Our big events in May were Nathan's birthday and our beach vacation. May also symbolized the begin of a somewhat return to normalcy for our family. We started seeing friends again and restarted some activities.
We took a random end of school picture on May 8, the last day of our distance learning. The school year ended in a way we never wanted or imagined would happen, but we made it! The kids all seemed to like the distance learning- I think they liked that it only took a couple of hours a day so they had plenty of time to play and Nathan especially liked the lack of distractions he usually has in his classroom. They all missed their friends though and all the fun end of year activities they missed.
I think we're all a little crazier after two months of at home learning.
I wish I would have taken a better picture but for the first time in months we had friends over to play! The kids fared really well and enjoyed playing with their siblings, but once they were back with their friends, I could tell how much they missed being with them.
When Oklahoma moved into Phase 2 of reopening, Elisabeth got to return to the dance studio. She was SO excited to see her friends. She was NOT a fan of the zoom dance classes. I don't blame her a bit for that either. I laughed once because I was talking to her about what I could do to make her zoom classes better, and her response was "I could go back to the studio and dance with my friends."
She had an even bigger surprise, because she got to try on her recital costume and dance for the parents at the end of class.
I had to smile when she was too busy smiling at me and making sure I was watching her that she forgot part of the dance. That girl is a fan of attention, ha!
She had so many friends in her dance class this year. It was a fun dance year for her- well aside from the two months of zoom classes, ha!
Samuel spent some free time building his Nintendo Labo vehicle kit. He's grown up so much and did it all with minimal adult help.
Our pool opened on Memorial Day weekend, and we were all excited about it. With so many of our summer activities canceled, I'm thinking we'll be visiting a lot. The kids asked me to video a play they did at the pool. They're funny!
I sent the girls outside in their swimsuits one afternoon to wash their play house. It didn't last long before they were squirting each other with the hose.
Elisabeth and I finally were able to get hair cuts at the end of May. I just took her to my salon instead of our usual kids' hair cut place. She felt big to be with me but was not a fan of wearing a mask. She's grown up so much in the last few months and is such a joy to be with.
We celebrated Matt's birthday with his favorite meal and homemade cards. For his gift, I replaced his sunglasses that he lost in the ocean on our beach trip. It's so fun to celebrate him!
The kids and I made bubble foam one morning. I think I ended up making like eight batches of it because they kept asking for more. It kept them entertained for a couple of hours though.
The Coronavirus also seemed to wreck our kid date days with the kids. Nathan had a date scheduled with Matt during May, so he decided on a whim one Sunday afternoon to take him out to eat and to buy new shoes. Nathan has turned into a steak boy in the last year, so Texas Roadhouse was a perfect pick for lunch!
Elisabeth and I were supposed to have a skip day date in April. I was going to let her skip school one day while the boys and Katherine were in school and we were going to shop, eat lunch, and get manicures and pedicures. Instead, I took her out to eat lunch and to Target to shop for new nail polish colors and a pair of sandals. Then we came home and did at home pedicures. She was so fun to shop with. We both hadn't been to Target since February, and we were overdue. She kept saying, "This is so much fun. I'm so glad I get to spend time with you. I love spending one on one time with you, Mommy." I sure love that girl!
I ordered a little Pedicure spa off of Amazon since I still don't feel comfortable taking her to get a pedicure at the salon. She thought it was the best thing ever. She also was super excited to paint my toenails.
On the very last day of May, we celebrated Bennett's 7th birthday. Bennett is one of Samuel's best friends and his older brother Brett is also one of Nathan's best friends. The boys got to go to the party early and play computer games and then we joined them later that afternoon for the official party.
Their family is moving to Georgia later this summer, and the boys are really sad about their friends leaving. I'm sad too. We treasure our friendship with their whole family. Nathan's ready to move to Georgia now, ha!
Sweet, sweet friends. These boys share a big time love for Mario Brothers.
The girls were happy to get to go to the party too. Brett and Bennett have an older sister who is always super sweet to play with them when we get together. Elisabeth feels really special when she gets to play with Grace.
We're hoping for a few more play dates before they move!
Life is starting to feel more normal. We're cherishing every play date and birthday party way more than we did before.
When I thought about all the things my kids would miss out on this Spring, my heart kept coming back to Elisabeth's Dance Recital. I grieved over it more than most other cancellations. Her recital is one of her favorite days of the year. She loves performing, she loves special attention, she loves getting dressed up, she loves it all, and the Spring recital is always the driving force that keeps her choosing to do dance every year. I knew that a packed auditorium in the middle of May was super unlikely to ever happen, but I was ecstatic when her dance teacher announced they would be having an outdoor recital at the end of May! I knew it wouldn't be the same, but I also knew that for Elisabeth, it pretty much would be the same. She'd get to dress up and get her hair and makeup done, she'd get to perform, and she'd get to have special attention. She and I couldn't wait for May 30 and her big day.
We did her hair and makeup that morning, and before we went to the studio, Matt took some great pictures of her in her costume.
I really loved the back of their costumes- super cute!
I think I might love recital days as much as she does! I'm so thankful God gave me daughters to experience these girly special moments with them.
She was so excited to see all her friends in their costumes.
The girls took professional pictures in the studio before they danced.
Then they performed on a giant outdoor stage. Elisabeth loved the stage. I think it was way bigger than she was anticipating, and she loved it. She said she really liked the way her tap shoes sounded on the stage.
She did a great job at her dance. She was a little rusty thanks to two months off of dance and the distraction of being outside and seeing everyone in the audience, but I LOVED her giant smile at the end when she popped her knee and blew a kiss. It's her favorite part of the dance, and she is all about everyone cheering for her at the end of her dance.
These best friends had a fun dance year together.
Miss Kristy had popsicles for everyone for the outdoor recital.
We were limited to only three guests at the recital, so after her dance we met up with Papa Joe and the boys and Katherine for lunch to celebrate our dancer. Since it was a small recital, I wanted to make it special for her and take her to lunch.
I also got her a small gift and Papa Joe brought her flowers and cupcakes.
It definitely was a different recital. We're used to a two hour dress rehearsal in the morning and a two hour recital in the evening. This recital was ten minutes taking pictures and a three minute dance and we were finished. Matt was a big fan, ha! Elisabeth also said she liked it more than the typical recital, and that warmed my heart so much after grieving for her when there was a possibility she wouldn't get to participate in a recital at all. I think the only part she was disappointed about was the big bow at the end of the recital.
Two things that she said that day really stood out to me.
First she said, "One thing I love about the Coronavirus is that I got to dance outside." We can learn so much from our kids and her positive perspective of everything going on right now is a lesson to me.
She also said "It was the BEST DAY EVER except for Disney World, the beach, my birthday and Christmas."
The minute we got home this Little Girl had to have her turn with the costume, and she's worn it every single day since the recital. She's so excited that she gets to take dance next year. And her dad is super excited that after a three minute recital this year, he gets to go to TWO, two hour recitals next year, ha!!
