The second half of the month of May was even busier than the first half! We wrapped up the school year and the spring soccer season, and Travis and I celebrated with a short two-night getaway with friends. Here’s the recap:
Continuing the ABC Countdown, May 17th was Sidewalk Chalk Day for the letter “S”. Brooklyn and her classmates did their math lesson with chalk outside :)
Savannah was always so excited on our walk home from school if we saw her friend, Caroline, getting off the bus at the same time. Caroline lives in our neighborhood just down the street. Savannah didn’t know her before they both ended up in Mrs. Curry’s class, but they grew to be friends over the course of the year.
Savannah worked on one of her craft kits after supper. She enjoys doing arts and crafts just as much as Brooklyn does.
We have been asking neighbor friends lately to take care of Gabby when we go out of town, and we returned the favor for Emily’s family by taking care of their cat, Pixie. Brooklyn and Savannah got to practice their litter box scooping skills ;)
Pixie is very friendly and loved seeing us each time we came that week! She let the girls pet and brush her, and they enjoyed throwing toys for her to chase.
Mill Creek had Field Day on May 19th, and the girls were so excited!! Field Day was cancelled last school year because of covid, and Brooklyn had a broken arm when they had field day in kindergarten, so this was really both girls’ first true field day experience.
Parents with a background check were allowed to volunteer, so you better believe I signed up right away to help! This was the only opportunity all school year for parents to be at school with the kids. There was no eating lunch with the kids, no volunteering in the classrooms, no class parties, no PTA performances, etc., so I was really looking forward to seeing the girls with their teachers and classmates.
I was assigned to be in charge of the egg relay, which was interesting because it was a VERY windy day. The eggs kept blowing away when they were on the ground, so you can imagine how hard it was for the kids to balance them on a big spoon ;)
Kindergarten through 2nd grade had field day on the same day, so I got to see both girls come through my station that morning. Savannah took her egg carrying very seriously ;)
By this point in the morning, we had switched to carrying the eggs with a black “donut”, which worked much better than the spoons :) The kids all seemed the enjoy the egg relay! We tried walking backwards and carrying the eggs on our heads to make it extra challenging. We even challenged some of the teachers to participate! It was fun.
Mrs. Borys shared some more pictures of her class having fun at Field Day. I wasn’t able to go with the girls to the other stations, but they said afterward that they had a great time!
Mrs. Borys and all of her kiddos
Abigail, future soccer star!
May 20th was Very Enjoyable Treat Day for the letter “V”. The kids enjoyed donuts for breakfast…Mrs. Borys’ favorite!
Brooklyn had her last soccer practice of the season on May 20th…
Savannah drew her own city, and I thought she did such a great job!
I found this canvas at Hobby Lobby, and I thought it suited Brooklyn perfectly. It says: “Here sleeps a girl with a head full of magical dreams, a heart full of wonder, and hands that will shape the world.” Brooklyn is always dreaming and so imaginative…we have no doubt she’ll do big things one day!
Abigail and I walked the big girls to school on May 21st, and then we walked down to the Bradford Creek Greenway. I let Abigail spend some time throwing rocks in the creek before we headed back home. I enjoy getting to do things like that one-on-one with her while Brooklyn and Savannah are at school.
Savannah wanted to help push Abigail home in the stroller that afternoon…
She’s getting so big!
Brooklyn learned about humpback whales this month. I loved her artwork.
On May 21st, the Mighty Mermaids had their last soccer practice of the season. Coach MJ and Coach Alison gave the girls some mermaid goody bags after practice and told them what they’d done well over the season.
Coach MJ appreciated how well Savannah followed directions and hustled in the games. Savannah was excited about all the fun stuff in her goody bag!
Savannah wanted to wear her mermaid hair clips and hair tie during her game the next morning :)
May 22nd – ready for the last games of the season!!
Savannah drew some pictures for her coaches. I thought the mermaids playing soccer were priceless!
Unfortunately, today’s games were overlapping. Savannah played at 10 AM at Palmer, and Brooklyn played at 10:30 AM at Dublin, so we had to split up. I took Savannah to her game, and Travis took the other girls to Brooklyn’s game.
Savannah did great in her game! She scored 2 goals, ran super fast, played hard, and had fun.
Felicity’s grandmother came to most of the games and usually brought her dog with her. Savannah loved her! She is such a sweet and gentle dog.
“1..2..3…Mighty Mermaids!”
They had mermaid popsicles for snack after the game…a big hit and the perfect treat for the last game. The Mighty Mermaids did so great this season…it was a great group of girls and parents!
Savannah and I made it to Brooklyn’s game and got there in time to see the 4th quarter.
One of the dads told me when we got there that it was Brooklyn’s best game of the season. Apparently all the girls played really well! The Galaxy Queens still lost, but this was our closest game of the season…we only lost 2-0, and we had several chances to score that just didn’t go in.
Brooklyn played the whole game and got to be goalie for a quarter. She tried her best and had fun!
