First, Patty's student Amber graduated high school. After five years of tutoring, much of it twice a week, it was a very bittersweet experience. A few tears, and lots of excitement for her future. And G got to play with his good buddy all through the long (and delicious!) lunch.
We already mentioned that Wowo (aka Laura) visited, but we didn't really take many pictures - maybe there are some on hers or Mom's camera. We had a delicious Bangladeshi lunch at Panahar and yummy barbeque chez mes parents. Laura and P became addicted to Dance Dance Revolution, but we have a long way to go before we will post youtube videos of ourselves.
The big event for us this week was G's preschool graduation. It's been so difficult to say goodbye to this wonderful school, because they have taken such good care of our baby in his first adventures away from Mommy, and perhaps the best compliment we can give the school is that they earned our trust. We can't say enough nice things about the staff, the facility, the clergy, and the families. Thankfully, the Chipster is looking forward to kindergarten so much that this has been a complete non-issue for him.
We went to morning mass, because without G we could actually pay attention and it was a nice treat. The graduation ceremony began at about 10 am, as the students processed into the sanctuary with their hands behind their backs (G is right behind Mrs. Betsey) and took their places in front of the altar. They sang a beautiful recital, and then received their diplomas. There was some confusion about whether non-flash photography was allowed, so we only have a photo of the procession but nothing else of the actual ceremony. The prayer was actually said by Fr. Terry Crone (who, incidentally, married Jack and Jen).
Next, we went to the classroom, where they received their diplomas and caps. Then we headed over to the reception and had some cake, coffee (for P), and lemonade. The students received gifts - a dry erase set with handwriting lines on the palette to practice writing letters, and a video of the school year played.
Our next stop was a photo op in the grotto, and then we let the kids play on the playground for a while before we headed out to lunch at Moe's. Thanks, Bun, Lisa, and Typifer, for making this a very special day!
For Chipdip's graduation gift, we allowed him to choose a bicycle. His old one, which was barely used, is too small for him, and we can't get the pedal to stay on. We didn't want to wait until his birthday for this present, because it will be too hot then to use it much, we have time now for more recreation, and we also wanted to give it to him for a special occasion so he doesn't think big presents happen every day. It was a little big-ticket for preschool graduation, we thought, but we liked having the excuse to get one for him. At Toys R Us, it was between the Razor bike and the Cars movie bike. We think he made the right choice. Oh, and do we even need to say that he chose Ben 10 safety equipment? We didn't think so.
