The first half of May

How is May already almost over!?  It went by far too quickly. 

I was hoping to get this post out a week or so ago. But, between how ridiculously long it takes to get pictures off of my phone and on to the computer and recent events, here we are. 

In early May I started working on my garden more.

ranunculus

Ever since we've moved here the fire pit in the back yard has bothered me. It was a jumbled heap and so full of dirt it was useless. So I had a bit of fun one day and cleaned it up.  

the end result was just so much better

We had a few beautiful warm sunny days early on in may.  The kids got to swim. 

They had so much fun. I love summer

Aurelia was mad that she couldn't water the plants too

and then she got to.

She was trying very hard not to be too happy about it

"Now, this is a nice party!"

boo

desperately trying to help me water the flowers

bubble wrap!

reading!

exploring

another trip to the park

This kids are enjoying life. :)

And then it got cold and chilly again. We had to take plants inside. It rained. bleh. Just give me sunshine and heat already! 

Chelsea and Gideon doing some painting

Sigh. When they are quiet....

They were hiding behind the couch coloring on themselves. 

We celebrated mother's day on duty.  It was a nice day.  I always like to be realistic with my expectations. 

I made German puff pancake for breakfast 

The kids trashed Chelsea's bathroom...

crazy things. 

I made them take a picture with me. 

1. because it was mother's day

2. because a few of them were transitioning on soon

a warm enough day to play at the play ground

checking out the chickens at the barn

Then there was my birthday! it was a nice relaxed day without too much going on. We got ice cream and played at Rita's. (And for some reason, pictures from that day won't load from my phone on to my computer)

And, then, even more exciting, my parent's came to visit. They brought all sorts of gifts and goodies with them. :)

I felt very loved

playing at Rita's 

a trip to the park of course 

oh dad.

hehe

ice cream!

Grandpa.... what a kid

meeting baby crew

she was showing me the water :)

Aunt Rita spoiling the kids

short kid solutions

saying goodbyes

It was hard to say goodbye. I wish they could stay longer and come more often. I wish we could go back more often.  We had a wonderful time. The kids miss Grandpa and Grandma and hopefully as things start to open up more, we can see them more often. 

Our container garden produced three tiny strawberries. 

Dolly wanted to come in through the widow

One of our resident's graduated and shortly after moved out of Gateway. It's exciting to see them making progress and doing well. The kids were a bit sad and wondered where she was the next time we were on duty. 

Orbees. They are the weirdest coolest things. Little beads that swell up in water. They are super bouncy and so much fun.  According to Google they are safe and environmentally friendly. So, I let the kids play with them. 

on the trampoline

:)

hehehe

And I think that's where I'll leave off.   More on may to come soon. Hopefully,

In Christ

~Michelle