No, I did not fall off the face of the Earth. No, I did not just set a record for shortest stint with a new hobby. Okay, okay – so I let some time slip. Let’s see, end of the school year for the kids, end of the work year for me, soccer season closing (and opening again!), dance competitions, and wait, I think I’m forgetting something . . . oh yeah – there’s also the there-and-back-trip-to-downtown-Chicago-for-an-emergency-passport-for-Emma-so-she-can-go-to-Ireland bit. Yeah, I think that covers it. (Dare I even mention the usuals of laundry, groceries, etc? Yeah – I didn’t think you wanted me to get into that.) So, yes – the blog took a hit these last few weeks. And my husband dared to compare the blog to my defunct knitting hobby. Hmph.

To be honest, I don’t even know where to start. I think I’ll go backwards on the timeline – it’s easier on my middle-aged memory. Yes, Emma left on Sunday for a week-long trip to Ireland with my mom. It all developed in 72 hours. I got a call from my mom at 3:30 on Thursday and by Sunday at 6:00 she was on her way. Joel and I had to both appear with Emma in person at the federal building in downtown Chicago on Friday to obtain her very last minute passport. That required leaving home at 6am and returning at midnight the same day. (Don’t judge – you’d do the same for your kid!) The trip developed from a canceled reservation on my mom’s latest trip as a tour guide. The company she works for received the cancellation at such a late date that they were unable to recoup the costs, so they extended the trip to my mom to include someone of her choice. Once in a lifetime experience for a 9-yr-old, don’t ya think? I’ll let Emma take the reins of the blog when she gets back, and you be the judge. I'll spare you the dramatic story of sprinting over a mile to make our appointment at the passport office resulting in sweat-soaked clothing and arriving three (!) minutes before our appointment time. You didn't think we could do all that without something going awry, did you???

Slightly before that, JB wrapped up his spring soccer season and began his summer lacrosse season. Also, somewhere between Michigan Ave and Dearborn Street in Chicago on Friday, we got a phone call inviting Joel to try out for a local travel soccer team in Rochester. Try-outs being . . . you guessed it, two days later. Smack dab in the middle of Father's Day. No rest for the weary I guess. After two days of drills and evaluations, he was selected for the team and we’re off and running in the travel soccer world. JB is soooooo excited and really on cloud nine. His own Ireland.

Not much to say about lil’ Shannon except that her summer vacation is going along just splendidly. She’s dancing away and doing her best to achieve a spot with Guinness Records for most words used without stopping to breathe in a 24-hour day. I think she’s got a decent shot at it!

I’ve no doubt missed a thing or two. Father’s Day for one. Oh, and losing power for three days after a freak thunderstorm. That was . . . challenging. (Note to self: Need to Google “solar powered generators.”)

Up next . . . Emma’s Ireland blog entry when she gets back (and VBS on it’s heels.)

What a beautiful Memorial Day weekend! We’ve enjoyed a great week and the weekend weather was such a nice treat to help us swing into the final stretch of the school year. Shannon “graduated” from preschool this week and Joel was able to attend her picnic and capture some highlights. Of course, she doesn’t quite get why she’s not getting on the school bus tomorrow morning to start kindergarten, but that’s another story. Yep, only three more months of explaining that one.

On Friday we headed up to Alma, MI for the Scottish Highland Games. This is really the kick off of the highland game season and the crux of the girls’ dance competitions. It’s a lot of fun for all of us – a little crazy at times, but fun. JB likes to take in the “heavy events” which are the guys with arms and legs as big as tree trunks. He has his favorites he likes to cheer for and follow their results as we visit the various games all year. It helps him survive the summers being the brother of a dancer. Well, that and the meat pies and funnel cakes and candy and . . .

Alma is the largest event the girls will compete in this year. As you’ll see from the photos, the dance stage is built on the football field at the college facing the stands. That gives you an idea of the size of this affair. Both Emma and Shannon did very well and they both came away with some medals and progress. Congrats girls!! And thank you to all the Boardmans and Reisters for all the support! The girls love to have fans.

While we were there JB was able to take a spin behind a NASCAR car. Okay, well not really – it was just a simulation. But cool just the same. So all in all not a total loss of a day for JB either.

Another highlight was visiting with our friend Ryan for dinner on Saturday night in Lansing. (Why are there no photos?? We failed that task for sure!!) It was a short visit, but long overdue and we enjoyed the time. Can’t wait for the Barr wedding this summer!!

To round out the weekend, Joel built the kids their own little garden and we spent a good deal of today shopping for and planting their selections. I’ll try to keep a progressive photo going throughout the summer so you can see the progress each week.

The kids also hit the driving range with dad today – so a little of all the things to make everyone happy. No photos there but look for that to develop this summer too since both Emma and Joel have been pestering us for years to get started in golf. I think we’re finally there. Note to self: need to plant that money tree we’re always looking for in the new garden.

One last highlight is Emma’s new business is officially off the ground as she had her first customer this weekend. She started her own dog walking and sitting business and you’ll see a photo of her and her customer, Wyatt, in the slide show. That smile lasted for hours! Of course, Emma getting her animal fix outside of home does nothing for my ongoing effort to wear my husband down enough to add our own companion to the family. Back to square one I go.

