Our beautiful beach girl

It’s got to be a Rietkerk record…5 schools in 7 years. Despite the picture above, we best remember Lilly as a sassy pre-schooler riding her scooter up and down Brisa del Mar in pink cowboy boots, trying her best to shed clothing as she got far away from enforced captivity. She’s now a tween, living in a strange land of social media, texting friends and making plans. Relationships have become the orienting force of her life–who’s in, who’s out, who needs me and how can I help? A recent shopping trip to the big mall in Durham, was filled with selfies and instagram pics of graduation dresses, all sent out to the gang for their vote.

We’re due to pull out of Pinehurst in just 2 weeks, moving across the country, nearly 2,500 miles from friends and places we know. But all that moving over the past 11 years has taught Lilly:

• Moving is hard
• You lose a lot of people you love
• Usually you hate it until you get there and then you enjoy it
• “And, when I get to the new place I’m looking forward to exploring these things…Beach, surfing, volleyball, good friends, and the fact that…
• “We will never move again!”

Congratulations Lilly on 6 great years of learning… Cheers to you as you embrace the next chapter.

Jackie, Lilly and Kylie

A rare treat was the focus on reading achievements; Pinehurst Elementary is in love with books!

The 5th grade entertains us with “You Can Count on Me” by Bruno Mars

My favorite views during the promotion ceremony included watching parents record the event.

“Why are you taking a picture of me crying?”

Some of the great students in Mrs. Fox’s 5th grade class at Pinehurst Elementary