End Of The Year Blur

The end of the school year always comes with some crazy, busy days. May 24th was one such day. There were 3 kids that had something happening at 3 different times. Thankfully they were at different times and I was able to make it to each event.

We started our day at a picnic lunch with Ailey. Her kindergarten class had the opportunity to walk to a park near us and the families were welcome to join them at the given time. It was super important to Ailey that I showed up, so I packed her and Jace a lunch and we went and met up with her.

Ailey had the option to come home with me or go back to school to finish out her day. For some reason, she decided to go back to school. It worked out well though, because my next stop was the Jr. High to see Shaylyn get an award.

We didn't know what the award was going to be and I was thankful I found a seat next to some friends, who gladly held Zach so that I could get pictures of Shaylyn. They still ended up blurry and the award was for Honor Roll.

Shaylyn did want to come home after the award ceremony and because I was in need of a babysitter in order to attend Nate's activity, I let her.

I was only home for a few minutes before I had to leave, so I got the little boys situated and made sure Shaylyn was good to go, then I headed out.

Nate had a sort of read-a-thon thing, but where the parents could come and the kids could either read to the parent or the parent to the child. The teacher also provided some snacks. Nate was so excited to see me and we both read to each other. I kind of let Nate decide who read what.

While it was a busy day, it was very fulfilling as a mom. It was nice to have the chance to support 3 of my kids when they had something important happening in their lives.

What Happens Next...

A Visit With Grandma

When my mom. my sisters and I were discussing plans for our weekend (the one I didn't end up having), we talked about going to have lunch with my grandma at her assisted living facility. In the end it didn't end up being in the plans, so my mom decided that we should maybe go another time.

When she discussed it with me it was sort of a 'girls only' type visit and trip. However, that same message didn't get around to the other sisters and so my little sister had her whole family with her and my little brother came as well and we had a great time.

The day started out with my girls (and Zach, cause Eric had to work at the game store) and I stopping at Chick Fil A to get our lunch and then Roxberry to get some smoothies. We then made our way to the facility.

My mom had got us a little dining room to all gather together in and my little sister was up getting grandma ready. While we were waiting for Grandma, my little niece was enthralled with her baby cousin.

During lunch Grandma said that she knew who each of us was. I wondered if she was saying it so that none of us felt bad, or if she was trying to make herself feel better or if she honestly, in that moment, KNEW. 

She didn't seem to have much of an appetite and tried to save the soup my mom had brought her for later. My mom knew that she wouldn't eat it later and so she told my sister to trash it when Grandma wasn't looking. Sad, but she did and I really don't think Grandma remembered even five minutes later.

After we got the dining room cleaned up we headed up to Grandma's room to visit for a bit. When the little kids got bored, my brother in law took the kids across the street to a school playground. We were thankful for that quiet it brought us.

Grandma had the best time meeting her newest great-grandbaby and I can't tell you how enthralled Zach was with Grandma. He absolutely loved being with her. It's as if he knew her spirit. I just watched in proud amazement.

We left shortly after that as we could tell Grandma was getting tired and the amount of people around was somewhat draining. 

But I left in good spirits, thankful to have had to chance to let Zach meet his Great Grandma and a chance for Shaylyn and Ailey to visit with her again.

What Happens Next...

Two Birthdays And A Baptism

Nate's baptism was May 14th.

Not only was it the day after Ailey's birthday, it is Eric's dad's birthday. We didn't have much choice on the date, so we went with it. We knew Dad would've been excited that such a special event happened on his birthday.

Because it was the day after Ailey's birthday, we decided we'd just celebrate both birthdays and the baptism the same day. It worked out well as Ailey and Nate are pretty good friends and they had no trouble sharing the day.

I had a little more trouble combining an invite, but I figured it out.

We had two different themes, for very different people. I tried my best to make it work.

For the cakes, I made a candy pizza for Nate's and Ailey got cupcakes with Shopkins on top. I tried my best to keep things simple.

The baptism was crazy as 3 other kids were getting baptized in our ward as well, but they do a good job at keeping the baptism to just the individual kid. It was a little hard to not have Eric's dad as one of the witnesses, but we were thankful we had a really good friend there who was able to do the job. We definitely missed Grandpa.

After the baptism, we headed back home to celebrate these two jokers. They both had a great time and we were thankful for the family and friends who attended. And you should all thank me, because instead of posting the 80+ pictures - I just made a video.

What Happens Next...

Six Candles

My baby girl is six! Somehow that makes her seem like she's not a little girl anymore. It was kind of a sad birthday for this mommy, but an awesome birthday for this girlie.

I think she was happy...

What Happens Next...

Tulip Festival 2016

The weekend was supposed to be much different. I had planned to go away with my mom and sisters, but the day we were supposed to leave I discovered that I hadn't gotten rid of all the Lice in my hair. The girls had been clear for weeks, but I missed some in my own hair. 

(I may write more about the whole Lice epidemic in my personal blog at some point)

I was in a word, depressed. 

In an attempt to keep my spirits up, Eric took me to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point. He knows how much I love tulips and we had only gone to the festival one time before when Ailey was a baby. 

Zach got to accompany us as he was still a little too little to be left at home with his siblings.

The tulip festival was beautiful and we went on a day where it had rained earlier and it smelled wonderful! It was at this point in time that Eric and I decided that someday we will have a home in the woods where we can enjoy that smell more often than we currently can.

We then went to dinner at Greek Souvlaki. I wasn't a fan, but that's okay. Eric wanted me to try it and I did. It just wasn't for me.

We then went to see The Avengers: Civil War. We loved the show and before we even left the house Eric convinced me to wear one of his Capt. America tees to show which side we were on.

(...For some reason Eric's phone flips pictures. I'm just too lazy to fix them, ATM...)

What Happens Next...