May 2021 Roundup

Our May was a equal parts fun and misery. We had a end of year school activities and celebrations, a visit from grandparents, and a spontaneous trip to St. George, but also sickness and BED BUGS!! (separate post on that coming soon). We made it through though, and are now ready for summer!! We have lots of fun plans over the next couple months and are looking forward to camps, trips and other events that weren't able to happen last year due to Covid. 

Two cuties sitting on their Princess and the Pea throne - couch + little chair + 4 pillows

I have no explanation for why Davey was coloring naked one evening 

Griffin is a cute, busy little guy who is always on the move, getting into EVERYTHING 

The city came through and repaved our entire neighborhood! Hooray!! Our court was a crumbly, gravel mess that was horrible for riding bikes or scooters. The boys loved watching the paving team work that morning and we will all enjoy having a new, smooth road.

Sophie was able to attend Activity Days a few times before summer break. She loves her leader, who is always planning darling activities for the girls. Before school got out she hosted a mommy/daughter tea party at her home. We ate a yummy lunch, learned about manners, and then the girls sang a song about mothers. I was glad I got to hear it then, because we missed them performing at church due to strep.

First splash pad outing of summer! Normally these don't turn on until Memorial Day, but the city activated them early this year and we were excited about it!

Texas has the coolest clouds

The hammock swings and climbing dome continue to be backyard favorites

I found this paper in Sophie's room one day, She was really mad that I wouldn't let her have more dessert one evening and so she made a list of all the mean things I do. Luckily she ran out of ideas after three lines. Hopefully she does not wish death on me anymore either.

The sand pit has been a fun new addition to our Discovery Center. On this trip we made a visit after it had rained the previous day so the sand was perfect for making castles.

Charlie riding his watermelon horse at Sam's Club

Memorial Day was cold and rainy so we met up with friends to see Cruella. I only took the older two kids and Sophie loved the movie, while Davey mostly loved the snacks.

Video clips from May 2021

School's Out Celebrations!

The school year has come to an end, and it went much better than expected!! There were no field trips, assemblies, or parties this year, but there were also never any closures for COVID and Sophie got to attend in person for her entire 2nd grade year, which is a major victory. The school even did away with mandatory masks towards the end of the year, but she kept hers on out of respect for a friend who has a brother with leukemia, plus it also didn't seem worth the risk with just a few weeks left. 

Even more exciting was grandparents coming for a surprise visit! They had asked to come up for the holiday weekend, but I kept it a secret from the kids. Sophie kept asking on the way home from her last day of school if we were going to do anything special, and I said, "not right now" and just took them home. I think she was disappointed, but her reaction was priceless when she looked out the window a few hours later to see that grandma had snuck into our backyard! Best surprise ever!

While grandparents were in town we were able to spend a day hiking at Palo Duro on the Kiowa trail, and afterward we went out for a yummy lunch at Tokyo. On Sunday we played lots of games, worked on crafts and a puzzle, including an "Escape Room" type surprise that grandpa had put together for the kids. What a fun weekend to celebrate the start of summer!

Sophie on the last morning of 2nd grade

End of school ice cream treat at Braums, and yes, she did eat that enormous cone all by herself

Davey showing off his emerging reading skills to Papa

Proof these brothers can occupy the same space, only it didn't last long. We moved Charlie in with Davey to free up room for guests, but those two are just not compatible (fighting, crying, poking, bothering) so Charlie later came in to sleep with us. 

Everyone was obsessed with finding the perfect hiking stick at Palo Duro. Dave found Sophie a strong, sturdy option that she politely declined, haha. Davey found two sticks that he thought looked like guns and he pew-pewed everything in sight as we hiked that morning.

The kids with grandparents while Davey does his best Lion King impression :)

A rare photo of the whole family! It's always hard to get pictures of all of us so I love it when we have someone there to help capture the moment. 

Memorial Day with Grandpa & Grandma Howe

We were so glad that Grandpa and Grandma Howe could come visit us for Memorial Day weekend! The forecast was terrible - daily severe storms - but luckily we caught just enough breaks in the weather to do some fun things. On Friday they met us at Braums for an end-of-kindergarten treat, on Saturday we went hiking in Palo Duro Canyon and then saw Aladdin, on Sunday we went to church, did a puzzle and played games, and then on Monday we said good bye. Luckily we will be seeing them again in just a couple weeks when we drive down to Dallas. Thanks for coming to visit!

We had the perfect weather for hiking in the canyon - overcast skies with temps in the high 60s. It looked like it was about to rain any minute and did sprinkle for just a few seconds, but the big storms held off until that afternoon. 

All the rain has made everything so green! There were wildflowers blooming all a long the trail.

Lots of flowers meant lots of butterflies, which Sophie loved

 

We hiked a portion of the Kiowa trail, which follows the river - perfect for throwing rocks!

After the Kiowa trail we made one more stop to check out the "Big Cave"

After hiking we hurried home, changed out of our dusty clothes and ran over to the theater to see the new Aladdin movie. We were surprised to find Jasmine and Aladdin there in person to welcome us!

We love the reclining chairs and seat heaters at Cinergy. Grandma did not need her seat heather though, because Charlie fell asleep almost immediately and spent the entire two hours napping on her lap. 

Working on a sea turtle puzzle that grandma brought. It made us excited for our beach trip in just a couple months!

Davey led Papa away to his room to play with him any chance he could get

Went went on a walk around McDonald Lake to help grandma get some of her steps in before driving back to Dallas. Davey was able to do the entire loop (.8 miles) on his scooter. I also brought an old hamburger bun for the kids to feed to the ducks. 

It rained hard Sunday night and water level in the lake had come up several feet (it's a run off storage pond). It was crazy how sunny and clear the skies were after the monsoon the night before. 

Sophie's tiny bouquet of Texas wildflowers she gathered on our walk

The kids in their red, white and blue for Memorial Day. We ate lunch at Red Robin before the grandparents had to hit the road