May 2018 Blessings

May 2018 was such a whirlwind month.

Wait, scratch that. Every month seems to be like that.

I decided to grab "a few pictures" from the month, you know, just to summarize things.

Apparently in my world, there is no such thing as just "a few pictures"!

We are super proud of Alyssa, and the hard work she's put in the Radiology Program at BSU. Her stellar grades earned her a salutatorian ribbon, which she actually didn't know was coming to her. Surprise! We went to support her at her cording ceremony at the beginning of May.

(Emma felt that a graduation Build-a-Bear was an appropriate gift.)

Cameron and Darcie were also able to get away from busy school lives to come and support Alys as well.

(This photo proves that things NEVER change.)

Alys is not quite done -- she's got her cords, but she's going on to do CT, and will actually graduate in December, after one more semester. But look at her awards!

It just so happened that her cording ceremony also fell on Cameron's birthday. We haven't been able to celebrate Cameron's birthday with him for a lot of years -- he's either away at college, or he was on his mission. So THIS year, we celebrated! 

Well, we improvised at least -- with a small family party on the patio at the hotel.

It was a really pleasant evening, and it was sure nice to sit, visit, and eat [cheese]cake!

The next day was a play day, for sure. Alyssa took us out to see Swan Falls Dam ....

... walking the dogs (Emma's favorite part, I think!)

... airbending practice ....

... the dam ...

... the daughters ...

... and the sweetheart!!

And, I'm pretty sure I've reversed these 2 activities, but we also went over to the softball field and had a family softball workout:

(Whoops!!!! Hahaha --- inside pitch!! I love that look on her face!)

Cameron's softball talents exceed my own .... by a long shot.

(All smiles.)

Although Alyssa pitched to Darcie, Todd pitched to the rest of us!)

(Wow. I still smile and shake my head at the thought of wearing full jewelry .... Ha!)

And it was a very good thing for Emma to get some one-on-one pitching lessons with her sister! Wish she lived closer!

I know it helped for the real softball games, when we got back home:

Had to say goodbye to this young man .... we miss him! More schooling calls, however.

Darcie came home for a week after the trip. I can tell when Darcie is home, because things like this happen:

And then Alyssa came up, too -- and it just so happened that it was Mother's Day weekend! Bonus for me!!

We had some more wonderful softball times on our home fields, and Alys and Darcie both got some coaching action in, as they helped out with a team softball practice.

I have a couple of videos of that, but I think they're sized too big to include here. I'll work on that -- maybe I'll get them, and maybe I won't. But the little team girls ate up every moment, and really loved having the "big girls" show them catching and pitching moves.

At church, Alyssa got to love on this sweet new baby:

And visit with sweet baby's momma again --- it's wonderful to see these friends reunite!

We had a family barbecue at our house that night -- the spirea was in full bloom, and we managed to have beautiful weather again (rainstorms also happened that weekend, so I feel pretty blessed by the sunshine and warmth.

And ... some totally random pictures of the month ....

That was ONE BIG FIREPLACE that got installed for a customer. Since it's too tall for the service van, it had to be delivered in Todd's pickup.

Emma loves playdates with this fun friend -- we'll have to plan on a few get-togethers this summer for these two.

And these two --- enjoyed some s'mores together one evening. We've had fun cooking s'mores on the Big Green Egg, and I can see I'll need to stock up on chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers this summer. (Shhh...... I've decided I need double chocolate and double marshmallows on mine, to get the proportions correct!)

Todd took the team girls to ice cream, as promised. They loved it (and who wouldn't?!). He is a devoted coach, and I have to say, it was a good softball season -- good girls on the team, they learned a lot, improved a lot, and had fun doing it. One of my goals is to have the team girls come away from their softball season saying, "that was fun! I want to do it again next year!". If they say that, then I know we were successful coaches.

And ..... we do miss these adorable grandkids a WHOLE LOT!!

It's hard having them so far away -- but we eat up all the photos and videos that Brandon and Cecilia send to us. Goal is to have them move a whole lot closer. Maybe this year??

Miss Emma certainly has Miss Alyssa's hair ..... if you let it go, it will go into Complete Curl Mode, which can also be pretty cute, but not usually very practical.

And a few more, which are totally out of any semblance of order:

Shopping with my girls is always fun -- Alys and I both came away with new dresses for her cording ceremony!

One last Mother's Day shot -- Darcie really is the queen of selfies:

And finally ....

Sometimes, when you have a good hair day -- you need a selfie for that, too.

For the last 4 months, Todd and I have been on a meal plan to make some weight corrections, and it's working for both of us. (This photo kind of shows that.) I have to say that it's sure nice to feel better, have more energy, and be less self-conscious of my looks. We're both pretty positive about the results so far, so we're sticking with it!! (I need a picture of Todd to show his progress too. Maybe next month!)