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.  😉