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Last Day of School

Posted by | June 05, 2010 | BAMBINOS | 5 Comments

Years fly in a flash. So much has happened in the past nine months– our blog, alone, helps to remind us of that. And yet, suddenly, in what in so many ways seems like a split second, another school year has gone by. It seems like just last night we were having our special ‘Back to School Dinner.’ Except that it wasn’t last night. Because, in actuality, last night we were having our special ‘Last Day of School Dinner.’

Yesterday was K & O’s last day of school. The official start of summer vacation. We had their school picnic, gave gifts to their teachers, cleared out their cubbies, collected their ‘Yearbooks,’ and brought home their thick gorgeous stacks of a whole year’s worth of kindergarten artwork. And then they played in the pool for hours. There is nothing quite like the last day of school.

Kyle and Owen did so well this year. Their teachers truly love them and sing their praises. (God love their teachers!!!) These boys are rambunctious, emotional, and fully-loaded-with-life in every single possible way. They are spirited (to the Nth degree) boys, and they are non-stop. I can’t imagine being their teacher– having to figure out how to engage them and challenge them and control-their-activity(physical and mental)-levels in the classroom. I have a hard enough time with that at home, and I don’t even have a dozen+ other kids running around with them. Owen, especially, is a handful in terms of his energy level and constant-pushing-of-the-physical-and-social-boundaries. And Kyle is a whole other handful with his incessant list of questions and thoughts and observations and proclamations and cares and concerns. Kyle and Owen have both worked so, so hard this year to do a good job in school. They love school, but it doesn’t come easily for them to follow along and do things according to plan and participate calmly during circle time and sit quietly when it is time to color (or draw, or paint, or sew, or whatever happens to be the project of the day). It is a big, challenging job for them– this “doing good” and “behaving well” thing. And this year they were pretty dang good at it. For that we are so incredibly proud of these two. They have come a long way in the past  twelve months. And while they are still two handfuls (to say the least!!!), they are growing up and (most days) doing their best. Last night we had a special evening to celebrate their Last Day of School.

Dinner was linguine with white clam sauce, focaccia, caesar salad. In our house you know it is a special night when the water and wine are served in stemmed glasses! I had announced the night before that everyone should start thinking of “two things that they really, really want to be sure we do this summer.” And I had told them we were going to make the list during our speical ‘Last Day of School Dinner.’ Sure enough, everyone was prepared. We had a very fun dinner conversation while putting together our Summer 2010 ‘To Do’ list.

Dessert was the extra-special-surprise-treat. While everyone else played in the playroom I cleared the table and set out the very special dessert I had prepared the night before. When I called them, they all came running, and were completely surprised to find this…

Watching them with this dessert was worth every little bit of effort I had put into this treat! Kyle’s first reaction was to smell the flower to try to figure out if it was real.

When they realized that all but the flower and pot was entirely edible, they wasted no time in digging right in. Much to their surprise, they began finding [gummy] worms under the [crushed up Oreos] soil.

Yum yum yum! It was such a fun treat. And it made our two boys feel the love. I believe that deep in their hearts they know that their Mama goes the extra mile out of true-love for them, and that she is very, very proud of them.

After Meera went to bed, much to their surprise, the boys each got a special gift for having done such a great job at school this whole year. They had been badly wanting these things (which is rare– they almost never ask for anything), and were completely shocked and ecstatic to receive them so unexpectedly out-of-the-blue. For Owen, a marble ‘roller coaster’ track set. For Kyle, a table-top baseball game. They got to stay up late playing with their new prized possessions. And they went to bed feeling really good~~ ready for what will hopefully be a really great summer.

In case you’re interested in trying it yourself (and I highly recommend it!), the dessert idea, and how-to, came from here: CLICK!

5 Comments

  • islandbaby22 says:

    Oooh that looks so beautiful and yummy! I bet the kids just loved it!

    Did you use real flowers?

    That's interesting how their school saves up all the artwork and then gives it to them on the last day.

    I remember being sent home with the artwork as I created it in my school.

    Happy Summer!

  • kate.m.vickery says:

    Looks like you all had a wonderful evening :)…I remember looking over that Pioneer Woman's recipe a few months ago and thinking of how I would make it when I finish grad school – it looks delish, glad it worked out perfectly for you!!

    Happy Summer!

  • NancyL says:

    Heather,

    Once again, I have to say that the traditions you and Braydon are making for your c hildren are priceless and WILL be remembered and appreciated. Mine love, love, love the simple traditions put in place (well, in our family, if you do it twice it's a tradition!) You are creating sweet, sweet memories. One of the greatest compliments I rec'd as a parent was when a close family friend told me "You are creating wonderful childhoods" And, you are doing the same.

    Best!

    Nancy

  • tgr101 says:

    COngrats on doing so well in school! My daughters are about to finish first grade and I saw a tremendous amount of maturity this year (happy and sad for that — so many mixed emotions in parenting, aren't there?)

    Anyway … I was looking for something special to serve after my daughters' dance recital this weekend and your (and Pioneer Woman's) flowerpots are perfect. Thanks for the suggestion!!

  • Jonez says:

    LOL @ Meera drinking her water out of her wine glass. Is it a 'plastic' to prevent breakage?

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