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.”
Mani Monday
graduation
A Look Back…Graduation Then and Now
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!
- Honor Roll
- Astronomy Club
- National Honor Society
- National English Honor Society
- Clarinetist in Pit Orchestra and Marching, Pep, and Concert/Symphonic Bands
- 2023 Mighty Maroon Recipient
- 2024 Graduate
- Gentleman
High School Graduation
“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!
Graduation Day!
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!
The Top Five–Things I’m Looking Forward to in 2023
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!
- That 90s Show–I know it’s silly, and I really hope they don’t screw it up, but I’m really looking forward to Red and Kitty being on my TV screen again…hopefully I’ll like the rest of the characters, too!
- Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait–I can’t wait for this biography of Queen Elizabeth II to be released in the US! Yes, I could have just imported it, but I figured I could wait a few more months. I’m pretty choosy about what biographies of the Royal Family I read (I don’t want anything too tabloid-y), and this one is from an author I feel comfortable supporting. Hopefully I’ll learn something new!
- Coronation of King Charles III–This is a bittersweet one for me, because part of me still can’t believe Her Majesty is gone, but I am looking forward to seeing what the pomp and ceremony of a coronation looks like in the modern day!
- Graduation–Turkey and Bunny are both graduating from community college with Associate’s Degrees this spring. This is another bittersweet thing for me, but I’m so proud of them and how hard they’ve worked, and I can’t wait to see them accept their degrees!
- Trip to Toledo–The boys and I have talked about taking a trip to Toledo to see the Mudhens play and eat at Tony Packo’s (it’s a M*A*S*H thing), for several years now, and hopefully this summer we’ll make it happen! If we’re really lucky, we’ll also stop in Cincinnati and see Fritz the Hippo before he gets too much bigger!
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?
The Graduates
The big day is here…Turkey and Bunny are now high school graduates!
We had a small, family celebration, but I tried to make it as special as possible.
Bunny also had an Animal Crossing graduation party!
I made their favorite dinner:
And java chip Oreo truffles for dessert:
I don’t know where the years have gone, but I do know that I am very proud of them, and excited for the next chapters in their lives!
2020-21 School Year–Week Thirty-Four
Hymn of the Week–“Go, My Children, with My Blessing” (Lutheran Service Book #922)
This is the final wrap-up for the 2020-21 school year!
On Sunday, we visited the Missouri Botanical Garden…not really a field trip, but we’ve gone so few places in the last 15 months, I thought it deserved a mention.
As for the school week, we just worked on finishing everything up. Turkey, Bunny, and Ladybug submitted their final final papers…I was very impressed with the wide range of topics they chose (Turkey looked at the character of Frank Burns from M*A*S*H and why he’s no longer a caricature and thus no longer funny, Bunny wrote about whether Benedict Arnold was a hero or villain, and Ladybug discussed major events of WWII). Moose finished up his year of distance learning…it certainly wasn’t an easy way to experience his first year of high school, but he did a great job! Turkey, Bunny Ladybug, and Chickadee all finished their final science chapters. Ladybug and Chickadee were also excited to take a look at the crystals they’ve been growing:
And then the day I’ve been dreading all year…Turkey’s and Bunny’s graduation day. I’m so proud of them, but I can’t believe I’m losing half of my students at once!
As always, we ended the year with a Lego set…this time, the Medieval Blacksmith. It’s a really cool set…I especially love the color scheme!
One last time…my students:
This year has been, at times, impossibly difficult, and I wasn’t always sure how we’d make it through. Now that it’s over, though, I find that I’m sad to see it go. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime situation, with all five children learning at home all year. While I hope never to live through a pandemic again, we definitely made a lot of memories, and there are things I will definitely miss.
To end the school year, I will leave you with some wise thoughts from Wade:
K to 8
Today, Ladybug graduates from eighth grade! Here’s a look back at every first day of school she’s had, from kindergarten through 8th grade:
And a last day of 8th grade picture, too:
On to high school!
The First Day of School…and the Last
I don’t always have photos taken of me with my students on the first or last day of school in any given year, but as it turns out, I did have a photo of Turkey, Bunny, and I from our very first day of homeschooling way back in September 2008, and I made sure to take another today to commemorate Turkey’s and Bunny’s high school graduation.
I guess the experiment we decided to try for one year turned out ok!
Eighth Grade Graduation
Tonight is Moose’s junior high graduation. Since I couldn’t get a cap and gown picture (the school never even made it to the point where they would order them before things shut down), this one outside of his school will have to do!
