Whew May! It came as no surprise that May ended up being jam packed. There are so many fun end-of-the-year school activities in May, but it gets a little crazy to manage it all. I have over 300 pictures from this month alone…haha. Here are the best of what I got with details about what we were up to:
Aurora was making us all smile on May 1st. She kept wanting Travis to pick her up and hold her :)
The first week in May was Teacher Appreciation week at school, and Savannah made a sweet card for her art teacher, Mrs. Baeder.
Brooklyn ended up staying home from school on May 3rd, and we found out she had strep throat at the doctor that day. My throat had been hurting pretty bad for a couple of days also, so I was able to call my own doctor and get an antibiotic called in to the pharmacy. Savannah and Abigail had sore throats the week before (although I didn’t think much of it because they didn’t complain too much), so Dr. Dudley prescribed medicine for all three girls! Next time, if I get a really painful sore throat where it hurts to swallow, I’ll know immediately what it is. I think that was my first time having strep throat since I was a kid, and it wasn’t much fun.
With four of us on meds at the same time, I needed sticky notes to keep it all straight. Did I mention Travis was out of town for a couple of days that week too? It was a little crazy, but we survived!
May the 4th – Star Wars Day in Mrs. Pride’s class :)
On May 5th, Savannah’s class went outside for a poetry picnic. They ate “dirt and worms”, learned about the layers of soil, and practiced reading poetry out loud together. Sounded like a fun afternoon!
Caroline and Savannah :)
Brooklyn got to practice being goalie during soccer practice that evening. That goal seems so big for a 9 year old to defend!
Abigail and I went over to Emily’s house on May 6th for a “mom morning” with Emily, Alison, and Sarah. Abigail and Addie had fun playing together and twirling for us in their princess dresses in the living room :)
Savannah got some polar bear oven mitts for her birthday, and she used them for the first time that evening when she helped me get something hot out of the oven!
She also tried out another birthday gift after supper…her two-wheeled scooter :)
On May 7th, Savannah played at 9 AM at Palmer, and Brooklyn’s game was at 10 AM in Harvest. Travis took Savannah to her game and then they came to Brooklyn’s game and were only a few minutes late.
Savannah’s team won 5-0! Savannah didn’t score but played hard and had fun. She said they had ice cream sandwiches for snack…yum!
Brooklyn’s game was interesting. The Harvest AYSO region was doing something called Silent Saturday, which meant that the coaches couldn’t direct the players during the game, and parents weren’t allowed to yell or cheer for the players…only clapping was allowed. It was an exercise in self control!! I thought I might need to duct tape my mouth shut…haha.
Brooklyn played so hard…she was zooming all over the field. She had 2 shots on goal in the first half, and she was so close to scoring but neither one went in. She finally scored in the 3rd quarter when she got the ball on a goal kick and dribbled it up and shot it past the goalie. Her teammates were so excited, and Harper carried her all the way back to midfield…haha. Her team ended up losing 3-1, which Brooklyn was disappointed about afterward, but she really played hard out there. I was so proud of her effort! They only had 1 sub, so she played the whole game (never played goalie, so it was a lot of running today).
May 8th was Mother’s Day, and I asked Travis to take a picture of me with the girls before church that morning. We all went outside into the front yard because I feel like our pictures always turn out better with natural light. While we were out there, Brooklyn saw a bird in the flower bed and she ran over to it and spooked it. It flew away in a hurry and then Travis said, “I think that bird just pooped on me!” Sure enough, there was bird poop all over his dress shirt and tie and even his shoe. It was a good thing it didn’t land in his hair, or else we definitely would’ve been late to church. The girls and I all got a big laugh, and Travis hurried to change his clothes as quickly as possible. He did take our picture first at least! ;)
We got takeout from Luigi’s and ate it at Tyler and Alisha’s for lunch. The food was delicious!
Mrs. Pride helped her kids make the cutest Mother’s Day crafts. These little canvases came home with a magnet on the back! Perfect for our fridge :)
She even wrapped their canvases and helped them make a love bug card with their fingerprints. It was such a thoughtful gift :)
Savannah also made this for me for Mother’s Day!
I love the handmade cards and crafts more than any other gifts!
