Nathalieland Update - School/Birthday/Strawberries/Summer

Final School Events. June was such a busy month with school activities. For Jessi, this included a frisbee tournament (champions!), a public reading of her short story, and a 3-day field trip to Québec City (not to mention grade 8 graduation). For Emily, it was finishing big projects in drama and careers, and studying for her final exams in math and history. Fortunately all events went well!

Belated Birthday Party. Jessi enjoyed her belated birthday party last weekend with a pizza dinner, chocolate fondue dessert, sleepover, pancake breakfast, and a mall trip. Our basement seems well suited for multiple sleepers and lots of fun!

Strawberry Pickin'. While Emily was busy studying for her exams, Jessi and I joined my parents and sister's family for some local strawberry picking. The berries were huge and yummy this year! The crowds were also big since we were all avoiding the upcoming major heat wave.

The woes of biting into strawberries with braces...

Hello Summer and Accounting. Summer break started on Friday -- yay! We celebrated with swims in our neighbour's pool. Emily's break is about to end though, since she's taking a summer course in grade 11 accounting. She wasn't able to fit the course into her schedule for next year, so this was the next best option. It'll keep her busy for the month of July and then she'll get to rest in August.

♥ My shopping buddy

Jessi's Grade 8 Graduation

Jessi's Grade 8 Graduation Photo

It's the end of an era! Our elementary school days are over now that Jessi has officially graduated grade 8. The ceremony was on Tuesday at 4:00pm and was followed by dinner with her friends and a boat cruise for all the graduates.

Lots of preparation went into this big event, from dress and shoe shopping to a manicure (by her cousin Lorelei!) and a curly hairdo (by her Mama!). Jessi picked everything out and her final look was so her! She looked amazing.

Necklace borrowed from Mama
that matches perfectly with her dress

With all of us dressed up, I couldn't help but request a few family pictures. I'm so glad they obliged and had fun along the way.

The best words to describe the graduation ceremony were: hot, long, and memorable. There were 227 graduates at the school (from four different programs), and with 1-3 guests per student, that meant an unairconditioned gymnasium filled to the brim with people during a major heat wave (33°C feels like 42°C outside). It took nearly 2 hours to get through all parts of the ceremony: diplomas, awards, four valedictorian speeches, and teacher/principal remarks. But we survived! With the help of fans, water, and good company.

Jessi and her bestie ♥

We somehow got lucky and were seated with a perfect view of Jessi down the row. We smiled and waved at her a few times.

Necessary accessories

After the diplomas and subject awards were handed out, it was time for the School Awards for Outstanding Student Achievement. We were so pleased to see Jessi receive the Arts Award for her program! The teacher gave a nice speech about Jessi's accomplishments in the arts.

Episode 48: The Art Award

The ceremony ended right on time for Jessi's dinner at Cataraqui Golf & Country Club with six of her friends before heading downtown for the boat cruise. Sounds like they had a great time!

What a special day!