End of Year and Graduation

Whew, can't believe this is the 3rd post in under a month! What will I do - I guess it's because I had another BIG project come to an end a week ago, so I have lots of time to actually take pictures and then sit and post about our life. I hope it isn't just because everything is new in our new location. I should treat everything new as they are new experiences for the girls. I do have ideas for more big projects, but they are going to wait until the fall when the girls are in school and then the winter when I don't want to be outside.
Anyway, enough about that. Of course at the end of the year, there are fun activities and I have posted a couple of them. AR's class did the last fishing trip of the year. I understand they do about 4 - we were here for 2 of them, unless the fish release was one, then we did 3. So, did I ever mention that Montanan's are big on fishing? They want to teach the up-coming generation how to embrace this sport. Their anti-drug slogan is "Get hooked on fish, not on drugs". I think it is only the 4th graders who get the fishing trips, but I am not sure about that. I kind of hope they do it every year. The last one was at the same pond as the ice-fishing trip was. One of the moms said they were reading how this particular pond is stocked with - she said either - over a thousand or thousands- of fish. WOW, it's not that big of a pond. But with 200+ kiddos coming there a couple times in the year, plus whomever else wants to fish there, I guess they need to make sure there is a supply of fish. We were able to keep the fish in February, but they requested that we release what was caught this time around.
There was an introduction by the local fish and wildlife guy, then the man whose family donated the pond and land spoke for a minute. His grandparents homesteaded this particular land, arriving 5 years before Montana became a state. They lobbied for a school, and right at the trail-head signs is the original bell from the Pine Grove school. They rang it to start the fishing off. I think they did it to warn the fish that hundreds of worms were headed their way. We didn't see too many fish caught and most of the worms were lost because of locked reels and bad casts rather than nibbling fish. There is one gal who, just as NG and I were leaving, hooked into a fighter. Well, it turned out to be more than a fighter. It was the largest rainbow I have ever seen!

Pine Grove Pond before the arrival of
200 4th graders - calm and peaceful

AR and her casting skills

A dandelion bouquet is always fun to find 

Playing in the water is a must.

This is the largest rainbow I have ever seen! One little friend
was waiting with a ziploc for her to put it in - don't think it fit.

Well, my title included the word graduation. NG had her graduation today. NO, she is not that old and time hasn't flown that fast. She actually just finished preschool and is now ready for Kindergarten. In her words "Mom, I am ready for all day kindergarten now!". I think I am, too. I wasn't so sure as the district we just moved from isn't starting all day until 2015. But I think NG will be ready for it. I am actually worried that she will be bored - but I will keep up with that and do alternative things if that happens. So, here are pictures from her school ceremony today. She has had a wonderful teacher. Mrs. W is a rocket scientist among other accomplishments - she worked on a space shuttle earlier in her career. She just graduated with a Master's degree a couple weeks ago, but unfortunately I don't know what that degree was for. She will be back teaching preschool next year - she has been a great teacher for our 4 months we have been here. Really opening up NG and helping her learn new things. In fact yesterday we were talking about breathing in and out and I said you breathe out Carbon Dioxide - and NG said "That's right, Carbon Dioxide - I learned that in school" She has done that about a lot of things.

Afternoon preschool class of St. Matthews School.

 It's been a great year and hard to change schools and leave behind good, good friends. But it's been fun making new friends and I am looking forward to the summer vacation ahead!