The school year comes to an end!

Well, we made it through all the end of school parties and wow was it ever a crazy time. Olivia graduated from 5th Grade and is now headed to middle school which is a major milestone and the send off was huge. On Friday we had the 5th grade Luau! It was complete with a full luau dinner and a whopper of a party. They had beach sand volleyball, face painting, limbo, a cake walk, Dippn Dots and a professional DJ who really made it a great day. I was there for most of the day doing the face painting but I was also in charge of Elle's ice cream sundae party so I was constantly jumping back and forth between the two events.

At the end of Olivia's party they had all the kids come in the cafeteria and had a huge slide show recapping the year. They did such a great job with it and then at the end each of the kids got a bag with a DVD of the slide show and a few special remembrances and treats. We had a professional photographer there snapping photos so I didn't take pictures but with the long weekend I won't get the pics from the party until Tuesday so I can't post any pictures yet.

Elle's party was very special also. Another mother and I had worked hard to make a scrapbook for Elle's teacher that had a page personally made by each child in her class. We had to be really sneaky but we did it! It turned out so well and she just loved it. As all the children were gathered around her and she read and looked at each page, one of the boys in the class was just bursting with pride and said "Oh miss Rath, our hearts are on every page, I hope you can feel it." She got a little teary eyed at that. Chloe ended the year with a big walkathon and a full day of fun events, pizza and parties. I couldn't be at any of it (nor do I think she wanted me there....13 you know) but she gave me the play by play.

Oddly enough, because we had too many snow days, after the long weekend they have to go back to school for one more day on Tuesday. Crazy I know!! Olivia's teachers told me that they are going to watch a movie and then have a student vs teacher kick ball game. Elle will have a pj movie and books day and Chloe is having movies also. They have to go or they won't get their report card, smart thinking or I don't think anyone would have shown up. Olivia is excited for her "Walk Out" that is where the whole school lines the halls for the 5th graders and claps for them as the walk out for the last time. All these special traditions sure create great memories for our kids and I am savoring these moments.