My Fifth Grade Graduate!

It's official...we have a child who has finished elementary school!  (She does have a half day still on Tuesday, but she's all but done!)  Where has the time gone?  It seems like only yesterday, we were dropping Ashton off at kindergarten in Texarkana, Texas....Pleasant Grove Elementary school....neither of us knew a soul and we were both so nervous!!!  But, she did great that year and has continued to SHINE all through her elementary years.

A cute little kindergarten girl:

First Grade (Back in Iowa):

Second Grade:

Third Grade:

Fourth Grade:

And on the first day of Fifth Grade:

This week was bittersweet as we got to celebrate her 5th grade year.  We are so proud of her and happy for new adventures, but a little nervous about middle school (at least I am!)  On Tuesday, we got to go with her to a local YMCA camp for 5th Grade Day.  I guess I wasn't really thinking to haul a 4 year old and a 6 week old there, but it was such a great day and worth it to see our Ashton.  And she was so happy to see us.  She is always such a good sport about having the little kids tag a long.  I am so glad to have a nice jogging stroller that made hiking on back trails more enjoyable!  The kids got to play different games, do some team building activities, do archery and go canoeing.  It was all so much fun and such a gorgeous day.

I can never get over how green and lovely it is in the state of Iowa.  The simple scenery is truly magnificent.

What a great group of kids...it was neat to see them all together.

We had a picnic lunch and of course, Cole found a big stick to drag around.

I grabbed a quick picture with Ashton...with babe in arms...one day I won't have little ones to drag to these events.  It will be a sad and happy day.

Ashton's class had "theme days" for the rest of the week including sports day, costume day (she was a hippie) and nerd day.

I LOVE that this girls is so creative and fun.  We loved attending recognition night with her and seeing all the ways in which she has excelled.  It's nice to receive awards and be smart in school, but I think her greatest achievement is her kind heart.

Congrats, 5th Grade Graduate!!!