One last garden note – there are ants on my peonies. (That's a sentence guaranteed to make any school kid burst into laughter, isn't it?) Those of you who garden know we have to celebrate the small victories and I love to check in on what appears to be a salad bar for them at the moment. It makes me think that no matter how crazy things get, even the littlest jobs are getting done. And in a few weeks, I get to enjoy the sweet and intoxicating (although short lived) blossoms for a while. It’ll be a sweet reward for a tailspin of a spring.

For now, I have to be a good Detroiter and go cheer on the Wings and Stones. Feels like the late ‘80s again.

Black stormy rain clouds - HA! They wouldn't dare to ruin our camping weekend. They threatened. And threatened again. But we escaped untouched by the thunderstorms and enjoyed a great weekend without that particular element.

The kids truly love camping and we had a great time using my parents' 30+ year old pop-up while our friends the Greks enjoyed their first official outing with their new pop-up. I'm sure it was the first of many memories to come. I may never look at a crescent roll the same again (Thanks Rob!!) but the kids will also happily cheer for asparagus jelly from now on!

Of course there were s'mores and pancakes and hot dogs and all the classic camping fare. Campfires, bike rides, nature trails, and . . . oh yeah - raccoons. Let's not forget those friendly visitors. Funny thing is though, the only interested members of our party were fast asleep when those fellows came around the campfire. I guess we were lucky and had we been farther north it might have been something larger than what can be scared away with the switch of a twig. In fact, I'm sure there are some M&Ms, Cheerios, hot dog pieces and popcorn kernels being picked up right now for those raccoons who were patient enough to wait until we left.

As I listen to the laundry churn in the other room, it's time to return to the grind. If only for four more weeks of school. :) There are some videos in this post of Emma's choir concert at school last Thursday night. Hopefully the audio is working this time. The concert came at the end of "Open House" night and the kids had a fun time showing off all their work at school and chowing down some pizza too. Honestly, it's like a rock concert around there that night. The kids are electric with excitement - it's a crazy hour or so! Next year, we'll have all three kids at Long Meadow. Imagine.

Have a great week everyone! Thanks to the Greks for a great getaway!!

We had a “some kind of wonderful” Mother’s Day weekend! We started the celebrations by going to our cousin Erin’s wedding on Saturday and it was absolutely beautiful. If you were around this area on Saturday, you know what a picture-perfect day it was complete with a brilliant blue sky with just the right amount of white puffy clouds – perfect for a riverside, lighthouse wedding. Absolutely gorgeous! Of course, thanks to MDOT and their continuing “effort” on I-75 we were late arriving downriver and caught only the last few moments of the wedding ceremony. But we did get there and then scooted off to the reception. The kids had a blast dancing the night away before their coach turned into a pumpkin and all three did their very best “But moooooooommmmm . . .” and “But daaaaaaaaaaadd . . .” speeches to date in protest of leaving.

But what would a weekend with this family be if it weren’t packed to the gills with events, right? So . . . you guessed it . . . we had to turn in earlier than everyone wanted to because we were up at the crack of dawn on Sunday for choir performances at church. Yes, you read that right – I said “performances.” Plural. And to make it interesting . . . let’s have both kids singing at the exact same time but in different worship services. What’s a mom to do? On Mother’s Day, a mom does NOT pick a favorite child. So what a mom does is start in one service and then quietly sneak out before even more quietly sneaking into the other service to catch the tail-end of the other child’s singing. In all seriousness though, it was really nice and the kids did a fantastic job as usual. Next year all three kids will be in choirs, though, so I might have to hire seat fillers like they do at the Oscars.

Sunday was not so picture-perfect as far as the weather goes, but it was a wonderful Mother’s Day nonetheless. The kids were supposed to catch the Tigers/Yankees game with my parents, but thanks to the slowest moving rain system I’ve ever seen God decided to water the plants instead. All day long. So we all headed to the movie theater instead, and then off to a delicious dinner. I suppose the rain makes for a future Mother’s Day Part II at some point when the game is rescheduled, right? (You like how I worked that? Clever, huh??)

Oh, and I would be remiss if I forgot to mention one very important highlight to JB’s weekend. (Okay – probably the highlight.) Saturday morning’s soccer game was a nail-biter. The score was comfortably 3-1 at one point, but then crept to 3-3, and then 4-4. In a bend-it-like-Beckham move that I cannot believe I didn’t catch on video, JB finessed a shot arching over the goalie’s fingertips above his head and into the back corner of the goal for the game-winning shot. It was pretty cool. No wonder he was bopping around the dance floor that night! (And ladies, his Electric Slide is coming along quite nicely, thank-you-very-much.)

So all-in-all, it was truly wonderful.

Next week: Friends and kids and camping – oh my!

I should explain some of the photos in the slideshow this week. The choirs are self explanatory: Joel's in solid blue - he's in the top row, farthest left. Emma's in the other photo - front row, white shoes. The dogwood photo is the view outside Joel's and my bedroom. That's literally what we see. Isn't it pretty? It's a persnickety tree though and only graces us with blooms every other year it seems. So I was determined to immortalize it this year in film - er, digital file. Anyway, I think I just found my new wallpaper for my computer. Lastly, other than the wedding photos, my Mother's Day gifts are included - a flower vase from Shannon, handmade necklace from Emma, and photo/hand print from Joel. Aren't I spoiled?!?!?