Girls’ Getaway
Instead of a big party for Ava’s birthday this year, she and I took a little getaway to Charlotte for a night. We spent time shopping and enjoying good food. Ava especially enjoyed the American Girl store and it was so fun to see the huge American Girl dollhouse in person. It was a fun little getaway with my big girl.
Cousin Sleepover Swap
This summer Ava had a fun adventure with Grace. We worked out with Tiff and Josh to do a sleepover swap with the big girls. We took Ava to Columbia and she spent 3 nights with Grace at their house. And the added benefit was that DJ and I got to see the final performance of Dear Evan Hansen in Columbia as it was ending the North American tour. It was our 3rd time seeing the show but this was such a very special performance being the final curtain call. Then, Zoe and I met up with Tiff and the kids at Riverbanks and then we brought Ava and Grace home with us. Grace spent 2 nights with us. The girls had a lot of fun swimming, baking and ice skating over the week. It was a fun cousin week!
Our Ballerina
I made sure to do a little portrait session of Zoe in her costume. I think this may be one of my favorite costumes she has worn. She looked so beautiful!
Zoe’s Spring Recital 2023
Zoe had her spring recital the night of the last day of school. This recital was the very first time her studio created an entire production. They told the story of Cinderella and each class performed a song to move the story along. Zoe’s ballet class performed the bathtub song and danced with little bubble wands. Zoe did such a great job during her performance! She also got a surprise and received a trophy for dancing with the studio for 3 years. She was so excited to get her very first trophy. We love watching our little dancer blossom each year.
1st and Last of Elementary School
For some real torture, here is Ava on her very first day and very last day of elementary school.
Ava’s Last Day of 5th Grade
We still do not know how Ava is finished with elementary school. It doesn’t seem possible that she finished 5th grade but here we are. We are so thankful for Paris Elementary and the wonderful school that it was for Ava. She made some great friends and memories there. She finished on the honor roll and we are so proud of how well she did during her years there. We are thankful for all of the teachers that poured into her over the years. As much as she will miss Paris, we are excited to see what God has in store for her in middle school.
Zoe’s Last Days of School
Of course, I have to compare pictures from Zoe’s last days of school. So here she is growing up too fast.
K4
Kindergarten
Zoe’s Last Day of Kindergarten
I truly cannot believe Zoe’s first year of elementary school is over. She absolutely loved kindergarten and had such a great year! If anyone asked Zoe what her favorite part of school was she would say learning. She really enjoyed all the experiments they did and especially loved computer lab. She is starting to get the hang of reading and sounding out words. She made some really sweet friends this year too. It was so fun to watch her grow over the year and we cannot wait to see what 1st grade holds for her.
And just for torture…here is a side by side of her first and last day of kindergarten.
5th Grade Day
Ava had an extra special awards day this year. It wasn’t just awards day, it was 5th grade day. It started with the awards ceremony where Ava received A/B honor roll plus a special recognition award for maintaining the A/B honor roll for 4th and 5th grade. After the awards ceremony, they had the 5th Grade Clap Out. All the 5th grade parents, teachers and all other students lined the halls and clapped as the 5th graders walked through all the halls. It was a bittersweet moment because it is so hard to believe she is finished with elementary school and will be leaving Paris, a school she loves so much. But, we are excited for middle school at Bob Jones next year. After the clap out, the 5th graders got to have their own version of field day with water games and chaos and fun and snow cones. They had a blast and it was a fun way to end their time at Paris.
