May!

We had a busy and fun month of May!  The very best news this month was when the governor lifted the mask mandate on May 14th.  That meant that, technically, anyone who is fully vaccinated against Covid doesn't need to wear a face mask indoors or outdoors.  However, nobody is really mandated to wear one, so it's now at each person's discretion.  Kids still have to wear them at school, but that is really it!  They also removed social distancing requirements in places like church and the Y.  It felt so weird to go to Mass on the 16th and be basically back to normal.  We sure are happy, though! The mood is much more "pre-pandemic" in most places and people seem to feel less cautious and concerned in general. Covid finally isn't the top story in the news.

So, back to the beginning.  We had a really fun visit from Grandma A. and Ansley from April 30th-May 2nd.  We were very busy doing the Friday baking, taking Finley for a walk, some hot tub time, Anna's soccer game, baking birthday cupcakes, church, dinner out to Culver's, and then heading to Morrow Mountain for Anna and Logan's fun birthday picnic!  It was a beautiful day and so much fun to meet up and have a fun time hiking, grilling, and playing kickball!  

The only bad part of the weekend was when Anna fell on her arm in her soccer game. After getting home and seeing that it was swollen, Bob took her to an urgent care where they saw a fracture on the x-ray.  She got a big ol' splint and sling (her 2nd sling to add to her collection) until she saw an orthopedic doctor on Monday who gave her a much smaller and lighter cast...that can get wet! Very nice! She had a follow-up a week later where everything looked to be healing nicely. We go back on June 7th and hope to be able to be done with the cast.

The week of the 3rd was busy with the usual activities, including teacher appreciation week.  The kids got out of school at noon on the 7th and we enjoyed a fun dinner out with Grandma and Grandpa F. that evening for Bob's birthday.  Happy birthday, Bob!  

Saturday was Anna's last soccer game and she impressed everyone by getting back out there, cast and all.  Her team had some tough games this season, but their average age was on the younger end of the league.  All of the girls really did a great job and it was fun to watch them improve and learn to work well together!  Coach Bob seemed to enjoy his new gig as well.  

I had a nice Mother's Day on the 9th, including Erin altar serving at 11am.

The week of the 10th was another good and busy week.  Erin had her last piano lesson on the 10th. I had book club on the evening of the 11th, and had the fun job of collecting money from parents in Erin's grade and presenting the teachers with end-of-year gifts on Friday.  One of her teachers was ending her school year early for (according to Erin) a knee replacement surgery, so we gave the gifts early.  It was nice to have it done with!  The other room mom had the idea to give them "cold hard cash" and froze it in blocks of ice.  Ha!  We had a fun family dinner at Town Hall Burger and Beer, where we walked Finley up there and sat outside. Bonus - we saw a basset hound eating there too!  Finley was less than impressed.

Saturday the 15th was Erin's piano recital, which was a beautiful day for an outdoor recital and so much fun.  I loved playing the duet with her, as well!  

We had a celebratory dinner at Cristo's afterwards.  The following week was, of course, Anna's birthday week.  She visited the eye doctor on the 17th and picked out some new frames to go with her slightly adjusted prescription.  

She had a nice day on the 18th, complete with donuts for breakfast, presents from us, and Moe's takeout for dinner per her request. She also made and enjoyed an ice cream sandwich cake!  

We continued celebrating on Saturday the 22nd with a friend party at Board and Brush.  All of the girls seemed to have a great time and made beautiful pieces!

Erin got her first of the two-dose Pfizer covid vaccine on Saturday the 22nd.  She did well with it and only seemed to have a sore arm for a day or so.  Sunday the 23rd, we had a fun visit with Grandma and Grandpa F.  The rest of the week was mostly normal, as it was their last full week of school for the year.  Erin had her last ballet class, which was also their dress rehearsal for the recital on June 5th.  Parents were finally allowed to watch part of the class for the first time this year, which was really nice!  Our pool was open for 2 days at the beginning of May, then closed for 4 weeks for a pump repair, but then in a sudden turn of events on the 28th, it was announced that it could remain open while they waited for the repairs to be finished!  Yay!  So we had a fun evening at the pool that day with a pizza dinner and Laney in tow, and had a great time on Saturday afternoon with Sarah with us as well. Erin altar served on the 30th and we enjoyed a cool down in the weather.  Memorial Day, we were back at the pool for a spontaneous neighborhood pool party complete with giant inflatable water slide and obstacle course.  It was lots of fun!  

So, May was full of excitement!  We had the arm fracture, the surprise lifting of mask and distancing requirements, the pool drama, piano recital, birthdays, and end of the year excitement.  While things are still far from normal, we are so thankful that they are much closer to normal than last May. Schools are holding modified graduations, recitals are able to be held with some changes, movie theaters and sporting events are starting to happen again, travel seems to be more doable, and things are generally looking up.  May (get it?!) this month in 2022 be full of laughs and "funny" stories about the previous two years!  Bob seems to enjoy his new office space and office mate, so I guess covid wasn't totally horrible.