My last post left us leading into the last busy push of the the school year. I never felt like things were winding down, only ramping up even to the last day of school.
Alex had his last choir concert at YHS! I'm so thankful for the choir program and all involved in helping these kids have a positive musical experience during their high school time.
Seniors getting their flowers for the last song!
I finished the musical at SPSCC. Anastasia was a wonderful production and I was so proud to be part of such a creative and collaborative team there. I will miss working with all these people immensely!
Then before we knew it it was time for Graduation! First off, Grandma Kathy and Uncle Kevin made a road trip out to WA to come celebrate with us!
We visited Alex at Farrelli's on the night they got into town
Grandma Kathy made him his T-shirt quilt! It turned out great!
Alex had a combined graduation party with a few of his friends the day before graduation. We had lots of finger foods, senior tables and tables set up with games for people to play.
It was finally time for the big day! June 7, 2026. Yelm High School Graduates!
YHS has a tradition of hosting graduation at the Tacoma Dome
Senior Slideshow
Ready to get this over with, lol
Choir got to sing at the ceremony
Family pics after graduation!
Celebratory Chicken & Waffles at Buddy's after graduation
Zzzzz....
Time for his graduation present!
It's the last Nintendo Console he needed to complete his collection! SNES
Now there were still three things left to commemorate: Alex's 18th birthday, Father's Day and my last day at my elementary school before moving!
Alex was fortunate to have a few long distance friends come visit with him the week of his birthday. They got to experience a lot of WA together and of course, celebrate the birthday boy!
They got to set off a bunch of fireworks to celebrate Alex's birthday!
Father's Day automatically = Korean BBQ, right?
As you can see it was a whirlwind of activities keeping us busy up until the last day of school. I honestly hadn't really even had a chance to process that this was the end of my teaching time here in WA. I had told all the students my goodbyes, I had cleaned my classroom, but I wasn't really prepared for how emotional the last day would be. We had an end of year assembly where my choir was going to sing one of their favorite pieces. They nailed it! And then my specialist team surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and this AMAZING video with the students saying goodbye.
I mean, c'mon. Who is going to keep it together after a video like that?! There were lots of tears and hugs. Once a wildcat, forever a wildcat. I really wish I could keep teaching these kids, and I hope to have the opportunity to continue teaching wherever I live, I do love it a lot. After the assembly I headed back to my classroom to do the final cleanings and I think that's when it all really hit me that I wasn't coming back. Thank you to my team for your thoughtful gift with the school song I wrote on a blanket. I will cherish it and your friendship forever.
And if you've read this far, there's just one more thing to add. I had been following an artist on IG for awhile and she had some guest spots in Seattle open up for June so I decided to go for it. She specializes in these frame tattoos, and helped design one to represent each of our duty stations in our military career. We will be finishing our time in the military in Korea so it only seemed fitting. From the bottom to the top- Korean temple designs, Texas bluebonnets, Colorado Red Rocks, Heart for Virginia, Mt. Rainier for WA and cherry blossoms for WA and Korea alike. My time as a military spouse has made me a bit of a shape shifter, molding into the best person I can be for the area that I live. Each time I learn and grow. Looking forward to seeing what Korea has to offer me this second time around!
