May 1
A toddler lives here
Ella, the toddler who lives here
It is a must for her to be holding things when she swings
In this instance, two Nerf footballs
She's discovered that picking flowers is a lot of fun
May 2
Her mom took this picture of her holding her essential babies for sleep time
{Since then, she's added two more essential babies--a small bunny she's named 'Hop' and a small pig whose name is 'Pig'}
May 3
Enjoyed some ice cream at the Lazy Cow Creamery--first time in weeks
We weren't supposed to be sitting on this picnic table by order of the local health department
But we're rebels, and it's more fun eating ice cream while sitting down than standing up
Saying all the words she knows, which is a lot these days
Although, for some words we could use an interpreter
May 4
Watching 'Paddington Bear'
Frankie is a captive audience
Looks like third time's the charm for attempts to grow grass in the front yard
{That white stuff is straw}
Even our mailman, who has witnessed the grass-growing attempts the last couple of years, stopped his truck and got out to survey the greenery.
Hands on hips, he nodded, and said, "Impressive."
May 6
Knox participated in some of his Zoom classes with his teachers
But he didn't like it
Paddington is her fave show right now
She has a front row seat
How many grandkids can Grandpa bench press
May 9
Another fun discovery
May 10
The Pink-Jammy Bandit
Her mom turned around and found this standing in the kitchen doorway
Now gimme all your cheese and yogurt or I'll blow the door right off the fridge
{No one showed her how to hold the (Nerf) gun. She's a natural. We'll have to take her to the shootin' range someday for target practice.}
May 10
Mother's Day lunch
The restaurant wouldn't seat 10 people all together, so we brought the restaurant to us
I've never had a steak to go, but our meal from Outback was surprisingly delicious
This is us, y'all
So glad we could all be together for a family photo on this day
Blessed to call them mine
Holly and Kelly--life is best with my awesome daughters
Kerry, Ella, Kelly, Knox
Elijah, Shelby, Holly, Jerry
Shelby, Elijah, Knox, Ella
Grandchildren make life grand
They're the best
Thankful to get to be in their lives
Beautiful gifts from Holly ....
.... plus a Hobby Lobby gift card from Kelly (looking forward to using that) ....
... and son in law Kerry brought dessert--DQ ice cream cake which was delish
Cousins coloring
Ready for some Frisbee
Discussing the meaning of life
She's got it
Ella was on the Frisbee field doing play by play and after game interviews
{She had fun carrying around this solar light}
Silly selfie
Kelly took most of these Mother's Day pics
Thanks for sharing!
Beautiful end to a beautiful (Mother's) day
May 13
My niece Julia brought us a tray of cookies she'd made and decorated
Such a sweet surprise. We haven't seen her since Neil's birthday on February 28.
Did I say she made these and decorated them? Wow
May 14
Knox and his dad Kerry set up their tent in our backyard to enjoy a little 'glamping'
Air mattress, soft pillows, cozy sleeping bags, and a nice WiFi signal
Glamping
May 15
Eating Froot Loops with a fork
Fancy
May 15
Knox's first and last days of 2nd grade
The kids here missed most of the last nine weeks of the school year, first because of the EF-4 tornado that ripped through the western part of our town March 3, and then the virus lockdown. The last official day of school was hardly a blip on the radar here for most families.
May 16
Knox had such a great time 'glamping' that he wanted to do it the next night...and the next.
Grandpa was up for the challenge--and they both almost froze that second night, even with the caps to warm their noggins. The third night was warmer. They both had a good time coloring a Pokemon picture and watching a movie.
May 16
Good times at Wal-Mart
May 16
Kelly and Kerry celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary with a nice dinner at Mauricio's Italian Restaurant
May 19
Neil and I celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary with a yummy meal at Outback
First time we've been to a restaurant in many many weeks
Our servers wore masks and gloves
Six feet apart
Our meals were served in record time
Sign o' the times
I'll be so glad when these things are a distant memory
May 20
We finally got to spend some time with our two oldest grands, Shelby and Elijah--dinner (take home Steak n Shake) and a movie ('Alien' rental from Amazon--they'd never seen it)
Bro in law Don celebrated his 59th with two pies--lemon icebox and cherry cheesecake
And no blowing out the candles because .... virus
May 24
Sunday sky over the Lazy Cow Creamery ...
... where we enjoyed delicious ice cream
It was okay to sit on the picnic tables today
Swingin' with her box full of Bubble Guppies
Discovered an ant crawling around the porch and said, "Wow. Cool."
May 25
Memorial Day
Remembering the soldiers who gave it all for us
I'm stunned by how quickly some folks give up their freedom and think nothing of it
May 27
Frankie is her personal pillow. She wallows on him. And he lets her.
Senior night at Fazoli's--a Wednesday tradition for us since forever.
They finally opened their dining room
Just like old times
At this point, every little bit of normal sure does help
May 28
Waiting on the grandparents and little sis to catch up so we can go for that walk
I was heating up some leftover pizza and this little piece of cheese that dropped off looks like a heart. It made me think of you. ❤️
My sister Jane sent me this. She knows heart-shapes always catch my eye. Her sweet thoughtfulness made my day. Hope you don't mind me sharing this, sis.
May 29
Ella was okay with the outfit, but she did not like the mouse ears
Her mom took this pic
May 30
Social distancing at the car wash vacuums ...
... but not at the Kroger gas pumps
There is no rhyme or reason to these virus rules
I am so over it
We have no trouble growing a yard full of clover
Neil mowed it all down this afternoon
May 31
We just realized today that one of our fave restaurants is open (and has been since end of April)
So we scurried over to Grandma's Pancake House for a yummy brunch
Knox was happy to have a slice of their ham (which apparently caught the attention of one of the ladies in the booth)
We take so many things for granted both large and small
Let's not do that anymore and instead be grateful for all of it
May 13
May 14
May 17
She likes to exercise
Jenga strategy
May 20
May 21
May 22
May 24
May 25
He’s been a straight-A student from K-4
Today was Elijah’s last day of sophomore year in high school
Stick a fork in him. He’s done.
Dr. Rapunzel Owlett
May 26
May 29
May 30
Beautiful evening for some virtual reality
Freedom isn’t free
May 31
