May is always a crazy month – it rivals December in terms of how busy it is with all of the end of the school year activities. Savannah’s birthday celebrations also spilled over into May, as well as soccer games, Mother’s Day, and a family vacation at the end of the month (which I will save for a separate post). If you make it to the end of this post, you get a medal ;) Here’s the recap:
Savannah got a game called Rush Hour for her birthday, and it’s a nice, portable game that can be played by yourself or with a friend as well as in the car!
This month–until the last day of school–we were still dealing with crazy amounts of cars cutting through our neighborhood because of the nearby road construction. As you can imagine, quite a few of them were not following the speed limit as they drove down our street. It was so bad that I didn’t feel like the girls could ride their bikes or cross the street to play with friends because it wasn’t safe. I was frustrated enough that I spoke to multiple police officers who drove through our neighborhood about the situation and even gave them permission to park in our driveway to catch speeders…haha. One of them, Officer Landrom, took me up on my offer and parked in our driveway off and on all day on May 1st. When I spoke to him after school, he told me that he’d already pulled at least 10 cars over that day! The girls were super interested, and Abigail drew him a picture to tell him thank you. He was really nice and even showed the girls how to use his radar gun and let them try it out. I’m thankful for the fantastic police officers we have in our city!
Can you spot a wild and crazy Cassie in our closet? She knows no fear!
Rather than have a birthday party, Savannah decided she wanted to see a Huntsville City FC game and invite Gabriella (her friend and soccer teammate) to go with us. We ate at Farm Burger before the game, and the burgers were delicious. The girls had never eaten there before. Savannah opened a couple of gifts from Gabriella in the car on the way to the game afterward :) She is blessed to have such a sweet, loyal friend!
This was our first time to see a Huntsville City FC game, and we all really enjoyed it. I think all of us agreed we preferred this over seeing a Trash Pandas baseball game. The stadium is so small that there’s not a bad seat in the house! It had been raining earlier in the day, but cleared up nicely in time for the game. It was funny that the girls saw their teacher, Mrs. Davidson, before the game started, and she was so surprised to see them. The game itself was fun to watch. Huntsville was playing Atlanta, and the score was tied 2-2 at the end of regulation. We figured it would end in a tie, but they went straight to penalty kicks! We were able to walk around the stadium to be closer to the action, which was exciting. Huntsville ended up losing 4-5 after penalty kicks, but it was a great game. We are looking forward to going to another game in the future!
I ate lunch with Abigail on May 6th, and her friend Evelyn joined us :)
Savannah’s GE class finished up their unit on arcade games this month, and several kindergarten classes got to try them out one afternoon. Savannah and her group made a “claw machine” with real prizes inside :)
Last house day of the year was on May 9th :)
What cute and sweet kittens!
Brooklyn and Savannah practiced all through the month with the 12U tournament team that was preparing to play in a tournament on Father’s Day weekend. They had a few Monday practices throughout the season, although some of the practices were rained out. Coach Theresa and Coach Brian also scheduled a couple of scrimmage games to help them get some practice with these girls in a game-like setting. The first one was on May 9th at 5:45 pm on Palmer 10 against AYSO United 2014 girls. We were interested to see how the tournament team would match up against a club team of girls that had been playing together for several years. It turned out to be a pretty evenly matched game! It was very exciting to watch. Brooklyn played 3 out of the 4 quarters and scored the game’s only goal. Savannah played 2 quarters and looked initially hesitant and uncomfortable/nervous, but got more comfortable as the game went on. She kicked a ball away from our team’s goal that was right on the line and close to going in, which would have tied up the score. She also had one good chance to score on a corner kick. The girls were very excited to win 1-0, especially since they’d never played a game together with most of these girls and still didn’t know everyone’s names.
Abigail’s team finally got to play a game on May 10th after 3 weeks off due to rain. They played at 8:45 am at Dublin 4. Abigail had an assist in the 1st quarter and scored 2 goals later in the game. We think this was their best game of the season and first win! Final score was 5-2. Abigail ran hard and tried her best. I always love watching her play.
We went home to eat a quick pizza lunch with Rae Rae and Paw and the Bares fam, who came up to celebrate Savannah’s belated birthday and Mother’s Day. Savannah requested cookie cake for dessert, and it took her several blows to blow out all 10 candles. She’s getting too old! She opened presents after that and was excited to receive some new books, a stopwatch, and a Detroit Lions hat and shirt that looks like a jersey.
