according to Instagram

Oh you guys, it's been a crazy few weeks. Actually, ever since Tommy started elementary school, the entire month of May has become a blur year after year. I'm telling you, they couldn't possibly pack more into a single month if they tried. Add to that all the end-of-season activities for dance and soccer and baseball and cub scouts and I seriously didn't know if we were coming or going. And then, because we weren't already busy enough in May, I decided to start a business. (Did I mention here that I passed my personal training certification exam back in February? Being a trainer is amazing and doesn't even feel like work. I get to hang out with my friends and help them stay fit. Yes please.) When I sent out my first message about the business I thought I must be crazy to try and do this during the busiest month of the year for us, but it was fitting since it was one year ago that I finally made the decision to become a trainer and started studying. Full circle. And then, just to make things extra fun, Annabel and I came down with the flu. Influenza B to be exact. I've never been that sick in my entire adult life. It. Was. Awful. AWFUL. I literally had to cancel an entire week of my life so I could lay in bed with my eyes closed. Ridiculous. 

In the midst of all the crazy, I've tried hard to savor the few quiet moments we've had between the running and doing and going. My favorite way to keep track of those moments is through Instagram and I thought I'd share some photos here today if you'd like to see. 

Here's what we've been up to according to Instagram:

 Will and I did a Rugged Maniac race back at the very beginning of May. I LOVE the rugged race and this year was every bit as fun as last year. We ran with a group of 7 other people and we all stayed together throughout the whole thing. I love the camaraderie and encouragement that comes with being able to stay with a group, and we met some really great people this year. Racing with Will was so fun! Hopefully he'll join me for another one in the fall.

The kids are still loving the trampoline although we've been too busy to use it much these past few weeks. Looking forward to the start of summer and some FREE TIME.

 Just before I came down with the flu (and while Annabel was starting with it - thank goodness nobody else but us got sick!) my parents and my niece came down for the weekend to stay with us. Annabel was taking tylenol for what we thought was just a fever virus (who knew you could get the flu in May?!) and seemed fine when the meds kicked in so we decided to get some fresh air and pick some strawberries. We found a great little spot not too far from our house and had fun searching the rows and filling up our buckets with fruit.

 Tommy just graduated from a Bear to a Weeblo in Cub Scouts this past weekend but a few weeks ago he had to finish up a requirement for his Bear: cooking over a fire. I figured we would just get out our grill and let him cook some hot dogs but my dad is way more creative and fun and helped Tommy build a small fire pit at the edge of our woods. They cooked a few sausages and ate them up. 

 This is our 3rd summer at our house, but it's the first time my daylillies have actually bloomed. And not because they didn't send up any flowers, but because the deer have always come in and mowed them down before they had a chance to open. This year they left the lillies alone in favor of eating my knock-out roses that I had just planted. I may ask for a BB gun and a blind for my birthday this year. Stupid deer.

 A couple weeks ago I bought a Swiffer Wet Jet to try and speed up the after-dinner clean up process. I thought I'd be the lone user of the mop as everyone else already has an after-dinner chore, but my children actually fought over getting to use the swiffer. I finally convinced them to take turns with it and they mopped up the entire kitchen in no time flat. WIN!

 I took Annabel in for her summer hair cut and it's ADORABLE. I'm thinking we may be cutting her hair more often. In addition to being super cute, it's so much easier to take care of. Another WIN!

 After the crazy month of May, we decided to celebrate the beginning of June. On the first day of the new month, I picked Tommy up from school so we could go straight to the pool, then we went to a local restaurant for $1 burgers for dinner, and then headed home to close out the day with basketball in the driveway and a relaxing night at home. Looking forward to many more days like this once school's out!

This past Saturday, Tommy finished up his last baseball game of the season. He played a great game and had lots of fun. His team didn't do so hot this season, but he didn't get too discouraged and got out there and gave it his best. I'm so proud of both of my boys for getting out there on the field!

 Last night marked the end of the crazy busy weekends for us until the fall. We had a bunch of stuff going on and not a lot of time at home, so when we did have a few quiet minutes, I headed out to my garden to cut a whole bunch of flowers to bring in. These lavender stalks are my favorite blooming flower at the moment. So pretty.

So that's a little look at what we've been up to lately. Hope things are slowing down for you so you can enjoy the warm weather!  Happy Monday!