Graduation day and the passing of a friend

Well, after a year of hard work slaving over puzzles and making crafts with macaroni and flower petals, Gabrielle can proudly declare herself a graduate of the Westboro Nursery School, the three morning a week school she has been attending since last September. It's been good for her, I think, as they actually have an interesting curriculum, covering everything from planets to bears to rainbows.

The graduation began with a small concert of songs they performed, accompanied by their music teacher, Shannon. It was funny to watch some of the kids' attention spans start to drift, particularly with so many strangers in the room. Most of the kids just stopped singing altogether, G included. No worries - Mark and I kept singing - those music classes we used to take with the kids have made us into real suckers for children's music.

After the concert was a snack reception. Strawberries and melons for the adults, popsicles for the kids. G is right in the middle of the table, sucking a lime green popsicle.

Then came the handing out of the "diplomas." Here are my adorable twins, waiting for G's name to be read out.

And finally the big moment. The teacher read out a few facts about each child, presumably based on some questions she'd asked them ahead of time. The final fact was: When Gabrielle grows up, she wants to be a .... (get ready for this).... (you're not going to believe this)......... ROCK STAR!! Wow - I couldn't believe it. All the other kids had said stuff like circus clown or astronaut. Our daughter wants to be a rock star?? We were never prouder parents...

The graduation also marked the death knell for our camera. During the ceremony, it stopped auto-focussing and the front and sides fell off. Our Canon has taken almost 10,000 photos and videos for us over the last 4 years - farewell old friend...