Best and Worst

Jake's worst - feet hurt
Kathryn's worst - boogie board jammed her ribs
Cherry's worst - sand literally burned her feet
Nick's worst - it felt hot outside and sand was fire
Seeger's worst - sand was freaking him out because it was all over
Natalie's worst - didn't sleep as long as she wanted to this morning
Mike's worst - got sand in some sensitive places and it didn't feel good
Jon's worst - mom complained about him bringing a comb and mirror to the beach
Michael's worst - missing a concert he wants to see and blisters on his feet
Jake's best - time at the beach with entire family
Kathryn's best - jumping the waves
Cherry's best - being with her family on vacation
Nick's best - waves
Seeger's best - going through the white waves and then getting to the regular waves and not getting washed away
Natalie's best - playing in the ocean with her family
Mike's best - watching his boys surf the waves
Jon's best - mom doing his laundry for him
Michael's best - everyone here enjoying a nice dinner together instead of eating at an Applebee's

Seeger's Birthday

Seeger turned nine in April and it was a party year (in case you don't know, the boys get a big birthday party every other year). He opted to have his party at a bouncy house place called Jumping Joey's. It was a bit pricey from my perspective but it was also incredibly convenient. They took care of every detail, including the cake. Since his birthday was in the midst of such an incredibly busy time for me at work, I was happy to pay the $250 and not plan anything. All the boys had a great time!

I wrote some captions under a few photos so that ten years from now, I would have help remembering names of the boys who attended!

 Seeger and Roberto. Roberto is moving back to Ecuador with his parents who were studying at IU for the past few years.

 Seeger and Ryan.

 Seeger and Luke.

 Seeger and Solomon.

 Seeger and Sam.

 Seeger and Kai.

After the party, we went back to our house where Seeger opened his presents from us. The theme of this year was Pokemon. Almost every present Seeger received was Pokemon related.

(Cute story.... while shopping for his birthday, Nicklas went with me because he wanted to pick out the present he would get for Seeger. He commented that he wanted to find something really awesome since Seeger had gotten Nicklas such an awesome present for his birthday. In case you're wondering, Seeger bought Nicklas the Avengers movie. Nicklas ended up getting Seeger a DVD with short videos of the Despicable Me minions.)

The next day, we tried to talk Seeger in to picking a restaurant for his birthday dinner. (A tradition we all enjoy.) Instead, he wanted us to make him some of his favorite foods. So he created a menu that included steak on the grill, cheesey breadsticks, and hard boiled eggs.

I have to say, I'm pretty lucky to be the mom of such a great kid. He's kind, empathetic, and funny. Happy birthday, Seeger!

April in Review

In April....

Nicklas earned his purple belt stripe.

My mom, Seeger, and I attended the senior recital of Seeger's drum teacher, Arianna Fanning. It was bittersweet because Arianna graduated and moved to Nashville, TN. I'm so glad Seeger had the opportunity to work with her.

It finally felt like spring in Bloomington which meant walks to Oliver Winery and bike rides around our neighborhood.

It also meant the start of landscaping projects!

In April, I went to West Baden/French Lick with some friends.

I had to take this photo of Seeger, playing in his room. I think I'll have fewer and fewer opportunities to catch him playing with toys as he gets older.

April means grilling and eating outside.

Here is Seeger and Freddy, before Freddy got his summer haircut.

At the end of the month, we headed to Bradford Woods for an event I helped plan. It was an alumni event that included hiking, paddleboarding, canoeing, rock climbing, and a zip lining. We all pitched in on the climbing wall. 

Even my mom participated in the activities. You have to climb the rock wall to get the zip line. We were all successful except Seeger who doesn't really like heights.