Aloha, Summer.

Dear Kennedy:

You finished first grade today. I sit here in complete awe of how quickly the year has gone, and how much you learned in 9 short months. Looking at these photos of your first day of school and the second taken of you this morning, I see how much you have matured over the year. When I stop and think of how much you have learned and experienced, I am so proud. Here are just a few of things that stand out from the year:

• Went the whole year without missing a spelling word, and while working on VERY difficult words from the 2nd and 3rd grade spelling word list.



• Read over 3, 400 minutes during reading month.



• Read books 1-4 in the Harry Potter series independently.



• Advanced more than 8 levels in the A-Z reading assessment program.



• Gained the highest mark possible for first grade writing.



• Earned an award for points earned in Reading Counts.



• Was selected to have your artwork displayed in the district art gallery to celebrate Art in the Schools week.



• Sang the main part of the "Big Bad Wolf" in the 3 Piggy Opera.



• Completed all of your addition timed testing levels and advanced to level E in subtraction.



• Participated in the math club for enrichment in the area of math.



• Developed further your interests in science, social studies and Spanish.



• Went the whole year without getting a yellow or red light for behavior.



• Made many new friends and was a friend to all.



• Demonstrated excellent character and consistent good choices.



• Made Mommy, Daddy, Hayden, Jesus, Mrs. Hill, your grandparents, and you entire family very proud.

I love to see the person that you are becoming....a quiet leader who leads with increasing confidence and by example. A student who wants to do her very best but who is not overly driven by competition. A girl who loves reading and writing and learning new things (especially about nature, animals, and God's amazing world). Always remember, sweet girl, that we want you to do your very best, but that success is not marked by grades or awards or accolades, but by developing your God-given gifts and talents and using them for His glory. He is shaping you to do amazing things, My Girl, and I look forward to continuing to see what He will do in and through you. Let's have an amazing, fun, restful summer together before we head into the adventure that is 2nd grade.

Love, Mommy

So, my little girl has completed 1st grade. I am at once excited and amazed, sad and thrilled, proud and weepy. We ended the year with a class luau that included outdoor water games and relays......
And it was a million degrees and hot and humid and just downright nasty.....can you see how sweaty we are? The temperature here hit 93 degrees before noon today.
...and of course fruit drinks with twisty straws and colorful drink umbrellas......
and a fruit sculpturing contest (the kids were so creative!) and the Limbo......


Another shot of my aloha princess, this one taken by the stone post outside the school. I photograph both of the kids in this spot on the first day and last day of every year.
After cleaning up, we headed to our annual Last Day of School celebration at Lake Michigan. We have made this our last-day tradition and, although it looked like rain as we left town, we decided to pray for the best and make the drive. As you can see, it didn't take long for the kids to rip off their clothes and leis, and hit the water. The ICE-COLD water. They didn't stay in the water very long, as it was very icy and had a pretty strong under-tow due to the wind and waves. Matt and I sat huddled in towels while they built sand castles. It was nice to cool down (way down!) after the hot, sticky morning, and it was quite relaxing.


And we got about 1 hour in before this rolled in:
So, with the first crack of thunder, we got back in the car to head home. We stopped for ribs at Sam's Joint for lunch and learned that the whole area was under a tornado watch until 10 pm. So, we high-tailed it home, grabbed some movies, and just finished watching National Treasure II. Next comes "Things we Lost in the Fire" while the kids watch Harry Potter and Underdog.

Tomorrow brings our last t-softball game (if we don't get stormed out), a regional baseball game, and hopefully some scrapping with friends. We also have many open houses this weekend, which means that my cooking will be minimal. Enjoy the first weekend of summer, y'all!