It’s become something of a tradition for me to post a gallery of the first days of school from kindergarten through 8th grade on the last day of each child’s 8th grade year. So, for the last time, here’s a look back at Chickadee from K to 8:
And a bonus picture of her today on her last day of 8th grade:
On to high school!
It’s Graduation Day!
Ladybug has successfully completed high school…and the entirety of K-12 in my little homeschool!
We had a nice little celebration, including photos and “Pomp and Circumstance.”
For fun, we built our last-day-of-school Lego sets…three of the seasons available in the Botanical collection…they’re absolutely beautiful, and used interesting building techniques and pieces!
For her graduation dinner, Ladybug chose some of her favorite recipes from The Ultimate Final Fantasy XIV Online Cookbook…Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, Pixieberry Tea, and Princess Pudding:
Not that I really thought it would, but it doesn’t get easier to say goodbye to students from my classroom at home…I’m going to miss seeing Ladybug at her desk every morning!
We had a great time at all of the activities for Bunny’s college graduation last week!
Last week Bunny graduated from college, this week Ladybug is graduating from high school! In honor of the event, I did a mani in our school colors of silver, red, and purple. I used Holo Taco “Circuit Breaker,” the foil “Favourite Sister,” and “Cool Cat Mom,” with an extra dash of sparkle on two nails thanks to “Silver Flake Taco” and “Red Flake Taco.”
We have had a very exciting few days, because Bunny graduated from Western Kentucky University with a Bachelor’s Degree in history!
The actual commencement was on Thursday night, and began with the “Topper Walk,” the students’ final walk across campus as undergraduates:
The ceremony was held on the football field, and we got really lucky with the weather…even though there had been storms around the area all day, all we ran into was a few sprinkles, and it wasn’t even hot!
I was impressed with how organized and efficient the whole process was, and I definitely shed a few tears along the way!
Following the ceremony, we stopped by the “Big Red Bash” on the South Lawn…the highlight of the event was seeing the host himself!
On the way out, we saw Cherry Hall aglow in WKU’s signature red:
We were back on campus yesterday morning for the recognition ceremony for Bunny’s college…the Potter College of Arts and Letters. This is the event where each graduate’s name is read, and they receive their (fake) diploma.
Bunny received a special honor, which was worn in the form of a medal..the Top Scholar of the College!
This was another very organized event…they clearly know what they’re doing!
After we located Bunny, we took lots and lots of pictures, staring with the traditional grad and parents photo:
And then we walked around campus, taking pictures in all of Bunny’s favorite locations, plus a few I wanted to add to the list:
Bunny loves WKU!
One last stop outside the Alumni Center, which is now Bunny’s center, too!
It’s commencement week on The Hill! In honor of Bunny’s graduation, I went with the reddest mani I could manage, featuring Holo Taco “Red Licorice” with a sparkly accent nail of the foil “Favourite Sister.”
I don’t know how we got here from there; I don’t know how it came upon us so quickly, but Moose is now a high school graduate! So much has changed from his kindergarten graduation to now, starting with how very tall he’s grown over the years, but he is still the sweetest guy and hardest worker you’ll ever meet!
“Headmaster Charleston, faculty members, fellow students, family and friends, welcome. We never thought this day would come. We prayed for its quick delivery, crossed days off our calendars, counted hours, minutes, and seconds, and now that it’s here, I’m sorry it is because it means leaving friends who inspire me and teachers who have been my mentors – so many people who have shaped my life and my fellow students’ lives impermeably and forever.” Alexis Bledel as Rory Gilmore in Gilmore Girls
Today was Moose’s high school graduation!
We had the best case scenario possible for graduation. The weather was clear (albeit a little warmer and sunnier than we would have preferred), and the ceremony was held outdoors in the football stadium, which meant Moose received enough tickets for our whole family to attend! It was quite a thing to see the entire class process in…I think there were between 400 and 500 graduates!
You can barely see him, but he’s walking off the stage after receiving his diploma:
After the ceremony, I got a few pictures of him with friends and teachers, and a few solo, as well:
We took some family pictures, too:
For months, he has been planning to go to our family’s favorite Mexican restaurant for his celebratory dinner…it’s the first time we’ve been there since before the pandemic, and the food was just as good as I remembered!
For dessert, I made his favorite…s’mores pie.
This was an amazing day…he has worked so hard, and done so well, and it was a thrill to see him wearing all his awards as he received his diploma! I am so happy we had this opportunity to celebrate his accomplishments!
The last two years just flew by, and today, Turkey and Bunny received their Associate’s degrees…Turkey an Associate in Science, and Bunny an Associate in Arts!
I enjoyed getting a look at the class banner while we were there:
It was a very nice ceremony…in addition to being on the Dean’s List all four semesters (they received a special blue tassel for that) and members of Phi Theta Kappa (the gold tassel, cord, and stole), not to mention Turkey’s Outstanding Math Student award for the 2022-23 school year, they were recognized for having a perfect 4.0 GPA, something less than 10% of the graduates accomplished. They have kept pace with each other from the very beginning!
We are all so proud!
Two weeks from today, I’ll be celebrating with the two of the them at Disneyland!
After last year’s “Top Five” list of things I was looking forward to, this one seems pretty tame…there is no big trip to Disney World on the horizon, after all! But there are still things I’m anticipating in this new year…let’s take a look!
So, there’s a look at some of the things I’m most excited about in the new year. What are you looking forward to?