Lots of May!

I think I really need to get back in the habit of blogging every week.  I take so many pictures sometimes, which makes for really long blog posts!

Let's jump back to Mother's Day.

Bella and I attended a Mother's Day dinner at church the Friday before.

Here we are after church on Mother's Day. Bella made me the blue necklace that I am wearing. I love it!

A rare photo of just the two of us.


We went out to lunch with our neighbors and then relaxed the afternoon away before our evening church service.

The following Tuesday, Andy and Graydon had a "date" to see the movie "Home".


They rode in "Black Beauty", which is a treat since the kids usually just ride in the van.


I forgot to mention in the last post about how he lost another bottom tooth while my mom was here.  It came out while he was brushing his teeth and fell down the drain!  Since the tooth fairy still came, he didn't seem to mind (literally) losing his tooth.


On Wednesday afternoon, the boys and I went with our neighbor to a greenhouse that is owned by a member of our church.  She had so many cute, creative details all over the property.

The water in this faucet was actually running!


Tree stump picnic table.

An old tree stump turned into a little house.


It even had a little door.


A tea party ready and waiting.






Lots of fun things to look at.




China plate flower bed border.


Garden lady made from terra cotta pots.


Laundry room






One Saturday morning, the kids participated in an Elementary School Fun Run.


This was the boys' race.  I searched and searched and could not find them.  So I just snapped a photo of the kids running and hoped I'd catch them somewhere.  When I later zoomed in on the photo, I saw Curtis in the back right; but couldn't find Graydon.


Andy ran with Curtis, but Graydon got too far ahead.




The boys ran 1/4 mile.  It wasn't timed, but they finished somewhere in the middle of the group.

Bella and her friends getting ready for their race.


Off they go!  Find the girl who is wearing all green.  Bella is to the left of her.


Bella's group ran a mile.  She did awesome!  Out of 102 girls, she finished in 12th place with a mile run time of 8 minutes 7 seconds.  Nine of the girls who finished ahead of her were 4th graders.  I was super impressed with her time, especially with half of the race taking place on grass.

Three great runners!


We have this chain-link fenced-in area on the side of our house that was put there for previous pastors who had dogs.  Since we had no need of it, we've been making plans to remove it and landscape the side of the house.  One day our neighbor showed up with some equipment and started taking it out.  Have I mentioned how we have the best neighbors!  Graydon got to join in and help.




I forgot to take any before and after pics.  Right now, it's just an open space that we need to add some soil and grass seed to.  We also got some pavers for making a little garden bed and we're looking at some perennials to plant.  This will be Phase 1 or our landscaping project.

This is Bella as a blonde.  I needed her assistance while making an Elsa hat.  It's much easier to braid "hair" when it's actually on a head.


Another field trip for Curtis.  We went to an old farmstead and learned about life in the 1800s and early 1900s.






Bella's class spent the day in the one-room schoolhouse that is located behind the elementary school.  All of the kids dressed up for the experience.  Later that evening, Andy had a retreat for the confirmation kids from church.  The retreat was held at a cabin that is owned by a family in church.  Although the drive was about five minutes, you wouldn't know it once you're there.  The kids and I came along in the early part of the evening to see the area.


The pond forms a horseshoe around the house.  It's beautiful.


The kids and I had a movie night that evening while Andy was away.  It was still light outside when the movie was over and I soon found Graydon outside, in his pajamas, doing some sort of building project.  This kids LOVES to create things.


And it looks like he might need a haircut.


This is Curtis's last week of school and since he has a summer birthday, they celebrated him today.  He brought in "dirt" pudding cups with gummy worms and everyone sang to him.  They also made slime.  Can't get much better than that!