May 2021 Part 4: Everyday May

<Insert sentimental comment about the passing of time and the joy of the ordinary.>

In May, we finished soccer season. Both boys did great! 

Gabe got invited to a birthday party, and he made this card to go with it. 

Rachel may have been involved, but I don't remember. 

Being us, ordinary life always involves some kind of home project. In May, it was finally warm enough for painters to come. Here's the underside of our deck before

And after:

Having the underside painted white has made a huge difference! We love it and are so glad we hired this unpleasant job out, especially after they had to use special primer on the older portion of the deck. 

I tried to be more active on social media for my business, which meant a lot more selfies. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate posting on social media?

We finally worked on Rachel's fairy garden. We had promised her a spot in our new house for our fairy garden, and we had purchased supplies for fairy houses way before this. I finally took the time to make it happen in May. 

Everyone got involved and made a house. I forgot how much joy it brings me to craft with my kids. They all loved it too. 

With the houses all finished, it was time to plant. 

Gabe had several more private swimming lessons. I was determined to have my kids swimming on their own this summer to make my pool life easier. 

I took Hunter's senior pictures, and it was a blast having one-on-one time with him, and getting to hang with Lea and Shayne as well. 

Though the weather was nice for the evening, when the sun went down, it got cold pretty fast, so I warmed up with some hot chocolate. 

The wind continued to make life interesting. One day, we'll figure out how to attach our wreath better to the front door. 

There were plenty of warm days and plenty of cooler days. But, despite cold soccer games, we kept our spirits up and found ways to stay comfortable. 

I drove to Brigham City to take pictures of my Aaron for his baptism. I still can't believe these kiddos are 8!

Here's another attempt at social media after the shoot. 

We attended church with social distancing, hard chairs, and masks. 

Gabe took a few naps. Not many, but at least this one. Also, doesn't this picture make it look like Gabe has freakishly long legs?

Gabe wasn't the only one napping that day. 

For Mother's Day, the boys fired up the grill to cook me steak. 

One of the most exciting things that happened in May is that Grandma came! She came to watch Rachel's recitals, and we LOVED having her! The kids helped her bring her bags in. 

Mom helped me figure out how to plant my garden. For some reason, I was so intimidated to begin, and she helped me figure it all out and even plant everything! 

And we had to have a fire-pit night with her. 

Ta-dah! My planted garden (you can tell it's planted because of the planted paper sacks around the tomatoes). 

I tired more social media posts: 

And Gracie happily rested underneath the shade of one of our trees. It was so wonderful having shade, even though it is still pathetic. We love all of our trees and can't wait for their growth. 

Michael did a report on Alabama, and he wore my Dirt Shirt that I bought on my mission that was dyed with real Alabama dirt. I was so proud that he picked Alabama, even if it was more of a default thing and not because he remembered that I had lived there for 9 months. He did good with his presentation. 

And we went to Costa Vida and actually ate inside, something that has been uncommon for so long. Gabe was naturally in heaven. 

Sweet Gabe keeps growing too fast, but we love finding him in his room happily playing or reading. 

One day in May, Brian and I went into our shed to try to plan our where to build shelves. We headed in there because it started raining while we were checking out the garden. Gabe offered to go get my coat from inside the house, and I gratefully accepted his service. He left the shed and wandered into the house while Brian and I did some planning. After a few minutes, we realized that he had locked us in the shed. We felt like we were in a sitcom. The whole situation was comical. 

Thankfully, he eventually made his way back to the shed with my coat in his hands, though he did take the most comical, "Family Circus"-esque route to get there. He unlatched the door, and we were freed from our prison. 

Skyler came for a visit, much to the joy and gladness of Gabe and Rachel. 

Brian got our tools hung up in the shed, obviously thanks to our planning session earlier. 

I worked on my barber skills. Isn't it nice that I get to practice on three different heads every 6 weeks? 

Michael worked on his baking skills, much to the delight of the entire household. 

And he also did whatever it was he was doing in this photo. 

Nana and Papa gave gave these fun suction cup things, and so being the stellar mom that I am, I made one stick to Gabe's forehead. 

Hunter graduated from High School, and I was sick so neither of us went, but someone took this amazing picture of Kirt and Julie, and we love it. 

Eating out together AT restaurants was becoming normal again, and we loved that. 

We enjoyed far too many yummy treats. 

And I came up with ways to sleep through the bright mornings. 

Soccer season officially ended, and Michael tried out for a competitive league, starting this fall, so this was his last rec-league team. Thanks Marshall for being a great coach! 

The last week of school, the kids got to go mask-less, and there was joy and rejoicing all around. Michael finished 5th grade, and Rachel finished 2nd. We're so proud of our kids, and we were all over the moon to head into summer. First up on our amazing summer was a trip to Idaho for Memorial Day weekend.