It started to rain before it was time to leave for Brooklyn and Savannah’s game at 1 pm at Palmer 7. Usually they are quick to close the soccer fields when it rains, but maybe because it is close to the end of the season and they’d closed the fields the previous 2 Saturdays, they were more lenient today and let them play in the rain. It was only around 60 degrees, so it definitely felt cool out there with the rain too. The girls had a fun time playing in the rain! They were playing the same team they played in their 2nd game of the season. This time, they won 6-2. Savannah scored the second goal of the day, and Brooklyn scored 2 goals in the 2nd half. They both got to play the entire game today. They were excited to be back on the field with their regular teammates! I loved the picture of Christian watching the girls play from the car. I think he wanted to be out there with his cousins :)
Abigail made friends during the game with the younger sister of a girl on the other team. Her name was Dylan. They wandered around in the rain during the game and eventually ended up behind the teams’ tents on the opposite sideline. We could tell they were putting something in an umbrella, and when they came back around to our sideline, we discovered that they were catching tadpoles out of a puddle! Abigail asked to bring one home in an empty plastic water bottle..haha. She named him Little Tad. We kept Little Tad in a cup on the counter for a little while when we got home, but then we convinced her to let him go in the puddles in our backyard since we didn’t have any algae to feed him. She was sad, but it was for the best. What a fun memory!
Cassie and Willow were cuddling so sweetly that evening :)
Mother’s Day was on May 11th, and we had a very yummy lunch at Tyler and Alisha’s house. I always love homemade cards and artwork, and Travis got me a pretty bouquet of flowers. It took a few days for them to open up, but the lilies had the biggest blooms I’ve ever seen!
On May 12th, Abigail and her classmates went to the “syllable division hospital” at school ;) Mrs. Pride makes learning so much fun!
I’ve never miscalculated as badly on the rain as I did that afternoon…haha. Sometimes if it looks like it will be raining at pickup time, I will either do carline or park at the nearby dog park to get Savannah and Abigail from school. For whatever reason, I took the chance and walked from home instead, and it literally started to monsoon just as the girls were walking out. To say we got SOAKED is an understatement. The umbrellas only helped a little, and so much rain fell that it was like wading through a river on the sidewalk. We made a memory though that I’ll never forget!
Other pictures from 1st grade this month :)
Savannah had field day on May 13th! It was looking iffy on whether the weather would cooperate. If it had been raining or storming, there was no alternative day it could be rescheduled to, so we were really hoping it wouldn’t be cancelled! Thankfully the weather held out. It was definitely still wet though, especially on the soccer field and track area. I was assigned to help at the kickball station, and the field was so soggy that it was basically a mud pit. Savannah’s class came through in the first group, and we still didn’t have the kinks worked out at that point. After that rotation, we realized it would work much better to have two games going and split the girls and boys up into separate games. There were just too many kids for them to all play together. I was glad to see Savannah though! She and her friends looked cute in their matching shirts that Lillian’s mom made. She even made one for Mrs. Davidson! Savannah told me that her favorite field day stations were the water activities, which is pretty typical 😊 She said it was a fun day, but not quite as fun as last year. I think she was disappointed that the dunk tank wasn’t back this year😉
May 14th was a big day for Abigail with the Sight Word Superhero Parade in the morning and the 1st grade end-of-the-year party in the afternoon. Sometime in the last year or two, the 1st grade teachers started doing just one parade at the end of the school year. (When Savannah was in 1st grade, there was also a parade in December for the kids who had learned their sight words already by that point). I think I like the switch to only having one parade because it makes it feel more special. They still had a dance party/celebration in December for the kids who had learned their sight words by then. Cici and Travis were also able to come watch. Abigail was very excited. She picked out a pink cape and mask, and she smiled big and waved each time she saw us. They did two laps around the carline area before taking pictures and heading back inside. The whole thing was pretty quick. I asked her later that day how she felt when she was marching in the parade, and she replied, “I felt proud of myself because I felt like I was a real superhero!” 😊
The 1st grade party that afternoon ended up also being in the carline loop because the grass around the track was still super muddy from the rain earlier in the week. Everything went really well! The kids loved the Tetris Tumble game that I bought at Costco, and one of the biggest hits was the giant beach ball 😊 Abigail had fun doing the potato sack race, hula hooping, drawing with chalk, and eating a special snack. It was a low key party, but the kids had a lot of fun!
As if that weren’t enough excitement for one week, K-2 field day was the next day on May 15th! Abigail was very excited. I was assigned to help at the Hippity Hoppity station that morning, which was a relay where the kids sat on bouncy balls and bounced down to a line and turned around and came back. Abigail was glad to see me when her class got to that station. She also said that her favorite activities were the water stations today. I loved seeing the big smiles on her face in all the pictures that Mrs. Pride took!
The 4th grade EOY party was on May 16th from 1-2 PM at the track. It was pretty overcast but humid, so it felt hotter than it looked like out there. We did a very similar format to the 1st grade party with lots of yard games/activities for the kids to choose from and a snack with popsicles, chips, and capri suns. Savannah walked around with her friends and seemed to enjoy the Musical Squares station the best. She was excited to win a squishy toy 😊 At the end of the party, the teachers surprised the kids with a silly string attack. It was a fun afternoon!
Brooklyn took beginning art during the 4th nine weeks of school this year, and I was excited to see her portfolio when she brought it home.
