Busy, Busy, Busy

Since I wrote last, we have been very busy over here. We went to the Cubs vs. D-backs game as a gift I gave to Andy for his birthday. I bought really good seats so it made the game even more fun. Max really enjoyed eating everything he could at the game. 

Max has been enjoying the pool with his avocado tube that he got from grandpa J and grandma V.

Girls Night Out. This is always such a fun night! I went to the NKOTB concert with my ladies one night and of course, we had fantastic seats. All thanks to Jessica for becoming a member of their fan club so she can become part of the early ticket sales and snag us the awesome seats. It was a fantastic concert reliving my childhood and most importantly spending time with my girlfriends. With our busy lives, we don't get together as much as we would like so when we do I really appreciate the time. 

The next day was Max's last day of school. I decided to have the end of school year party with Max's closest friends at our house with a rented water slide. It was a ton of fun and exhausting at the same time. 

These boys had a blast together, but I think Sammy had just as much fun as they did. She was outside chasing them around, playing in the water, and trying to be a part of their party. So much that she ended up getting on the slide and I struggled to chase her to get her off. Once she learned to get on the slide I couldn't keep her off so I had to lock her in the house. Once all the boys left Sammy crashed on the couch. She was just as tired as the kids were. Zoe could care less. She greeted the kids and then was fine letting them have their water fun. 

I spent the next day with Max at the Aquarium. Of all our time being here, we never visited the aquarium. It was way better than I expected and Max and I had a lot of fun together. 

He even did the VR exhibit where he got to see what it would be like to swim with sharks. It was pretty funny watching his facial expressions as he was doing VR. 

Andy and I went on our date night for our 11th wedding anniversary and we had a tag along. Max was super excited to celebrate with us mainly because we had dinner at the Melting Pot.

Max's game room is finally complete. I have been spending the last six weeks cleaning out his toy room and donating the younger toys that he doesn't play with and organizing the toys that he does play with. I organized all of his legos by color into clear bins and put them in a rotating shelf. It turned out way cooler than I thought it would. Then we organized the room for a TV and video game entertainment center. This will be where can hang out with his friends when they come over. His favorite part is the "Boys Only" LED light we hung up on the wall. It does change colors but Max likes it red to match the room. I am debating putting some gamer art on the wall but haven't quite figured that out yet.

We also went to see the latest Top Gun movie and it was fantastic. Max enjoyed the fighter pilots and was in awe of the jets. It was a great movie and a good time for all three of us. It's been a busy week and time to get back to normal. Max went to camp today and he starts basketball practice tomorrow night. 

Mother's Day and School Musical

 Of course I was spoiled for Mother's Day this past weekend by my two favorite people in the whole world. Max likes to stick to traditions, so we did our usual breakfast in bed while we watched Ratatouille. Andy and Max made our favorite breakfast, avocado toast with smoked salmon. Of course it was fantastic. 

They gave me flowers and we went to the movies to see a new movie that Max has been dying to see. 

The pool has hit 90 degrees so Max got his first swim in for the year.

This week Max has his first school program due to COVID the past two years. Second grade performed the musical Stone Soup. It was super cute and Max did a great job. He was thrilled to get go stand next to his really good friend throughout the program.

End of April Update

 Two weekends ago Max was tested to advance to the next level at Ninja. He didn't pass, but I am beyond proud of him for getting up in front of every kid and parent to be timed on the course. I didn't know this is how they do the testing when I signed him up otherwise I would have prepared him better. I saw the anxiety and fear in his face when it was his turn. I think that might have held him back a little. I was just so beyond proud of him to get up and run the course to the best that he could in front of everyone. Especially since I know that is very terrifying for him.

This past weekend we had Stella and Briggs at the house because their parents were on vacation. I got to hang with them on Saturday and they had fun playing games. Max also taught Stella how to play Fortnite.

I took an early morning flight on Sunday to my conference in Louisville, KY. It's the annual accounting marketing conference I attend every year. It was so good to see everyone and reconnect in person because the conference has not happened since 2019. While I was there my department took home another marketing achievement award for an internal marketing communications campaign. I am beyond proud of my team and I will note that this is our tenth marketing achievement award. Not trying to brag, but I believe we are the only firm with that many awards. A lot of the recognition does go out to my team though, because they are pretty fantastic at what they do.

We finally got our railing done. This is something I have been trying to get done for the last two years and it finally happened. It looks so good! I just love it!

It was so good to get home to see Andy and Max after a long day of traveling on Wednesday. I know Max couldn't wait for me to get home. On Friday I was able to attend the Muffins in the Morning event at Max's school. I enjoyed this very much especially since Max was excited to have me there. I just cherish this because I know one day it won't be cool to have mom visit the school.