8th Grade Recognition

Well, another kiddo has "graduated" from Wilson Middle School and will be moving on to Moline High School in the Fall.  Hard to fathom that my little kids are growing up so quickly! 

After a whirlwind finish to the school year - full of concerts, banquets, sports events, concerts, fieldtrips and more concerts - we ended it all with the 8th Grade Recognition. 

 Alex and some friends after their Spring Pops Concert for Choir - with Ben Holmes, their Choir director. What an amazing job he has done in the three short years he's been at Wilson.

 Baseball Game field trip -

It was a fun 8th grade year for Alex - she really stepped out and tried some new things this year and we couldn't be more proud of her.

Sweet 16 - Kaitee

Sweet 16!!! Where has the time gone?

Maddie got a hip bag for Kaitee (she told me that she noticed Kaitee's old bag was getting pretty worn).  She also put a miniature Eiffel Tower in the bag for Kaitee - our lover of all things French!

I wrapped up her present this morning (I grabbed her Hamilton biography from her closet to help with the surprise!).  The same day of the party, she frantically searched the house for this book - the book that she hadn't looked at in months - she was accusing everyone in the house of borrowing it but not telling her and was pretty upset. Seriously?? The one day she wants the book is the one day I wrapped it up. Here she is opening her gift and finding the book!

Kaitee is a HUGE Hamilton fan. She knows all the songs, she knows all the names of the actors. She owns books and has done research on Alexander Hamilton.

When we went to Washington D.C. last year, she got her picture next to a statue of Alexander Hamilton, and wanted to see the U.S. Treasury Building. She leaned in close to see his signature on one of the documents in the National Archives.

We don't go all out for the kids birthdays, never have. We get together with family and share pizza.

We asked Kaitee if she would rather get money (from us, both sets of grandparents), or if she would rather have us pool the money and get her a bigger gift. She opted to trust us and we delivered. Tickets to see Hamilton.

Here is her reaction.

We saw many smiles like this throughout the rest of the night.  I'd say it was a good surprise/gift!  We'll post more in July when her & Matt head to Chicago to see it.

Happy Sweet 16, Kaitee!  We love you and pray that you continue to love life the way you do today!