As I write this, we are well into July. May was filled with its usual busyness, and then June was one trip after another, leaving me little time to sit down and write. But here I am now with this update. Besides its full schedule, May was also a bittersweet month, as Aaron finished his high school career and graduated (see below). Besides that, other activities included . . .
Participating . . . in Me Made May. For the third year in a row, I challenged myself to wear something handmade every day. To be honest, it's getting to be less and less of a challenge as my wardrobe has gradually turned over to include more and more handmade items. But it was still fun to document each day and share a little about when and why I made each piece. I didn't document two of the days: the first because the only handmade thing I wore was pajamas at the end of the day and the second because I basically hated my outfit and didn't have any desire to capture it for all to see (and I ditched it by the second half of the day). I finished three things throughout the month: The First Tee, a Sophie Scarf (for Ian's teacher), and the Lane Pants. I realized that if I truly want a handmade wardrobe, then I definitely need to focus on sewing more pants this year. Challenge accepted.
Eating . . . some of the best Italian food of my life. If you are anywhere close to American Fork, Utah, I would say run, don't walk, to Mastra. The Gardners have been raving about it for years, and we finally planned a double date with them. Kathy served her mission in Italy and actually knew the owners before they moved to the US. The focaccia was not even close to any other focaccia I've ever had. We liked it so much that we got takeout from there the very next night when we were hanging out with Mike and his siblings. (And now, as I'm writing this, I just want to go eat there again, pronto.) Other notable food things from this month included: this adorable little home bakery on the side of the street that we stumbled upon one Saturday morning; roasting marshmallows for a primary activity; meeting my two choir friends for lunch (Aubergine Kitchen) and lots of talking; and going out for PoPIE after helping my parents with something (I had been to this eclectic restaurant one time before and I was anxious to introduce it to Mike--did not disappoint!).
Assembling . . . thirteen salads. Also about food, but it deserves its own moment. For the last few months, I've been participating in Salad Club, a weekly salad day organized by my friend, Molly. I have been delighted by a delicious salad showing up on my front porch every Tuesday, and it was finally my turn to repay the favor. I decided to make this brie and cheddar apple kale salad. Overall, it was fairly easy to put together a bunch of salads. The hardest part for me was nailing down the timing. I had plenty of ingredients leftover, so I served the same salad when I hosted book club a couple of nights later. (We read The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman, if you're curious.)
Taking . . . a quick session of swimming lessons. With summer on the horizon, I signed Silas up for a few swimming lessons at the rec center. I usually just do swimming lessons at our neighborhood pool, but I knew we wouldn't be able to do lessons there until July, so I wanted him to have a little refresher before that. Silas enjoyed it immensely; I thought it was a bit of a hassle to get him there on a Saturday morning (and I was a bit puzzled why they spent half of the first lesson in life jackets??).
Meeting . . . some cutie little kittens. Mike's sister, Kirsten, fostered two little kittens (a brother and a sister), and we went over on a Sunday afternoon to play with them. (Well, everyone else played with them; I admired their cuteness from a distance.)
Flooding . . . the kitchen. That sounds more dramatic than it was, although we still haven't completely repaired all the damage. One evening, Ian was taking a bath upstairs (and with those words, you know where this is going). Pretty soon, one of the kids said, "Uh, Dad, there's water dripping through the kitchen ceiling." At first, we didn't realize it was Ian's bath that was the problem (he hadn't actually overflowed the tub), so we thought it was a much more serious problem. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done, so Mike had to cut open the ceiling, let the whole thing air out and dry for a week before he began the patching up process.
Ditching . . . school. This was basically the daily battle of May: getting my teenagers to go to school when learning had pretty much wrapped up and teachers were just trying to pass the time. One day, Bradley's pleas were convincing enough that I let him come with Silas and me for our weekly visit to my parents' house. It happened to almost be my dad's birthday, so we stopped for a cake on our way and had a little mini-birthday party.
Performing . . . on a grand stage. Ian has been in one of the Lyceum orchestras (Debut Strings) all year. It has been a great experience, and he will continue to be a part of it next year. For their final spring concert, they combined with all of the Lyceum orchestras (ten in all) for a beautiful brilliant concert at the Tabernacle. It was an all-day experience from getting downtown, rehearsing for a couple of hours, taking a break, and then finally performing, but it was absolutely amazing to hear this enormous group of kids fill the room and practically break down the walls of the Tabernacle with so much sound. I really loved it. Sadly, there was an extended Johnson reunion the same day, so Mike was there was some of the kids (and I was bummed to miss!), and I was the only one at Ian's concert (and Mike was sad to miss!). Also this month: Ian performed in a violin recital, and he performed "Turkey in the Straw" during his class talent show.
Feeling . . . quite spoiled on Mother's Day. I had mentioned some flowers that I would like, and my boys really delivered. They put up hanging baskets on the front porch and in the backyard and filled the planters by the front door. They built me some beautiful flower boxes for the balcony. And they installed lights in the front and backyard. They made me stay inside so I wouldn't see what they were doing until the grand reveal, and I loved all of the time and effort they put into everything. Now if I can only keep everything alive throughout the summer! I gave them a gift for Mother's Day, too, which was that I didn't make them take any photos because I had just had photos taken with each of them when we did our family photos a few weeks ago. I went to my parents' house before church so that I could give my mom a gift (a new pair of knitted socks), and then we went to Mike's parents' in the evening for dinner with a bunch of his siblings and to celebrate his mom's birthday.