Abigail loves to play outside with me when her big sisters are at school. We usually end up playing soccer or kicking the big pink ball around.
Brooklyn and Savannah went to an American Girl Doll book club meeting on May 9th at the library. They have monthly meetings that focus on a different American Girl each time, and this month was all about Molly. The girls brought their dolls to the meeting, and it sounded like they had a good time. They learned about life during the 1940s and made some crafts, including an origami swan!
The meeting was only for girls ages 6-12, so Abigail and I read some books, and she played in the kids’ area while we waited.
We walked to school with the Dyess girls on May 10th.
That morning, we met Alisha, Luke, and Barrett at the North Huntsville library for storytime with Ms. Mandee. We didn’t know until we got there that it was her last week of storytime ever! She was going to be taking a new job at the Space and Rocket Center. We were so sad to hear that because Mandee has always done such a great job with storytime. I’m glad we got to see her one last time at least.
The theme for storytime was farm animals, and Abigail had fun making this cow craft at home later.
Savannah earned a super star certificate on May 11th for learning all her subtraction facts :)
Mrs. Pride had a fun countdown to summer during the last 10 days of school, and each of those days had something fun for the kids to look forward to. May 12th was show-and-tell day! Savannah brought a Star Wars LEGO creation that she’d made to show the class.
The girls don’t play with our water table much anymore, so Abigail thought it was extra fun when I put water in it and gave her some pool toys to play with.
May 12th was also Senior Stroll day, where all of the graduating seniors who attended Mill Creek for elementary school got to come back and parade down the halls. All of the kids and teachers lined the hallways and cheered for them. A fun tradition!
Brooklyn’s soccer team ended their practice that evening with a team cheer :)
May 13th was the Sight Word Superhero Parade. Savannah missed the parade in December even though she was eligible to walk because she was quarantining when Brooklyn had COVID. So she was very excited to be at school this time!
When Brooklyn was in the 1st grade, the sight word superhero parade was held inside the school. But they have since started having it outside in the carline area, and the kids march in a big circle while the families and kids from other grades clap and cheer. The teachers play music, and it’s a lot of fun.
The kids all wore their capes and masks and looked so cute!
We were very proud of Savannah for learning all her 1st grade sight words :)
It was a very sunny day ;) Cici came too, but I forgot to get her picture with Savannah.
Some of the kids from other grades even made signs to hold up during the parade. Savannah brought one home in her backpack that day. I thought that was sweet!
Mrs. Pride and her class after the parade
Unrelated to the superhero parade, Mrs. Pride’s class did a STEAM activity that day where they tried to balance 3 rolls of toilet paper on their heads as fast as possible. Savannah and Gabriella were the winners with the fastest times :)
Savannah had soccer practice that evening, and afterward we walked over to the softball fields to watch a few minutes of Felicity’s game. We caught the last few minutes of Caroline’s game too. These girls are sweet friends!
Abigail and I checked out a really cute book from the library called “How to Give Your Cat a Bath in 5 Easy Steps,” and Brooklyn decided to read it to Gabby :) I doubt we’ll be trying to give her a bath anytime soon though!
Abigail loves it when Gabby jumps up on the bench during breakfast!
On May 14th, Brooklyn and Savannah both played at Palmer Park, but their games were pretty much at the same time. Brooklyn played at 9:45 on Palmer 1, and Savannah played at 10 AM on Palmer 4. I took Savannah to her game, and Travis stayed with Brooklyn at hers. Savannah’s team took some pictures before the game, and I liked how this one of Savannah turned out!
Savannah’s team played well and won by several goals I believe. (I forgot to write the score down). The other team’s coach was pretty intense, and I think it made Savannah nervous. She came to the sideline talking about how the other coach wasn’t very nice.
Running through the tunnel after the game is always one of the best parts!
We walked as quickly as we could up to Brooklyn’s field, and they had just finished :( Her team lost 1-0, but Travis said they played really well. They only had 6 girls there, and the other team still played with 7 (tacky, in my opinion), so not only did Brooklyn’s team not have any subs but they were down a player for the entire game. Brooklyn passed to Lilliana who scored, but she was offside so it didn’t count.
Sounded like they did great to only lose by 1 goal considering they had one less player!
