Mid May and the living is easy

May is cruising along at a terrific pace, and with (recently at least) some terrific weather...

Here's what we've been up to.

Just about when we got into the routine of tennis, the season has ended.  The tall boy with the hair in these photos definitely improved over the season-- both in his skills and his attitude. I do think by the end he was enjoying the sport, as well as the time with his friend.  Grateful for our "parent pact" with our Ski Club friends. These middle school boys need a bit of a push sometimes.

Playing tennis was great for Jack-- and going to the tennis matches was great for us.  We loved standing around with our CH parent tribe.  And it was intensely reassuring to have those "oh, your teen boy does that too!!" moments with other people. Always good to know your kid is normal, and you are not alone. 

Award ceremony and treats.  Covid makes things weird.  But  Coach Zubik did a great job with these boys.  She had a wonderful nurturing and laid back approach and focused on the goal of helping them have FUN and be together after this year apart.  

Beach time!

We looked for sea glass (as always) on this visit... but the light was so glorious and bright and hitting the water and the stone in such a way that EVERYTHING was shining like glass.  Every pebble a treasure.  It was a neat moment.  And also a lot of bending over to pick up rather ordinary stones.

Nat and the kids got me a dogwood tree for Mother's Day.  I am so excited! We decided to put it in at the edge of the garden beds out front, where we had a giant oak removed years ago.  Turns out the roots are still in there.  Here are my children, gamely using an axe to plant my present.  

The really liked using an axe.

A wonderful night with new and old friends and tiny kids. We met a lovely couple at a mutal friend's party and just connected right away with them.  Decided to invite them-- and our mutual friend- over for a backyard hang, which turned into an awesome potluck cookout.  They brought their littles -- ranging from age 1 to age 7-- and it was a trip down memory lane, to those years where this yard was filled with tiny ones, and children played with toys at our house.  It was lovely.  And also BUSY.  I think I'd forgotten just how much constant attention it takes to manage kids of that age. I miss our kids being tiny-- but I'll also take how EASY they are these days.

Ivy was a champion child-minder.  She was in heaven with a baby to look after. 

Maya and Ava adore Ivy.  They also wore her out!

Parties galore!  The next day we were off to celebrate Brendan's 7th birthday.  It has been so wonderful to have cousins nearby.  We are already melancholy about their move back to the west coast latser this year.  

Here's what my tween/teen kiddos do at a birthday party for little kids.  It's good for their relationship, this kind of adversity. 

Ivy is experimenting with new clothing styles and recently obtained this beanie, which makes her look *exactly* like Jay from Jay and Silent Bob.  We get a kick out of it.  She does NOT appreciate being called Jay. 

Springtime at Stan Hywet. We have these things that we do every year at about the same time.  It's interesting. It's not like we schedule anything particularly carefully in our lives, but its often like deja vu to scroll through FB memories.  Wait, didn't I just post that exact picture of our dog in the Secret Garden...?  Oh, right.  We did exactly this thing three years ago...

Still magical, though.

We happened to be on our way to take Win to Cindy for a grooming.  So this is her "before" picture.  I kind of like her bangs.

Cindy was at a dog show... and so were Winter's puppies!

They were the most amazing, silken, wiggly, waggy bundles of love.

Can I tell you how hard it was to not take one (or 2 or 3) home with us??  Good thing Nat is strong.

Thanks to Roxboro tennis, we now have a new family activity.  Had a lovely, wholesome evening riding over to Cain Park to play tennis together.

This moment is everything-- Jack throwing the ball and coaching Ivy through some hitting drills.  The two of them being together and actually getting along for a moment. The magic of the great outdoors and physical activity.  It brings out their best selves.

Thanks, May.  You've been grand so far.