Saturn V rocket engines at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL
As is custom here, I like to make a list of All the Things That Happened in May for future reference and comparison... the rocket thruster thingies seem like a wildly appropriate metaphor. I honestly don't know how 31 days can always be so packed full of stuff, but the evidence doesn't lie. As usual, it's mostly fun stuff! Enough fun stuff to distract from the less fun stuff, at least most of the time. Here's the list:
+ The month began and ended with a mad dash to Huntsville for an overnight stay (first visit to stay with my copy editor Jenny Webb and her family/pick up Angie and Keira who stayed there for a few days prior and the second visit to see our first Air Force friends from Malmstrom some 20 years ago)
+ Very fast visit to Nashville (and Franklin!) with Angie, Keira, and Wendy
+ Hosting Angie, Keira, and Wendy in Montgomery for three days which included some swimming, some attending Southern Makers, some sightseeing in and around Montgomery, some solving the world's problems
+ swimming birthday party for Bridget with girls from school
+ Mother's Day/Bridget's birthday (one and the same this year)
+ Mad dash to Birmingham with dog and typewriter (there were a lot of mad dashes this month)
+ Bridget went to the McWane Center in Birmingham (not on same day)
+ chaperoned a Bridget field trip in town
+ field day, which I wasn't able to attend but still had to fill way too many water balloons in the dark the night before to send with Gracie for the 4th grade water balloon stations
+ Gracie's 4th grade art show
+ National Junior Honor Society induction ceremony for Maddie at Baldwin
+ Honors assemblies for Gracie and Bridget at Forest Avenue (not on same day)(but Bridget's conflicted with Matt's)
+ Awards ceremony and graduation for Matt (there was a day where I needed to be three places at the same time)
+ ripped apart almost every tub/cabinet/storage bag in craft room for first phase of school papers organization while searching for missing school photos (found them, but created terrible mess in wake)
+ Maddie's 13th birthday
+ two days of gymnastics camp to learn next season's routines
+ various sleepovers and swimming dates
+ Matt went to see Rush in Atlanta with a friend from school
+ organized a huge donation of no-longer-needed scrapbook supplies (don't worry, I still have PLENTY) for a charity organization in NW Alabama
+ inordinate amount of packages sent (i.e. birthday gifts sent months in advance, Mother's Day gifts sent three weeks late, random surprise gifts to faraway friends, hand-me-down clothes boxes, etc.)
+ farewell breakfast/dinner dates with friends
+ Tomorrowland in the theater (we liked it!)
+ trip to U.S. Space and Rocket center (Gracie has her heart set on Space Camp after her second visit here—and if the planets align, it actually isn't out of the question when she is old enough (see first item on list)
And we didn't miss a single Cavs playoff game. I can hardly breathe I'm so excited about the possibility of an NBA Championship. DO YOU HEAR ME, CAVS?
This of course doesn't include the other stuff like driving so much the van rolled 100,000 miles (fitting), regular gymnastics practices, car repairs x 2 in preparation for the cross-country move, a terrible allergic reaction to something that threatened to unhinge me once and for all, moving prep/Goodwill runs, consoling some Very Sad Girls about leaving their schools/friends this year, continuing to try to have this house ready for realtor showings (to include one on the afternoon of May 10)(UGH), all while spending most of the month without air conditioning (broken, but finally fixed as of yesterday).
In other news, the packers don't arrive until June 16 so we have a little extra time to work on the Moving List of Doom. In theory.
: )
