Taking a moment to catch my breath....whew.

May and December.
Two whirlwind months...every single year.

I will skip the dialogue and just post a few (or a lot) pictures....in no particular order because that would require thought and effort on my part. I'm just trying to breathe again.

 Baseball kicked into high gear...except not really because our 45/55 days of rain (only a slight exaggeration) changed the schedule over and over again.

 Kalahari -- not technically a May event but a Spring Break event that I just haven't blogged about. (and probably won't say any more except that we had a lot of fun and it was a nice get-away.)

 The sweet autographed Indians gear that we auctioned off for Cannon's team fundraiser. Thanks to Mitch (Cleveland Indians pitcher) and Julie Talbot for hooking us up! These items were a huge hit!

 Just one of many Spring concerts we attended.

 Soccer. Soccer and more soccer. Mother Nature wreaked havoc on our Spring sports schedules -- and we spent a good portion of the time in mud up to our shins.

 Because we had so many rainouts...we played double headers the last 3 Saturdays. Multiple two games by a couple of the kids and it equals some long days...a little too long for a certain 5-year-old. I know, I know...who doesn't want to spend 7 hours on the soccer field? I am a true soccer mom.

 A few missing teeth.

 Another concert.

 More mud...and more mud...and more mud. Seriously  -- enough. The fields even smelled bad from all the churned up mud.

 A first experience cutting the grass. This is NOT the way I did it when I was a kid. No comments to Cannon on the pink pauncho! He was actually cutting the neighbor's grass as a service. (The guy didn't have a lawnmower and quite frankly, I think Greg got sick of looking at it.)

 Our newest niece -- Hadley Kaye Carlson, May 10, 2011. 6 pounds 8 ounces (I think I have that wrong) and 18 3/4 inches. Wish we could meet her in person!

 Weird skies. Weird weather. Tornado warnings and watches and severe thunderstorms galore!

 The hail that accompanied one of the tornado warnings...we should have been in basement instead of watching from the windows. Too bad we didn't know we were under a tornado warning until after the fact.

Preschool graduation. Kindergarten...here we come~!

Whew...that pretty much sums it up. Don't expect pictures of this week's activities any time soon...bowling field trips (Cannon and Brynnley), Cedar Point field trip (Addysen), Family picnic (Brynnley & Kenzie), more baseball games....

Coming next week....THE WARRIOR DASH.

Turning into a beast?

The title of this post goes against my new-found (ok, not new-found, but my renewed effort towards you get what you think about) goal of only thinking in terms of the positive. However...after I tell the story...you be the judge.

Things tend to get a little crazy around here on Wednesdays when we try to get everyone out the door to various soccer and baseball practices which start at 5, 6, and 6:30 -- all at different locations. Because past experience has taught me that certain children are a little less motivated than others to get out the door...we start the process early.

Last Wednesday was no different. Nor was it different from the aspect that Kenzie was not feeling overly compliant towards my requests to "get going."
"Shin guards itch, I'm not wearing them."
"Those sweats are the fluffy sweats. I don't like them."
"I don't want that headband."
"I want the yellow water bottle and Brynnley took it." (Never mind that it had Brynnley's name on it.)
I'll spare you the rest as I'm sure you the idea.
The thing is...no one has more fun than Kenzie once they get to the soccer field. She loves running around kicking the ball. But she certainly was onry about getting ready to go.
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FLASH FORWARD to after practice in the car on the way home. I had just finished telling Addysen about a few more 'naughty' things Kenzie had done throughout the day. In the meantime, Kenzie was practicing the songs they are singing in church for Mother's Day from the backseat.
"Mother, I love you. Mother, I do. I'm so glad Father sent me to you.....
Mother I love you. I want you help you because I love you. I want to mind you..."
At this point I couldn't help myself...I said,
"Kenzie, why don't you listen to the words you are singing and try to do what you are singing."
She said, "What?"
I said, "In the song, you talk about wanting to help me and mind me because you love me."
There was silence in the backseat for a moment and then she belted out,
"FATHER, I LOVE YOU. FATHER I DO. I'm so glad Father sent me to you."

She's only 5. Please tell me she didn't have the presence of mind to really think through that whole thing!