Can We Call It A Wrap Yet??

People, we are SO close!!! This was the last full week of school.  They're expected to attend next Tuesday and Wednesday, but if this week was any indication of what's going to happen next week, then I think we can already call time of death on this school year.  Alex actually made it to school this Monday and Tuesday, but Jane skipped out due to a cold that she's had for the last few days, Sophie has had a hard time waking up in the morning, and Grace just decided that Tuesday and Thursday weren't going to work for her.  And in my efforts to make everyone feel REALLY good about their own parenting efforts this school year, let me give you a quick rundown of how things are going up in here:  I have absolutely no idea how many total absences the girls have rung up this semester; I don't even know HOW  to check any of their grades online; Jane has had 60+ (yeah, you read that right) missing assignments in Google classroom that she's had to make up and turn in over the last 2 weeks; prior to getting (most of) those assignments turned in this week, she legitimately had 2 Cs, 2 Ds, and an F on her record; Grace -- while helpful in her efforts to inform me of Jane's situation -- was missing enough assignments herself that she probably had a few Ds and at least 1 F in her mix as well; and Sophie has had her own meltdowns this month over the less than stellar grades she's had in some of her classes.  The girls have turned in enough assignments at this point to have mostly As and Bs on their report cards, but I wasn't joking when I said this year is a total wash. 

Why yes, that IS my child wearing a hoodie and leggings (and not wearing his class "color") for field day when it was probably 70 degrees outside.

And I'm not even kidding when say that this was pretty much his "uniform" for the entire school year.  Like as in almost every day.

I found this sweet note on Isaac's bed one night after he was asleep.

I love this super mom mother's day card I got from Isaac.  Hahaha.

All About Mom (courtesy of Isaac)

What's your mom's name? Jessica

What does she do while you're at school? Takes a nap

How old do you think she is? 41

What is her favorite food? Every single dinner

My mom looks the prettiest when she ... has a ponytail

It makes me happy when my mom ... let's me play on her phone

My mom laughs when I ... say funny stuff

My mom doesn't like it when ... I fight

My favorite place to go with my mom is ... my cousin's house

I love my mom because ... she snuggles with me

The only other news of interest is that Ethan found himself a job for the summer at Walgreens, and I can't even TELL you how much I love that.  Hahahaha.  Growing up, my family frequented our local Walgreens and enjoyed taking our time browsing around SO much that we affectionately nicknamed it Mallgreens.  It must be in the DNA, though, because my kids LOVE a good Walgreens trip as well.  Having Ethan work there just makes sense!  Hahaha.

Well, this is a pretty bare bones post here, but I'll be popping in next week to document everyone's end-of-school-year exit interviews.  To close out this post, I'm posting a few pictures from the weekend getaway that Scott and I took at the beginning of the month.  We were only gone for a couple of nights, and we weren't TOO far away, but it was still a delight to take a break from real life for a few days.  I can't even tell you how nice it is to have older kids who are so capable and competent at holding the fort down!  {Having big kids is such a game changer.  I forget sometimes what it was like back in the day when I'd have to load up a car full of little ones whenever I needed to run errands or go anywhere.  Built-in babysitters are the best.  Hahaha.}

This beautiful glass and steel chapel was in such a gorgeous setting.  It was so peaceful and serene inside.

A souvenir from our trip.

Until next time...

A Little Pomp and Circumstance

Last Thursday was a double feature!!  My bookend boys BOTH graduated from school!  With Isaac's preschool graduation in the morning and Ethan's high school graduation in the evening, it was one big day of celebration.  😁

Here's how the morning went...

It was a virtual day for Sophie, Jane, and Alex, and Ethan finished school weeks ago, so I was assuming that all the kids who were home for the day would be coming to see dumplin' buns graduate.  I assumed wrong.  {Sophie was the lone hold out, and while Grace WANTED to come, she decided it would be better not to skip school seeing as to how she had a test that morning.}  

(Alex brought a book to keep himself occupied.)

