We had some big events in May- Nathan's birthday, dance recital, and vacation, but in between those events, we managed to squeeze in even more fun things.
Elisabeth was invited to attend a sweet friend's birthday party at the beginning of May. She got to ride on a party bus, eat snow cones and even do a photo shoot. She had a wonderful time!
While she was at the party, we took an impromptu trip to our neighborhood pond with our neighbors to release a baby turtle they had found in their yard.
It was so cute watching it swim across the pond.
I celebrated Mother's Day with my four blessings. They spoiled me with cards, gifts (from Dollar Tree) and cake. It's my greatest honor to be their mom.
Nathan spent some of his birthday money on some new Lego sets.
Our attempt at gardening has led to some growth. The kids and I like checking the "garden" everyday to see the changes in our plants.
We had dinner with friends one evening and the kids played so well together. It was a really fun night!
The kids and I joined a new Co-op for next school year and we attended a field trip with them to Pawnee Bill's Ranch. Katherine attached herself to this little cat while we were there.
We are looking forward to getting to know all these kids and their families better in the coming months.
Katherine has had a great year of gymnastics this year. She has the sweetest little class. I'm going to miss visiting with their moms each week during the class.
Depending on their moods for the day, sometimes these girls coordinate and want to wear matching outfits- all the way to the headbands.
Once dance recital is over, that means the costumes are fair game to wear anytime. Katherine wasted no time.
We've done a few things to encourage reading over the summer- one is a reading bingo I created with prizes when the three big kids all earn a bingo. One of the activities was to read under a tree.
While they were outside reading, some chalk art happened too.
We finished school in the middle of May which meant my kids had extra free time leading to puppet shows and forts.
And bike rides...
And more chalk art
And lunch outside.
We've started to see some of the "fruits" of our labor with our gardening.
Some of our good friends from gymnastics are traveling for the summer, so before they left we spent an afternoon playing at their pool. These sweet friends introduced us to our new co-op, and we're so thankful for them! We're going to miss them this summer.
They live less than 10 minutes from us, and Katherine still managed to fall asleep on the way home.
The kids were excited when it was finally warm enough to play outside with the sprinkler and slip and slide. They had to celebrate with popsicles.
Katherine had a little gymnastics performance on the last class day of the year.
She might have been a little bored waiting for the rest of her friends to perform.
After her gymnastics, she, Samuel, and I drove over to karate only to find out the gym had lost power. We took advantage of the free time and stopped for snow cones on the way home.
I don't get time with these two alone very often.
The kids each earned their first reading bingo right before Matt and I left on our vacation. They got to draw an award out of a jar, and they drew Pizookies. We took them out for dessert for dinner the night before we left on our trip.
When we got back from our trip, they couldn't wait to get their surprises. They all look forward to this tradition.
The next day, Nathan had his acting recital. Samuel passed the time before it started by reading, of course.
Nathan asked to take acting classes this Spring, and he really enjoyed them. He did a great job remembering all his lines during the recital. I was impressed with his performance! His group did a cute little skit about surviving Middle School.
Katherine photo bombed his photo shoot.
These two have the sweetest relationship.
Our pool opened the afternoon after his recital and even though it was FREEZING, the kids insisted we had to swim.
We ended the month celebrating our favorite guy's birthday. The kids bought him presents from dollar tree, we played a game, and enjoyed homemade pizookies at home. His big gift was a new bike so we can go on family bike rides together.
This cutie had a cute hairstyle for church on the last Sunday in May.
May might be crazy with all our activities and events, but it's one of my favorite months of the year!
The kids each earned their first reading bingo right before Matt and I left on our vacation. They got to draw an award out of a jar, and they drew Pizookies. We took them out for dessert for dinner the night before we left on our trip. 
When we got back from our trip, they couldn't wait to get their surprises. They all look forward to this tradition. 
The next day, Nathan had his acting recital. Samuel passed the time before it started by reading, of course. 
Nathan asked to take acting classes this Spring, and he really enjoyed them. He did a great job remembering all his lines during the recital. I was impressed with his performance! His group did a cute little skit about surviving Middle School.
Katherine photo bombed his photo shoot. 
These two have the sweetest relationship. 
Our pool opened the afternoon after his recital and even though it was FREEZING, the kids insisted we had to swim. 
This cutie had a cute hairstyle for church on the last Sunday in May. 