Abigail had her last game of the season today at Dublin 4 at 8:45 am. She had a big cheering section today with Paw, Rae Rae, Cici, and the Loveless family there to watch. She scored one goal, and her team ended up winning 3-2! The team they were playing is the same one they played in the first game of the season where they lost pretty badly, and it was a much closer game today. Her team definitely improved over the course of the season. The coaches gave out certificates and medals after the game, and Abigail received the “Lightning Lefty” award 😊 Perfect for our left-footed soccer player!
Cuddles with Willow after the game :)
Brooklyn and Savannah played at 11:30 on Palmer 2. It had definitely gotten hotter by that point. Their team won the game 6-3! Abigail enjoyed playing with friends during the game. Brooklyn surprised us all by scoring a goal from way far out…not too far from midfield! We asked her later if she was trying to score, and she said she was ;) She played great defense today also! Savannah made some nice passes and played hard as usual. So proud of our girls!
That evening, Brooklyn and Savannah’s team had an end-of-the-season party at Sunshine Oaks park. Abigail came along and had fun playing with Mia. The bigger girls enjoyed exploring the nearby creek and running around chasing each other.
Gigi had quite a few girls sitting with her during evening worship on May 18th :)
May 19th was an e-learning day, which meant the girls could sleep late and do school in their pajamas :) Notice Cassie helping Abigail with her lesson…haha.
Doing all that schoolwork wore the kittens out!!
Savannah’s friends, Lillian and Rose, came over to play that afternoon :)
I also did a fun braid in Abigail’s ponytail :)
Brooklyn and Savannah ended up having a makeup game that evening at 6 pm at Palmer 5. It was a makeup game against Mikelson’s team, which was one of the two games that got rained out earlier this season. Savannah was especially excited because Macie was on that team, and they’d been looking forward to playing each other. Mikelson’s team didn’t have any subs, and we had several, so we had a bit of an advantage there. It was a very evenly matched game with no score at all through the first 3 quarters. Brooklyn played fantastic defense, and so did Savannah during the one quarter she was back there. Savannah had one of her best games of the season, in my opinion. Brooklyn had a streak going where she’d scored a goal in every game this season and was sad that it got broken tonight, but that’s okay. Two other girls on the team scored in the 4th quarter (Gabriella was one of them!), and the Dragons won 2-0! It was an exciting way to end the season.
May 20th was a half day of school, and Mrs. Pride sent home a sweet card and houseplant for me as a room mom gift. The pot had all of the kids’ fingerprints on it. I loved it!!
That evening after supper, we had severe weather and an EF-2 tornado passed about 1.5 miles north of our house. I think that was the closest one on the ground we’ve had while living at our current house. Someone in our neighborhood even got a video of the funnel cloud, which made it on the news. We were thankful for the storm shelter in our garage! We even took the kittens with us when we got in it, and they were perfectly behaved. It must have worn Cassie out though!
May 21st: Last day of 6th, 4th, and 1st grade!!
Inspecting the water droplets on a leaf before walking to school :)
Last day pictures from 1st grade…bittersweet because we love Mrs. Pride so much!!
Abigail was excited that Yellow House earned the most house points this year and got a trophy and a dance party to celebrate :)
School’s out – time for summer break!!
We celebrated the first day of summer on May 22nd by spending some time at one of our favorite spots in town…the Bradford Creek greenway. The girls worked on building a bridge across the creek and spent a few minutes at the playground too.
We went to a School’s Out celebration with some church friends on May 23rd at the Creekwood playground in Huntsville. It was a fun way to kick off the summer.
Willow was living her best life once school got out…and before that too :)
We had a retirement party for Cici on May 24th at Tyler and Alisha’s house. It was fun to celebrate her moving on to being a full-time gardener, macaron maker, and helper to others in need. We aren’t surprised she is still staying busy in retirement and don’t know how she does it all!
Travis’ and Alisha’s birthdays are only about 2 weeks apart, so we celebrated them together on May 25th. Hard to believe that Travis was entering the last year in his 30s!!
Abigail read Willow a bedtime story that night :)
Travis ran the Cotton Row 10K with Matt and Nate on May 26th. It’s one of his favorite races of the year!
Savannah lost another baby tooth that day!
We went on a family vacation from May 27th-31st, and I’ll detail that in a separate post. We found out while on the trip that Brooklyn and Savannah’s tournament team was having a scrimmage game at 2:30 pm on the day we got home, so we hurried as quickly as we could to eat lunch and get to Dublin Park in time for that. The girls did great for being fresh off a trip and probably not sleeping the best. They were scrimmaging a team from Harvest/Monrovia and won 6-2 or 7-2…I lost count. Brooklyn played great defense, and Savannah made some great passes. I love seeing them play together!
Notes and Quotes from May
- 5/16/25 – Savannah told us that her class voted on class awards today, and she received the “Shining Example” award. One of her classmates voted for her because Savannah “always does what’s right.” That made me so proud!!