Because I'm not on top of ANYTHING these days, I was running super late that morning and realized as I was driving Isaac to school, that I wouldn't have time to drop him off, go back home and pick up the other kids, then get back in time for the program to start.  Since Grace had already left for school and taken Stanley (the kids' car), I frantically called Scott and asked him to swing by the house to pick up whichever kids were coming and then drop them off at the preschool.  By default, Ethan was left in charge of making sure everyone was ready to go and also grabbing the teacher gifts that I had totally forgotten to take with me when I brought Isaac to school.

While Sophie didn't make it, and Alex looked like a ragamuffin with his tie-dyed shirt, mismatched socks, and MY shoes (because he couldn't find his), we at least made it on time for the show!  And what a show it was!  Hahaha.  Isaac oozes self-confidence (it's his teacher's favorite thing about him she says) and is a total ham, so it was very entertaining to watch him perform a few songs with his class before he got his diploma.  (Hahahahaha.)  After taking some obligatory shots with his teacher and some friends when the program was over, we headed on home to switch gears and start celebrating Ethan for his big day.

(This nut job wouldn't pose with his teacher and diploma and did a twirl or two instead.  Not even joking.  Hahaha.)

(Isaac with Miss Debbie.  She was so sweet!)

(I was not kidding about Alex's vibe.)

(This picture was too hilarious not to include!  Hahaha.  Each day the kids had a "job" to do in the classroom.  Being electrician for the day meant turning off the lights when they left their classroom and turning them back on when they came in.)

I had put Grace and Jane in charge the night before of blowing up some balloons and finding some old pictures of Ethan to decorate the downstairs with and even though I didn't plan enough to make it as over the top as I would have liked it to have been, I know Ethan was still pleased with the effort.  The rest of the day was mostly spent chilling until it was time to get ready to go.  The high school broke their graduation up into 3 sections this year (because of Covid) and I have to say it was a genius move!  Honestly, they should ALWAYS do it this way.  I can't even imagine how long it would have taken to watch ALL of the seniors walk across the stage.  As a result, I have to say -- this was the least painful graduation I've ever had to sit through!  Hahaha.  And as an added bonus (and possibly contributing to the painlessness), Alex and Isaac were absolute champs and stayed in their seats the whole entire time.  I was shocked and delighted.  Haha.

(A couple of nights before graduation, there was a scholarship honors [or something like that] night .)

(By happenstance, we were seated right above where Ethan was sitting!)

Once the students got their diplomas they had to exit the building rather than go back to their seats, so as soon as Ethan's name was called, we ducked on out and met up with him in front of the arena.  We took as many pictures as the kids would allow and then headed on home, where we had a giant card and a small little token of a gift waiting for Ethan on the kitchen table. Because Ethan's graduation section was the latest and didn't start until 7 PM, we decided to have our celebratory dinner at Shogun (a Japanese hibachi style restaurant) the next night instead, and it was a hit for all parties involved!  Grace, in fact, has decided we have to eat there for her graduation as well.  Hahaha.

(You know who wasn't still being carried around in someone's arms as a 5 1/2 year old?  Ethan.  That's who.  [Then again, he did have 2 little sisters at that age and a third one on the way.]  Hahaha.  Just one of the many, MANY differences between being a firstborn and a lastborn.)

(All the different colored cords stand for something.  And the bib.  I can't remember which is which, but he's sporting Distinguished Honors, National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, and Science National Honor Society.)

(It was seriously the most perfectly perfect evening weather.)

("The tassel was worth the hassle")

(When I had the kids sign the card that morning, I told Isaac I'd help him write a message, but apparently he knew what he wanted to say and how to spell it all on his own.)

("YEET")

(Waiting to be seated at Shogun.)

(He was so determined to use those chopsticks.)

So there you have it!  Ethan will be going to BYU in the fall and will (most likely) study mechanical engineering with an aerospace emphasis.  Between now and then, though, he's got to find himself a job.  😉