SUMMER here we come!!

We are slowly recovering from yesterday ... one party after another, one more fun than the next!

First it was time to say good bye to First Grade and Mrs. A
There were tears and sad faces and a little separation anxiety on BOTH sides.
It's always hard to say good bye to your class friends and the teacher you have adored and admired for one year as your hero and the one "who knows EVERYTHING in the world!" according to L.

L and her little buddies after the LAST bell rang.

Good bye Curtner ... see you in August :)

See you in SECOND grade!!!!

Time for a "little" water-ballon PARTY

Lulu and I spent 2 hours filling these guys and we both were soaked!!!

This one was a VERY special one :)

Mrs. Judy and I had a little email-water-fight-threat going and I had geared up just a "little" :)

Wahahahahaha!!!!

Sadly it didn't make it into the car.

I had needed a dolly to move the box but the box tipped over and "SPLASHHHHH"

I wore Pat's water-resistant weather gear  when I arrived at the park but in 90 F CA heat it's hard to wear such protection for more than 60 seconds.

I had  put it on behind the car in the parking lot and I swear the guy across the street was ready to call the cops reporting a robbery or worse in action. I was covered head to toe in black rain gear.

No picture could be taken since I ripped it off as soon as I reached the picnic tables .... I would have liked a soaking at that time ... Judy you totally missed your opportunity there :)

The fight ... needless to say I WON!!!

... actually the fight never happened BUT I totally would have if it did :)

Love you Judy but next time it's ON GIRLFRIEND!!!!  :)

Fire!!!

Beautiful Asia in ACTION (out to get her BIG brother :)

Nick ENJOYING a little chocolate goodness ... oh sooo good!

Chocolate-Dream Land

For the last party of the day we went over to the Hanzie's house and celebrated the end of First Grade and the survival of two (slightly overprotective) helicopter moms.
 Cynthia; WE MADE IT!!!

The Ls crashed while sweet Cynthia and I indulged on some Bowle, which had been prepared with MUCH care and anticipation the day before ... to get the full effect of the alcohol soaked fruits :)

Snuggle time! Lulu was LONG OUT on the couch :)

It was a GREAT end to a great year.
We learned a LOT (kids and parents) and now we can start sweating second grade :)

Nick and L have been class buddies for 2 years and will be best buddies forever ... that's for sure.
Since Lulu plans to marry him it should be no problem :):):)

Thanks for the awesome party guys!!!

Lets keep this going throughout the summer ... food and drinks and lots of kids laughter, how much better can it get?!

Cynthia; so glad our two helicopters collided ... best collision ever!
Still LOVE-LOVE-LOVE my purse ... and the labels :):):)

xoxo

Good bye FIRST GRADE!!!

Tomorrow is Ls last day of first grade ... holy smokes ... it's already over!

My little giant is growing up so fast!!!

We prepped a few goodies for a few very special people at Curtner.

A BIG Thank You for Mrs. Patti, who is our secretary (and secretly runs the school). 

She makes every boo-boo better and always is busy like a bee.

L wrote a LONG letter to her teacher, thanking her for making paper airplanes and teacher to read and write.

And na-course coach Billy needed a BIG Thank You since he plays the Star Wars theme song for L every day.
Coach Billy likes basketball ...

I added a few sweet treats for some of my teacher friends.
People I have come to know and like during my short time teaching art at L's school.

Some of these people are sooo good at what they are doing and I admire their love for teaching and kids, despite the low pay and no glory job.

I better get some sleep, tomorrow will be a BUSY and CRAZY day.

Good bye first grade and HELLO summer !!!!!

When one door closes ...

4:15 pm, Milpitas Christian Pre-School, I am driving out of the parking lot for the last time (as a parent of a current student that is).

With a deep sigh, tears lingering in my eyes, my heart feels like it weighs tons and my mind wanders to all of these moments when I felt just like I do today.

One last sneak peak through the window, eavesdropping on Mrs. Tang's circle time lesson.

The BIG GOOD BYE starts ...

One more time I put my signature on the sign-out book.

One last time I get to watch my Lulu with her two angels ...

I sat at one of the kids tables for ... forever, thinking maybe if I don't move nothing will happen and we'll just come back on Friday.
After a while I realized we too had to get the "good bye" thing over and done with.

Lulu:
"Mrs. Tang is the goodest hugger and she always tells me God loves me. She is sooo nice. I love her!"

"God bless you my child!"

"And you too my Lillie-Bug!"

Lulu:
"Mrs. Dunn is the prettiest teacher in the world because she always wears pretty jewelry!
I want to be pretty like her when I grow up!".

I'll see you soon!!!

And then the door closed, for the last time for us.

L brought this for Lulu on her last day of school and when I looked at it I thought
"Ughhh, I feel just like you look Mr. Turtle!
S-A-D!!!!"

But how does the saying go?
When one door closes another one opens.

Lulu wore her new Curtner t-shirt today and was really excited to wear the same shirt as her big sis.

When I told her she is a big girl now and has the shirt to prove it she said
"Yes, I want to wear it when I go to school the next morrow and show Mrs. Tang and I'll be prettier than Aliya with it!"

I don't think it has hit her yet ...
And I think I'll keep it like that for a little while longer.
No harm done planning going back to see the angel ladies ... it'll make it seem a little less real.
... for now.

This evening calls for some serious calming tea action or wine ... whichever works best!