We packed our lunch before the games and headed straight from the girls’ games to Toney to see Carter’s game. We hadn’t been able to see him play all season, so this was our last chance before the season ended. His team did great, and we even got to see Carter score a goal. They won by several goals.
Abigail and Savannah played soccer in the field behind us with Luke and Barrett. Mr. Phil even got out there and kicked the ball around with them ;)
It was a soccer-filled morning! We spent most of the afternoon putting out fresh mulch in our flower beds, so we were all worn out by the time it got dark outside. (The girls played outside while we put out the mulch). It was a busy but good day.
Ready for church on May 15th!
The cousins have invented something that they call a “best friends hug”…where everyone stands on one foot in a big group hug until they all fall down to the floor :)
Savannah and Caroline have been in the same class for 2 years, and it’s been neat to see their friendship grow.
May 16th-20th was the last full week of school, and Travis was out of town on work travel in TX. It was probably the craziest week on the calendar in terms of activities, but the girls and I took some time on May 16th after supper for a walk/bike ride near our neighborhood. It’s hard to be stressed when you’re on the greenway!
Mrs. Pride told the kids they could bring a game to school on May 17th, and Savannah brought her Battleship card game :)
May 18th was K-2 Field Day, and I volunteered during the morning shift. (Marilyn was so sweet to babysit Abigail during both field days for me.)
I was at the leaky bucket station both mornings with Sarah. It wasn’t too hot the first morning, but it was definitely hotter on the 2nd day. It was a lot of fun volunteering! The kids all seemed to love the leaky bucket relay.
Savannah said it was one of her favorite activities! We loved seeing how much fun the kids were having.
Getting wet felt good on a warm day!
I got several pictures of Savannah from friends that were working at other stations that day. She had a blast!
Some of Savannah’s other favorite stations were the inflatables, tug of war, and soccer relay.
Savannah with Felicity, Caroline, Annie, and Lilliana
Savannah got a blue raspberry snow cone at field day and said it was delicious. I was glad she had such a fun day!
After I got home from field day that morning, I hurried to take Abigail over to Leslie’s house for a preschool playdate with her bible class friends. Aren’t they the cutest?
They had lunch while they were there…
and worked on a little science project (making a “Nile river” in an aluminum tin). She had a great time, but had a meltdown getting into the car after so much activity in one day ;) I enjoyed getting lunch with Alisha at Chicken Salad Chick and browsing Hobby Lobby afterward. That afternoon Abigail wanted to check on her river about 20 minutes after we “flooded” it to see if the grass had grown yet…haha.
She then passed out on the couch at 4:45 PM waiting on her turn to play a computer game ;)
Brooklyn’s field day was on Thursday, May 19th.
By the time I saw her at the leaky bucket relay, she had mud all over her backside and was soaking wet…haha. She was having a blast. She acted a little embarrassed to see me, but she told me later she was glad I was there ;)
I loved seeing her carry the leaky bucket on top of her head in true Brooklyn fashion…trying to get as wet as possible :) She didn’t want to bring a towel to school like the PE coaches suggested but later told me she wished she’d had one after all. Guess they knew what they were talking about…haha
I snapped a quick picture of Brooklyn with her friend, Jacob. They have known each other since the summer before kindergarten!
Brooklyn’s favorite activity of the day was the inflatables. She also got a Tiger’s Blood snow cone and said it was really good. It was interesting seeing how competitive the 3rd-5th graders were compared to the younger grades. They took the leaky bucket relay very seriously. It was a hot but fun morning!
Savannah was allowed to bring a stuffed animal to school on May 19th :)
Somewhere in there that week, I also found time to run to Target and buy some things for a class gift for Mrs. Prevatt. We learned that she was pregnant and due in November, so Katherine (the other room mom) and I collected money to buy her a baby gift as a class.
Brooklyn had soccer practice that evening…
Savannah wanted to help push Abigail to school on May 20th.
