Last week was momentous for many reasons and culminated with Luke's 5th grade graduation. Our week began with a parade, which was an omen of the many joyful celebrations to come in the following days. L&L were banner holders for the Oak Ridge Youth Association as our town kicked off Ridgefest. This weekend event at the Town Park includes carnival rides, games, food trucks, and live music. We walked to the park two evenings to enjoy the festivities, and watched the Bandit Flight Team fly over. These vintage military aircraft looked like they were right out of the movies, and they created several breathtaking group formations in the air:
We had cotton candy & funnel cake, watched the live entertainment, and the kids played games in the KidsSummit area:
As we waited for fireworks to begin (the grand finale of Ridgefest!), our kids were running around the field barefoot, catching fireflies with friends and squealing with glee. I closed my eyes and paused take it all in. How we cherish these sweet days of simple childhood fun and community:
After a fantastic weekend at Ridgefest, we began our Monday by biking to school. Luke has been asking to ride bikes to school for ages, and I realized that we needed to do it NOW, since it was his last week of elementary school!
We picked up our friends along the way and parked our bikes at school for the day:
The second graders had their End of Year Party on Monday, so we walked everyone across the street to the Town Park and had a great time celebrating with pizza and playground fun:
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| Mrs. Allen's sweet 2nd grade class. |
Tuesday was Leah's Field Day. I volunteered at the Mile Relay station (after 5 years, I've figured out the best/easiest activity to supervise!), but joined Leah's class after my shift as they rotated through several events:
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| These sporty girls are the BEST, and were so lucky to be together this year! |
Wednesday was Luke's Field Day (somehow, I have no pictures) and Awards Ceremony. We're so proud of our smart boy for being recognized for all A-Honor Roll this year (and all throughout elementary school!):
On Wednesday evening, the kids and I joined my fellow 5th grade moms on the Graduation Committee as we set up for the next day's ceremony. This group has been so much fun to work with this year, and we've formed close friendships as we volunteer at school together:
ORES goes all out to celebrate the 5th graders, and we've commented that we don't remember anything similar to this when we were promoted to middle school (a million years ago). However, our school is such a sweet, tight-knit bubble and these students, teachers, staff, and parents have been a village together for six years. Oak Ridge Elementary is amazing and special, and even the commencement speaker at the ceremony remarked that it is such a unique, loving place. I remember walking into this school for the first time during our move to NC and knowing instantly that it was unlike any other that I had toured. We moved to our town because of ORES, and prioritized it over everything else. What an amazing answer to my prayers this school has been for our family, and we have been immensely blessed by it.
Luke diligently served as a model for our pictures as we fussed over balloons and backdrops:
We adorned the hallways with individual photo collages of each 5th grade student that they created as a surprise for their parents:
Finally, we decorated the 5th grade hallway so that the graduates would have a festive walk to their classrooms on Thursday morning:
And while your mom is putting up decorations, you may steal her wagon and race down the empty halls of your school to pass the time:
Thursday was Graduation Day at ORES. This was a bittersweet, wonderful day, and deserves its own separate post (which is coming soon). In the meantime, enjoy this picture of these two little sisters who were THRILLED to be taken out of their class to attend their brothers' graduation ceremony:
Thursday evening was Leah's End of Year Girl Scout party at Sparetime. The girls went bowling, played laser tag and arcade games, and celebrated a great year of Girl Scouts:
Friday was the kids' last day of school. They are such good sports about these front porch pictures and have the routine memorized by now:
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| Our new 6th and 3rd graders! |
Even though Luke was technically considered a "5th grade graduate" (which meant that attendance was optional), he still went to school on Friday for the End of Year Jumpers performance. This jump rope club has been great for Luke, and we never would have imagined how much he'd enjoy it (and how skilled he is)!
After the performance, Luke posed for a picture with his 5th grade teacher. Thank you, Ms. Boggess, for a great year!
We also stopped by the Art Room to finish tying off the scarf that Luke made during his weaving unit. Ms. Hodnett was thrilled that even on the last day of school, Luke wanted to complete this project!
I signed out my graduate early to take him out to lunch, and we had a special End-of-Elementary School date (sniff sniff):
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| Selfie Attempt! |
As if the week wasn't filled with enough joyous school events, we also celebrated the Installation of our new pastor at church! We helped his family move in to their new house, and these cute movers were awesome helpers:
It has been almost two years since our former pastor left, and Mark has served as Head Elder during this time. Our church has been blessed with his wisdom and leadership through this transition, and I am so proud of him for being such a wonderful example of a servant leader. He presented our new pastor with gifts from our congregation during the Installation Service, and it was a very special day for our church family:
My dear Sunday School kiddos also prepared a song at the service to welcome Pastor Elliott, and their sweet voices filled the church with joy:
I can't remember a week filled with as many festivities, parties, and reasons to celebrate. It truly was the best week ever, and my cup runneth over with joy and blessings!
