Gracie's 5th grade graduation and our last day of school celebrations

On Friday we had a fun morning celebrating the Bristol Class of 2014. Our school is a school very rich in tradition, and fifth grade graduation was no exception! Gracie had a wonderful time saying goodbye (or as "goodbye" as it really is, with three younger siblings to still go through the school….) and although there were many parents wiping tears, it was more of a celebration for us. She has enjoyed her two years there very much, but she is really excited to move on to sixth grade.

After the celebration ended, Gracie was allowed to leave school for the day at 10:30. We headed home to the littles who had stayed behind to play with our favorite babysitter, Brigitta. Ben had to hurry off to work, but Drew, Katie, and I told Gracie we would love to go do something fun with her to celebrate. It was no surprise that Gracie chose lunch out and a little shopping.

Her restaurant of choice was P.F. Changs. It was a beautiful day, so we had a laid-back meal on their patio. I was proud of Katie and Drew for being very well-behaved. After lunch, we walked across the street to browse a bit in an accessories store that we like. Gracie spent some of her money on a summer hat and I treated myself with some etsy money to a new purse for the summer. Katie was content to study the mannequin in the window and Drew was happy to sit on the floor near us while we shopped with my phone to occupy him, so it was a surprisingly smooth shopping excursion- even with a five year old and three year old in tow.

It was then time to go pick up Luke at school so we could continue the last day of school celebration. We baked brownies together and got out the sprinkler for the first time this season while they baked.

Then, to improve upon an already fun day for the kids, Ben got home from work and offered to take them to the batting cages. They were thrilled to go. Poor Katie was done after such a full day, so she and I opted out so she could have a much-needed early bedtime. The older three were pretty ready for bed themselves after getting home from the batting cages. It had been a very full day after a very full week!