We LOVE you Mrs. Tang and Mrs. Dunn!
It won't be long until we see you again .... one way or another :)

Have a lovely summer and get lots of RR.
The next round of little, lucky people is already waiting for you ...

xoxo
Your CZs

P.S. I sure hope I am not the only mom that takes these milestones with such a heavy heart.

So many of my friends are so excited and can't wait for their kids to grow up and become these fantastic people but I just keep wanting to stop time and keep my Ls little.
They are my life, my love and my light and I guess I don't know what to do if I don't have them to take care of.
They make me the person I am and I don't know how to be without them.
I am a sure candidate for the loony-house once they go off to college ... I know it!

"Never Give Up!" by Lulu and Gang

This was part of today's graduation presentation.
I swear, every time I'll have a bad day I'll pull that video out and watch it!

The BEST happy-maker ever!

Dear Mrs. Tang & Mrs. Dunn,

This post is an open letter to you, our two most favorite MCS teachers ever!

Today we celebrated another VERY special day together.
Our "baby" Lulu graduated and we witnessed it with great pride and a VERY heavy heart.

Neither of us really wanted to go today.

Lulu insists she is going back to play ("Because I don't want to do homework Mama!" ... GREAT, it's starting before it even starts!) and I because my baby is graduating from pre-school and is moving onto bigger and more serious things :(
We both knew this day marks the end of an era for us.

These are the drama-queens of the Red Room!

Two VERY handsome young men!

Me: "Whats wrong Lulu?"
L: " Aliya and Kaylin are being more beautyfuller than I am. Thats mean to me!"
Me: ???

... did I mention they are DRAMA QUEENS!

Ready for the show!
What a wonderful show you put on.
The kids did GREAT!!!

The Lord's Prayer.

Lining up to get their diplomas :)

What a fine group of young people.
All of them are very special, kind and good.

I look at them and I see white sheets of paper, still unwritten and open to anything that comes their way.
They are FULL of imagination and in their world there is good (Superman or Princess) and bad (evil stepsisters or a black shadow) and good ALWAYS wins!
Their world is colorful and bright, happy and protected.

When I walked into 6th grade to teach an art lesson I saw grey paper and not much color, tired eyes and the loss of imagination.
I went home and just stared at my Ls for I fear that day when they come home grey and tainted by the real word, the sad things and anger that lingers out there.

So when you look at these cute, little faces in these pictures enjoy the pure joy and happiness that you see. It's true and real ... and it doesn't get much better than that!

Fono praying REALLY hard!
I LOVE this little guy ... he is such a little man!

My happy pre-school graduate.
Look what you have helped shape and create!

One year ago she was hiding under the table in class, pretending to be a cat and would not participate in any activity.

Today she stood in front of an entire room of parents, families and friends and she sang, and prayed and smiled and even tried to help her shy friend Johnny to stand up and "face the crowd".

it's all your doing and your loving care that transformed my little Lulu into this beautiful butterfly, ready to spread her wings and take off into the big world.

Lulu and her two angels!

You two amazing women have walked my Lulu through this year and have been just a blessing in so many ways.

We already knew you, Mrs. Tang, since you had been L's angel already and then we got double lucky with Mrs. Dunn.

We LOVE, LOVE you two ladies and I can not even think about not being able to see every week :(

You have been so wonderful and so great with both of our girls!

When they leave your caring hands they are so good, have a big and open heart, they learn to care for others and they learn to love God and to trust him, no matter what.

I have said it already, many times, but I do hope you know what an important role you play in these little peoples lives and how lucky they are to grow up under your loving care!

We will miss you and your warm smiles, your "Hello my friends" and your big hugs.

After leaving my Ls in the care of these two angels , sending them off to Kindergarten feels a bit like throwing them into a tank full of sharks.

They will never have such a warm and caring learning environment again.

Kindergarten and what follows is the "big world", life gets real and hard and serious. 

No more pretend coffee making and no more sensory tub, homework, reading counts and pressure to compete with the rest of the world follows.

Life is good and easy now but will change comes August. For all of us!

We will miss the holiday parties, the wonderful field trips, the arts and crafts and everything with it.

But mostly we will miss you two!

We sure will!!!

Now they are certified Drama Queens :)

Papa brought his Lulu flowers :)

My little one, so proud and happy!

Lulu and her Nicholas.
She LOVES this boy!!!

L with her future brother-in-law :)

The CZ family (all grown up)

Fono heavily decorated!
This is how Samoans graduate!!!

Handing out lays to his ladies

Fono and his ladies

Mrs. Tang came over to bring Lulu a little gift.
She refused to look at me all through the ceremony and after ... we both knew tears would be rolling!

And so we completed yet another milestone and taking a big step forward into Lulu's future.
But in our hearts and minds we will always come back to Milpitas Christian Pre-School and you two angle-ladies, that we have come to know and love so very much.

Forever we will remember how you helped shape our two (not so little) Ls into wonderful, caring and loving young ladies. All credit and honor goes to you!  Hats down!!!

One of my favorite saying is:

Some people come into our lives and quickly go.
Others stay for awhile,
Leave footprints in our hearts,
And we are never, ever the same. 
~Flavia

I hope you know that your footprints are deeply imbedded into our hearts and will stay there (together with the wonderful memories of this VERY special time in the Ls lives) forever!

We leave you with deep appreciation for all that you do and with immense gratitude.

Love always,
Your CZ family

P.S. See you next year for Art Classes ... you know I won't leave you alone, don't you :)