School's Out!

Abigail adored her preschool class and Miss Allison and can't wait for next fall. She's a sponge right now with words, writing, and anything that requires movement. She loves to paint, read books and spend time outside.

 The girls and I have LOVED riding bikes to and from school! We only had one afternoon that I had to drive to pick them up (thunder and lightning!), we had a few wet days (grateful for ponchos!), and a few hot days (I figured out carrying a misting squirt bottle in my basket was handy!). The girls were excited to wear "regular" clothes on the last day of school.

 Abigail has LOVED biking to/from school. She has built friendships with the crossing guards, police officers and so many of the parents. This morning, after we dropped off the girls and were headed home, she was about 3/4 the way across the street when she stopped, threw her bike down, and ran to Wilma, the crossing guard, to give her the biggest hug. It was so sweet! 

Alexis was all smiles at the end of the day - she's worked so hard academically and she's seeing the fruits of her efforts. She's opened up and has blossomed into sharing her kind-hearted genuine personality. She's a natural with the routines and really looks for ways to include everyone around her. She told me on the way home from school how much she has loved the bike rides and was full of smiles for summer ahead!

Tayler was all smiles going to school, and was so excited to celebrate the last day. She's made some sweet friendships and it's been so fun to see her thrive. As I picked her up, and we walked away, she had a moment of genuine sadness to close a chapter she'd loved so much. There was something so sweet about hugging this little soul full of light who felt what so many of us relate to - that some chapters are hard to close!

Dropping off Max for his last day!

 Yes. I totally snuck this photo in before driving away. Something about seeing them walk away on that last day makes me feel a whole mix of emotions. We chatted in our car ride over about his first day, his first/first day (before we moved), and what he's learned now that he's on his last day. It seems moving and throwing ourselves head first into all kinds of change opens the door for exponential growth. So grateful this kiddo rose to the opportunities, took on the challenges, and maintained his determination to keep moving forward.  From making a basketball team and not knowing a single person, to putting himself out there to making friendships, to jumping into academics, to starting his own business (selling lollipops made in Columbia).

More than the "what" these kiddos have done, it's been amazing to see "who" they are becoming in the journey.

And OF COURSE we kept our first day/last day slurpee tradition! We chuckled in the car ride as we remembered how this tradition began. We'd just moved to Nebraska, and Max was starting first grade. It was a struggle getting there each day, oodles of anxiety, and as a "reward" for getting to school, I promised him a slurpee. We kept the "slurpee after school" going until he transitioned a bit more. And since we couldn't maintain the slurpee tradition all year long, we opted to end that first grade year with one too - to chat about how much we'd all learned.

And here we are...six years and three states later! Love this bookended tradition!