May

 

John rarely eats in peace, there's usually someone wanting to cuddle or wrestle with him!

 

Morning rainbow

 

Berries growing! Homegrown berries are so much better than the store, and although we don't get much with our 1-2yr old plants yet, they are worth it!

 

Storytime nap

 

Nicole is such a patient sister and the little girls love hearing her read to them.

 

Diana's last day of preschool!

 

Snacks and cookies to finish off the year (and I know in advance now to not even bother with lunch for them after this!)

 

Mother's Day chocolate strawberries

 

I took the kids to the Museum of Life and Science on a day off school.

 

John was happy to look around and chew on anything he could reach.

 

Lots of outdoor climbing spaces

 

Treehouse of dreams

 

The kids each got butterflies on a finger- and Mike got one on his hat!

 

Date night with Jim to paint a wave

 

Jacob wanted to make some chocolate strawberries from berries in our garden. Double delicious!

 

Lizards growing and doing great. We sold one and look forward to selling the rest.

 

Mike and Jake playing soccer is awesome. We had a ref today that I recognized as being a really good ref and has been around forever. Halfway through the game, he turned to us and asked if we were Mike's parents. He said that he's always enjoyed watching Mike play because he is has so much enthusiasm and fun playing so that makes it fun for him as a ref. I thought of the seasons of Mike skipping around the field, playing in the mud in front of the goal, and his ever-present grin while he plays his heart out. I have to agree Mike is fun to watch! He has figured out how to boot the ball really well and our new goal for him is to score as a goalie haha

 

Another paint night with friends that are moving. They watched our kids when I had John and we love their family!

 

Nicole about 3 inches from my height now.

 

The kids all want to sit in the middle seat because it's closest to the majority of the food (that's what Mike told me at least). They race to the table and squabble over who sits there and if they try to boot a sibling out I tell them "your name's not on the chair so it's not yours." Diana got her name tag from preschool and wouldn't let me throw it away. The next morning, she had her nametag taped very securely to the middle seat and was happy to announce that it was officially "her" seat.

 

Swim team has begun, which means lots of time swimming and playing in the water. I love this time of year when we finally really get outdoors for the beautiful start of summer.

 

One Friday I told the boys if they did their jobs they could get light sabers. This includes laundry (they do their own and although it gets cleaned regularly the folding part is often postponed), vacuuming, bathroom cleaning, playroom cleaning, trash, etc. They were so motivated that it was barely an hour after school was out before they were battling in the back yard!