Milestones...

The school year finally came to a close! Whew! It was a whirlwind year for me! It really went FAST! But as this year comes to a close it was an end of a big era...... We are now officially done with Elementary School. It is something Brianne and I have been talking about A LOT so we knew it was coming and we both seemed to be handling it beautifully! But this past Friday was her 5th grade Celebration and we got up early and I helped her get ready and put on a cute outfit and did her hair and off we went! We went to Starbucks first for some yummy frappes to celebrate and then we were off to school for the festivities! The Principal made a few comments (since it was his last year there too because he is also moving on), then the teachers began reading the names of the kids to come up and get their certificates :) It was fun and I yelled REALLY loud (of course) for her when she was called. I am truly so proud of her! She is a fabulous student! They also fed the kids a small breakfast and showed a slide show of some of the events throughout the year and then we were free to take photos and give hugs! So I grabbed my camera to get some shots of her and her friends and her teacher. When I walked up to her I could see tears were welling up in her eyes. As soon as I could I grabbed her and held her in my arms and she cried, which of course made ME cry too! It was hard to see her so emotional! Her teacher was crying too and as I took a look around we weren't the only ones! I just told her that today was about enjoying her last day and getting her friends to sign her autograph book and feeling proud of her accomplishments. It was a tough day! I was glad that she went home with a friend after school and had planned a sleepover with 2 friends to celebrate the start of summer! It helped her feel a bit better! She is still a bit sad, realizing that she's done with that school, but in a way I am happy too. The fact that she is so emotional leaving there tells me that her experience at that school has been nothing but stellar! She LOVES that school and I can only hope that her next experience will be the same! On to middle she goes!!!

Will had a bit of a celebration as well! This year he will be leaving middle school! It was a short 2 years there for him, 7th and 8th grade, but with the changes he will now be onto high school as a freshman. They had a small program for them with a comedian and gave them an ice cream sandwich, but that was it! And for him there were NO tears! He came home on Thursday after school and proudly exclaimed, "Mom, I am a high schooler!!" He is SO excited! He has been preparing to play Sophomore football and all! I think the reality of how BIG his new school is won't hit him until I take him to do his final registration, then he will be nervous! Hahaha!

Carter has turned the corner as well and has finished his Junior year. He is VERY excited about his upcoming senior year! He and his friends have already been talking about their futures and the fall football season. They are ready to BRING IT and to enjoy this last bit of time they have together! I also kicked him out the door today to go and apply for jobs! He went to a couple places, and hopefully by the end of the week he'll have employment! We've let it slide thus far for multiple reasons, but at this point he NEEDS to get a job and not just to have a little money in his pocket! I want him to gain some more experience before he heads out into the world! Wish him luck!

On to all sorts of new things in our family! We can do it!!! (I just keep telling myself that!)