Graduation #2

We have made it through our 2nd graduation of the year - grandson Hudson "graduated" from kindergarten. It was a truly lovely program and the kids all did a wonderful job. It is always so heartwarming to see the looks of pride and accomplishment on their faces.

The stage is all set and awaiting the graduates. And here they come...

 

...to Pomp and Circumstance and soooo serious!

 
The program consisted of short poems depicting all of the accomplishments of their year. Hud did so well on his part - loud and slow - I could actually understand every word. In between, the group sang sweet songs about friends, school, etc. It really was one of the nicest programs of this kind that I have attended.  I am sorry about my fuzzy pictures. Their principal runs a tight ship and when he asks parents not to stand or come forward to take pictures, you DO NOT stand or come forward. I have seen him call down a parent as quickly as he calls down a student - but, he leads an A school with some of the highest test scores in the county at a school that everyone wants to attend, so I don't mind following the rules!

 

Hud receiving his diploma from his teacher.

"O.K. Nana, I have taken all the pictures you asked for! Now can I go get something to eat?".

After the ceremony, we "stole" Presley for some Nana & Papa time. We headed out for some shopping, lunch and then home for her favorite "crafts". Since the 4th is fast approaching, I thought we could get a jump on that.

I love projects that are simple and kid friendly yet still yield a nice product. This Uncle Sam required the easiest of painting - you really couldn't go wrong. The only thing Presley asked me for help with was the curve of the face. Since we were going to sand and scuff him up after painting, mistakes really didn't matter. She loved every aspect of this project from going to Lowes and picking out the wood, to watching me use the chop saw, painting and on to the embellishing. When I do things like this with the kids, I usually do one as well. I can then do a small bit on mine as they watch and then they can do the same on theirs. Once we get to the embellishing, they are on their own. That is what gives their projects their own stamp. Presley loves mouths! Whenever we make any face on a project, hers WILL HAVE a mouth. She also used a little artistic license on the marker lines we ran down the stripes. And, she wanted her star RIGHT in the middle! They were meant to hide any imperfections in the straight lines, so really, the curvier the better.

Recently, she has been talking about "Lady and the Tramp". When I asked her if she would like to come spend the night to watch the movie with us, I remembered a similar event way back in 1999 when Hannah was here for a week during the summer and we made a spaghetti dinner for Papa. I pulled out a page from Hannah's scrapbook to show her and she wanted to do the same thing.

And so, once again, we pulled out the old wine bottle that my husband and I bought on our honeymoon almost 49 years ago, grabbed the checkered tablecloth and we were off.

 

She loved this - can't tell you how many pieces of spaghetti we had to eat!

Our inspiration from oh so many years ago! I remember how much fun it was then as it was now but the days of my close-ups need to be over - especially if I am next to a 4 1/2 year old face! Yikes!

Whew! Two down and the "big one" to go on Saturday. The rest of the family will be arriving in town tomorrow so we will have a nice visit with them before heading to Gainesville for the weekend. I will have so much to share. Stay tuned.