Savannah’s class had Rock Star day at school that day :)
May 20th was also Brooklyn’s field trip to Roller Time Skate Center. Mrs. Prevatt took two chaperones, and I was excited to be able to attend. (Kaylee babysat Abigail at home.) I was surprised to find out when we got there that they actually had some educational activities planned and it wasn’t just skating the whole time. They started out with a STEM presentation for all the kids, and then they broke up into 3 groups to rotate to different stations. At one station, the kids assembled roller skates that had been taken apart. It was interesting to see how many little parts it takes to make up a roller skate! They also went to a station to learn about friction and another station where they were supposed to design a skate trainer on paper.
After that, it was time to skate! It was interesting to see that many kids skating at one time. Someone was constantly falling down! Brooklyn fell a few times, but did much better at skating than she did the last time she skated a few years ago. She had a lot of fun!
Brooklyn with one of her best friends this year, Dylan
We gave Mrs. Prevatt her baby gift basket from the class after we got back to the school. She is expecting a baby boy in November! It was fun to get to talk to her on the bus and at the skating rink…I felt like I knew her better by the end of the day than I did before. We just really haven’t gotten to interact much this year. It was a fun day! Brooklyn was all about her friends the whole time…at least this time I was better prepared for it than I was on the fall field trip!
Savannah went to Chloe’s house after school that day for Friend Friday and had a great time!
We went to Savannah’s soccer practice that night, and Abigail enjoyed playing with Gabriella’s little sister, Mia :)
May 21st was the last day of spring soccer! Savannah’s game was at 10:30 am at Dublin field 4, where we’ve never played before. There was some confusion about which field (A,B,C, or D) we were on and which team we were playing, so we aren’t even sure we played the right team. The girls on the other team definitely seemed tall, so they could have been an 8U team.
The teams were pretty evenly matched, and it was a very close game. It was tied 1-1 until the very last second when the other team scored to win it. Savannah played great defense today!! She definitely kept them from scoring several more goals than they would have otherwise.
Caroline came to watch the girls play today!
The girls had popsicles after the game :)
The coaches passed out medals too. Savannah was in tears during lunch later because they lost the last game of the season. She takes it very seriously.
Brooklyn’s game was at 1:30 in New Market at Sharon Johnston Park. It was HOT by that point in the day and they only had 6 players to start out with again. (The 7th showed up a few minutes after the game started). It seemed like the Galactic Cheetahs were out of steam before the 1st quarter even ended.
Brooklyn played defense, midfield, and goalie today. She tried her best, but the other team just had more energy (and subs, which made a difference!).
After the game, we had a short celebration with cupcakes, frozen grapes, and Gatorade. The girls were exhausted. Coach Joe gave certificates to each girl for what they’d done well over the season…
Brooklyn received the Outstanding Ball Handler award. She has definitely improved a lot in her dribbling skills this season as well as her anticipation and awareness of what’s going on during the game. She played soccer at recess a lot this school year, which I’m sure helped her with all that extra practice.
The girls enjoyed their soccer seasons and had a lot of fun overall!
On May 23rd, Mrs. Pride allowed the kids to bring a blanket or sleeping bag for some fun reading time on the floor. Savannah brought her nap mat that she never got to use in kindergarten (because of COVID). She was excited to finally use it!
Abigail was thrilled to see some grass growing around her “Nile River”, so we had to take a picture to send to Mrs. Leslie :)
For Mrs. Pride’s end-of-the-year gift, I wrote a note inside this book and gave it to her along with a small gift card. She had mentioned that she liked the book when Travis read it to the class in March, so I thought it would a good one to add to her classroom library.
Savannah and her classmates did a sorting activity together on May 24th.
Mrs. Pride also gave out awards to her kids that day. Savannah received the Bubbles Award “for always having a bubbly and enthusiastic attitude.” :)
Savannah’s end-of-the-year class party was that afternoon.
Mrs. Pride wanted to do a luau theme for the party. She had all the stuff for the activities already, so all I needed to bring were a few things like popsicles, chalk, and the bubble machine. We had the party outside near the library, and thankfully the weather cooperated!! It sprinkled on us a little, but I was glad we didn’t have to end the party early.
We had quite a few parents come, which was great!!
Mrs. Pride had the kids rotate in groups to the different stations…
The stations were pineapple bowling, bean bag toss, popsicles, and pool noodle limbo…
which turned into pool noodle hurdles…haha
The kids had fun, and it was very low key! The end of the school year is always so bittersweet because we hate to let good teachers like Mrs. Pride go.
