Four Days of Mid-May Mayhem

Early last Thursday morning, Jamie and I hustled around the kitchen together making coffee, lunches, etc. and basically said “We are at the starting line of 90 insane hours, but WE CAN DO THIS and we will enjoy this!” I think sometimes the introverted sides of Jamie and me tend to get overwhelmed when our schedules get busy and then forget to actually enjoy the sweet moments that are making us “busy”. (Can you relate?)

So we made a pact to divide and conquer, help each other where necessary, and most importantly to enjoy the heck out of our long weekend ahead; and enjoy we did! Did we collapse Sunday night? Oh yeah. But was it a wonderful weekend? 1000%.

Thursday

We started the day with our 5 a.m. workouts, got dressed and ready for the day, and then Sadie and I were out the door to take Hadley to speech by 7:30. After speech, we took Hadley to school and then headed pick up groceries I’d ordered online. We then went home for the morning to get things together before my in-laws flew in from Austin at 1 p.m.

We cleaned inside and out, made cookies, put away laundry, ate lunch, packed everything we needed for dance recital rehearsal, and then headed to get Hadley.

Jamie used his lunch hour to scoop up his parents at the airport and then brought them to our home to rest and hang while the girls and I were downtown at their rehearsal. Sadie danced first since she was in the youngest class, and we made it by the skin of our teeth! Whew.

Hadley danced close to last, and then we booked it out of there to head home to see H and S’s Miya and Papaw!

We hung around the house together for about an hour before changing clothes for Hadley’s soccer practice/make-up scrimmage at 5:30.

Jamie met us there and we watched Hadley play as hard as she could despite being visibly tired from the day. We stopped in at a local Mexican restaurant to eat on the way home, scarfed our food and finished up quickly thanks to an epic public meltdown from Sadie over eating a chip wrong, and then booked it home to bathe the kids and get them in bed. In fact, we all needed to get to bed. It had been a long day for all!

Friday

Hadley had been stuck for weeks on the idea of having this big celebration for her half birthday (May 17th), which we did our best to squash as well as we could. 😉 We didn’t want to set the expectation that we go “all out” for half birthdays, even though we have enjoyed a little “half cake” in the past on half birthdays, thanks to a sweet tradition my dad used to do with us growing up.

She asked me sweetly on Thursday night if we could please have doughnuts in the morning for her half birthday, and the idea “Don’t say no when you can say yes” popped into my head. So I grabbed an assorted dozen from Dunkin on my way home from Orange theory Friday morning, and needless to say, the girls were so happy! Happy half birthday to Hadley and happy last day of school, girls!

Late morning was Hadley’s little Pre-K graduation, which was so super cute. They sang a ton of songs and kept it short and sweet. I definitely teared up a few times watching her on stage. It’s just been a really great year for her. Her teachers, little friends, and her school in general have been a huge blessing in her life.

She was beaming when she saw her grandparents in the audience watching her!

Immediately after the program, Jamie and I switched cars so that he could grab Sadie from her class and take everyone home while I booked it over to Another Broken Egg cafe for a baby shower luncheon for the pregnant mamas who are currently members at Orange Theory!

There are quite a few of us who are pregnant (10 I think!), so a few of the coaches threw a little shower together. It was really, really sweet, very well done, and very appreciated.

Loved getting to know more of the members and spending time hanging together outside of running, rowing, and lifting. 🙂

We mostly took it easy the rest of the afternoon/evening on Friday in preparation for a big Saturday. Jamie and his dad laid some sod in the backyard, I cooked dinner (chicken, mashed potatoes, and creamed spinach), and then we all ended the day watching 20/20 once the girls were asleep. 🙂

Saturday

It’s recital day!

Jamie and I were up at 5:45 ready to get a head start on the morning. I put together a breakfast casserole the day prior that needed to cook for an hour, so I popped that in the oven right at 6. Jamie and his dad were out the door by 7:30 to go buy flowers and head to save seats at the recital while the rest of us got ready. The girls were excited for hair and makeup, so they were super still and cooperative, which helped get it done quickly! I was surprised that we were able to stick to our plan to be packed up and out the door by 8:30.

The recital was over by 11:30 and was fantastic. We really enjoyed watching the girls! It was also equally fun watching the teenagers and wondering if our girls will have talent like that one day. It’s hard to imagine but totally possible if dance is something they enjoy and want to stick with. I never danced, so this is a whole new world for me!

The first thing Hadley said when I picked her up from the green room was “Do you have any flowers for me?” I was like sheesh, sister! You’ll have to wait and see. 😉

We met up with our families, took a handful of quick pictures, and then headed to The Lumberyard to eat!

If you’re local and haven’t been to The Lumberyard for an event or a meal, make plans to go on a pretty day asap! It’s a really neat spot in Huntsville.

I had made us reservations weeks ago to eat on the Blue Bayou, an old train car there on The Lumberyard’s property that has limited seating. The girls were so looking forward to it! I’d give the food a B- rating, but the atmosphere was an A+!

After lunch, we headed home and absolutely wiped out. By 5 p.m. though we were up and at ’em again to meet my parents at a dinner spot my dad suggested called Hard Dock. It’s a casual riverfront restaurant in Decatur, which was right up our alley!

It was the perfect spot to truly unwind and end a good day.

Sunday

Sunday we all woke up a little lethargic, but some leftover casserole, a few cups of coffee, and a fresh cut-up pineapple hit the spot for everyone. Jamie headed to church to serve on the safety team while the rest of us opted to stay home and take it easy. I could so feel my body say to sloooooow down, so I listened. A pajamas morning was awesome.

We ran some errands around noon, and then at 2 p.m. walked down the street to a birthday party for our neighbor besties! Brinley and Tavin turned 5 and 3, and the girls were sooooo excited to celebrate them! It was mostly neighborhood families in attendance, which was just so fun!

We took a “grown ups” picture like this last year with just three couples, so it was fun to see that our group has grown a bit with the addition of new homes!

After the party, we hung with my in-laws for a bit longer before Jamie ran them over to the airport for their evening flight. We live five miles from the Huntsville airport, which is so awesome for receiving travelers and for traveling ourselves!

The girls crashed early Sunday, which gave Jamie and I some time to wind down and reflect on a few special days. Neither of us grew up having four grandparents in attendance at our events, so for the girls to have this is something we know they’ll grow to appreciate. We sure do now.

Let’s chat!

If your children dance, do they also do other activities throughout the year?

Is May also a crazy month for your family? What events do you have going on?

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