Our Very Own Graduate!

Tuesday was a pretty big day around here.

Hayden was graduating from Kindergarten.  There was a big ceremony planned for 6:30 that evening and he couldn't stop talking about it.

First off, might I say....since when did Kindergarten become a "graduating" event?  I know that no one made a big deal back in my day!  And let me tell ya!  They should have!  Given the fact that I managed to go enough days to quality for graduating was cause enough for a parade!

I digress...back to my boy!

We had a quick supper and had him at his class for 6:15 to join the rest of the graduates in getting ready.

They all walked in, Hayden looking his complete goofy stuff.  The principal said some great things and made me realize how special this event REALLY is!  No more safety of the kindergarten section of the school, no more close supervision in the little playground, no more bathrooms in the class.  From September on, he will be in the big field, lost in a mountain of children.  Makes a mom weepy!  Then his teacher got up and spoke and made me even weepier!

The kids had been practicing a song with their music teacher for quite some time. I know this for a fact, as Hayden had been singing it and trying to teach it to me for MONTHS!

In my typical, let's not plan ahead for ANYTHING, fashion.  I didn't go through the photos on the camera to ensure there would be enough room to record and photograph things on this big night.  But don't worry, I still did manage to capture some of the events.

Here is the group singing...it cuts out near the end, which is what made me realize I had to clear up some space for the ACTUAL graduating stuff.  I thought I had taped a whole bunch more, but I guess not.  Missed out on the cutest parts..but if will still give you a dose of A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!  If anyone reading this HAS a full version of it, I would love a copy PLEASE!!!

The next little video is of Hayden going up on stage to collect his diploma!  As you will see, the poor kid got so confused where to look!  He knew where we were sitting, but Grampa also moved closer to the stage to get some photos, so the teacher was pointing him in 1 direction and he was looking at us!

The rest are just some nice candid photos.

The teacher also put together such a nice photo slide show of the year.  I must admit, it brought a tear to my eye.  The main reason being...2 years ago, I never in a million years thought he would be on that stage!  He had such a hard go of it and then it finally all came together...even less than 2 months ago, I was trying to decide if necessary, would I be willing to keep him in back in Kindergarten another year?  But, this kid is a miracle worker I tell ya...within that last month or so, somehow it once again all clicked and he surprised both myself AND the teacher by being at the appropriate reading level for the end of Kindergarten!  Wowzers I tell ya!  Such a relief to hear that!  Between his teacher last year and this year, they helped shape him to be the student he is today.  I really do give them most of the credit.  The daycare surrounding have made a big impact too I feel!

So, with no further ado...here are some more random photos...please enjoy what this proud momma posts!

by far...my FAVORITE picture...he looks so happy!

Hayden and Mrs. Fife
This poor, wonderful teacher climbed up and down
those stairs to redo this photo with multiple
kids...this was the end and the best I could get out of Hayden!

Our sad attempt at a family photo..ah..such is life!

That Was Some Scary Stuff!!

It was a peaceful evening in our house tonight...until about 6:15 pm and I think I just about crapped my pants.

We had a bat...IN-THE-HOUSE!!!!!

We were all sitting in the living room visiting before  I had to go out and suddenly, from out of the kitchen flies a bat.

I may or may not have shoved Abby off my lap onto the floor in my attempt to lay low on the sofa...AND...I may or may not have strained a muscle in my  neck at the same time.

Now, before you hear some wild stories and think my Macho Man of a husband handled the situation any better, because that is the story he will tell....he was ducking low as it swooped, you know, so it wouldn't get stuck in his HAIR and had to ask me what to do.

It eventually flew into the kitchen and I  yelled at him to close the french doors to trap it in there.

Under my expert direction, 'cause I know all about bats from my vampire novels, I told him to go and get a broom.

The bat is in the centre of the curtain

The broom just made him fly around the kitchen.  Once he swooped back to the curtain, I yelled through the glass door for Brian to go to the shed and get the fishing net.

He eventually caught it and took it outside.  All is well again in the Bickmore household.

Hayden thought it was GREAT and wanted to keep it as a pet...and poor Abby, wouldn't leave the couch because "I don't like that bird"

Check out the videos of this great event, not because they are high quality, but because they give you a sense of panic....the second one gives you a quick shot of my manly man with his big heavy work gloves and fishing net...you know, in case he needs to touch it!?!  He's a wimp, but won't admit it.  (sorry it's sideways, I don't know how to fix that!)

I just told him he was lucky it wasn't in the middle of the night, because my foot would have been shoving his ass out of bed so quickly, his head would spin!

Carnival Fun

Yesterday was the company picnic for my Dad's work, Quaker Oats.  For years, it has been the same set up, and it works great.  They rent a small midway as the main feature and essentially, you get access to the few rides for about 4 hours.  It's ideal for Hayden's age, as he was able to go on every ride.

This is the first year the kids have gone.  The kids LOVED it!

Hayden's favorite was the fun house.  Like the one at the end of Grease!

This is where I share my experience.

So, first...let's mention that the movie Grease made that ride look AWESOME and sexy.  I mean Sandy and Danny rocked it in their leather skin tight outfits!

My experience was neither sexy nor AWESOME...not even a little bit!

It was back in high school and a girlfriend and I went to the Peterborough Ex.  At some point, we decided to go through the fun house.  Probably because we were down to our last few tickets and only had enough to go on this one.

Anyway, it started out grand (from what I remember), we were having a great time.....and then we got to the end...with the spinning tunnel!

She hopped in and made it through no problem!

My turn!

I too jumped into the tunnel and this is where the trouble begins.  I suppose it's because I'm not so nimble on my feet, but I suspect the ride attendant sped up the tunnel just as I entered, otherwise there is no other explanation as to why the next event happened.

I get in and my feet go out from underneath me....I apparently CANNOT walk in a moving tunnel.  I fall down, but you can't get back up in one of these things...so I just lay there, rolling around like a wet load of laundry...tumbling around inside for what must have been HOURS!  I think I may have peed myself a bit laughing so hard at the same time. I tried crawling around even, but that didn't help either.  FINALLY, the attendant took some sympathy on me or was sore from laughing internally and shut the tunnel down so I could crawl out of it.  It was embarrassing and hysterical all at the same time.

I made the mistake of telling Brian this story and now whenever we see this moving tunnel, he just laughs at me.

Anyway, the moral of the story is...when your kids want to go in the fun house with the moving tunnel, send your husband!