May Comes At You Fast

So, May! It ended so many days ago!

I attempted to write a blog post at least five times, but never got more than a few words in. It was a CRAZY month.

We had the usual end of school madness- awards and parties and tests- especially with three kids at three different schools, plus we had a senior with graduation and parties (and friend parties) and swim training, a soon-to-be-junior turning 16 who had been planning her 16th birthday party for two years, a 6th grader taking her first exams, AND I had multiple work trips and a packed work calendar, AND we were taking our big family summer vacation June 5th and our entire downstairs wood floors had to be refinished while we were gone. So. I never quite got to publish anything.

But this little baby Landon graduated!

It was a really wonderful weekend. My sister flew in with her oldest daughter who is only a couple years younger than Cora, my parents drove in, and my brother too, and it was so special to get to celebrate our graduate with them.

Despite previously insisting he would NOT have a graduation party, partly because Landon is a creature who prefers small groups and his home environment, but also because his club team is an hour north of Dallas and he was a year ahead of his grade at his high school so most of his classmates graduated last year. But a teammate up in Frisco offered to do a joint party and that worked out perfectly- all his teammates would be there, my family could come, and his few close friends in Dallas would make the drive.

His teammate is going to swim for Notre Dame, so we did a joint Notre Dame/Indiana party on Saturday night and it worked out great!

His mom was so sweet and I'm so grateful we got to do a joint event.

That morning my sister and I went to my current favorite workout class and then my mom joined us for the best of Dallas consignment shopping! We got some real treasures, particularly my sister, and she now wants to visit even more.

Sunday was Landon's actual graduation. My sister and I worked out again, the ladies shopped again, and then we got ready for the main event.

Graduation itself was a little ... anticlimactic? It was so hot outside, 30 minutes away, graduations are stacked back to back, and you sit and listen to a couple hundred names be read. It's special, it's meaningful, it's a milestone, but your graduate also just comes home with you after? I did have a moment where I teared up when they threw their hats in the air. He's a graduate! with honors! 20th in his class!

We are crazy proud of him.

We came back to our house for a catered BBQ dinner with just our family plus his girlfriend's family. It was lovely. Cora sobbed when it hit her that her big brother was leaving in a couple months.

It really was a great weekend. All my planning worked out and work let me soak it up, it was just really special and kind of surrel. How can I possibly have a high school graduate?

After all of that, I had to go back to work and the girls had to go back to school! Claire had a few more finals and Cora had a couple exams. Cora's last week was great - James and I got to go see her independent project presentation. She picked "South Africa" and did such a good job, and as usual, did it all entirely herself.

I'm so proud of her for this year. She's at a gifted and talented magnet school where she only knew 1 person and it was a really hard adjustment- academically, socially, logistically... and Cora does not like change AT ALL. She worked through so much and her lowest grade for that second semester was a 97 which is honestly pretty incredible.

Claire's last week was also great! She had a round of Sweet 16 parties and did well on her finals and is very ready to be a junior (and take over ownership of her brother's car).

That Sunday we hosted Claire's 16th birthday party at the house.

Her theme was pink and yellow - "freahly 16" - and we went with snacks, mini sandwiches, a lemonade and soda bar, and a DJ in the backyard!

She had a strict budget and we all worked hard to pull it together and I thought it came out so well!

She had a great time and it was nice to see such a great group of girls celebrate her.

That was Sunday night and on Monday morning I had a huge client presentation, flew to Austin that night for a day of witness interviews for a different client on Tuesday, and then flew back late that Tuesday night -- a flight that was delayed by thunderstorms for 4 hours so I got home at 1 am -- and then had a different big presentation for yet another client before the SEC on Wednesday morning. Also calls for a client in Singapore that are always very late or very early. It was a very busy week. (I wore one of my favorite dresses I've ever purchased that I got on the consignment adventures with my mom and sister.)

We were leaving for our big summer trip on Friday and, in addition to packing for that, we had to pack up everything in our downstairs and move it upstairs because all our furniture was going to be moved to the garage the moment we left on Friday so our wood floors could be refinished. Apparently they weren't properly sealed when the house was built in 2021 and they were already looking very worn and damaged. So for many dollars we would get them refinished to look exactly the same!

Oh and Thursday was Claire's real birthday so we did our little decorations and family gifts.

Then we left for the airport! 9 days in Croatia, five Fikes and five carry-on suitcases, and a lot of excitement! Landon's only request for his graduation trip was "jumping off rocks into water" and we were promised plenty of that!