Last day of Fourth grade!

I cannot believe how fast this year went. I mean, this year really went by in a flash. Even the boys thought so. I think partially because they rode the bus and partially because third grade went at a snail’s pace because of whooping cough. But I am already predicting that fifth grade is going to go by even faster because my sabbatical starts in December, so by the time that’s done in March the year will be practically over and OMG MY BABIES ARE ALMOST IN MIDDLE SCHOOL.

First day:
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Last day:

Okay, they don’t look that different, except for their hair.

At the bus stop with the girls:

Mary Catherine was excited on the first day about the bus, today was my turn to show my excitement:

Our golden steed, driven by our knight in shining armor, Mr. C…

On to fifth (!!!) grade!

Fourth grade!

Got the school pics back. Now you know why I only buy the cheapest package. Maybe one day they’ll smile for real. Still cute, I suppose.

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First day of fourth grade!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!!!!

I know I use the line from my favorite Christmas song a lot (first time I see Honeycrisp apples in the store, for instance) but in this case, it is so true. Because not only was today the first day of school after a summer with very little camp and a lot of boys staying home rotting their brains while I worked, but it is also the first day of RIDING THE BUS!

 

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Brand spanking new school shoes

 

YES! No more driving them to/from school! (Granted, we carpooled, so it was normally only one 90 minute round trip a day, not two, but still.) The bus stop is 10 minutes away, and because they get dropped off early and picked up late, I can now fit my entire work day in when the boys are at school! No more coming home at 8:45 and leaving at 3:15. Now I can get home at 7:30 and leave at 4:30. Amazing!

Now, you can see that my standards are falling very rapidly. Since we have to leave for the bus stop just before 7am, I didn’t have time to get my nice camera out, so cell phone photos it is.

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Yes, there have been some hair changes. They all got haircuts, and Linus wanted to go blond, and Oliver wanted to go ginger. Linus’s isn’t too dramatic, and Oliver’s looks pink from the front because the purple from before isn’t going anywhere. But it looks better than I expected when he told me he wanted orange hair like Andrew from the Great British Baking Show:

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So anyway, we headed to the bus stop where there was a crowd of kids from their school, with more ecstatic parents. The principal even showed up!

Of course I have (not great) photos of the boys getting on the school bus for the very first time…

(But you can see the color of Ollie’s hair better there.)

I think Mary Catherine summed our excitement about the bus best in the following photo:

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