Emily graduates from 8th grade and middle school this Wednesday. It is on to high school for her next fall. Crazy! How did she get so old? How did I get so old? :)
We went to the 8th grade awards banquet last Wednesday night where Emily received the Presidential Fitness award and an award for being on the Superintendent's Honor Roll all 3 years of middle school with a grade point average between a 3.85 and 3.99. She has been an excellent student.
Paige, Emily, Alexa, and Tatum
Then Friday night was the 8th grade dance. Emily and her friends were mostly excited about getting new dresses and doing their hair. And for the swimming party at the Galland's after the dance. (For which Emily felt she mush have "Fabulash" - lash extensions. She must take after her Nana! Our friend Ginger came over Thursday afternoon to apply them for her.)
The girls had plans to go over to Paige's house before the dance to get ready together. My friend Wendy, mom of a boy 8th grader, called me up on Friday morning. She and another boy mom were hoping to get all the LDS kids together for pictures before the dance. So Paige's mom, Melissa, offered to grill up burgers for whoever wanted to come over for photos before the dance at 5:30.
*I have to interject here. All of the kids in our ward go to the same elementary, middle and high school. For reference, in our ward in Aliso Viejo, we had about 5 elementary schools, I'm not sure how many middle schools, at least 3, and 3 high schools. So I think our ward is quite unusual in that all the kids go to school together. We also have a very young, very big ward with lots of kids. In Emily's 8th grade class there are 12 LDS girls and 9 LDS boys... just in the 8th grade! And a new family just moved in that has a girl that will join them in 9th grade next fall. I think I was the only LDS girl in my 8th grade class. Every one of these kids comes from active families. They are all really good friends. So it was quite a group that gathered at the Darby's for pictures.
The girls were beautiful, all dressed up. The boys and girls still kept their distance from one another, but I think that was mostly because the parents were around. I wish I would have thought to turn my camera onto all the parents snapping pictures of the kids. It was like paparazzi!
Back row: Mason, Merritt, Trevor, Brianna, Sage, Haley, Ashley, Alex, Fletcher, Emily, Paige, McKenna, and Sophie
Front row: Ethan, Jenna, Alexa, and Abi
For not wanting to go to the dance, Emily had a great time. She said to me as we walked to the car after I picked her up from the pool after-party, "OK, so the dance was the funnest thing of my life!"
We are in for some fun years ahead with these kids!
