the "graduates"

So, apparently, here in the South, graduations are a pretty big deal. And it's not just for High School. There are graduation ceremonies for Kindergarten, 5th Grade, and 8th Grade as well. Which means we had 2 ceremonies to attend this year. And we were more than happy to celebrate because the kids had outstanding school years!! Both ceremonies were lovely, but you'll just have to take my word for it. My pictures are terrible thanks to the trifecta of less than stellar seats, poor lighting and a certain little monkey climbing all over my lap. Here are the best of the bunch:

Emily with the principal, Mrs. Edmond.

Emily with two of her besties, Samantha and Solteria. Not pictured is Katie, who rounds out the foursome, and she was also wearing black and white. Amazingly enough, they didn't even coordinate outfits...they are just all in sync!

Emily and her teacher, Mrs. Gettys. I can only hope Jack and Ainsley are lucky enough to be in her class as well...such an inspiring teacher!

And now here are the Kindergarten pictures...

Yes, this is seriously the best picture of Jack (and his best friend, Isabella) taken at the ceremony. The Kindergarten Team put together a slideshow set to music. It was so adorable and I managed to hold it together until there was a picture of Jackson and Isabella dancing at the Kindergarten Ball. Kerry (my sweet friend and neighbor, who just so happens to be Isabella's mom) was sitting next to me and we both started sobbing at the same exact moment. They are just growing up way too fast!

And here is Jackson with his teacher, Ms. Tavano. He had such an amazing Kindergarten experience and much of that is thanks to her.

So now our summer is in full swing...lots of swimming and camps and some great vacations to look forward to. We're going to enjoy it to the fullest. Because in just 7 short weeks, school will be starting again. And we will have 2 in Middle School, 1 in the First Grade, and 1 in Preschool. Which, if you must know, kind of makes me sad. But I'm sure I'll get over it the first time I'm able to go to the grocery store by myself...