May!

Whew!  We made it through May!  We had a fun first few days, including Anna's end-of-season soccer party on the 3rd and Peakfest in Apex on the 4th.  Erin also had her last musician's meet-up for piano earlier in the day on Saturday.  I hosted book club on the 6th and helped a little extra at school for Teacher Appreciation Week.  Bob had a nice birthday on the 7th, even though it was a work day!

Anna had a quick 3-day cat-sitting job and then a long 1+ week other cat-sitting job in the neighborhood.  I had a super fun moms' night out dinner on the 10th, and Erin did a beautiful job in her piano recital on the 11th!  

Anna had a fun time babysitting that evening as well.

I had a nice Mother's Day, including an afternoon at the lake.  The water wasn't very warm yet, but the air was beautiful!  Bob spent 3 days in New York that week, then was home for a day before heading to Sydney for 9 days.  Guess who he saw there from all the way across the world?

That week was the kids' last regular week of school.  Anna had a fun birthday weekend and had a great time with her 2 friends over on Saturday and Sunday!  They went to the pool and out for a Mexican dinner on Saturday, and then shopping on Sunday.

Erin took her final exams from the 20th-23rd, and all went well.  She was finished as of 10am on the 23rd and is now settling in to summer!  She is trying something new this summer:  volunteering at the library!  She had an interview and has also been to orientation.  Her first shift is June 6th.  She's also hoping to get some more driving practice in over the summer (especially night hours).  

Anna also took her final exams over the week of the 20th, but had full school days through the 28th and a half day on the 29th.  We had a really fun visit with my uncle Tom and aunt Lillian from Thursday afternoon to Saturday morning!  They got to see some of StMM on Thursday, and Friday we (minus Anna, who was at school) toured the cathedral, NCSU, and went to mass at Sacred Heart.  That was a lot of fun!  

Anna went straight from school on Friday afternoon to Lake Norman with Lyla's family for the weekend.  After our visitors left, Erin and I attended Kate's graduation party and had a great time!  We also took dinner to Anna's babysitting clients who just had their third baby.  We had a super fun day on Sunday the 26th, picking Anna up from Lake Norman and then spending the day in Concord for her birthday/catching up.  We ladies got our summer pedicures on Monday, and Anna also had a haircut on Tuesday after school.  I had my last-ever cafeteria volunteer shift that day.  

The 29th was Anna's last day of school, and we had a fun clap-out for her and her friends.  

She then hosted her 5 friends that afternoon to "get ready" for the dance that night.  Bob and I helped chaperone the dance, and it was a blast!  Anna is lucky that a parent in her grade owns a beautiful venue and allowed the dance to be held there!  

Anna's 8th grade graduation was on the 30th, and it was very nice.  It was fun to see the kids one last time (though all of her friends and about 2/3 of the grade will see each other at Gibbons). 

 

We enjoyed some yummy ice cream at Mama Bird's after the ceremony.  We had a relaxing day on the 31st and spent a beautiful afternoon at the lake.  The water was not quite warm yet, but 3 of us still got in for awhile!

We are happy to have had so many fun celebrations in the month of May.  We are ready for a bit more relaxation and lots more fun coming up this summer!

Anna is 14!

Anna is now 14 years old!  She had a fun birthday weekend and will continue her celebrations for another week, despite working in final exams between them.  She was happy that her birthday was on a Saturday this year, so she was able to have friends over on her actual birthday.  Before that, we opened family presents on Friday afternoon before Bob left for Australia (I was not allowed to take pictures). 

We girls had a Chinese takeout dinner (her new favorite is fried dumplings), and she and I tackled a DIY balloon arch that evening.  It was easy to assemble, but not easy to set up!

Saturday, her friends Lyla and Annie came over in the early afternoon and they hit the pool.  The water wasn't very warm, but they still had fun with floats and playing games there for a few hours.  

Then it was back to our house to "get ready" for dinner, which was at a Mexican place nearby.  The friends made sure that the restaurant wished her a happy birthday, too!  

After dinner, we went back to our house for cake and games.  

Lyla slept over, and after breakfast on Sunday, we had a shopping excursion.  Anna said she had lots of fun, even though a couple of her friends couldn't be there.

Next weekend, we will go to Concord for birthday celebration Part 2!

It's been a good year for Anna.  She has really seemed to grow up and become more responsible.  She has a steady stream of pet-sitting and babysitting jobs, and she is doing a great job of keeping up with all of them.  She is motivated by money!  Her friend circle changed this year, and she now seems to be in a good place with some really fun, caring friends.  She says that she is not sad at all about leaving the school that she's been at for the past 9 years.  I know that she's very excited for high school!  She ventured out of her comfort zone with playing varsity volleyball and soccer, and did a great job at both.  Anna is a smart, funny, caring, wonderful person to be around.  We love her so much and could not be more proud of her!