sitting in that cafeteria-turned-auditorium for one of the very last times.

…and then Claire with her parents when it got too hot in the student section:

We had a HEARTBREAK loss in the semi-finals.

Dave and I were so sad for all our favorite seniors who play, all mixed in with melancholy-ness missing that big boy Max of ours out there on that court, also mixed in with so much gratitude that it wasn’t him out there.  Man alive it is tough to watch your own kid out there…SO many strong emotions rolling around.

(I even made a special “deal” with God during Max’s last round of semi-finals…I could have sworn I wrote about but maybe not…I talked all about volleyball back HERE)

Fun that we were playing against the school our cousins attend:

We steamed out Grace’s graduation gown and rounded up Elle’s old graduation cap:

(And Grace looked at me like that whenever we both realized how serious this whole deal was getting…)

We went and took grad pics at the football stadium:

(The rest of those pics are back HERE.)

I coordinated a little dinner with Grace’s two best friends and their moms (It’s become a tradition to take our graduating kids and their friends out to a special pre-graduation dinner…usually it’s me and Dave but this time it was me and the moms).

It was quite comical how excited Grace was for that little thing.  She had wanted us moms to hang out all year and I had never met one of the moms (the other is a good friend).  We had the best dinner, just the six of us in a little round booth at Oreganos, all talking a mile a minute:

So grateful for those girls and the good friends they’ve been to Grace.

Best friends are gems.

…and Lucy and I headed back to Wisconsin…

I love my good little conversationalist.

We celebrated summer birthdays:

…and had a pretty grand time out there on the strangely first hot day of the year.

Meanwhile Claire worked her tail off for finals…

Her big goal last month was to finish off high school with no regrets…

…which I think she did, although she may look back some day and wish she had learned a little more those last few weeks.

Or maybe not.

Either way she sure had fun.

We hosted my brother Josh’s annual end-of-school swim party here (like we do every year) but this time I got into a random “nesting” trimming all the vines on the back of our house in preparation:

I’m sorry but those measly piles cannot do it justice…I was out there buried in those trees for HOURS I tell you!

I’m pretty sure if there were an award for the best and most adored third grade teacher known to man Josh would win it hands down.

At the end of the year they always have baby ducks that accompany all the kids to the party:

(It’s at the end of their study when the ducklings actually hatch there in class.)

Let’s get a closer look:

He said “Mr. Eyre can walk on water.”

And I think in those kids’ eyes, he’s exactly right.

Makes me tear up to think about all the kids he’s had such a positive influence on.

At the end of the party he always presents a slideshow of all the things they’ve done that year.  The kids laugh and cry and are delighted to watch that thing.  This time around a mom I was standing by in the back leaned over to me and said, “Mr. Eyre is magic.  There’s no other way to describe it.”

And I think she’s exactly right.

Meanwhile Dave met up with Max and Abby in China and took them to our favorite restaurant from when we lived there:

Oh those good old days!!

We timed it perfectly to get our yellow fever shots done and get the girls back to school in time for finals:

(wrote about that HERE)

They had a really awesome “launch” in China:

Yep, that’s my brother there in front…it’s his company Dave is involved in and it’s pretty awesome.

One more senior picture dealio at the school, this time my friend took a bunch of kids:

Grocery shopping back in China:

Her sweetheart teacher we love so much:

And older sisters praising her performance:

Then it was baccalaureate which made me tear up with that beautiful music as usual, and also because Lucy came with only minimal fussing.

(I always love the pictures of the paparazzi parents…Claire took this one:)

Then Seminary Graduation was that night, once again filled with so many families and kids we love, kids Grace has grown up with and leaders who have influenced her in so many ways.

(pictures of Baccalaureate and seminary graduation back HERE.)

Planning the last couple days of senior year:

We held a cousin grad celebration at our house to celebrate our senior.

That senior of ours wasn’t overjoyed about that idea or all the pictures of her growing up that I plastered all over the place (ha!) but she was a good sport and I think even she loved the slideshow I had whipped up and the trivia game Dave monitored.

And plus, we invited her two best friends and served crepes for dessert so all was well in the world.

Film class folders were revealed:

(all of my kids so far have taken Film in high school and they all adore it like nobody’s business)

It was the annual end-of-the-year grand “Paper Drop” where everyone empties their finished papers and tests and assignments over the balconies:

…and hopefully help clean up!

Lu and I had our last mother/daughter take-out-of-elementary-school lunch date:

Gotta love the way she insisted on posing…at least she’d take a picture!

Grace invited a whole slew of seniors over for a day-before-the-last-day swim/volleyball party just like Max and Elle did in the past.

The weather has been so strange here so instead of it being hot as blazes, it was cloudy and cool, and the kids hopped from the hot tub to play volleyball and back over and over again.  
(That picture was after most of the hoopla was over…I wish I had gone out earlier…)

Lucy wrote nice notes to all her teachers.  This one was for the school maintenance guy who helps her cross the street to and from school every day:

We love him SO MUCH!

And what about Claire those last days you may ask?  Sandwiched between two graduating sisters?

Well, here she is when I dropped her off on that last day:

All about that and the “6th Grade walk-out” back HERE.

All these cute girls were just bawling at the end of the line…the end of their elementary school careers: