End of an Era

The school year ended today, and next year will be very different with Ben in high school, Janae at middle school, Eric in preschool, and Alaina . . . in Grade 4.

Ben started us off with the beginning of the end a couple of weeks ago, when he had his year-end report at the virtual school. As we walked towards the school, which Ben attended only twice a week but for the past two and a half years, it hit me that this could very well be the last time I would walk up to that building. I had Ben stand out in front for a picture, realizing this was technically his last day of middle school as well!

Was Ben sad? Not at all. On to bigger and better things, I guess.

Next was Alaina. Her class had a surprise awards ceremony that the parents were secretly invited to attend. The kids had given each other titles like "Mr. Giggles" or "Wise Old Owl," and their teachers put the labels on awards for each of them. Alaina got the "Brainiac" award, which seemed especially fitting today as I looked at her report card. Her reading level was almost off the chart in the category of "exceeding expectations."

Alaina has some really good friends, but not to worry--she will be back at school with all of them in the fall.

That brings us to Janae. This was our oldest daughter's last year of elementary school, and she is going to miss EVERYTHING.

She had a wonderful year with an amazing teacher and so many great experiences.

Her two best friends were also in her class, and even I am going to miss them next year as all three girls go their separate ways for middle school.

Last Friday the school had a Grade 5 Farewell evening, where the 50 graduates sang "This Is Me" from The Greatest Showman. 

Each student got a moment in the spotlight while the teachers read about their future plans. Apparently Janae is going to be a physiotherapist or a surgeon. Who knew?

And today was the last day of school. We'd been invited to the final assembly by Janae's teacher, who told us Janae would receive an award . . . but that this was to be kept secret from Janae.

 It's been a rough 5 days not being able to say anything, but today we finally saw her astonishment as she received her trophy for Fine Arts Achievement.

Not to mention her awkward handshake with a Grade One student as she got to help keep up this tradition at her school (each Grade 5 student receives a chocolate bar from a Grade Oner).

And for Eric? It's all just about to begin. Luckily he has the summer to collect snails . . . and be my baby a little bit longer.

Sharing the Scandinavian Festival

A couple of months ago, I was thinking back to when I went to Scandinavian festivals and parades with my grandparents. This was many years ago, but I wondered if such things were still happening anywhere near us.

When I checked online, I found there was a Midsummer Scandinavian Festival happening this weekend, just 40 minutes away. Since it was right in between Father's Day and my dad's birthday, I thought maybe I could persuade my dad to come with my family.

I wanted my kids to know a little more about their culture, and I thought they would love this type of festival.

When we got there, we found tents representing Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and--of course--Finland.

My girls got to make flower wreaths for their hair at the Sweden tent.

Alaina and I loved the gnomes, which were well-represented in the Swedish area.

At the Viking Village they saw real armor, including helmets, chain mail and various weapons.

Janae even learned how to use a sword.

When one of the vikings announced that it was time for the kids to join a raid, Eric was all for that. 

You can see his intensity here as he yells, "CANDY!"

The little Vikings went from tent to tent, getting candy--which they were to share equally. Eric had full pockets by the end :)

Janae and Alaina really loved the tent for Norway, as well. They even found some Barbies, dressed in traditional costumes.

And some runes of their initials. 

Eric got to step into this famous painting, which I had never even realized was painted by a Norwegian artist.

The big event of the festival was the raising of the Midsummer Pole, which took quite a while.

We waited patiently, though!

Once it was finally up, everyone danced around it. There were trolls running around playing tricks on people, too. Eric was right in the middle of everything, having a great time.

And, what would a festival be without food?

We tried the European hot dogs

and Norwegian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. 

We got some Finnish chocolate-filled mints to take home.

Overall, it was a lot of fun. My kids all said they'd like to go back, so we'll probably do that . . . maybe even next summer!