Wednesday, May 25th was the last day of 3rd grade for Brooklyn…
…and the last day of 1st grade for Savannah. Hard to believe!
We took a picture with the regular walker kids that morning before they went inside for the last time!
Mrs. Pride took some pictures on the last day too…
Mrs. Pride gave me a plant as a thank you gift for being her room mom, and I managed to keep it alive all summer ;)
Freedom!! :)
The last day of school was a half day, and we met several families at the pool after lunch for some playtime. Might have to make this an annual tradition.
The girls had so much fun!
Brooklyn made herself a schedule for how she wanted to spend her summer days. I like how she included a 10 minute period of “waiting for lunch” haha.
I love that the summer allows for more free time for the girls to just PLAY.
I guess Abigail can fall asleep just about anywhere ;)
We went on an evening walk/scooter ride around the neighborhood on May 27th…
May 28th was the Saturday before Memorial Day, and we drove down to the lake for the day. Abigail woke up so early that morning that she fell asleep in the car at 10 AM on the way there!
We ate lunch on the porch before it was time to swim…
Abigail was scared of fish biting her this trip and wanted to be in the water but kept getting out and back in over and over.
Savananh is finally interested in going down the slide this year…she did it a couple of times! Abigail went down once and didn’t like it because she got water up her nose ;)
The girls also enjoyed jet ski rides with Rae Rae.
Savannah spotted some minnows in the water and tried to catch them with a tea pitcher…haha.
We were surprised when she actually did catch some!! They were so small that I thought they were bugs at first.
We had a great time!
The girls wanted to check out Cici’s new fountain on her back patio after Sunday lunch…
There was an early bird discount for signing up for fall soccer by May 31st, and look who we signed up! Yes, we are officially crazy for letting all three girls play at the same time ;) Abigail couldn’t wait to get started!!
The girls invited us to a special carnival in the playroom that evening…
Seeing what they come up with for games and entertainment is always interesting…haha. This was a homemade pinata!
Travis ran the Cotton Row 10K on Memorial Day with Matt, and I decided to take the girls to go watch. I got them up at 5:50 AM, so it was an early morning, but everything went really smoothly. Cici met us there. We were parked by 6:40 AM and found a good spot to stand not too far from the starting line. We saw Travis there and at the finish line, so we had a while to wait in between. The girls made signs to cheer him on and shouted “Go Daddy!”.
The first runners finished in about 29 minutes, so after that, the girls were wondering why it took Daddy so long to finish…haha. We had fun cheering on the other runners and looking for Matt and him.
They both did great!
That evening, we ate at Matt and Maggie’s for supper and the kids played out in the backyard. They ended up playing a soccer game (girls vs. dads), which was entertaining to watch. Brooklyn scored the winning goal for the kids team! :)
On May 31st, the girls helped with the Millstone Newspaper Yard Sale in front of Elaina and Bristol’s house. We made lemonade (with freshly squeezed lemons) and sold cookies too.
It was a pretty hot day, but Emily set up an umbrella for the kids to sit under.
They sold a lot of lemonade and cookies and a few toys too…
The girls decided to flag down the neighbors by waving pool noodles at them…haha
It was a fun morning together!
That afternoon, the girls had their last haircut with Sydney…they were actually her last clients ever. (She has been doing wedding photography for a while, and has decided to focus solely on that instead of trying to cut hair too). We took her flowers and a cookie and homemade card to celebrate her last day at the salon. We were sad to lose her…she has been cutting the girls’ (and my) hair for years!!
Notes and Quotes from May 2022:
- 5/14/22 – Savannah was telling us what kind of shapes she saw in the clouds as we were driving. Abigail said, “That is so hilarious. It’s complicated.” I asked her, “What does complicated mean?” She shouted out, “Not telling!! Secret!!” :)
- 5/16/22 – Abigail and I were at Publix going down the aisle with the cereal and breakfast bars. We saw Poptarts on sale, and she got excited. “Can we buy Top Parts??” It was so cute. I think I’m going to have to call them Top Parts from now on :)
Whew, that was long!! If you stuck with me to the end, you’re a trooper!! May was definitely a crazy month for us!!
