May

May was good to us! 

Highlights included wrestling (including freestyle!!) finally ending for a few months, all big spring piano events being over, lots of playdates at the park and with friends, yard and house cleanup and improvement, and job interviews for Collin.

Had to take a pic of this adorable sleeper..... you love them the most when they're sleeping, right?! 

We made quite a few trips to the zoo.... mostly after Mommy got in a run on the greenbelt first. (can you say BRIBE to sit in the jogger!) Here she is "roar"ing along with one of the animatronic dinosaurs the Boise Zoo has.

She was leery of the dinosaurs last year.... now it's more like excited fascination. 

Can't ever visit the zoo without feeding the goats. 

Someone is a coloring ADDICT. Any time, any where. Give her a paper and a pencil and she's happy. This is nice for car rides, jogger rides, during cleaning time, and generally all the time! It's so cute!

I got new glasses frames..... since I cracked my old ones in December and have been putting it off. When I went to reorder the same ones they only had tortoise-shell, not plain. So that was my choice! I needed them before our trip. I share this because I'd like to quote what my mom said about them: "they look like they came from the dress-up box." 

I have been reading THESE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She came clunking down the hall saying, "I put on my socks and shoes by myself, Mommy!" And lo and behold, she sure did! She has quite the eye for fashion.

More trips to the zoo.... our zoo pass has already more than paid itself off just this month! 

We finally bought a non-baby swing for our crappy swingset in our backyard. Of course my dream is to have an actual swing set with like, a real slide and a couple of fun swings....but it's not in the budget right now! Ashlyn has been in absolute heaven having this swing to play on though. She has figured out all kinds of ways to ride it and her current favorite is this one, which she calls "flying." It is really the best.

My most advanced student ever did his senior recital. It has been so much fun helping him prepare for it. He has studied with me for the past 5 years and came to me as a little 8th grade stinker who didn't listen to anything I said. By his senior recital he had placed at Sonatina Festival 4 TIMES, been chosen for CM honors recitals 3 TIMES, and won quite a few other local music awards. Not to mention he played 3 pieces I played at my college senior recital. I was thrilled when I opened his graduation announcement and saw that the picture on it was of him at the piano! Not to mention that note above that he wrote me on the back.
His parents said he had to quit last summer because with his brother leaving on a mission a year earlier than originally planned, they couldn't afford lessons. He got a job just to pay for lessons and did phenomenal all year. Lucky me! Anyway, he and his family totally spoiled me at his recital. Gifts, super nice introductions, a note that made me cry at the bottom of his program. A payoff better than anything!