Another year bites the dust!

In true DeEtte fashion, this post is over a month late, but I will stick with my previous argument of "better late than never.". The kids ended another year of school (the first for Lily!) and it couldn't have come a second sooner (at least for Connor). Lily had a great year in kindergarten-she's smart, fun, social, well-behaved and just a generally awesome little girl. They had an adorable kindergarten graduation ceremony, where they wore little crowns with their names and sang some songs for the audience. Then they were all awarded certificates of graduation, that had a little picture of them wearing a cap and gown (so stinking adorable). She was so proud and loves to tell everybody "I'm a first grader now." She can't wait for next year!

Connor also had a great (in his own way) year! He was a 5th grader, big man on campus and loved his status as such. As is his usual, he excelled academically, and made us more proud than we thought was possible. He never ceases to amaze us with his capacity for learning and growing. And along with all that "giftedness" comes all the personality traits that tend to be a bit taxing for us mere mortals to deal with. We're assured by the pros that he exhibits nothing but normal behavior for a gifted child, but I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that we some times wish Connor was a bit more average...hahaha. Because he skipped a grade earlier in his school career, and hasn't really caught up socially, physically or emotionally, we decided as a family that he would repeat the 5th grade next year. We all realize that this is going to have many challenges for Connor, for us, and for the school (they're not happy about it!), but we feel very strongly that this is the right choice for Connor in the long run. Connor's not completely thrilled, but he totally understands our reasoning and is on board and prepared to have a great 5th grade year (again!).

We're looking forward (and are actually halfway through) to the summer. We have a lot of fun plans that include: baseball camp, swimming lessons, music lessons, soccer, the beach, a trip to Vegas and just hanging out with friends and having fun! Here's a couple pics of their last day of school:

Every year on the last day of school, we go eat lunch (or dinner) at Ruby's on the pier. Our kids LOVE Ruby's milkshakes more than breathing.

The cutie-patootie in her graduation procession out of the classroom.

Lily sitting with all of the other kindergarten graduates. What a precious little lady!

Connor completely bored and ready to go home at the 5th grade advancement ceremonies. Darrin and I affectionately refer to all the school award ceremonies as "the mediocrity awards". In their effort to be PC and not make anybody feel bad, they basically give out awards to anybody who's achieved "at grade level" standards. It's ridiculous. They have different levels of awards, but won't actually give out an award for straight A's. I feel like it devalues the kids who are truly exceptional, not to mention making a HUGE deal out of "achievements" that aren't actually achievements at all. Do I sound like a total elitist snob? Oh well.