We made it!

The kids had their last day of school on Wednesday. Up until today, it seems like we've been sprinting to some imaginary finish line, and somehow we've finally made it!

After years of hearing about Ashley's class parties and wishing he could be a part of them, Alex was finally able to experience the excitement and anticipation that being in school at Christmas time brings. Ironically, this was Ashley's first year to NOT have that experience. Middle School comes with it's privelages, but also has its drawbacks. She did give out little gifts to all of her friends and recieved many herself, so that made the week a little more festive, but I still think she missed elementary a lot this week.

Alex had so much going on at school this week it was hard to keep up with what to bring, and where to be. On Tuesday his class made Gingerbread houses in the morning and in the afternoon they had their class party where they made scarves, snowflakes and handprint wreaths. Periodically, one of the kids would break out a Christmas song and before long the whole class was singing and working on their creations. It was so fun to be a part of it all. Mrs. Ayala made it so special for the kids. It's so obvious how much she loves her children. She has the patience of a saint and the biggest heart you can imagine. She's been teaching Kindergarten for over 20 years and it's obvious that she brings the experience of all those years to school with her each day. This week was all about FUN. She made sure of that. There was no rushing, and she made her best effort to keep the day as open as possible so the kids could just enjoy. They spent well over an hour making their little gingerbread houses and she was right there encouraging them to eat their candy and lick their fingers and just have fun. She is so awesome!
Wednesday was pajama day and OF COURSE sweet Mrs. Ayala was dressed in her Christmas P.J.'s and houseshoes to boot!



The Dad's Club opened car doors in Santa Hats: