while I waited...week 20

As the school year winds down, I find myself on a roller coaster of emotions.  One minute I'm counting down the minutes till the kids are home and another I'm crying because I can't believe how quickly the year has come and gone.  This past week we wrapped up a few more activities and Hope also said goodbye to "pretty school".  Here's what else I was up to while I waited...

My week started the best way possible - celebrating a friend-aversary with Shelly, Katy and Cindy.  Shelly and I only met Katy and Cindy last year but it feels like we've all been friends forever!!!  I could sit around a table and talk and laugh with these girls all night long!

Tuesday Hope wore her school shirt for the last time. :(  We've had the same shirt since she started her school four years ago!  This shirt will definitely make the memory quilt!

On Wednesday she wore the dress she wore for the first day of school.  She was definitely NOT happy about school being over!  "I'm going to miss my teachers and friends."

Dad to the rescue on Wednesday afternoon!  Bike rides and dog walks - he's the best!

Thursday was the big day - Hope's last day of Kindergarten. #inserttearstainedfacehere

How in the heck did this happen?!  This was Hope's very first and very last day of "pretty school."  You can read more about my feelings on this here. 

 I love you too, baby girl!

 As soon as we were done taking pictures in our front yard, the rains came!  It was like the sky was feeling the same way I was!  Daddy to the rescue {again!}.  I love that he wants to be there on these little special occasions.  He's walked her in to school on every first and last day of school {and so many in between}.

 One last picture with Ms. Sylvia and Ms. Kristin.  It was hard to hold back the tears.  As I let a tear or two slip, Hope saw me and said, "mama, is it raining on your face?!"  Why, yes, sweet girl, it is! :)

Special gifts for special teachers!  I LOVE these MantraBands and they come with so many different quotes!

One last class pic!  Such a sweet group of kiddos!!!

Hope was line leader this week so she got to lead the whole school in to the sanctuary for the program.  She wasn't the least bit excited! :)

 Sadly, we couldn't see her during the performance.

 But she did her best to make sure she could see us!

 After the "little kids" left, the Kindergarten class performed a few songs.  They sang the cutest ABC song using ASL.

 I love this pic of Hope looking at Mike!

 Dede surprised Hope by coming into town to see her sing.

 So proud of our baby girl!

  Whitney and Lily graduated from preschool and will be in Hope's big school kindergarten class next year!  I'm not sure their school is ready for all these girls!!!

 Mike went and got the bigs out of school for lunch with us but sadly I didn't get a pic.  I did manage to snap this pic of Colby trying to set Dede up with fingerprint recognition on her new phone!

 Thursday afternoon Colby was hard at work on the beginning stages of a project that he's known about for weeks. #ugh

 Friday evening Dede, Hope and I went to watch Colby and his Wrangler group perform.

Colby made a comment last week about Hope being "spoiled."  When I asked him what he meant, he said, "mom, how much did Hope walk last week?"  Well, I hate to inform him, but he's part of the problem! :)  Rarely do I have to ask him to hold her, he just scoops her up.  And, it melts my heart every.single.time!

 While we were watching the dance recital, these three were watching Aggie baseball.  Holden was in heaven!!!

 This was my view on Saturday morning!

 Holden decided to make a drum set on Saturday out of duct tape rolls, aluminum foil and tape (lots and lots of tape!).

 Mike helped Colby build the "room" for his project.

 And Hope lost yet another tooth! #7

 We were so glad that Dede and Pop Pop were around this weekend!  We had one last lunch together at Chuy's on Sunday before they headed home.

 Saturday afternoon is for friends and coloring!

 And for finishing up group projects!

 Projects the last week of school are awesome! #saidnomomever

 But I was VERY impressed with the {almost} finished product!  This project was for Colby's Algebra class.  They were challenged with the task of redesigning their math teacher's classroom into a more comfortable, collaborative space.  On top of the challenges of working as a team, they had to incorporate measurement, scale models, budgeting, etc.  The final product was to represent their new classroom with furniture, technology, and other design elements - and their budget was only $1,500!

And I ended my week with these two fun girls preparing a 5 gallon of bucket of slime for Holden's principal!  Remember the food drive that Michele and I co-chaired?!  Well, it raised over TEN THOUSAND dollars for our local food bank!  And because our school won the contest between schools in our district, our principal has agreed to be slimmed!   We might have gone a bit crazy with the green food coloring! 

I'm so glad you stopped by!  Have an extraordinary week!  

Gig 'em and God bless! 

Holly

check out my FAVORITE link-ups page to see where I'm linking up today!

also linking up with Biana from B Loved Boston and

and the ladies from 100 Happy Days
Kate, Alison, Linzee, and Valerie