The Graduate

Dylan and I were playing around with Adobe Photoshop today and thought this was a fun way to commemorate the Kindergarten "graduation" party we held for him last Friday! It was a completely impulsive idea, but I am so very glad we went ahead and held a little ceremony to mark the completion of his Kindergarten year. It was my brother's idea, actually, posed unsuspectingly as we were sitting around visiting Thursday morning. He casually questioned whether we were taking a school holiday that day, inducing a near panic attack on my part. "Okay, so this is the thing," I confessed. "We've pretty much finished everything we needed to for Kindergarten, but I don't know how to just end the year!" (There may have been just the slightest tone of desperation in my voice.)

"Well," he countered, "when we were little we always had a pizza party at the end of the school year."

"BRILLIANT! Let's do it! Except wait...ummm, there's also this one little thing. I really wanted to make a scrapbook of Dylan's Kindergarten year to give him when we finally finished, and...I haven't even started one yet. Nor do I know how. Or even where to begin."

To which my amazing and talented sister-in-law cheerfully responded, "I can help!"

And so it began. We shopped on Thursday and hand made forty beautiful birth announcements for Kristen (which had been in our plans all along), and we spent Friday (with my mom's help) putting together the most incredible scrapbook for Dylan. I LOVE it!!! And I can't tell you how much fun I had assembling it with my mom and sister-in-law. (Jenn, are you sure you don't want to move down here?)

While I was busy putting the finishing touches on Dylan's surprise scrapbook, (my brother had kept all five of our combined "big kids" busy playing while we sequestered ourselves in Scrap Central...aka, My Bedroom) my sister-in-law also made the cake we had for Dylan...and later decorated it for me while I was gone with Darren to pick up the pizzas! (Honestly, and I can't stress this enough: this party would have never worked had it not been for the tireless efforts of my sister-in-law, and also my brother and my mom. You guys were awesome!!!)

At any rate, Dylan was thrilled with his party. We hadn't told him about it until late Friday afternoon, and he was so excited! He is so eager to begin first grade. He is so proud to have finished Kindergarten. We are so proud of what a brilliant and accomplished student he is! :)

I have many thoughts to share on the completion of our first year of homeschooling, and an equal number, I'm sure, regarding our plans for next year. But those, I think, can wait. Here I want to just share a few pictures of Dylan's big day.

Dylan with the "Diploma" my mom helped me make on the computer.

Admiring his new Kindergarten scrapbook. He loves it!

Cake! We sang "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow".

The outer cover and a few of my favorite pages.