May!

We made it through May! Really, it was an enjoyable (but busy) month. We started out with one of my last two volunteering shifts at the school store, followed by Erin's final Musicians' Meet Up for the school year on the 1st. 

Bob headed to Zurich on the 2nd after spending a rainy morning at Peak Fest with the Knights. Erin worked in the afternoon and Anna babysat that evening. Anna and I enjoyed a fun day in Harrisburg on the 3rd, celebrating spring birthdays, Mother's Day, and seeing Aunt Diane who came through on her way to Florida to pick Grandma up. Anna had her final youth group meeting that evening, which was a fun ice cream party!

Anna had her final soccer practice on Monday, followed by their playoff game on Tuesday the 5th. Sadly, it did not go their way, but the team played very well and had a great season. Anna enjoyed being a part of the coaching staff! Anna had her first-ever AP exam on the 7th for World History. She thought it went well, but she won't get a score until July. Erin had her first official meeting that day for the trip that she's taking with school to Costa Rica in February! She is really excited about this opportunity and seeing a new country with her friend, Marley, who is also going on the trip. Saturday the 9th was a big day for Erin: her piano recital AND girls' night out to dinner and the DPAC for The Great Gatsby with the McGees! She did an amazing job in the recital which marked the end of ten years of piano lessons!

Anna had a fun afternoon and evening with Joe's family. We had a belated birthday celebration for Bob and I had a nice Mother's Day on the 10th. 

It was Erin's turn for AP exams the following week with AP Music Theory on Monday and AP Environmental Science on Friday. She also felt that they went well. A bonus to the AP exams was that they got the rest of the day off of school, which they enjoyed! 

Bob had a quick trip to New York on the 12th and 13th. Saturday the 16th was Anna's Sweet 16 birthday celebration with friends! It started out with an escape room in Cary, followed by getting ready for dinner/having snacks at our house, then on to downtown Raleigh for a rooftop dinner at The Willard. It was a beautiful evening, and they had a blast! 

The festivities continued on Sunday with family plus Joe going to the Drive Shack. Monday was her actual birthday, the highlight of which was passing her driving test that morning! 

She has thoroughly enjoyed the freedom so far, and driving is going well. The rest of that week was the final regular week of classes for the year. Anna had a job interview at Fresh Local Ice Cream in Apex on the evening of the 20th; she was invited back to shadow on the 26th, and has since been offered a job! Yay! She officially begins on June 1, and she's excited about it. Lyla works at the same place, so they're hoping to be working a lot of the same shifts this summer. Erin was presented with a Perfect Attendance certificate in class on the 21st; she was one of only 11 students out of 1600 who earned that this year!

Bob and I enjoyed a quick trip to New York on the 22nd-23rd for his coworker Brandon's wedding. Grandma and Ansley came up on Friday to stay with the girls, and they had fun shopping, going out to dinner, and hanging out. We did a little sightseeing: went to the Google office upon arrival, then walked the High Line park and toured the Morgan Library and NYC Public Library (main branch) prior to the 4pm wedding on Friday. It was at a wedding venue in Brooklyn and was done in English and Mandarin since the bride's parents didn't speak much English. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and Brandon's band's performance at the reception, complete with guest singer Bob! He did great! After the reception, a few work friends went to the very old McSorley's bar, dating back to 1854! Saturday, we got breakfast and wandered around Freeman's Alley (street art), then checked out St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, and subsequently joined in on a cemetery and catacombs tour that was very interesting! From there, we grabbed our bags at the hotel and took a subway to a bus to Newark Airport, getting there just in time. Thankfully, security was much shorter than what Bob had experienced there the week before. Our flights were uneventful, and all went well!

Erin went to her friend Sadie's birthday party on Saturday evening and had a blast! Sunday the 24th, we all regrouped, started preparing for exams, and Erin worked. It rained, so we couldn't go to the lake as originally planned. Monday was a rainy Memorial Day which we used to get some things done around the house. Tuesday through Friday was exam week, meaning the school days were shortened. No complaints here about that! We celebrated the end of school and Anna's birthday with a dinner with Grandma and Grandpa F. on Friday. Saturday, Bob and I had our first visit to the lake for the season; it was a beautiful morning! Anna made her first solo trip to Clayton that afternoon to pick Joe up, and they visited our pool. Sunday, we went to church, did some chores, and then went to a Salamanders game. It was a great day!

That was May! It was full of work and fun. We are looking forward to a change of pace in summer with some more free time and a fun trip coming up in June!