Off to another year at Northfield Elementary School! This is the last year they will both be in the same school, since Lucy is a fifth grader and will be in middle school next year.
I feel like I want to freeze time and keep the kids right at this age forever. They are so much fun. Both of them are big and independent enough that we can send them out to wander and explore without us, but they are small enough that they still think we are hilarious and everything we say is true. They are big enough to cook for themselves but small enough to want special family dinners. They still want to be read to and tucked in at night. They still like each other -- and their parents -- a lot. I'm not sure how long that's going to last.
Things I want always to remember about Lucy Gray in Fifth Grade:
- Her affection for her chickens.
- Her delight in frogs, bugs, worms, newts, caterpillars, and all other creatures.
- The way she adores Gavin, and watches out for him, and needles him.
- Her wonderful, imaginative mental world, which comes out in the stories she writes.
- Her strong sense of justice.
- How easy it is to bribe her. (This summer she did 200 dives for a candy bar!)
- Her sweet patience with younger kids.
- Her sense for the dramatic in songs, plays, and dress-up.
- Her emerging sense of fashion, so uniquely her.
Things I want always to remember about Gavin Gray in Second Grade:
- His absolute insistence on wearing mismatched socks in all circumstances.
- The way he loves having his hair gelled straight up in spikes.
- His enthusiasm for learning anything and everything.
- His love of mad libs.
- The way he follows Lucy around like a puppy dog.
- The "random hugs" that come out of nowhere.
- The way I can't sit down without getting a Gavin snuggle.
- His skinny little arms and legs.
- His love for swimming and baseball.
- The fact that, given the choice, he would wear only swimsuits and jammies.
- His willingness to try any food, even though he never agrees to like it.
- His little "BooKKids" book club.
- The way he likes to wear cowboy boots and western shirts to church.
