May Round-Up!

The month of May was a busy one for us, and it seemed to absolutely fly by. Because we had so many big things going on, I don't have a lot of photos for the monthly round-up. I do have a few special ones, though, that I want to share! 

At the very beginning of the month, my dad went on a mission trip to Mexico. During the time he was gone, my mom arranged for my Granny to come stay with her. This was the first time for Granny to come to my parents' house since they moved to Oklahoma. Mom wasn't too sure about driving to Wichita by herself to get Granny, so I volunteered to drive her. The little girls went with us, but I arranged for my friend, Tia, to pick up the big kids from school since we knew we wouldn't make it back in time to do that. During the entire drive there and back, it POURED rain. I don't mind driving - and I consider myself a decent driver - but it was so stressful travelling like that! I was actually sore the next day from being so tense during our drive. Thankfully, we made it to Wichita to get Granny and back home safely with no problems. 

After Tia picked up the big kids, she sent me this pic. They were excited for an afternoon with Tia!

We picked Granny up on a Friday, and she stayed for about five days. This meant she got to go to church with us. I don't love this photo that someone took of us at church, but I am thankful to have it.

Mom had planned to drive Granny home by herself, but sadly there was more severe weather in the forecast on the day that they were going to go. Instead of worrying about mom driving by herself in the rain, I volunteered to drive them again. This time, Russ picked the big kids up from school for me. There was some rain on the trip, but it was much better than when we went to pick her up!

The evening before we took Granny home, we all got together at Mom's house to visit and take a few photos. 

Chelle, Mom, Granny, Brecklyn, Chris, Brooke, Brianna, and Brenson

Brecklyn, Granny, and Brooke

Granny and a few of her great-grandchildren (she has lots!)

Chloe, Brianna, Brecklyn, Granny, Brooke, and Brenson

Lisa, Chloe, Granny, and Russ

Lisa, Mom, Granny, and Chelle

Even though Granny wasn't with us very long, we had an eventful time. The trip to get her alone was more adventure than I had bargained for. We had to take cover from tornadoes one night. Another night, Chris and I invited everyone to our house for pizza. Charley came over, and we were all enjoying some time outside. Well, Charley ended up crashing Brianna's scooter in our driveway and immediately started crying that her wrist hurt. I grabbed her an ice pack and walked her home so I could talk to her parents in person. I was nervous that she had broken her wrist, and sadly, I was right :-(. I felt terrible that it happened, but it was truly just an accident. Thankfully, Charley's parents understood that, too.

Another thing that happened while Granny was here is that Chris and the big kids participated in a local run called the Claremont Crayon Run. It is a fundraiser for one of the local elementary schools, so there was a large turnout of runners from my kids' school. This is the before photo of most of the runners:

Brenson ran his little heart out. Here he is getting ready to cross the finish line (along with Mrs. Cole who will be the twins' teacher next year).

Chris getting ready to cross the finish line

Brianna coming up on the finish line (Chris went back after he finished and ran the last little bit with her)

They all three completely the 5K portion of the run. So proud of them!

Below is an "after" photo of some of the runners from the kids' school.

In several places along the route, the runners were sprayed with color while they run by. The kids loved this! 

Bren

Bri

Bren and Bri covered in color.

Much to our surprise, Brenson placed first in his age group out of seven boys.

He ran the 5K in 30:19, and his age group was males age 5 to 8.

Brooke, Brecklyn, and I arrived at the race just in time to watch Brenson, Chris, and Brianna finish. I'm glad we were also able to see Bren get his medal.

Chris also placed first in his age group (males 35-39). I told him he had big time bragging rights, but he didn't agree since there were only two in his group :-).

My medal winners!

Brianna did not win a medal, but she placed 8th out of 13 in her age group (females age 9 to 13). I think she was disappointed, but I reminded her that she was one of the younger runners in her group and that there is time to improve.

After the race finished and medals were awarded, all the runners received a little cup of color to throw in the air together. The effect was definitely fun! We had a great time at the race and hope to participate again next year!

Chris and I had a very rare date night one Friday evening this month. The kids stayed the night with Mom and Dad while we went out with Ross and Tia. We had dinner then went to Top Golf and took turns hitting golf balls. It was so much fun, and we ended up being out later than we'd been out in a very long time! 

The next morning, we met up with Ross and Tia again to run/walk a 5K for MEND.

This event was a virtual 5K (meaning you run or walk it anywhere you choose, when you choose) and fundraiser for MEND. We walked in honor of our babies who are no longer with us. 

We chose to walk along Riverside to a restaurant called The Blue Rose Cafe, eat lunch, then walk back to our vehicles. I think we went a little over four miles total.  

Tia's niece, Destyni, was with us. Several of our group ran a big part of the route, but I was pushing a stroller of twinbies so Tia and I were walkers!

After we finished walking, we let the kiddos play on a playground for a while. Caroline was happy to play!

I mentioned this when I posted about our trip to Nashville, but Oklahoma had some of the worst flooding in the state's history while we were in Tennessee. Thankfully, our house and neighborhood were fine, but just up the road from us the water was extremely high. The day after getting home from our trip, we drove up the road to see the water. This was devastating for so many people who sustained serious property damage.

Daddy took these cuties out for dinner one night. They felt like the most special girls in the world!

Finally, the weather this week has been incredible, and it's really beginning to feel like summertime. Last Friday, our neighbor kids invited Brianna and Brenson to come play at their house. Before long, several other neighbor kids had joined them.

Riley and Brianna

Hudson and Brenson

Neighborhood kids - Hudson, Brodie, Brianna, Riley, Patrick, and Brenson

I remember growing up with a whole posse of neighbor kids, so I love that my kids have a little of that, too. When we first moved to this neighborhood, my kids were the only kids. Obviously, that is changing, and we are pretty happy about that!