Yes, I know the new school year is around the corner...

...but I thought better late than never for the June graduation pictures. Please don't hold my bad timing against me. It actually just seems like last week Olivia was all dolled up and looking like the lovely lady she really is. She graduated from 8th grade and looked so suddenly grown up. Both dad and I were so surprised and proud when she won the "Good Samaritan" award. Please notice the pink shoes. Olivia will want you to observe how ultimately cute her pink, peep-toe pumps are. She loved those shoes so much. We are trying to think when she will ever get to wear them again. It won't matter if she ever does wear them again, she'll find a place in her room to display them. She might even redecorate her room around them.



Here is the whole family, assembled and colour co-ordinated right down to the book-end purple accent children. We had to really rush the photo session because hello, the dance was about to begin and the dance took priority over posterity apparently.

Here is Will with his wonderful teacher and lovely aid under the graduation arbour. The very same arbour that big sister Olivia marched under the night before. Yes, our clan got a lot of use out of the beautifully decorated school gym this year.

Will, holding the ever important kindergarten graduation certificate. I don't know if they really let you into grade one without it.

It was during the kindergarten graduation that Mrs. B, Will's wonderful teacher interviewed each graduate and asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up. I was a little nervous as it involved an actual working microphone and a gym filled with staring and unblinking eyeballs all trained in on the interviewee. Will, the second interview, without missing a beat, loudly and confidently proclaimed he wanted to be a firefighter. Not even a "fireman", but the PC approved term "firefighter". Not every kid in the class was up to the task of the interview, but that day, Will certainly was. The audience was comforted with the fact that there were also 7 dentists, a police officer, 2 dolphin trainers and an astronaut coming down the pipe. Here is Will playing with his Little Village fire station. For Will, it's all about the firefighter right now. He loves watching Fireman Sam and reading the two measly fire fighter themed books we have over and over again.






Closely following the firefighter theme around here is Will's obsession with his guitar. Well, his guitar, and dad's guitar and big brother's guitars and dad's electric, do-not-touch-ever-if-you-know-what's-good-for-you, fancy Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame electric guitar. He sings and strums and performs his travelling minstrel act throughout the house. Here, an open door allowed the neighbourhood to have their own private concert.

And here is my little punkin and me snuggled up at the cottage on a cool day. It looks like he won't be my littlest punkin for too much longer. He's going to be a big brother come January. Yes, my last little punkin will graduate out of grade 8 in 2025. Looks like we'll see a lot of that graduation arbour.