May

 

While the vast majority of the city celebrated the 150th Derby, I not only introduced Austin to some friendly giants, but Evan, Erin, Lauren, Dean and Greg joined us. We picnicked, hiked, explored and played together for several hours. Austin and I though, were very much on the same page afterwards.......

I waited until we were home, but a nap was absolutely required.

I knew we needed to eat again but didn't want to cook. It has been a long time since I last played with food but it brought Ty and Greg around the table for casual dinner that was pretty too. 

 

Mother's Day was a non event in our world because I spent the weekend supporting the children of my friends. First, Laura's son, Mitchell nailed his role as Ren in Footloose. I loved seeing him sing and dance again. Then I went to Bloomington to surprise two little girls in a choir concert and a dance recital. I miss these kiddos. But Kate and Riley showed up just before I returned with bows and flowers. We enjoyed the afternoon on the back porch together.

Austin spent a night with us so his mom could work. Greg found himself supervising both Ty and Austin during an e-learning day. They all claimed to have survived unscathed and marked the day a success. I no longer check with Powerschool for regular grade updates, so maybe all is well? 😂

Young coworkers surprised all the mothers on our team with a rose and candy. How sweet was that?

The dog in this photo was not injured, just being dramatic because he wasn't getting attention.

Dinners in general are full of stories from Ty. I love this season. And meals on the patio are my favorite.

We spent several evenings this month cheering for little guys on the ball field. My personal favorite memories include the coach lifting a limp body up and out of the dirt because someone was exhausted. Apparently, Mimi isn't the only one with an eight o'clock bedtime. The moment two feisty five-year-olds exchanged fists that ended with them rolling in the same dirt had me laughing as well. How on earth did a tussle at first base over who was going to catch a ball escalate to that? And finally, Austin hopping up and down with his arms in the air as he celebrates his hits are the moments it all feels so worthwhile. The season wrapped with significant improvement and a lot of joy. 

We celebrated Kate's birthday and Mother's Day with brunch and "all about my mom" questionnaires from Makenna. I cannot love this more and hope it becomes a tradition. 

We spent Memorial Day weekend puppy sitting. That required extensive recovery time. The house may never be the same and we were exhausted. Ricky brings back memories of the early days with Diesel. Holy energy, Batman. But there were redemptive moments when he finally relaxed and calm prevailed for a few minutes at a time. 

Remi needed a break. Ty and I were both more than willing to hide with her.

He is so sweet; when he is asleep.

Ricky cried outside the door for quite awhile but we chose to ignore him. Everyone was tired. And I mean everyone. We kept threatening to keep Remi so she could rest well at Mimi's house when Ricky went home.

I had to sneak a photo. At almost 15, he still checks out the Lego section at Target. He now, however, notices the price point and laments how much the modern sets would cost him. I teased he could put them on his birthday wish list.

You would think we had human guests each morning based on the look of this bed but this is the work of Remi and Diesel after Ricky is crated for the night. Apparently it takes some effort to get cozy enough to sleep at Mimi's house.

Greg sent this gem to me as Ty left for his final day of 8th grade. It was a journey to land here and we are grateful for it's completion. After twenty cumulative years of parenting children through middle school, there were no tears as we marked this milestone. He was as ready as we were to say goodbye.