A Day of Good Byes

Today has been one of many good byes.  Olivia had to say good bye to Kindergarten.  She is now officially a first grader.  But becoming a first grader means saying good bye to her first teacher, Ms. Mullins, saying good bye to all her friends and classmates.  For me it means watching my baby girl grow up before my eyes.  I also bond so much with all of the students at Congress.  Saying good bye is always bittersweet.  Trust me, I am elated that summer is here and school is out, but I will miss all the little rascals of our school.  Especially the 2nd graders.  They move on to a new school next year, and most of them have been with us for three to four years.  It's hard to let them go.


Olivia heading out the door for her last day of Kindergarten.

The last day of school at Congress has traditionally been Field Day, where children rotate between stations for various games and activities.  This year, they continued with the theme of building a home, since that was their service project they did along with their spring sing.

Here's Olivia sporting some stylish safety goggles in the Carpenter Relay.

Olivia and her best bud, Paris stopping in their building a home out of boxes for a quick photo opportunity.  I wish I could also post all the pictures Olivia brought home in her memory book her teacher made.  Anytime there was a class photo, there were always two students who stood out because of the way they were posing.  You guessed it!  Those two goofy girls above, Olivia and Paris.

Andy dumping water on Olivia's head.


Andy was a parent volunteer at the paint it station.  Students were given paint brushes and paint rollers to dip in water and "paint" the school with them.  I saw my opportunity to get my husband and doused him with a bucket of water.  I knowingly knew I would get it back, but it was so worth it.  That is until he did it a second time, this time with my camera in hand and soaked it.  Thankfully, my anger ended once the camera dried out and was working again.  But Andy and my antics started something at their station and it quickly became a water fight to soak "Olivia's Dad."  Too funny!

Andy running from 26 kindergartners. 

Another bittersweet good bye was to our sweet Vada.  She's been a great dog, but needs so much more time and attention than we can give her at this time.  She recently demolished her last crate so we've been attempting leaving her out all day.  She was doing terrific, but now has been chewing up multiple shoes, hats, trash, toys, you name it.  Once we got all that out of harms way, she went for breaking vases, knocking over lamps, clearing the kitchen counters.  She has a big heart, but is starved for attention, and right now our daughters get the majority of it.
It was a tough decision that we've been mulling over for a long time.  Neither Olivia or Mia were on board, but we found a family, where the husband stays home all day.  They've had mastiffs and other large breed dogs, so they are experienced.  They also have a Newfoundland so she'll have a playmate.  Vada loves other dogs.  Their home is on a small 10 acre farm with a horse, sheep, goat, 3 cows, ducks, chickens, turkeys, and a couple of cats.  The family seems wonderful, patient, and willing to work with our strong and stubborn girl.  We took her to her new home this evening and the family (Jeff and Renee) were gracious enough to have a cookout for us, so the girls could get to know them, their home, and be comfortable leaving Vada there.  Olivia knows it's a better home for Vada.  She did so much better than I expected.  I anticipated a tantrum and us having to physically pull her from Vada and put her in the truck.  Instead she gave her a hug, said she loved her and graciously got in the truck.  As the farm started to get out of sight, I heard her sweet innocent voice in the back quiver, "Good bye Vada," followed by some silent sobs. 

One last hug good bye.

Andy, Vada, Amanda, and Mia (photo courtesy of Olivia's photography)

Mia will miss her lifelong buddy.

Walking away before we drove away so Vada wouldn't get too upset.  We will miss her dearly, but it helps to know she's at a place she'll get all the love and attention she needs.  Plus they aren't too far away and we've been invited back to visit whenever we need to.  I am surprised at the tears I am shedding as I type.  She will be forever in our hearts.