The Great Outdoors!

I LOVE this time of year! The windows are open, the birds are singing, and the flowers are blooming. The garden has really done well this year. I spent a lot of time last fall making boxes out of chicken wire to house my bulbs. It worked!! The squirrels and chipmunks didn't get to them and they came up beautifully. We just mulched and it looks even nicer! My lillies are coming up right now and the orange really pops against the green stems and dark brown mulch.

Katie is now a 5th grader!!! Where has the time gone? I got to help at school for her class picnic and class field day. We had a lot of fun. She is really going to miss Mrs. Paulson! (hopefully we will see her at the next Phillies' Championship Parade!)

We have already gone to the Philly Zoo twice this year (already paid for the membership we bought). We went with Kelly, Patrick, & Olivia in May and Mike, Michele, Nicole, & Tyler in June. It's amazing how different the experience is when you go with toddlers! They are so excited and enthusiastic to see the animals. Katie likes to go and learn about the animals. Although I learn a lot, it's not the same as a toddler making monkey or lion sounds!!!

Katie had her last soccer of the spring season on May 30th. She played in a 3v3 tournament at Amity. It was a great experience! They were 1-2-1, but they were in every game. There were only 4 of them and they each got a lot of playing time! Their games were at 1, 2, 3:30, & 5:30. We needed afternoon games because Katie had a basketball game that morning. We also had the pleasure of watching Olivia for the weekend. She is such a blast!!!

Katie started playing in 2 summer basketball leagues. All I can say is it's going to be a LONG summer! The girls on the other teams have been taught to steal and be aggressive. Our girls have not... enough said! Katie was guarding against a girl who was taller than me! Oh well, it's a learning experience. Her coach is really good, so I am sure he will help them improve their skills. This will get her ready for travel basketball in the winter.

Hopefully the weather will be nice and the kids can spend most of the summer at the pool.

I have been working on soccer every night. I think next year will go much better now that I know what I need. It helped speaking with other registrars at the clinic the other night.

I haven't had much of a chance to scrapbook, but I did make a "star" mini album for a future crop. It is cute! We had our Secret Sister reveal last Sunday. Darlene was my secret sister. She gave me incredible gifts! I actually caught her husband dropping off a gift one month, but I didn't know who he was, so it didn't give it away! I was Beth's secret sister. She knew it was me! It was pretty easy to tell because I didn't buy anything for "my secret sister" from her. Almost everyone else did! Oh well... it was a lot of fun. After the reveal we went to lunch at Sonic and then shopping at Fancy That and Times to Remember. We then had dinner at On The Border. I love getting together with the girls. Lots of laughs!

Ray only has 9 more working days left of work! Time really does fly!