After the game, we went to Brooklyn’s team party at Madi’s house. It was in her backyard, and the kids all had so much fun. They had a sprinkler set up with water balloons and water guns, and pizza/dessert for lunch.
Brooklyn loved squirting Coach Joe with water guns and chasing him around the yard with buckets of water…haha. He is so fun and was a great sport!
We loved this group of parents and kids too. I think this has been our most fun season of soccer so far.
It was exhausting at times trying to get to all the practices and games with 2 girls playing, but so worth it for the fun and memories!
Mrs. Borys’ birthday was on May 24th, just a few days before the end of the school year.
I organized a class gift for her birthday by taking up money from the other parents and buying a couple of gift cards and some of her favorite snacks/items.
I found the CUTEST magnetic-closing box at Michael’s to put everything in. Brooklyn delivered the gift to Mrs. Borys that morning, and I think she was surprised. She said she felt very loved :)
I had to get a picture of my Pookie in her polar bear shirt that morning too…
Savannah’s class was studying ocean animals for the last couple of weeks of school, and Mrs. Curry helped them make several ocean animal crafts to decorate their desk.
Mrs. Curry also sent me this picture of Savannah with Mrs. Gray, the school librarian. Each of the kids got to take home a new book, and Savannah got a Puppy Dog Pals book.
Abigail and I met Alisha, Luke, and Barrett at Creekwood Park for the kids to play for a little while during that last week of school. As you can see from their red faces, it was already getting hot outside!
I asked Mrs. Curry if she could get a picture of Savannah and her together before the end of the year. I should have taken their picture together on the first day of school when I was able to walk her in…because after that, I never had another chance to!!
Wednesday, May 26th was the last day of school! We walked to school that morning with Sarah and her girls…
…and took their picture out front before they all went inside. It was Lucy’s last day of elementary school…a bittersweet day for sure.
Mrs. Borys took some pictures of her class on the last day of school, of course! She spoiled us with all the photos this year.
When the kids came walking out of the school for the last time that school year, Brooklyn had her head hanging down, and I could tell she was legitimately sad to be done with 2nd grade. I had to fight back some tears of my own, as silly as that sounds. The girls just had the most AMAZING teachers, and I knew we would probably never have another year like that again.
First day (August 2020) vs. Last Day (May 2021)…they sure did grow!
I posted this on Facebook on May 27th, and thought I would share it here because it sums up just how awesome the girls’ teachers were. I truly think we had the two of the best teachers in the whole school.
“Yesterday was last day of school for Brooklyn and Savannah. It has been very bittersweet. I’m not usually much of a crier, but this week has really gotten to me! We couldn’t have asked for better teachers during such a crazy year, and it’s hard to let them go.
Brooklyn absolutely loved Mrs. Borys!! She did such a great job of making the year fun and educational at the same time. Brooklyn woke up before her alarm many mornings because she was just so excited to get to school. I appreciated how Mrs. Borys really made sure her kids knew they were capable, valued, and loved. They did a class chant along those lines every day…”Our class is a family. Our brains are bright. We are special! We can do hard things…yes we can! We will have a great day…let’s get started!” I also appreciated how Mrs. Borys took lots of pictures throughout the year. (I take way too many pictures on a daily basis…so that spoke to my momma heart). She also came to one of Brooklyn’s soccer games this spring! Brooklyn learned so much, came home happy from school each day, and couldn’t wait to get back the next day to see Mrs. Borys again.
Savannah had an equally amazing teacher this year in Mrs. Curry! We couldn’t have handpicked a better kindergarten teacher for Savannah if we tried. Mrs. Curry was so nurturing and caring and did a great job of gently encouraging Savannah to come out of her shell. Mrs. Curry went above and beyond with all the desk transformations (if you have to sit behind a plexiglass shield at your desk, why not turn it into a barn, rocket ship, or gingerbread house?). They did so many cute crafts, and Savannah loved doing all the science experiments too. I was constantly blown away at how Mrs. Curry kept coming up with ways to make kindergarten fun despite all the restrictions. Savannah learned so much and tackled so many growth opportunities this year. Most of all, I appreciated how Mrs. Curry prayed for her kids, lived out her faith, and gave so much of herself despite undergoing so many trials this year.
Overall, I’m just amazed and very thankful at how well the school year went. I really didn’t know what to expect (other than knowing it would be a rollercoaster because of covid). I’m so proud of our teachers and kids for their flexibility and determination to have a great year no matter what was thrown their way. Despite the many schedule changes, masks, social distancing, lack of field trips, etc., somehow this turned out to be an absolutely amazing year for our girls, and Mrs. Borys and Mrs. Curry deserve all the credit for their hard work and dedication. We are beyond grateful.”
On May 27th, Travis and I dropped the girls off in Trussville with my parents and headed to Mount Pleasant, TN to meet John and Sylvia for a 2 night couples trip. We’d been talking about doing a trip like this with them for a while, and we finally made it happen!
