End of the School Year

 We kicked off May with Dan's and my 19th anniversary!  We didn't do anything special that evening since it was mid-week, and we had planned a getaway the following weekend. We'd asked Dan's parents to babysit on Friday and my parents to babysit on Saturday. We would return in time to celebrate our nephew, Benjamin's, high school graduation on Mother's Day Sunday. However, all our plans had to be cancelled when Emma came down with a virus and high fever that Friday night. Her fever lasted all weekend long, poor kid. It was sad, but we were very glad we found out she was sick before we went away! My parents did babysit for us a couple of weekends later, which we appreciated!

While we were at home that weekend, Hallie and Emma enjoyed making Mother's Day gifts of essential oils for me, my mom, and Dan's mom. They each chose special scents for us and added the ingredients to colorful roller bottles. 

Emma looks impressed with Hallie's skill!  Both the girls did a great job!

On Mother's Day, they gave me this "treasure box" with my essential oils and a lovely handmade bracelet.

Emma made this beautiful rabbit pinch pot in art class for me. She pinched the clay with her fingers to form it all by herself. It looks so real!

Hallie made this artistic card for me.

"I love my mom because she makes cookies. She takes me places."

And Emma wrote these sweet words for me.

Dan helped the girls make breakfast in bed on Mother's Day (blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes!) and surprised me with the latest Spider-Man movie.

After breakfast, Emma and I spent hours at urgent care, just to make sure her fever wasn't the result of an infection. It wasn't, thankfully!

Emma recovered from her virus 24 hours before her field trip day! Her class visited the Norfolk Zoo, which was tons of fun.

Posing on the giant snake statue

Finding some bamboo to climb

More climbing with friends

And even more climbing in the "wild animal cage" with her entire class.

The sign says "WARNING: Dangerous Animal Inside. Human: Homo Sapiens. Wild and unpredictable. Prone to erratic behavior and mood swings. Extremely cranky. Easily agitated. CAUTION: Keep fingers and limbs away. Given an inch - will take a mile." Haha!

A picture of fun friends

The most memorable moment of the field trip for most of the kids was when the smaller giraffe in this photo started peeing ... and the larger giraffe behind it DRANK THE PEE! No, I didn't catch it on video or in a photo. I was too busy gagging and saying "What is going ON here? Avert your innocent eyes! No, I don't know why it would drink someone else's pee. That's DISGUSTING!!" 

Anyway, the very next day, Hallie's class had a field trip to Bergey's Farm. Since we'd gone recently when Meera and Steve came to visit, we knew just what to look forward to.

We rode the hayride as a class. 

And quickly found Hallie's favorite baby bunnies to snuggle with!

They also had cages with kittens that day!

We walked around the farm, visiting sheep, goats, alpacas, and pigs.

Swinging with a friend

We had a fun day!

A week before school ended, Hallie had her Kindergarten Graduation ceremony

Waving at her fans as she walked down the aisle.

She was part of a small group who led the class in reciting Psalm 23.

We're proud of our sweet girl and how much she's learned and grown this year! She's officially a 1st grader!

Hallie and her teacher, Mrs. Boyce

StoneBridge School had one last spirit day and pep rally, and Dan and the girls were triplets in their matching shirts.

And finally, it was the last day of school and end of the year parties.

Mrs. Fox had a "Red, White, and Blue" party and presented each student with a character award, a list of qualities that their classmates noticed about them, and a photo album of their 3rd grade year.

She gave Emma the award for "Creativity."

Mrs. Boyce had a luau party for her class, and presented each student with a character award, also.

Hallie received the "Observant" award.

The girls will miss their teachers and classmates, but summer camp starts soon, and they'll have a great time with friends, activities, and field trips!