Today is their last day of 2nd and 5th grade!

Well…their last day of 2nd and 5th grade quarantine day!

They’re NEVER going to forget this year!

And neither will I and the rest of the world!

I know I say this every year on this day since they’ve started school, but…I can NOT believe it!

Time really does FLY once they start school!

Quarantine life has really brought back SO many memories of when they were home with me all day back when they were babies and toddlers.

It’s been SO fun having them home with me all day again BUT it’s also been exhausting!!

These days have definitely reminded me how JOYful and exhausting it is to be home with them all day! Oh gosh!!

But…I wanted to try to keep things as normal as I could and can for them, so, like I always do, I snapped their pictures today (without their uniforms on! Ha!).

It’s ALWAYS so fun to see how much they’ve grow from the first day to the last. Keep scrolling to see their differences…SO FUN! :)

They started with calm smiles and then faces that 2nd and 5th graders do!

5th graders definitely do more than just smile BIG! Ha! ;)

Then I asked them to JUMP for JOY since it was finally summer break!!

It was hard trying to get them at the same time!

But, oh my gosh!! SO FUNNY!!!

Then I asked them to do a DAB while they jumped and I think I nailed it!! LOL!!

JUMP FOR JOY!!! IT’S OFFICIALLY SUMMER BREAK!!!!

And then, of course, we ended it with some funny faces!

I gotta get them in because my time with these moments are almost dunzo!!! Waaaaaah!!

I’m actually shocked Camille still wanted to do this, because she’s a big 6th grader now…and even in 5th-grade …she’s just not a baby or little girl anymore…she will definitely let you know that…A LOT!! :)

But, oh my gosh!! They’ve GROWN SO MUCH since last August!!

I can’t even believe the difference!!

My baby is not a baby anymore!! He’s now my boy!! My sweet, sweet boy!!

And my girl!! It’s been a while since she’s been my baby, because yeah, she’s not a little girl anymore, but oh my gosh, I’m loving the little lady she is becoming!

She has truly grown more into her inner confident and amazing self this year (they both have!!).

And when she was talking to me during this moment about how her favorite day at school this year was when they celebrated the end of the 2nd quarter right before the holiday break and how much fun she had, I couldn’t help but snap her.

I can still see my babies in them, but at the same time, I can SEE so much of their grown-up selves blossoming through!

It truly is bittersweet, but gosh, it’s absolutely AMAZING to witness!!!

This year was SO good for both of them.

C sang her heart out in chorus this year in front of so many audiences and L learned that even when he’s scared he makes it through to the other side!

They BOTH loved school this year and it breaks my heart that it was cut short for them, but I know, this has made them stronger and has definitely made them appreciate their school, their friends, D and I and each other SO much more than they ever have.

I know I do!!

I can’t wait for what 3rd and 6th grade have in store for them and I can’t wait to continue watching their inner, amazing, confident and independent self grow!!

And I’m crossing my fingers that C still lets me take her first and last day pictures next year….since I don’t know if 6th graders are still into that or not yet. ;)

But as I look back on this year with them, and I think about all the experiences and emotions they were going (GROWING!) through, I was right there going (GROWING!) through those same EXACT experiences and emotions they were going through, too!

Camille taught me that when you do something that you LOVE and something you were born to do (she LOVES to sing and she has been singing since she was 3 months old and I tell her this daily!) that no matter how nervous you are (because she was SO nervous to sing in front of all the audiences she sang in front of this year…she even did a solo and she tried out for two things all on her own in front of teachers she didn’t even know!) and you consistently tell yourself that you were born to do this and then you do it….when you’re done you FEEL absolutely AMAZING because you just shared your JOY and your PASSION with others and because of that, you didn’t even think about your fears while doing it AND you not only lifted yourself UP but you lifted others UP, too!

And Luca…I was SO worried about you at the beginning of the school year because you’ve never, EVER, not wanted to go to school. You always ran in with a BIG smile on your face without ever looking back, so this year, when I had to drop you off in tears and then get you to help with your fears from the guidance counselor…there were many times I wish I could have just kept you home, but I knew, this was something BOTH of us had to get through!

I saw Camille go through this when she was younger, so I knew you and I would make it through, but when sad emotions are high like that, it’s hard to see light at the end of the tunnel.

But every day, I did everything I knew to do to help you….and once I was able to get you the help from the guidance counselor was the best thing ever!!

(Thank goodness I had already gone through this last year with Camille, so I knew what to do the second this started with him…I immediately reached out to the teacher and guidance! I AM SO THANKFUL for my past experience, even though it took us longer to get C help last year because I wasn’t sure what was going on, it was SO helpful because this year I knew EXACTLY how to help in a much faster way!! And I owe it all to Camille for that!!)

She was able to help you feel at ease at school in the same EXACT ways that I’m able to help you feel at ease!

And before we knew it, you were back to your happy self in the mornings before going to school.

I still can go through moments that don’t make me feel good, in the same way, you were feeling this year, but you taught me that when we’re in the storm, the sun will RISE again!! And it’s that storm that will build our inner confidence and show us that we can do hard things and that when we give it time and we ask for help we rise even higher when the sun shines within us again!!

Every day, both of you remind me of lessons like these and I AM SOUL GRATEFUL for that!

Because I sure can go down the negative and worrisome thought rabbit hole.

So not only did you both go through something that built your inner confidence this year but I did, too!

I will keep doing MY JOY and MY PASSION and I will keep sharing it with the world AND when times get scary and tough I will do everything I can to help myself through it and I will ask for outside help and I will tell myself that this storm is needed and here in my life right now to show me something within myself that needs to grow and help me handle whatever challenges life brings me with more ease and inner confidence that I WILL MAKE IT THROUGH!!

Oh, gosh!! What a year for ALL of us!! :):)

It’s definitely been a CRAZY one, but I know, next year (and as we move further and further away from quarantine living)…life is going to be even more GOOD because we have SO much more INNER GROWTH coming to ALL of US!!!

And I AM SOUL GRATEFUL for that!!!

Until next time…

See something that makes you stop and smile. Grab your camera!! It'll slow you down, pull you into the present moment even more and have you SAVORing your JOY feeling even more!! And most of all, it'll connect you to your soul so you can SEE and HEAR the things that you may have passed by (like your kids last day of school!). The camera...it's powerful...especially when it comes to FEELING JOY and BEing more PRESENT! :)

That's WHY I take pictures!! The camera is one of my favorite creative tools that easily pulls me out of my frazzled + overwhelmed mama head so I can fully SAVOR (the feeling of) everything that makes me stop, smile and lights me UP with LOVE (something that's hard for me to do when my mind is running 100 miles ahead or behind the present moment)