the graduate

Lizzy's great kindergarten teachers staged an elaborate graduation for their 11-kid class on Friday. The families watched from a tent while the graduates (lined up in front of us, in little mortarboards and blue gowns) sang songs, recited poems and the like.
You won't believe this, but I took a few pictures! :)

Here's their cake. What I found hilarious was how we parents carefully cut pieces around the kids until we absolutely had to break into that section. (Lizzy's on the far left in the bottom row.)


Good cake, too! Good ratio of frosting to cake, and nice and sugary. Added bonus -- it turned your mouth blue. (yes -- I'm still pregnant. I'm currently quite obsessed with frosting, and seriously considering asking Matt if we can celebrate my birthday with cake 2 1/2 months early. No presents -- just cake. Hey, maybe cake BOTH times!!!)

I love this next shot because I can see two little Lizzy expressions at once!


The teachers had written a little essay on the back of each child's paper that told what they wanted to be when they grew up. Lizzy? She wants to be "a mother of six -- three boys and three girls." I wonder if this is an only-child thing ...

This next one, obviously, is Lizzy receiving her diploma. They really went all out!

And once a kid has a diploma, well, you KNOW what he/she's gonna do with it:



Here's the three of us, right after the ceremony. I'll try to avoid mentioning the phrase "water weight" overly much:


After we had snacks there at the day care, and cake, and watched the slide show that my husband and I put together, we went to a local park and had a barbecue and swam. (if you're curious, no, I did not swim. I sat in the shade and felt self-conscious about my Wonder Bread loaf-sized ankles.)
We also could've played mini-golf, but the siren song of the water was too much for the kids to resist. God bless the dads! They played endlessly and interchangeably with the kids.
Matt told me in the midst of it at one point: (something like) "I wish sometimes I were a boy daddy." He did have a blast, throwing those boys around and being semi-strangled by them.

Here's a cutie lineup!