Last Day of School

Now that we're fully immersed in summer activities, I suppose I should mention that the girls are 

not in school anymore! The last week of school was highly anticipated in this house, maybe more so by me than anyone. It sure is nice to not worry about cleaning uniforms, doing hair, or rummaging through backpacks. (I'll add that Matt is probably glad to not be packing lunches anymore either, since he has been the lunch guy for most of this year. Is he a great dad or what?!)

I took these pictures on the second to last day of school, and gave myself a little pat on the back for remembering to do this since the last day of school was a free dress day. I can't exactly document the last day of school without uniforms, now can I?

The last day involved a school-wide mass with the kindergarten class performing up on the altar, which is pretty much the cutest thing ever.

After the ceremony, each of the girls thanked their teacher and said their good-byes. Megan's teacher, Miss Stelling, was extra sweet when she said she wanted a signed copy of the photo, since Megan is sure to be a published author someday. (As passionate as Megan is about reading, I'm not sure how a writing occupation will jive with her lofty goal of being a waitress when she grows up!) Megan was lucky to have Miss Stelling two years in a row, and she benefited so much from that continuity.

And Ms. Connolly was just as complimentary about sweet little Bridget, who somehow transforms into a perfect angel at school. She was one of two or three kids in her class who lasted all year without receiving a dreaded "pink note" for undesirable behavior. She was that good. I may need whatever magic Ms. Connolly possesses!

Of course, we needed to get a shot of all five girls together on the last day. Some were happier than others!

I wish I had thought to take more pictures of the girls with their good friends, but I only managed to get a photo of Megan and Niamh just as we were loading into the car. They are very sweet friends!

It's hard to believe this school year passed as quickly as it did! We will have a 2nd grader and a new 1st grader before we know it. And preschoolers!! As this year wraps up, I am so so so glad that the twins did not go to preschool this past year. I felt a bit self-conscious of this decision at the beginning of the year, since we were going against the grain and electing to "limit" Tessa and Annie to only one year of preschool before they entered kindergarten. But, I couldn't be happier with all of that time I got with them, and how special their carefree mornings were together (and with Mary, of course!). Yes, they may go into this coming (one and only, god forbid!) preschool year a little more shy, but I truly believe we saved ourselves a lot of needless stress (and money!) and gained a whole extra year with our little munchkins at home!