1st Grade Accolades

I wish I could bottle up 1st grade and keep it forever.

It was such a precious year for our big girl.

It starts with playful kindergarten babies and turns them into sweet, smart school kids. 

Aubrey absolutely adored her teacher, Ms. Gordon, who let her be the personal helper every morning before school started.
"When I get into the classroom, Mrs. Gordon lets me run all her errands before class starts: I go to her mailbox, stop by the copy room to pick up papers, drop notes off at the office, and if I'm reeeeeally lucky she lets me vacuum the classroom!"
Did I mention that Mrs. Gordon is a genius?

This school picture absolutely melts my heart. The missing two front teeth?! I could eat her up.

Her favorite class (besides recess) was science. She was always so excited to volunteer for experiments. Her science teacher sent me this picture one day from their static electricity lesson.

**Warning**
The following is going seem like major Mom Bragging, but I'm just stating the facts.
Okay, okay...maybe a little bragging too, but I can't help it! ;)

First grade is the first year students get "actual" grades. Aubrey made straight A+'s throughout the year, and she scored above the 99th percentile in all the national testing.

The one area that I feel like Aubrey truly excelled at this year was reading. She tested at / beyond a 5th grade reading level. The last week of school, she was awarded with a trophy for reading the most books / highest Accelerated Reading scores in the entire 1st grade!

Aubrey also loved writing her own "books" and reading them to her class.

Apparently it was so well received by the students, that they asked her to make her first book into a "series", so she did. I think she ended up with about 4 books. 

One day, she read a book about the Kids Care Club, and decided to start one of her own! She recruited kids on the playground, and they picked up trash all around the school. The principle found out, and awarded her with a prize, high-five, and encouraged her to keep it up! 

Miss Aubrey is also her school's fastest 7-year girl in the 200 yard dash! 

The blue ribbon might be upside-down, but that smile sure isn't! :)

GO AUBREY!

First grade, you are going to be hard to beat!

Go Daniel

I have always loved this picture. I remember the day (June 5, 1999), the exact moment (soon after the final event of the State track meet...the 4 x 400m relay). I can remember throwing my arms around my dad, who had been my number one supporter throughout the track season, after accomplishing a goal my teammates and I set out for on the first day of the season--1999 State Champions.

When I see this picture, a joy fills my heart because I can see the love that my dad had for me. Even as a busy doctor, he made changes in his schedule to attend and videotape every race. When rewatching the videos, all I can hear is him screaming, "Gooooo Daniel!!!!" over and over into the camera's microphone as I race down the stretch.

Here is a video to give you an idea (and yes...I lost the race to my teammate, Beau Green):

I miss you so much, Dad. Happy Father's Day.