Busy May

 May has been such a FULL month! 

It begin with the boys' spring concert at school. 

With last year's cancelled, we were very excited for this year. 

The concert was a night to remember, with cheerful music and a "vacation vibe." 

Levi had a brief speaking part, and Caleb had a solo. 

They had me smiling from ear to ear the entire time. 

Afterwards we met up with some friends at the local frozen yogurt shop and had quite the party!

Evelyn competed in her final track meet. Her 4 by 100 team really had a fantastic season, and hopes were high that they would make it to the "Meet of Champions." 

 

The fans cheered loudly as their team sprinted across the line first...but it was soon followed by tears and disappointment when discovered that one of the girls had accidentally stepped out of the exchange box. Needless to say, Evelyn was heartbroken. 

There is always next year; hopefully next year will come with less rain and hail!

My parents came into town May 10 and stayed until June 5. 

My dad is a huge baseball fan. He grew up playing the game and has been dreaming of watching his grandsons play. 

  

Their extended stay allowed them to view many games. My dad even helped warm the boys up when they pitched. 

He enjoyed every minute of sitting in the sidelines. 

My mom and dad were also here to celebrate my 40th birthday. 

Additionally, my brother in law, Rob, surprised me with driving down from Washington to have dinner and see the boys' game. 

Everyone loves UNCLE ROB!

My in laws also shared in the evening.

It's interesting how things in life change as I age. When I turned 30, I had a huge party with everyone we knew. That to me, was the best!!

However, now 40, all I desired was to have a simple dinner with the ones who mean the most to me.

Another fun activity was going to the concert "For King and Country." 

We've listened to these songs on our way to school the whole year. It was so exciting to see them in concert. 

It was a fantastic show.  The ending song was our favorite, Little Drummer Boy. "Merry Christmas Portland!" they announced. 

Caleb, especially, was in his glory. 

My mom also was able to accompany me on a field trip with Evelyn's class.

 We went to the state capital in Salem. 

One rainy Saturday, we also took a trip to Lincoln city. 

Lucy liked sitting on Grandpa's lap during the car ride. It was a packed mini van. It was definitely sagging in the middle. 

It was a very rainy trip, but we managed to have fun exploring the fossil store, glass shop and searching for treasure on the beach during a rare rain break. 

James loved using his metal detector. His claim to fame that day was unearthing a little silver ring from the sand and uncovering a few rusty nails. 

Lucy enjoyed the sand and waves as well. 

The following day, John and I competed in our first half marathon together. We ran in Salem at the Willamette Valley Race. 

After 6 weeks of training, we ran together and achieved a PR, finishing at 1:48. 

Sore and tired, we looked forward to our trip the next day. 

Puerto Rico!

                                John had business meetings; I had a beach and poolside chair.  

I spent hours wandering the beach, collecting little treasures and attracting stray dogs. 

It certainly wasn't all work and no play for John either. 

We had time to explore the beaches together and took a trip to Old San Juan. 

Meanwhile, at home, my parents managed the kids and kept our busy family life going. 

My mom helped Evelyn work on her final project for her state research project. 

She chose South Carolina, since we went there for vacation a few month prior. She created a beautiful float depicting all the wonderful things about this state. 

It took a lot of care and effort to keep it away from curious Lucy. 

She also was faithful in helping Evelyn clean out the guinea pig cage. 

(ps:  their home was upgraded to a luxury resort that even Lucy is jealous of)

                                     

As I look ahead now to summer, I find myself excited about spending time with the family and hopefully enjoying better weather than what we are currently experiencing here in Oregon this spring. 

Stay tuned...