A little taste of summer!

We had the most gorgeous preview to summer this past weekend!  Temps in the 70's with nothing but sunshine!  Perfect weather for a bonfire and s'mores!

While we took the opportunity to get some yard work done and opened the windows to air out the house, our weekend wasn't all work.  We made sure to take a bike ride downtown to play in the fountain and grab lunch at Panera.  The boys had plenty of time to play and splash in their water table, dig in their sand/dirt area, and help (yes, really) with yard work.

Sean had two soccer games this weekend and we were responsible for snacks one of the games.  An expensive trip to Costco took care of that, among other things!  Plus, feeding your family lunch for $10 is a total win.

After lots of sunshine, manual labor, and shopping, it was nice to relax and go out for the evening with my best friend, Trisha.  We met up for dinner at the Town Pump and went to see Beauty and the Beast at the Fox Theatre in Detroit.  It was such a beautiful evening - both weather wise and spent with great company!  And oh my gosh...that musical is amazing!!  I had to hold myself back from reciting the lines or singing the songs.

Speaking of Disney, Evan's daycare put together an awesome event Friday evening called "Popsicles in the Parking Lot".  They had the parking lot closed off and decked out!  The Tutor Time bus was luau themed, they had a candy "bar", face painting, hair braiding, and wait for it...Mickey and Minnie!!  It was a huge hit!

We have been so impressed and happy with this daycare center.  After all our struggles and changes, it's been nice to really call this place home for my boys a few days a week.

The warm weather we had over the weekend is staying...hopefully for good!  The grass is cut, we have our beds cleaned up outside, a new hanging pot, and my lilac trees are in full bloom.  It feels good to go barefoot outside and wear short and tank tops...until we saw a snake in our backyard.  Yuck!

Summer is almost here!  17 more school days!

May weekends be like...

You know it's time for summer vacation and a break from my students when I make my post title that grammatically incorrect.  But, apparently, it's the rage to say things like, "You be like" or "Teachers be like".  I mean even Jimmy Fallon is doing it!

This is my new favorite meme.  Because it sums up every single thing I'm feeling right now.  Exhaustion, indifference, apathy, and annoyance.  20 more days...!!!!  I might be feeling like this by the time school lets out this year...

Okay, enough with the memes.

In other news, Sean had a pretty exciting week last week.  We took the training wheels off his bike last Monday and after 20 minutes, I assumed we would be spending the entire summer working on riding his bike.  Tuesday, we were rained out and had to skip soccer practice.  By Wednesday, he was starting to ride on his own for a bit.  Fast forward to Sunday evening and he rode his bike halfway down the street by himself and could have probably gone farther.  He just keeps freaking himself out and turning toward the grass to "crash".

I'm honestly shocked.  For one, I'm shocked he's willing to do this day in and day out.  Most things require a bribe with him.  Two, I'm shocked that he hasn't cried once from all the falls he's taken.  He's even run into a mailbox and didn't shed a tear.  Just shouted "darn it" about 5 times before he ran full speed into it.  The kid is proving to be pretty tough!

He also lost his second tooth!  I mean the thing was loose, but nowhere near loose enough to fall out.  He ran in my room Sunday morning and said, "Mommy, here's my tooth."  I sat straight up panicked that he found where I hid his last tooth that fell out, but quickly realized as he smeared blood on our sheets, that he had lost a new one.  How exciting!

And yes, he's still wearing pajamas from the winter.  Thanks to our lovely weather over the weekend with a low of 29, we had him in Christmas pajamas.  And let's just say that it was a barrel of fun to sit and watch his soccer game on Saturday in the rain, wind, and sleet!

The plus side to sitting out in that weather?  Watching him score another goal this season!

After his game, we went to watch our nieces' dance recital at Salem High School.  This was the first year I brought Scott and the boys.  Usually I only attend because I didn't think the boys could sit still that long watching dance.  They lasted one half and watched both girls perform.  We got to say hi to the girls at intermission before we left.

