THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY

Granddaughter Shelby decided it was time for a change of hair style/color. The first picture was taken April 28 just before prom, and the second picture was taken May 2. She looks fabulous either way.

May 5 ~ Neil and I enjoyed a church group trip to Bell Buckle, Tennessee, where we consumed mass quantities of delicious southern cooking at the Bell Buckle Cafe

Country ham, mashed potatoes, broccoli salad, and a to-die-for carrot soufflé, which I'd never heard of but is apparently a cafe specialty ~ the broccoli salad was awesome, too

Bell Buckle is pretty much a tiny hole in the road that's a huge tourist draw. We wandered through all sorts of antique stores. Also enjoyed the best fried (blueberry) pie I've ever eaten.

May 11 ~ Grandson Elijah didn't buy a yearbook for his classmates to sign, so they signed him instead ~ he says it took some hard scrubbing to wash it all off

Also on May 11, some of our family gathered at El Tapatio to wish niece Julia a safe and happy bon voyage ~ she traveled to Valencia, Spain the next day where she's spending a month to study as part of her major in college

May 12 ~ Elijah's middle school 6th grade band played an end of year concert in Dogwood Park ~ he's right there in the middle of the picture, playing flute

After the concert we took him to the Lazy Cow Creamery for a cold root beer float

May 13 ~ Mother's Day with my two girls Kelly and Holly

Holly with her kiddos Shelby and Elijah

Kelly with her son Knox (and a daughter on the way)

May 16 ~ crossing the bridge into Destin where Neil and I enjoyed a few days of down time at the beach and also celebrated our 45th anniversary

May 17 ~ We were blessed with beautiful weather every day

May 19 ~ Happy 45th to us!

May 22 ~ Last day of school ~ Elijah will be in 7th grade next year, and Shelby will be a senior (!)

End of school calls for an ice cream celebration, so back to the Lazy Cow Creamery where Elijah indulged in an enormous banana split ....

.... and, yes, he ate the whole thing. And it was good.

Grandson Knox also finished his school year in kindergarten and was sad it was over because he'll miss seeing all his friends

Later that evening, bro-in-law Don belatedly celebrated his 57th birthday ~ our birthday cakes glow brighter every year, and that's a good thing

May 25 ~ T Ball tournament playoffs began ~ Knox's team did very well this season losing only one (maybe two) games ~ the next game will determine the T Ball champs

Neil and I didn't do anything for Memorial Day weekend, but daughter Holly and her hubby Jerry and their kiddos Shelby and Elijah enjoyed some lake time in their new boat on Saturday

May 27 ~ One of the most spectacular sunsets I've ever seen and probably the most unusual ~ so frustrating that the camera couldn't capture the total awesomeness of it ~ God is an artist

May 30 ~ He's worked hard at Flowserve Corp since 1986 when it was called Duriron ~Today was his last full day of work there, and after 32 years, he finally gets to retire

Many of his thoughtful co-workers threw him a retirement party which he more than deserves a thousand times over ~ He's been looking forward to this moment ever since he seriously began to consider retirement five years ago ~ He'll miss the people there, so this moment is certainly bittersweet for him

So today we met at McDonald's, as we so often did during his lunch hour, for one last time. He brought two pieces of his retirement cake, one to share with me, and we ate it right there in MickyD's.  It's the end of an era and the beginning of a new lifestyle for us. 

And the last time he'll say, "Well, I'd better be getting back to work."

Happy Retirement to my hard-working husband!! You deserve it!!