Pre-K Grad

Like I mentioned, Friday was Ben's preschool graduation.  Before I get to that, I should mention that Justin's 33rd birthday was on the 26th.  In the typical fashion of people in their 30's with a bunch of little kids, we didn't do much.  We ate at BWW which was packed and slow because of the state track meet and a big petroleum conference happening in town.  Earlier in the day, I ventured in to Dairy Queen with all three kids to buy an ice cream cake.  Ben, of course, immediately chose the brightest cake at his eye level, which was a large one with lots of yellow frosting.  I didn't want one that big and I also wanted an oreo blizzard cake as opposed to the plain ice cream cake so I tried to distract him but he REALLY wanted the big yellow one.  He "really loved this one!"  We compromised by getting yellow writing on the cake I wanted. 

Crisis averted.  Now I can look forward to eating this at night after the kids are sleeping for weeks to come! 

The next morning was the graduation which is a date that shall live on in my heart as the day I graduated from high school with a huge grin plastered on my face the whole day and didn't shed a tear!  May 27th, 2001 which was 15 years ago! 

Ben's graduation was more like a short end of the year concert.  They didn't even have the little cardboard hats.  This was fine with me since he's not really graduating from anywhere. However, I could almost hear the trumpet fanfare and drumroll of "Pomp and Circumstance", which I used to play in middle and high school, blasting as the kids filed in.  Almost...that was until, as I was fiddling with the camera, I heard Justin snarling my name and realized Tessa was being "that kid".  She had run to the front and was standing by Ben saying, "Hi Ben!" then she started jumping and saying "I dancing!"  Everyone laughed and hopefully wasn't too annoyed. 

Seeing this picture I can almost imagine her a teenager!  She's getting big too!

Milo had a good time at the graduation too.  He's a very popular baby on the preschool scene. 

The kids sang a few songs, including the "ABC Song" where they clearly enunciated "L M N O P" instead of turning it into one long word and a song about the days of the week.  Then it was diploma/certificate time.

Cue the recessional fanfare!  I just looked up who composed "Pomp and Circumstance" and it is Sir Edward Elgar.  The title was taken from a passage in Shakespeare's Othello:

"Farewell the neighing steed and the shrill trump,
The spirit-stirring drum, th'ear-piercing fife,
The royal banner, and all quality,
Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war!"

Elgar's theme he had in mind when composing the music, which is much longer and has several sections beyond the march played at graduations, is based on a poem that compares the romance and pageantry of military displays to the terrible reality of war (the pomp and circumstance).  I have said before that the idealism for the future spoken of at graduation really can't begin to demonstrate the true challenges that come along as adulthood progresses so I guess this theme is fitting.  I'm glad I looked it up.  I never knew any of that before.  I just thought it was a majestic sounding piece of music. 

Anyway, after the program we went up to the preschool room for cupcakes and goodbyes.  They had a display of pictures on the wall of what the kids want to be when they grow up:

That day he wanted to be a fireman!  I thought it was a police officer but either way, not too original BEN!  Haha, JK.  It is cute. 

Now summer is here and I am wondering what the heck I am going to do with him every day!  School was a major part of the routine.