Pass the Kleenex, Vol. 2

A hectic week was had here in Grand Rapids! And Mother Nature has not been very good to us so far. :( On Monday Aaron was supposed to have his class picnic. But thanks to dear ol' Mother Nature, it was cancelled. It rained all day long and was a measly 57 degrees. Instead the picnic was rescheduled for Tuesday. The weather forecast was for partly sunny skies and a high of 70. Instead what did we get? Cloudy and partly miserable, with a high of about 60! We were all shivering! The sad part was that some of the parents were asked to bring popsicles as treats for the kids. Um, yeah. I don't even think I needed ice in the cooler to keep them cold. I told some of my room-parent friends that we should have had hot cocoa and coffee instead!

The kids still had fun and did some sidewalk chalk exercises, played on the equipment, and played some chicken games!


Wednesday was a very big day. Aaron graduated from Kindergarten! I did have to chuckle at how many times he'll graduate in the next few years though. First he graduated from pre-school, then Kindergarten, then he'll graduate from eighth grade, then high school and (hopefully* see video below) college.

Here he is on 9/1/08 - the first day of school this year:


and here is is on 6/10/09 -the last day of school!



I already knew that the classes were going to sing a couple of songs. Aaron let the cat out of the bag (shocker!) that they were going to sing a special song and when he said that I immediately got teary. You see, that's the song that will forever remind me of my dad. That was our daddy/daughter dance at my wedding to Keith so it was kind of a double whammy.

The kids marched in to Pomp and Circumstance and Aaron had his chest puffed out so proudly. It was quite cute!
After some welcoming remarks from the teachers and the principal/vice principal, the program began. First they did a "When I grow up" portion.
Aaron has such goals and aspirations!! *(see also: note above about college) ;) Some fun things we heard from other kids: When I grow up I want to be: A rockstar, a CIA agent, the President, and a "cool dude who wears a black jacket and sunglasses and rides a motorcycle"! Then it was time for a song. The kids were so cute singing "A You're Adorable" and doing the appropriate ASL signs along with it!

Finally - the big moment! Receiving the diploma!


The end of the program was the piece de resistance. I dare you not to crack a smile (and perhaps a sniffle or two) when you watch this performance. Mid-way through you can hear me choke back a sob. ** Note: I know the video is a red X. I will fix it soon. It has taken hours to upload!


I am SO proud of Aaron and his accomplishments this year. It certainly has been a very difficult one, but we persevered and I know we'll be just fine.