Mount Pleasant is a tiny town in the middle of nowhere in Tennessee. We were supposed to stay in Chattanooga, but the Airbnb host cancelled on us 9 days before our trip. It was pretty aggravating to have to find a different place to stay at the last minute, but it actually worked out fine in the end. We loved the Airbnb loft in Mount Pleasant. It was perfect for what we needed and had super comfortable beds, a small kitchen, and was located right above a local coffee shop.
We ate dinner the first night at Mount Pleasant Grille, a short walk from the loft. We got pimento cheese fritters for an appetizer, and they were DELICIOUS!! Maybe the best appetizer I’ve ever had. That night we played Code Names. It was a lot of fun!
The next day, we made waffles in the loft for breakfast (the host left us waffle mix and all the stuff we needed to make them, including eggs!), ate lunch at the coffee shop, walked around a little bit, played Monopoly all afternoon, and drove to Columbia for dinner at the Southern Tre’ Steakhouse.
I didn’t realize Columbia had such a cute downtown area with so many shops. After dinner, we played more Codenames and then Hearts. The next morning, we played hearts before checking out of our loft at 11 AM. We then drove over to Ethridge, TN to check out a nearby Amish community. It was neat to walk around and check out the market and some of the things they made.
We then ate lunch at a local butcher shop called Shaffer Farms Custom Meat. They served BBQ in addition to selling all kinds of meats. It was delicious!! We definitely ate good on this trip. We really enjoyed spending time with John and Sylvia. They are so special to us!!
Meanwhile, the girls were having a blast with Paw and Rae Rae doing all sorts of fun things.
They went to a nearby splash pad…
ate some yummy pancakes topped with fruit and chocolate chips…
played a couple of games of dominoes…
picked a TON of blackberries at Witt Farms in Hayden on the way to the lake…
…and made strawberry cupcakes!
Not surprisingly, they arrived back to our house happy but exhausted! I’m sure Paw and Rae Rae were too. We enjoyed our weekend getaway and really appreciated Paw and Rae Rae for keeping and entertaining the girls for us.
Memorial Day was on May 31st, and Tyler and Alisha invited us over for a cookout in their backyard. The girls had their first day of swim lessons earlier that day (more details to come in a later post), so we weren’t sure how much energy they would have left by the end of the day, but we all still had a great time.
It’s hard to go wrong with hotdogs and s’mores!!
Notes and Quotes from the Last Half of May:
- 5/17/21 – Gabby was sitting in my lap, and Abigail climbed up on the couch right beside me. She said, “This is her privacy” while rubbing her back. “What is her privacy?” I asked. Abigail replied, “It means she wants some alone time to be petted.” :)
- 5/18/21 – Travis announced after dinner: “If your name is Pookie or Peapod, get butt naked and get in the tub!” Abigail promptly responded, “Butt naked is on its way!” and giggled all the way to her room. She’s a little ham!
- 5/20/21 – Abigail was showing Daddy a new tiger stuffed animal that she got today: “Where did you get that?” Daddy asked. (Then Abigail came to me and asked where she got it, and I told her to say, “from Ms. Susan”, so she did. “Who’s Ms. Susan?” Daddy asked. “She’s a girl. She belongs outside.” Abigail explained. Susan is the school crossing guard, and apparently she “belongs outside”…haha.
- 5/23/21 – Abigail came into our bathroom and asked, “Can you get me more cereal?” I said, “Hang on just a minute. Let me finish flossing.” She replied, “What is flossing?” Then she watched me for a minute. “Oh, it’s pulling out your teeth!” I told her I wasn’t pulling out my teeth. Then she asked, “Tying your teeth?” :)
- 5/24/21 – Brooklyn set up a candy shop in her room selling candy for 5 cents/piece. Abigail (who has no concept of money) was so excited that she spent almost all her money buying up Brooklyn’s candy for sale…haha. Later, Brooklyn helped Abigail set up her own candy shop in her room with a bowl of candy for sale. They paraded around the house announcing their candy shops were open. Savannah, who had been outside playing, heard the news and grabbed her allowance jar. She went to Abigail’s room first, but Abigail immediately started shrieking, “No!!! I need some alone time with my candy!!” Apparently she didn’t really want to sell it after all ;)
- 5/26/21 – Last day of school was today! Both girls weren’t ready for the school year to end. They both would have been happy to keep going to school a little longer. They have just LOVED their teachers so much this year. We were blessed with incredible teachers!! I have cried off and on all week thinking about the school year coming to an end. I just feel so thankful that the year went so well despite all the covid craziness and ups and downs. Somehow we never had to quarantine and miss school!! Can’t believe that. The girls learned so much and just had a fantastic year. Mrs. Curry gave Savannah a book with a personalized note inside that was so sweet. Brooklyn is hoping to see Mrs. Borys over the summer. She wants to invite her to go swimming with us sometime…haha. I told her we’d have to see what she was up for ;)
Thanks for reading!!
