May Madness

 May is always a busy month for us- two birthdays, an anniversary, end of the year recitals and programs, and then we almost always throw in a vacation. It might be busy, but it's also my favorite month!

Many May afternoons were spent with the neighbors in Kidsborough. One afternoon the kids started a fire (with supervision) and roasted marshmallows. 

We also celebrated Mother's Day in May. It was a bit of a hard day for me missing my mom, but my sweet family loved me well. 

Elisabeth baked cookies without any assistance for the first time. She did great!

Also, on Mother's Day, Elisabeth had a little audition for a summer music camp she was participating in. She learned and performed a solo of one of her favorite worship songs. She told her Sunday school teachers about it, and they asked her to perform it in their class. I love how they always encourage and love on her. I also think that girl has never been nervous a day in her life. She exudes confidence in everything she does. 

The girls celebrated their end of the year awards with AHG. They earned lots of badges and Katherine got to cross the stepping stones to become a Tenderheart. 

Both girls made new friends this year in AHG. There are many sweet girls in their troop. 

We finished school in early May which meant more free time for the kids. I always love seeing their creativity in the things they do. 

Nathan spent his birthday money on a guitar and has been learning to play this summer. He's improved a lot already. 

Funny story that happened in May. My kids found an injured rabbit in our yard. They rescued it and tried to care for it as best they could, but they knew it needed medical care. During the time that I was picking up Katherine from school, Elisabeth had made three phone calls (all on her own) to find a place where we could take it. So, that afternoon we drove across town to an animal rescue center to drop off the bunny. Seeing their initiative, problem solving, and deisre to help was a proud mom moment. 

Nathan officially graduated from AWANA at Eastland. He received his final award for completing all four TnT books. He's come a long way from that three year old adorable Cubby. 

We had the opportunity to help watch the Evetts' kids for a weekend in May. The kids all played so well together. The girls baked cupcakes and performed shows. 

While the boys spent most of the time playing Minecraft. When I kicked them off the video game, they still found a way to play it, ha!

Matt and I (and Brooke and Corey) celebrated 17 years of marriage on the 20th. We had a double date to celebrate! We adore these sweet friends. They are some of our absolute dearest friends and sharing an anniversary with them is the best. 

As old married people do, we ate dinner at 5:30 and then went to Sam's Club 😆

Then we ended the night at Sugar Llamas for dessert. Such a fun night!

The next morning the girls had their last soccer game of the season. They both enjoyed playing and improved as the season progressed. They both want to do everything, so I don't know if soccer will get replaced with something else next year or not. 

She scored the final goal of the season. She can hustle! Proud of her!

She had such a great coach too. He was so patient with the kids. 

Elisabeth played well too during her final game. 

After the games, Elisabeth left with Kaydence for a birthday celebration. I surprised her at the game with an extra surprise. 

Elisabeth went with Kaydence to an animal park where they held and interacted with so many exotic animals and then ended the night with a sleepover. 

These girls are the best of friends just like their mamas!

We spent a Sunday evening with the Ingles, eating dinner, and playing games. Elisabeth and Jana played some soccer for part of the evening. Bill and Sarah taught us Everdell and we ended up loving it. It was a great night with friends. 

This girl was worn out after such a busy weekend. She also had her dance recital that weekend. 

I harvested some lettuce from my garden. It made for some yummy salads. 

The girls had their end of season soccer celebration. We got to take Audrey with us. 

She's proud of her medal!

Sweet soccer friends 

May also brought a few garden projects. Glad I have lots of helpers!

Katherine had her last day of school on May 25. Goodness, she had such a wonderful year of growth and learning. We were all sad it came to an end. 

Nathan went with her to help out with the last day of school festivities. I'm not sure who had more fun that day, Katherine or Nathan. 

Meanwhile, I had these two for the day. It took me back to the days when Nathan was in Kindergarten and Katherine wasn't born yet. I have lots of sweet memories of times with these two. 

They've grown some since then. They asked to play/shop at the mall, eat lunch at Sam's and then play a board game. 

It's rare to have time with just my middles, and I soaked it up!

Matt had a big birthday at the end of May. The kids put on a comedy show for him. 

It was fitting because his big gift was tickets to our favorite comedian who's coming to Tulsa in October. 

No birthday is complete without cheesecake!

He asked to play putt putt on his birthday, so we did that on Sunday afternoon. 

He has some future plans in July to celebrate with some friends too, so the celebrations with continue. We're so grateful for the best husband/daddy around. 

Whew! That was a lot of fun in May!