What better way to spend a cold, rainy day than to see a movie!  We tried a different movie theater this time in Canton to see The Jungle Book!  It was so good!  The casting was perfect, the location was gorgeous, and Mowgli was adorable.  A few intense scenes among the animals, but hey, that's the circle of life, right?

Let's be honest.  I was not willing to miss a new Disney movie in the theaters either.  Speaking of Disney, we are booked!  We'll be spending the first week and a half in April (not Easter week, thank God!) at Legoland, Disney World, and Clearwater Beach!  The Disney obsession is still in full force in this house and thankfully, I have some friends that know about my obsession and bring me back yummy treats when they visit Disneyland for a marathon.

As the school year winds down, we have lots to look forward to!  Sean will finish out his first year at Farrand with Kindergarten round-up and a Carnival.  Evan has a preschool event this Friday with a Mickey and Minnie Mouse meet and greet.  I was invited to attend the Senior Honor's Dinner again this year next week and we'll head up north for Memorial Weekend.

I love all these end of the year festivities and the anticipation for an entire summer home together with my family.  I'm so ready for lazy mornings home with my boys and summer adventures out and about.  I think these two are ready to be home together too!

A weekend for this mama...

I love Mother's Day weekend.

Every year my boys out-do themselves.  Maybe one day I'll be interested in doing some fancy dinner out, some spa package to be pampered, or ask for a big gift.  But, for now, I cherish the handmade gifts and handwritten cards, breakfast in bed, and just a day spent with my family.  No chores, no laundry, just being together with nowhere to go.  Such a rare thing.

This year I wanted to do a big family bike ride.  We live in a neighborhood that backs up to Hines Drive and yet we've never taken the boys on the bike path.  Sean can finally ride his bike a good distance so we borrowed a bike trailer and went on an adventure.  4 miles later we arrived back home in one piece.  It was a gorgeous day!  We saw the River Rouge, some ducks, geese, kayaks and canoes, and let the kids play on the playground.

We set up the bounce house after lunch and invited our nieces over to bounce.  The kids are finally at ages where they were completely entertained without any adult intervention.  It was amazing to sit on the deck, have a few beers, and socialize!  We grabbed dinner out on the patio at Los Tres Amigos and got the kids ready for bed.  It was quite the day!  Definitely one for the books!

Saturday we celebrated Mother's Day with my mom and dad.  They came out early to go to the first Farmer's Market of the season.  Muffins by the fountain, cheese popcorn, and our "soap guy" were our usual stops.

After the Market, we went to Sean's soccer game to cheer him on.  They played a really hard time.  I remember this team from the fall.  We got absolutely destroyed in the fall, but we were able to tie up the game this season.

Coincidentally, our niece had a game starting shortly after Sean's at the same field.  We were able to watch a bit of her game too before we left for lunch.

We had a delicious lunch at Compari's in downtown Plymouth.  You can't beat a lasagna lunch special that comes with salad and bread for $11.  So tasty!!

The rest of the day was spent playing outside while Scott did some yard work.  Of course the boys wanted to take a ride on daddy's new tractor.  They also discovered a frog in the yard and found him a new home so Scott could cut the grass.  Evan wanted to keep him as a pet and insisted that his name would be, "Piggy".  No thanks, buddy.  Gross!

It's hard to tell in these pictures, but I was actually pretty sick all weekend.  I came home early from work on Friday with the worst sore throat I've ever had and chills.  I wasn't able to chaperone prom that evening, but I found peace in eating some Leo's carry out and watching Finding Nemo with the boys after they ran through the sprinkler.  Hey...it was 74 and beautiful on Friday!  I wasn't about to let my throat ruin the amazing weather.

Lastly, one of my favorite holidays, Cinco de Mayo, was on Thursday.  It was much more subdued this year since I was coming down with something.  Evan and I baked "sombrero cookies", I made chicken tacos in the crockpot, and we all obsessed over our shipment of Disney Lego Minifigures.  It wasn't the most festive year I've had, but it was the best I could do this year!  Ole!

There you have it!  A backwards recap of our weekend and celebrations!  I'm on the mend, slowly, but surely.  In fact, I'm feeling pretty spoiled and loved right now!  Now to start brainstorming ideas for Father's Day...