So Long Kindergarten

I have a love hate relationship with Kindergarten. Back in the boom times when my boys were five and the Arizona government wasn't selling off the Capitol Building to pay their bills, they could offer free all day Kinder. I was reluctant to send my little ones away all day and had some friends who were bent out of shape enough about losing the half day option, that they drove their kids across town to a school that still offered it. (I've noticed that people get worked up about change no matter if it's good change or bad change. There's always some that the knee jerk reaction is going to be negative. I try to take in all the information before rejecting change, because this is a pet peeve of mine.) Anyway, after the first couple teary eyed days, my boys loved all day Kindergarten. Their teacher was fabulous and I admit that selfishly it was awfully nice to have a daily seven hour break from them. Sophie was an adorable  little two year old and she and I partied like it was 1999 everyday. We went to the mall, played at the park, hung out at Peter Piper with our friends, and took afternoon siestas. We were worn out after all.

I did not have a free all day option out here, so it was half day for her, which was a nice transition for me. I am officially done with Kindergarten now. It's crazy how fast it all goes. Sophie has done fantastic and has really thrived this year. She has made some good friends and is starting to read and write. She 's one of those kids that makes me look good even though I really didn't have that much to do with the fact that she is just a smart and more importantly sweet kid.

Every stage of parenting has it's challenges and rewards. I love to cuddle with newborns and cannot get enough of one and two year olds, but both are exhausting. My new phase of having a tweener and school agers is fun in the respect that they are "getting" more of life. I can joke around with them. Their talents and personalities are taking shape and manifesting themselves. The boys have gotten to the point in sports where it is actually competitive and frankly more entertaining to watch. Even their homework is less boring. Wes and I can go out to dinner and not have to call a babysitter. (The house is a wreck and nobody brushes their teeth, but the house is still standing and no one is bleeding when we return.) I try to cherish each phase and not waste time and energy lamenting their progress.

So school is out and we have survived the first day of summer. I invested in a slip and slide. It lasted one day, but for six bucks I really didn't expect much more. The boys are glad to be out. It has seemed like a really fast year for one and a slow one for the other, but both survived unscathed and even pulled of honor roll distinctions. Jake missed getting straight As by two-tenths of a percentage point in math. Dylan did not get a B all year. Jake's propensity for socializing serves as a distraction from academics sometimes, but I wouldn't change it. If school was all about academics, I would home school for a couple hours a day and call it good.

Sophie and awesome Mrs. Little. (Could their be a better name for a Kindergarten teacher?)

Sophie's proud family.

 Did I mention she also had a dance recital. On the way home from the recital I casually said that I should have brought her flowers, since a few of the other moms did. She said, "Oh that's ok, we can go to Fry's right now." So we did. I won't forget again. She takes her dancing very seriously and is pretty good at it. She deserved the flowers.The coordination for sure didn't come from me, but I'm glad she has it.

All smiles.