May Recap- Blooms, A New Kitchen, Gymnastics Finale, Chickens and More

Another busy month has come to an end as we wrapped up our school year activities (school, story time group, most of our play dates, and gymnastics). Summer break is here and we are fluctuating between staying super busy while trying really hard to keep this summer nice and slow with a lot of togetherness. It's a constant struggle but we do the best we can to keep our little family spending lots of time together.

So, to recap. Here is how May went:

So much in bloom

We love all the blooms on our property and take the time to make floral arrangements with our lilacs and apple blossoms. Everything is green again. We are extra sure to take the time to slow down, breathe in all that God has to offer us, and soak up the sun's extra rays.

Cleaning up begins

Along with all the blooms, the storms also come. We were hit back to back with many thunderstorms for almost a whole week. We have had so much moisture already in 2019. We have spent a lot of time cleaning up the havoc from storms on our property.

A New Kitchen

We decided to take the plunge and redo our kitchen. We have had some issues with the wall behind the cabinets for awhile now. So when we learned that the cabinets needed to be pulled out behind one side of our kitchen, we decided we may as well just do it all instead of trying to put it back together. We have a lot of details to go but I am loving having a lighter, more functional space for our family. We also put together a plan that allows our children to help more in the kitchen (drawers on the lower cabinets for plates and cups) and that has been going so, so well. I would totally recommend that to anyone with a small family! Plus, drawer storage just makes it so much easier to see what you have and get organized.

So much outside play

The weather is nice again and we can get outdoors. So, you can find us doing all the things we can possibly do around our little property. Playing with chickens, dumping dirt, and having picnics to name a few of our favorites.

This little one is super busy but loves to stop and pose:

My big kids are on the go so much it is harder to get posed pictures from them, but I still have one child who will stop and pose on occasion. I'm soaking that up while I can.

A few pictures with parents:

It's also hard to find pictures of myself and my husband with our kids. Life is just busy with 3. So i really love when I get a month where we have 1 pictures. This month we got really lucky with 2 pictures! I snapped a raw moment of Payton showing her daddy some love (and asking for money to go to garage sales, this girl knows what works). Yes, she did get the money from him! My mother took this picture of me with Jayden while we went to stay with her, in my hometown, for a weekend. It was a great trip and I loved seeing my siblings and their families as well as my parents. I don't make it back as often as I should but my hometown will always have a soft spot in my heart.

Strawberries are starting

Payton took this great picture of the first strawberry she saw. It turned red a few days ago and she made us cut it into little pieces so we could all enjoy the first strawberry of the season. It was so tasty and her sweet heart makes us so happy!

Dating our children

I have talked before about 1:1 adventures we make time for with our kids (our kids lovingly refer to them as dates). I took Payton to the coffee shop and they had made the cutest mermaid cupcakes that we decided to take some back for the whole family. I love our small town coffee shop and all the fun they offer for our household. Both our big kids want these again and talk constantly about their "mermaid" memory.

Big boy haircut

I let this boy pick out his own hair cut (inspired by grandma) and he looks so grown up in this style. It's so fun to see his personality come out but it is also so sad that I don't get to pick his entire outfits and hairstyles any more. It's bittersweet.

Saying Goodbye

Goodbyes are never easy and goodbye forever is the hardest. We, unfortunately, had to say goodbye to our loving outdoor cat. We loved him so much and he was just the best with our kids. He will always have a piece of our hearts. The kids have all handled this well, mourning in their own way.

Our other Goodbye- to gymnastics

Gymnastics also wrapped up another year. Payton was sad to see it end but the rest of us were welcoming a break from weekly coordinating of practice. Payton did awesome and hopes to start gymnastics again in the fall.

I put together a video of her performance.


We are so proud of all the work Payton put into gymnastics this year!

We hope you had a great May! Now, on to all the summer fun stuff!