The Last of the Lasts

This is officially the last post of all the lasts...last days of school, last hoorahs, and what have you.  Hallelujah! We haven't slowed down much since last week. We're a few days into summer vacation, and I'm wondering why "vacation" is even part of that phrase  It doesn't make a bit of sense, but we'll roll with it. The good news is that we made it though last week without tons of tears and mourning. Ha! In all seriousness, all the "lasts" that go along with the end of the school year do make me sad that Towns is growing up so fast, however it also makes me that much more excited about what's to come. I loved elementary school, and being that Towny is my carbon copy I think she'll love it too. She already gets all giggly at the thought of eating in the cafeteria, having homework, school supply shopping, etc. that comes with going to "big school". Oh, and let's not forget about the mucho importante first day of school outfit that she's already started discussing. She is her mother's child. After all, there's something to be said for planning ahead...right?!

But let's not put the cart before the horse. There's still several things about kindergarten I've yet to cover. Like the last day of school last Friday...

We had to get the infamous picture made in front of the FBC sign like we have every first and last day of school for the last 5 years...

I'm not sure she'd have room for one more thing dangling from her backpack. She's got Minnie, polka dot chap stick, hand sanitizer and the heart I gave her on the first day of school. I think I'll leave it just like it is when I put her backpack away for good.

Cate didn't want to be left out even though technically it wasn't her last day of school (Monday was)...
In a perfect world, they'd be that sweet to each other every second of the day at least two minutes out of the day. Like that would actually happen!!
We were early birds Friday, and so was Conner which made for a perfect opportunity for a snapshot...
I love that kid for a lot of reasons. They just don't come much sweeter than him. But perhaps one of my most favorite things about him is that he's fiercely protective of my girl.

Of course, we had to have one last picture of Mrs. Lindsay and Towns in the classroom...
And one last one of her sitting at her table working...
If only you could have seen the face she gave me after that. If it was translated into words it would read: get the camera out of my face and go about your merry way.
So I did.
Just like the first day of kindergarten, the last one seemed to go on forever. I kept watching the clock and trying to find things to do to keep me busy. Finally it was time to pick her up in carpool line one last time...
I had to compare that picture to this one from the first day of school...
Talk about night and day! Friday she couldn't have been more footloose and fancy free. She casually strolled to the car - barefoot with a sucker in her mouth - carrying a paper bag filled with everything of hers from her classroom (that I still can't bring myself to look at). Such a difference from the wide-eyed 5 year old who couldn't help but run to the car on the first day of school. Goodness.

The day before that, we went to Towns' friend Briar's birthday party at the park. It was a gorgeous afternoon, and the cherry on top was a goldfish as a party favor.
The girls hit this thing immediately every time we're there.  They must find it funny to give me heart palpitations...
Cate wanted to give it a go...
But the thing about Cate-Cate is that underneath that tough exterior, she's such a wimp. And I love that about her! She got a few feet off the ground and then hit panic mode.
That's when big sister tried to get behind her and give her a little pep talk...
It didn't work. She was ready to get down. And she was perfectly fine with being a sissy!

After a weekend full of cheer practice, stunt clinic, and a impromptu spend the night session with Grandmommy and Pop, it was time for the Kindergarten Rocks party and Cate's last day of school on Monday.  Towns' party didn't start until 9 o'clock, so she was pretty excited that she got to go with me to drop Buggy off.  What was not so exciting was more pictures...

 We've worn that FBC sign out lately! :)

The sun and clouds chased each other all morning which made for a nice, breezy day.  When the kids got too hot on the zip line, they'd get in the sprinkler or on the water slide.  Somewhere in the mix they all got to ride horses.  They topped it off with a picnic lunch, said their goodbyes, and that was all she wrote!
Sweet girls waiting their turn for the zip line...

Most everyone preferred to take it easy on the zip line, but Blondie here begged to get a really fast push from Mrs. Lindsay...


Emma and Towns were pretty pumped about the horses...

They waited a while to get a go at it, and almost decided that the wait wasn't worth it.  But then that all changed, naturally...


She enjoyed the horses, but she was most excited about get soaked...

Any time you mix water with grass, you get mud and nastiness.  But Towns thought it was hilarious to make herself go past the end of the slide and right onto the grass to see just how dirty she could get...

She was covered in grass from head to toe and didn't care a bit!

After a couple of hours of playing hard, the kiddos were hungry.  We spread out our wet towels and had lunch...

J called somewhere in the mix and told us he'd gotten Bethany and Cate from school and that they were headed to the Mex for lunch.  Nevermind the fact that Towns had already eaten...it's her all time favorite place, so she was all about it.  I don't think it hit her that when we hurried out we wouldn't be going back.  It was the last time she'd be with her class.  Tuesday night Towns was sitting at the counter while I was making dinner looking a picture of her class from Dr. Seuss week.  The poor baby burst into tears all of a sudden.  When I got her calmed down she told me she was sad because she missed her class.  I assured her we'd make sure they all saw each other again soon...

And with that, you have my word that I'll never blog about kindergarten again...until it's Buggy's turn in a few years!  Happy Memorial Day weekend!