The Fish Bowl: The Abbigail Solstice

Nate and I are pleased to announce that

Abbigail Ann Marie has graduated from Middle School!

Summer Solstice not only brought more daylight but helped to celebrate Abbi!

Abbi promoted from 8th grade this past week and will attend high school next year. She is officially a Freshman! Way to go Abber’s! I am not allowed to write anything too deep or too mushy or Abbi will gag and get upset with me… because like any 14 year old, we (no matter how ‘current’ and ‘cool’ we are- thank you very much) 'suck' and 'know nothing'. But, we can say how very, very, VERY proud of her we are. How very, very, VERY glad we are that she made it. How very, very, VERY happy we are to say good bye to this particular school... especially this school year. It has been a trying year to say the least, and we’re a tad tired having earned another knotch to our parent belts. A teenager is proving to be a huge life lesson for us ( My analogy; they know how to make a sandwich but can’t find the mayo in the fridge to do so) and teaching us many things (can we say patience!). But mostly, having a teenager makes you feel incredibly old and serves as a constant reminder that you 'suck' and 'know nothing'. They cost lots of money, too. Oh, but... ummm... back to Abbi. As I said, we are incredibly proud of her and happy for her to move on to the great experiences of high school and grow into the young adult she will be. I have all the faith in the world that she will become an amazing adult and lead a wonderful life in which she will continue to touch many in positive ways… she is the daughter of an amazing mom (toot!) and an amazing grandmother and great grandmother- the amazing women of my family so, how could she go wrong? She’s got good genes (even if they are way toooooo tight!)That was clever, hugh?
The promotion ceremony was awesome. The speeches were good and well thought out and touching. I cried more than once. The day was beautiful and it was fun to people watch the kids. Abbi picked out her dress (which was satin, fluffy and really cute in person), accessories and cute shoes… and looked adorable.

Happy 8th grade graduation Abbi, great job! Nate, Fisher and I love you very, very, VERY much!

This reminds me of the first day of kinder. I made her pose just like this with her too big backpack. So sweet. Feels like yesterday.

Nate looking spiffy.

Fisher looking cute in honor of Abbi!

There were well over a 1,000 people there.

Abbi in line to walk up and shake hands and offically promote! It was hard to get clear pictures. Thankfully we have a good zoom.

Shaking hands with the higher school staff, as her name is called. Check out her hand on her hip.

Nana Noni (Dolores) and Poppi Tops (Dick) game to cheer Abbi on, with Lucy! The Clemons represented well! Thank you guys for taking the time out of your busy days to cheer Abbi on.

The stroller brigade! This cheering section came on wheels! Lucy kept yelling "Go Abbi!" it was so cute!

Love this face.

Abbi was so happy!

I think he was ready for nap time.

Abbi striking some poses. Not prompted by me- she just does it- all the time. haha.

Just to make sure we are not old, Nate & I thought about making- out in the school parking lot while chewing gum. But then decided on just a picture, since I had to bitch out the lady who parked next to us. Gee, deciding to deal with a bad park job vs. making out with your man, okay- I am old!

*Ps. I am not sure why my dress seems so dirty and faded in all the photos, it was brand new- weird!

...And later that evening we took Abbi and her BFF, Caitlin, to dinner at the Corvette Diner. They played games, and ate! The Balloon guy made Abbi a jetpack so she could blast her way into high school. The DJ announced her accomplishment for the entire place to cheer. It was a great evening topped off with giant Sundaes and Root Beer floats! A great ending to a big day! Thank goodness it was the longest day of the year!

*The pink glow was in fact- pink. We were sitting under pink lights.