Awards, Parties, and Margarita Machines Forever

WHOAH, the end of May is madness. Super fun madness, but madness all the same. When we last left off we had hosted a Memorial Day pool party and jumped into the final week of school. Our new nanny started on Tuesday and I did not have to get to work by 7 a.m. to be able to leave in time to get the kids to swimming on time so that was GREAT. The kids also liked her very much and I'm very happy to get to pay someone to pick them up in the afternoons again.

On Wednesday I worked from home because we had Claire's awards ceremony in the afternoon and a crew coming to the house to install wood floors in our bedroom (FINALLY! I swore we'd rip out that gross carpet the day we moved in... 6+ years ago), do some updates in the girls' bathroom, and restain our deck. And it all had to be done before our last day of school party on Friday.

Let the fun begin!

Fun that wraps up in 48 hours with a super clean house pretty pretty please!

Moving on, we headed over to school after lunch for Claire's awards. So hard to believe this little Bear is heading to 3rd grade! I still think of her as the world's most excited Kindergartner.

She's had such a great year and continues to love school and her teacher with her whole heart.

We do end of the year thank you notes to the teachers. Claire's are always very sweet and this year I finally remembered to take a picture of it.

Landon's ceremony was on Thursday.

We're terrible about ever taking video of anything, but I'd regretted not getting some of Claire's moment the other day so I asked James to get out his phone and now I'm SO GLAD because I was cracking up while they read out his list of awards and he got Wrangler of the Year which is AMAZING and something he literally wrote down as his goal for this school year back in August and basically we're just crazy proud of this kid and I'm glad I have this clip.

Beaming! Also grabbing a quick picture in the school lobby before James ran (literally) out to his car to drive to his lessons.

I got a quick picture of Landon and his teacher before checking him out a few mins early (along with every other parent/kid at school). I can't believe he's going to be in 5th grade next year. I really can't believe he'll be in middle school the year after that. I don't want to leave our sweet diverse wonderful school and I've decided I'm just not going to think about it.

So the kids and I went to Sonic to celebrate and stay in denial.

Later that evening we told Landon he could pick anywhere he wanted to go out for dinner to celebrate his Wrangler of the Year award (and also this National literacy award that he was the only one in his school to win that we had no idea about). Annnnyyywhere you want. And where did he want to go? Cici's pizza. He could not be tempted by other, much more delicious pizza served in cleaner, calmer environments, so off we went. $27 for a family of five later he told us it was the best pizza he'd ever had in his life so I suppose it worked out just the way it was supposed to.

Also on Thursday our floors were finished!

They look great!

And now I need rugs and curtains and new bedding. And a bench for the foot of the bed. And something for the back wall. I've decorated some kids' rooms (multiple times) and the rest of our house. It's the grown-up's turn now.

And then it was Friday and the last day of school! I couldn't believe it was here and my baby birds are off to 3rd grade, 5th grade, and our very last year of daycare ever!

I got a picture of Claire (because she finally let me do the pigtails I've been requesting for a year) and Landon said, "wait, you don't want one of me too?!" Of course I do!

(Quick funny Landon story. The 4th graders had their "growing up" health video in school on Wednesday. As I walked Landon home I asked him if he learned anything new, had any questions, etc. "No," he said, with a hand-wave and a knowing voice, "you know, the books, the talks with dad..." This his whole face lit up, "OH WAIT! Did you know when I hit puberty I'm going to sweat EVEN MORE? I mean [as he gestures to his soaking wet hair, face, and shirt from outdoor recess], CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE?"

Laughing, "No, no I can't, but buddy, I think we're kind of just there now."

Obviously relieved, "Oh good, because seriously."

We have a now-traditional Last Day of School Pool Party. The kids are all hyped up on class-party sugar and last day of school excitement, so hanging out by the pool with adult beverages and swimming children is the perfect way to cap off a crazy week. We get it catered to make it easy and it's become my favorite day of the year. (Along with like my 25 other favorite days, but it's my favorite day in MAY.) We've been joking for 2 years about our friend Julian buying a margarita machine to bring to our pool parties and on Friday morning we got this text and I felt like it was Christmas and all my dreams were coming true;

It was 105 degrees outside (not an exaggeration; actual temperature) and this was AMAZING.

I picked Claire up for school and she somehow snagged this as a gift from her class party and we were ready to throw down.

Our deck was done being stained at 10 p.m. the night before, I'd moved all the furniture back and set up the coolers and tables (and sweated through an entire set of clothes), the pool was cleaned, last year's pool toys hosed off, and the pomegranate margaritas marinating in the fridge. We were ready. I love this party.

Future elementary schoolers!

James had to coach, so he picked up the food after his lessons were over. In the past I'd learned not to put food out right away at pool parties, because the kids just swim and everything gets yucky. I'd also learned (in the past) that no one eats as much as you think they will because they're too busy swimming. So I ordered the same amount of food I did last year when we had a few additional people and figured we'd be set. But we were NOT. You guys, for the first time in my whole life of hosting parties we RAN OUT OF FOOD. I was mortified. How could I call myself a hostess? The kids inhaled everything and the adults picked at the remains. Our friend made a cookie cake that last year we ate maybe 1/3 of and this year only a few edge pieces remained.

So our kids eat more now. Noted. Next year I'm getting double.

The margaritas continued. Kids' cherry slushes on the right, adult beverages on the left. And the kids swam and swam and swam.

And swam. Is there anything better than a pool party that goes past bedtime when you're a kid?

My memories say there is not. It was a really great night. I can't believe another school year is over.

And then on Saturday we hosted Claire's birthday party! But we'll get to that later because today we're not hosting a thing. Not that I'd mind another go at the margarita machine...