The Other Half of May

The last half of May was a whirlwind of end of year activities for school and outside school.  We call this time of year Death by Concerts.  I already posted about Lydia's (although I think she had 2).  Nathan and Anna had a piano recital and did great:

Anna also had a couple end of year concerts, although I don't seem to have pictures of them.  Weird.  Nathan had a really big end of year concert... that's because this year his school orchestra played a piece that Nathan composed!!  We're super proud of him.  One of the reasons it took me so long to update my blog was because I wanted to add a video of Nathan's song so you could all hear it.  I'm still waiting for that.  So for now you get a really crappy cell phone picture.  Some day I'll get the recording.  He writes amazing music!  But you'll just have to believe me for now because I don't have proof.

They had refreshments after the concert.  My kids found a place to park and get out of the way of all the high schoolers.

 Caleb had a huge orange mustache and accidentally spilled orange drink on his shirt.  I told him he was supposed to drink it, not wear it.  That sent him into complete hysterics.  Apparently he's never heard that saying.  It sure cracked him up.

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The fire station has an annual day for kids with special needs and their families.  We rode in a fire truck, complete with flashing lights and sirens.  

The kids and Blake took a ride on the ladder truck.  After seeing how high it goes up, I volunteered to take the pictures.  

See, check out how high up they are!

We toured the inside of an ambulance and medical helicoptor.

Katie loved riding on the mini cars.  And she liked the dalmatian puppet too.

We sprayed a real fire hose.  

Katie got a fire hat which made her pose for a picture.

Watching some demonstrations.

We watched them light a truck on fire and put it out.

And they showed how they use the Jaws of Life to cut open a car.

Then they repelled down a really tall building.  We all had fun!

Michael had an end of school/birthday party.  He has friends at 2 different high schools and wanted to get them all together.  When planning the party, he told me he wanted to sword fight.  I told him that high schoolers, especially girls in high school, don't like to sword fight.  Apparently it's been awhile since I was in high school because they all loved it.  What do I know.

Two Scary Evil Things showed up to crash the party.  This picture is mostly for Grandma Kathi to show her how much the kids love their cloaks.

They went to play laser tag.  Then they played board games and laughed and laughed all night.  

End of Michael's party.  Now a random photo of Katie.  She put on Blake's coat and tie and said, "I'm Daddy going to church!"  She was pretty amused with herself.

We took the kids to a children's museum.

Blake, The Engineer, built a chair out of their giant building set.

Lydia did a puppet show.

Mom, The Germaphobe/Clean Freak, cringed as Caleb played with this goat puppet.  Do you know how many snotty-nosed kids put their hand inside that puppet?  Shudder.  But I remained calm and just smiled.  Go mom!

Lydia hugged another germ-infested animal.

The girls enjoyed the baby hospital nursery. 

Caleb said that place was boring because, "there's only baby dolls and girl stuff."  Then he found something that caught his interest... he could be the doctor!  I predict Caleb will be a doctor someday.  He's fascinated with how the body works and always has questions.  

Elizabeth learned how to ride a bike with no training wheels!

Katie graduated from middle school!  I can't believe Katie's going to be in high school!!

Katie's friends from school.  I added this picture to show how SHORT Katie is.

And that's the end of May. 

Part of May

More trips to our favorite hangout:

Katie had an ENT appointment to see how her ears are healing after her ear surgery. 

They have a cool microscope and show you what they're looking at on a big screen.  Katie wasn't impressed.  She hates her ears looked at, and especially at the ENT because they're very thorough.  The poor kid has to go through so much.  But she did it!  She's so brave!

More swim lessons.

Lydia at the Fine Arts Festival.  She's super creative and artistic!  She made a mask.

And played her cello with her school orchestra.  (Sorry for the quality, cell phone pic from far away)

Lydia had 3 teeth removed.  I watched the whole thing.  It's quite an interesting (and gross) process.  I was so relieved when she was done.  I put on a brave face for the whole thing, but I was really just hurting for my baby.  Glad that's over with.  Lydia didn't put on a brave face.  She was mad that I took this picture.

Recovering.  Lots of gauze and an ipod.  

Blake's birthday.  We ate Chinese food and apple pie and watched The Hobbit.  Fun night!

Surprising Dad with Chinese food.

Watching the movie, i.e. zoned.

This is what I woke up to on Mother's Day.  Could there be anything better?!