May

May was a whirlwind of activity.  Along with all the end of school functions, we had several trips that occupied our weekends.

First was a family reunion.  My dad's immediate family all met in town for a picnic at the park.  We've been able to do this three years in a row (I think) & I hope we can continue!  It's always so heart warming to see all of my cousins & then to see all of our kids playing together.  My grandparents have 18 great-grandkids & are very proud of all of them.

This is my Uncle Bill, my dad's youngest brother.  He was still living at home when I was little (& lived just down the "street" from grandma) and I was soooo in love with him.  Macy loves him too and he's still a kid at heart, giving piggy-back rides & being generally silly with the next generation of kids.  

The next weekend, we travelled to Oklahoma to spend the weekend with my parents & brother & his family for mom & dad's 40th wedding anniversary.  

My brother has 3 little boys & we are a little heavy in the girl department but gender plays no part in how our kids love each other.  Macy was Caden's very best friend for so long...and now Caden & Jack have a lot in common & Macy loves to play with their youngest, Landon.  Landon was fascinated with Lily, especially her girly toys (polly pockets) & sat with her for a long time trying to figure those things out, listening to Lily talk, talk, talk.  Brighton likes to pal around with the big boys, but also takes time to walk with Bop & Lily & Ava, and so on...it all just works & everyone has different bonds with each other.  

Possibly the biggest laughs of that weekend was the water fight that ensued between all the kids & the dads.  It was all-on war & sneaky ambushes were all part of the game.  

Hundreds of pictures...and so hard to narrow down.

Did you & your best friend in high school ever dream about "wouldn't it be neat if we got to be sisters forever?"  Well...I did that & it came true.  ::smile::

Ahhh, Macy.  She has this little sneaky habit of grabbing my camera when I've set it down & taking some of her own pictures.  I totally love seeing what she snaps-sometimes they are really good, sometimes goofy.  This would be a goofy one of Landon.

During the month of May, there was a night the moon was bigger than normal.  Since it wasn't an everyday occurrence, we loaded the kids up, drove 10 miles out of town & had a moonrise party.  It was simple, just threw on pi's & grabbed blankets & pillows, and the kids did their fair share of snipping at each other (cramped quarters tend to do that) but they all still talk about that memory & want to go again.  I am amazed at how much time & effort & money we can put into making a memory when sometimes the littlest, easiest, spontaneous trips mean more.

 We went to see the moon rise, but the sun setting was just as compelling!

For Memorial Day we went to visit Grandma Dovie.  It was only for the day, but we packed a lot of fun into that day...bubbles & playing catch, ice cream at the diner with her friends & family, driving around town & visiting the cemetery.

Dovie hadn't had the chance to meet Henry, and enjoyed meeting him.  Henry's middle name, Jett, comes from Dovie's side of the family.

Whew.  That is the month of May.

In a flash

IPhone dumping.

Slowly we are finding a routine & I'm hoping to return to more regular posts but I'm also enjoying the summer & resting when I can. Pictures are piling up on my computer & some day will make it here!

Macy left at 4:00am for camp. We are going to miss her! However she told me "mom, it's only a week-I don't think I'll have time to miss you." Big girl-I hope she doesn't miss us much.

This past week the kids & I went to our hometown to see grandparents. It was a good time-the highlights were Macy getting to watch a cow have a c-section & Jack got to shoot his bow & arrow with grandpa. They all got to try on moccasins and thought that was pretty cool!

In a flash

Random pictures from the past week (or so)

Little man figured out how to turn over today.

Slippin' & Slidin'

Always a fun summer activity. Seems like we have to buy a new one every year, & this won't be an exception (it ripped) but they are worth the $10!

Henry decided to work on his skills at finding his illusive thumb.