May

We finally moved Mason out of his crib in April. He wouldn't let me take a picture at first and then I kept forgetting so I didn't get any pictures until May. He feels like a big boy now and is proud of himself. Surprisingly, he actually stays in bed very well at night and at nap time. He wakes up much earlier in the morning, but that is probably due in part to it being so light in the mornings now.

For my last Art Literacy lesson with Spencer's class for the year, we made trapeze artists based off the work of Alexander Calder. The kids had a lot of fun with this one.

Cute boy for a picture we took for a Mother's Day gift.

Playing with old plastic containers in the garage.

Both boys got their teeth cleaned. Mason was pretty nervous this time, but relaxed after he got to use his stuffed koala for a pillow, hold a "Star Wars guy" and the hygienist put Paw Patrol on the tv. ;) Hooray for pediatric dentists and no cavities!

I found Kiki squeezed into this sunny spot on the stairs for a nap on afternoon.

The boys had a great time popping bubbles with pool noodle swords one evening.

Spencer received his Wolf badge in Cub Scouts. He is now a Webelo!

Spencer, Mason, and I ran the 5k at the Uberthons Spring Half races this year. Spencer has been working hard in track and set a new PR by about two minutes! I encouraged Mason to run as much as he could before he got into the stroller. He probably made it a half mile. 

Sunday morning waffles. They all like to help now and I just stay out of the way.

When Mason started playing in the dirt with his construction vehicles every day, I decided it would be a good idea to get a sandbox - much cleaner! I found one on Craigslist for $10 and we picked it up on Memorial Day. Mason was so excited that he wanted to give it a hug before we even got it out of the car. Haha! He loves it and plays in it a lot. That was a great purchase for him!

Our Cub Scouts did a Rain Gutter Regatta instead of the Pinewood Derby this year. Spencer and Alan put together and painted his boat and then put some water in the wading pool to practice a little. It didn't work in the pool very well though. Rain gutters are much better. He had fun and did pretty well at the Regatta, but I think he much preferred building and racing a car for the Pinewood Derby.

Heidi and Zak were in the area visiting Heidi's brother for a few days and they made time to stop by for a few minutes one evening. It was really good to see them (isn't Heidi stunning?!) and Mason had fun showing his birth mother his room and all of his cool toys. My heart swells when I think about how blessed Mason is (and the rest of us are) to have her in our lives.

Alan's Birthday!

Alan turned 38 on May 20th. Miraculously, we had a free Saturday the day before his birthday so he got to choose the day's activities. He went on a run first thing in the morning and then wanted to go on a family bike ride. We rode to a park and played for awhile and then headed to the fire station for a public services fair. The boys had fun sitting in a police car, fire truck, ambulance, and on a police motorcycle. Then they got a free lunch of a hot dog, chips, and a cookie.

Alan's actual birthday was on Sunday so he was happy to be able to open his presents first thing in the morning. ;) The backpack from NuSkin that Alan had been using for his laptop for almost 15 years finally broke, so Mason got him a new backpack. Spencer got him a bunch of his very own special snacks and I got him a small tool chest. He also got money and gift cards from our parents. He got new running shoes and a blue tooth headset with those. Thank you parents!

Darwin and Debbie were out of town that day, so we had a rare Sunday dinner at home. I make Alan's favorite enchiladas and Spanish rice. We went for a long walk after dinner and let the the boys burn off some energy at the park before coming home for cake and ice cream. I am always very grateful that Alan and Darwin don't mind sharing a cake so I don't have to make a separate one for Alan. All I had to do was pull it out of the freezer (thanks Debbie!).

We feel so blessed to have this amazing man in our lives. He works so hard to make his dream of supporting his family with Uberthons come true. He is righteous, devoted, patient, loyal, and loving. My life is so much better because he is in it and our boys have the best daddy ever. We love you Alan. Happy birthday!

Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

Spencer had a day off school at the beginning of May so I took the boys down to the Tulip Festival in Woodburn. It was the last week of the festival and the tulips were only about 40% in bloom, but Spencer and Mason don't care about the flowers anyway. They just like the activities. ;)

We got there right when it opened and had the place mostly to ourselves for the first little while. It was great! The rain gutter duck races were still Spencer's favorite. Mason loved those too along with playing in the sand with tractors.

We got to take a tractor-pulled hay ride out to the tulip fields.

Mason loves farm equipment so getting to climb on a combine harvester was really cool!

Spencer still likes trying to ride tricycles. Haha! Poor Mason's legs were about an inch too short to ride anything. He was bummed.

They were both extremely uninterested in the tulips, so this was the best picture I got.

Sometimes it's hard for me to live so far from home, but I'm so grateful that at least I get to live in a gorgeous state! It was a fun morning with my buddies!