The End of the School Year of Beginnings

The strangest school year of all time is OVER at last! Yay!

The strangest school year of all time is over ALREADY! Boo!

With all of the pandemic stops, starts, restrictions, and guidelines, this school year was full of beginnings. The kids had something like five "first days" of school, from online to hybrid to full-time in person, and a couple in between around their Covid quarantines. It was a year of beginnings, and now it has ended!

The last day of school was Friday, June 12th. The kids enjoyed lots of end-of-year celebrations at school and were very excited about summer break. Since they had only been in school in person five days a week for a month before school ended, it seemed a bit too soon for summer break to me, but summer came just the same. And the kids are jubilant.

Poor Jeff started getting more and more run down as the end of school drew nearer. Everything flared up: anxiety, allergies, and maybe a head cold. He got the anxiety under control with a good hard run, but then the next day his head stuffed up into pounding agony. He was relieved to come home on the last day of school. After a few days of misery, he is on the mend. Teachers really go all out all the time, especially teacher-coaches, and sometimes that involves hobbling across the finish line. Go Jeff for finishing an exceptionally wild unpredictable school year!

Pictures from the final week of school:

For family home evening on Monday, we planted our garden: four tomato plants, 1 basil, 2 pumpkins, and an old packet of carrot seeds.

It was surprisingly chaotic, directing enthusiastic gardeners. Planting the garden is pretty much the only time anyone actually enjoys working in the garden, haha.

Jeff's mom gave us two zinnia plants, but they are already dying thanks to poor transplanting and monsoon watering techniques.

Tomatoes are my main reason for having a garden. I went more conservative this year, planting just four tomato plants. In the past I've planted more in case some died, and then faced a jungle later in the season. I hope these tomatoes live, because there aren't many of them!

Trivia: Mel Steward and Dick Van Dyke were in an episode of Golden Girls together! It was hilarious. Jeff and I are working our way through the classic sitcoms, and Golden Girls has been a snarky, slightly inappropriate, but also hilarious show to watch.

Jay got round one of the Covid vaccine this week! Yes, he already had a version of Covid, but we're just covering all of our bases here.

Vaccine card pic!

I decided that Amber's hair looks like this witch from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. 1920s flapper curls!

Amber filled out her own health attestation form one day. She hasn't figured out how to forge my signature yet.

Amber does Sudoku to keep her brain sharp. I found this paper lying around. Apparently, she got on a computer, found a free Sudoku puzzle, printed it off, and filled it in with numbers. When and how does she manage to do these intense activities? 

Amber likes to try the hard yoga poses. Side planks are super hard!

Candy flows freely at the end of the school year, and Amber is here for it.

Last day of sixth grade.

Heading to school with Jeff at 7:15am.

Amber said a long private prayer in her head at breakfast. This girl is always doing something unexpected!

Last day of kindergarten!

Last day of 4th grade!

Hugs goodbye in the carpool line. She doesn't always hug me goodbye, but I snagged a quick hug on the last day.

Walking in to school. For the first time ever, I remembered to get a teacher gift. When I dropped Amber off at school on the last day and saw another kid with more than one gift bag, I realized that there is always para pro in Amber's classroom, and I totally forgot to get her a gift too. Gifts are my waterloo!

Rose, heading in to school.

After school on the last day, I brought Jay his string bass so he could return it to the school. That thing is massive! 

Amber's teacher sent this sweet picture of her class on the last day.

Last day of kindergarten pick-up chaos.

I can hardly believe Amber's kindergarten year is over! It was nothing like I expected, but Amber did great.

Picking up Rose on the last day of school. A fire truck came and sprayed a big jet of water for the kids to play in at school. That's why Rose is wearing different clothes in this picture--all kids had to bring a change of clothes.

On Friday evening, we went down the road to our friends the Condies' house for a three way graduation party for three of the stellar graduates from our ward.