Spending . . . a beautiful morning at the zoo with one of Silas' little friends. We went at our own pace, meandering through the animals, and stopping and watching when we saw something interesting. The boys played at the playground for a long time. The only thing we had to contend with were all the school groups, which is par for the course in May. Later in the month, he went with the same friend to a children's museum and had an equally nice time.
Winning . . . a prize. Silas won our family bracket for March Madness (which is all randomly assigned), and he finally cashed in his prize and got a BYU mug for his beloved hot chocolate. Unrelated, but Silas also became quite attached to a container for cassette tapes during the month and carried it around like a briefcase, even insisting on taking it to the bus stop and on a walk.
Recognizing . . . all the seminary graduates. We spent a Sunday evening honoring all the seniors who completed four years of seminary. What a fine group of kids these are! I especially loved the talk by one of the young men who opened up about his own personal faith struggles. It was vulnerable, relatable and inspiring. I am a big fan of seminary and all that it adds to the high school experience. (And this year, Aaron got to have one of our old friends from our married student ward days as his teacher, which was such a full circle moment.)
Succumbing . . . to illness one by one. It started with Ian in the middle of the night. Vomit all over his bedroom floor as he attempted to get to the bathroom (and we're still dealing with the aftereffects of that several weeks later). He had to miss the Fun Run, which was so disappointing to him. Next was Silas (I missed the PTA appreciation lunch) , then Bradley (who missed his eighth grade awards night), Mike (we had to cancel plans with his cousin to see My Fair Lady), and Aaron (who missed speaking with all the other seniors in sacrament meeting). Somehow, Max, Clark, and I were spared (or maybe it's still coming for us . . . )
Enjoying . . . some time with Matt's family on Memorial Day. Mike's brother and his family came over for lunch and talking and games. And as a special bonus, we got to talk to Truman on his P-Day and bombard him with questions about Tucumán (Aaron's mission).
Celebrating . . . Clark's 12th birthday. All month long, he said he wasn't going to go to school on his birthday, but then when it came to the actual day, he decided there was fun that he didn't want to miss so he went after all. With Aaron's graduation the next day, we had less time for a lot of birthday activities. However, he still got a pile of presents (highlights were his own saxophone, which he was expecting, and a programmable robotic sphere, which he wasn't, and a giant bag of candy, which he always wants). And he got all of his favorite foods throughout the day, and we had cake in the evening.
Helping . . . my brother. Mike spent a lot of the month helping to find housing for my youngest brother. He finished up his service mission this month and has some special needs that made my parents' house not the best fit for him anymore. We found a residential facility for him that we hope will be good for him and his independence after he adjusts and settles into a new routine there.
Keeping . . . one foot in school while the other was already into summer. We swam at our pool for the first time, went on a long early morning hike, and stayed up too late hanging out in the front yard.
Wrapping . . . up all the final school activities. There were concerts (band and choir), award ceremonies, AP tests (world for Max; physics, statistics, and government for Aaron; and microenomics for me--I proctored for the first time), parties and celebrations, etc.
Graduating . . . from high school. I vividly remember dropping off Aaron for his first day of kindergarten, and now the unthinkable has happened, and he has graduated from high school! I had resigned myself to this milestone, and so it was a joyful day celebrating his accomplishments and looking forward to the next steps in the future. His high school somehow scored the morning time slot for graduation, which was so nice because it meant we had plenty of time afterwards to go out for lunch and go to all the end-of-school parties. Aaron's good friend, Rohan, was one of the graduation speakers, and another good friend, Zack, led the drum line and had a solo in the jazz band performance (Silas said, "Now that's what I call playing the drums!!"). Max also performed with the jazz band. Aaron's cousin, Laura, graduated too (and she performed with the Madrigals), so we sat with her family and Mike's mom. I just love the feeling of graduation: all those kids in their caps and gowns ready to take on the world, and one of them was my kid, and I was so proud.
Skipping . . . graduation. Ian opted not to sit through two hours of graduation and went to the last day of school instead. (The thought of not getting to clean his desk with shaving cream was too much for him.) He beat us home by about 20 minutes, and when we got back, his face was all red and puffy. "Ian!" I exclaimed, "What's wrong?!" "I just don't want school to be over." And I can see why. He had the best year with the best teacher. She taught Aaron, Max, Bradley, and Clark in third grade, too, and retired at the end of this school year. We feel so lucky to have had her so many times. Also of note, Ian had his third grade program, and I submit that there might not be anything cuter than a group of third graders belting out the Utah state song with all the fervor and pride they could muster. And finally, he went to a class pool party at his friend's grandma's house and learned to do a back flip off the diving board while he was there, so third grade wrapped up on a real high note.
Printing . . . a book. I have been wanting to compile all of the posts I wrote when Aaron had both of his bone marrow transplants. I tried four different blog-to-book companies and finally went with Pixxibook. It was not customizable so the layout they gave was the layout I got. However, I liked that it looked like I had customized it because the photo sizes and placement were varied throughout. Also, their customer service was super responsive, and I was very pleased with the quality once it arrived and was in my hands.
Finishing . . . another movement challenge. This one was about 12 weeks long, and I didn't miss a day of intentionally moving my body. (Many thanks to Mike who was always up for a late night walk if I still needed to get one in at the end of the day!)
