May in Pictures, aka The Blog Post That Never Ends

When I sat down tonight, I couldn't remember much about May.  I remembered that school let out.  Then I looked through my photos and recalled just a wee bit more.  In the interest of time, I'm refraining from editing the photos.  And I will try not to be too wordy.

So....

We went to the beach.

I banged up the car four days after I got it back from the shop where it had been for two weeks being repaired for an almost identical ding.  (Same area, same driver, same bad eyes apparently. Minivans are very wide. A lot wider than I give them credit for.)

I made 31 layouts.  A few of them appear in this post.

We dressed up in strange clothes and went to a ladies-only Dining In event.

Mother's Day performance at preschool.

Another selection from my layouts this month (only one I've ever made about my/our first dog):

Bath time.

Family photo.

Ready to rock on field day.

Bye bye Kindergarten!

There was a debilitating flu.

I ran 26.2 miles over the course of the month, participating in an online "virtual" marathon.

A tribute to a favorite poet:

Daisies bridging to Brownies.

Slip-on fingernails. Ha ha ha!

A favorite:

Modeling new pajamas.

Paper work.

Last day of preschool.

Last day of Kindergarten:

Talking to Papa.

Family photo.

Eight months.

Final ballet performance (spontaneously outside).

Happy Seventy!

Awkward family photo.

Another fave.

And all the while, the Gutsy Dad was here:

Stay tuned for June...

Summer Crazies

I really should have thought to say that I wouldn't be blogging over the summer. I had every intention.  I mean, I was under the impression that summer VACATION meant time off, more time for silly things like blogging.  But somehow it feels like I had less time. The days rolled quickly from one to another. And suddenly the whole thing whizzed by.

Summer ends (for us) on Friday.  Jillson, who somehow turned 6 while I wasn't looking, starts 1st grade on Friday.  And I've already had my first work event of the year.

I have so much to share from the summer. There were a LOT of laughs, a LOT of special events, travel, visitors, visiting, copious tears, many celebrations, a lot of sweating and swimming, dancing and singing, running and drinking, reading, swearing, missing, reuniting, heartbreak, happiness, milestones, insanity, firsts, lasts, and trying desperately not to stuff every morsel of food I encountered into my mouth.

I learned what Steakhouse Syndrome is, what sebaceous cysts are, and how difficult it is to remove warts (14 of them) from a 3-year-old's toes. I watched dance performances, karate performances, gymnastics performances, and cheer performances.

I managed not to kill Jillson's tomato plant which has borne 8 edible, gorgeous, delicious tomatoes. She consumes them whole, plain, like she is eating an apple.

I broke down and purchased running skirts, furthering my foray into middle-aged suburban stereotyping.

I discovered and consumed many Lime-a-Ritas, the ultimate low-brow summer cocktail.  

I finished my AFAA re-cert exam, and if I can just get my butt in gear to take a CPR class, I will be able to teach step again.  (What?! I know.)

I've kept up with most of my 2012 projects this summer.  But I haven't kept up with SHARING them.

This -- the start of school -- is when I get my Spring Cleaning fever.  I've started in on the playroom.  I am predicting many blog posts (related to Spring Cleaning or not) simply because I'll be eager to procrastinate.

More than anything, I have soaked in the family time and the friend time. I have felt, as I so often feel, almost embarrassed to be so richly blessed in life.

xoxo,

The GM