Magnificent May - 2016 Style

The family watercolor Mom had commissioned for Hawker. No one is exactly sure how they feel about this particular piece.

Magnificent May was nothing short of what it promised. In St Louis, the allergies might be in full bloom (Poor Mommy & Gamma) but its also when the flowers are popping out of their little sleeping bags, spring sports are in full swing, the pools begin to open, we are outside more often and loving the sweet air with warmer temps PLUS the end of school is in sight! Whats not to love?!

As soon as it gets warm enough to avoid frost bite our parents insist that we GO OUTSIDE!

Morty catches his first toad, Meet Mr. Toady (super creative name, right?) Pretty sure he left with a considerable amount of brain damage but Morty loved every minute of their encounter.

You can never be too safe, so even when we are taking breaks we keep our gear on. 

Mom and Dad usually go somewhere around Mom's birthday and this year was no exception. They were NYC bound and lucky for us that meant Ms. Kris was in charge. We LOVE hanging with her and all her animals. The chickens are hysterical!!

One of my favorite days is May Day at school. We get to dress up,  the 5th & 6th graders dance for our amusement (Go Leila!) and its a break from the every day monotony and that cant be bad thing, right?!! I love when the violins come out and they dance around the May Pole, its so beautiful!

Speaking of Mom's birthday, this year Dad decided Mom needed not one but TWO breaks from us! Unbeknownst to her, she was sent off to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to have some quality time with one of her all time favorite families... The Beevors! (Lucky Mom!)

 

Camilla and Mom Hiking in the Tetons

As you've probably already figured out  the Month of May is pretty much all about Mom (at least the beginning bit) so so why not throw in Mother's Day to boot?!

Sweet notes to Mommy on her To Do list

Mom took us swimming to give Daddy time to actually get some stuff done in May

May is all about gearing up for summer and swim lessons are in full swing. Miss Jill may not be the most fun instructor but our locker room shenanigans at JBS make up for the  work load in the pool. Even Skippy gets in on the fun and helps Morty get his loose teeth out with her "magic hanky"!!

Skippys' favorite past time = helping out the Tooth Fairy

Maeve and Theo go to the same swim teacher so we get the occasional playdate and run like maniacs through the locker rooms until someone gets hurt (usually its Morty)

when you realize your sister has a gross sense of humor! 

 

Sadly this was also the last season to enjoy Nono's pool : ( before the new owner wanted to use it all for himself. We had so many good times there so we wanted to ended it on a high note with lots of fun floaties and cousin love.

Who doesn't love a fully loaded pizza?

Sweets & Treats

Smiles for miles

Okay so as I go one, maybe May is more than just Mom's favorite? There is a Mom & Daughter overnight camp that Mommy and I do each year and its so fun called Camp Manitowa. Jane goes too with her Mom and its fun to just hang out and listen to Mom sneeze and rub her eyes (payback?) Arts & crafts, rock wall climbing, canoeing and lanyards galore!! Usually we stay over in yurts but Mom said it would likely be best to go home and sleep in our own beds. Her allergies were going nuts and we usually go home right after breakfast anyhow - plus last year there were hacking coughs  all night long that kept everyone up (Terrible!!!) Its soooooo much fun - no Morty for a whole 24 hours!!

awkward snuggles

getting pretty good at paddling by myself!

the project we made together ; )

The University City Memorial Day run is ALSO in May 

(I'm getting tired just thinking about all that we accomplish in May - jeez!) I love that my friends do it with us too, sometimes the parents to the 5k run before the family fun run too!

Me, Jane & Maeve getting ready to run/walk = Ralk

Morty seems to have performance anxiety and needs Mom to hang with him and tell him its allll going to be okay and remind him that other people are supposed to be in the race, not just him.

Speaking of Morty - I guess he can have some time on the blog too - T-Ball wraps up in May too and the moment he has been waiting for all season finally arrives. TROPHY Day!! 

GOooooooo Wolves!

Mr Left hander

SK & 1st Graders all hands in!

Now I can finally tell you all about the 2nd grade bike ride I had been waiting for since PreK!! All the 2nd graders get to bring their bikes to school and go for a ride through Forest Park. Ill be honest, I thought it was going to be way more interesting but it was fun to have Mom along for the ride and this year there were tons of muddy puddles to ride through (look out for the mud spray!)

Meeeevveee and I pre-bike ride. Raring to go!!

Mom's allergy eyes say it all but my enthusiasm makes up for her "meh" look, right?!

One little fun tid-bit Id like to share before wrapping up May is the creepy nighttime photos Mom takes of Morty (and sometimes me too) We all laugh about the funny or cute positions he sleeps in and the fact that he never knows shes taking the photos, even with the flash on. 

surely this cant be good for blood flow to the brain, right?

oohhhh, so cute