Hungry?

Sometimes hunger takes over and you just can't get the food in fast enough, right, Mason?

Class of 2026 *gulp*

First and last day of preschool

This past week has been full of end of school year activities!  Some where along the way, Mackenzie's teacher, Mandy, reported that Mack's class would be the graduating class of 2026.  Looking at my girl, who grew so much during her preschool year, that suddenly doesn't seem so far away.  Now that school is out, we've filled our summer with lots of fun- play dates with friends, over night trips, swim and ballet classes just to name a few!

Mack and her best school buddy, James have lots of plans for the summer

Mrs. Mandy, our favorite

Mrs. Vazquez

So proud of have her "diploma"

Signing Riley's yearbook

How's the view?

Nothing is off limits in Mason's mind! He loves to be outside and on the play set. He thinks he should be able to traverse it with the same ease that Mackenzie does and it can make for a grumpy boy when he can't get where he wants. But mostly, he has fun sitting in the top and looking out!

Watch out below!

Book Worm

Reading her Oceanography book and wearing Grams'
glasses

What we're currently reading. We've already read Ralph S. Mouse
twice but it's a favorite for Mack

It's been so much fun having a new reader in the house! Even though she can read to herself and to us, she still loves to be read to. It's bittersweet to leave behind some of our favorite pictures books ( for a time) but so much fun to read some of the old " classics" that Mike and I loved as little book worms, ourselves.  Mackenzie recently picked out several books from the library to read to Mason.

On the Farm

Imagine Mack's excitement when she heard that Papa had brought home two goats, three calves and a pig from the Auction!

I grew up with bunches of goats and they were just like pets to us. It's so fun to have them around again.


Who needs pants? Mason was pretty excited about goats, too!


The mare, Daisy, gave birth to this colt last spring. He's still pretty iffy around people but he sure wanted Mack's apple!

Wacky Preschoolers

This was Mackenzie's last full week of preschool so the teachers celebrated with a bit of silliness!

Crazy sock day ( Yes, those are polar fleece and she did
wear them all day long)

Crazy hair day followed by....

Crazy hair night

Pajama day

Mother's day

My babies and me

The weekend of Mother's day was a busy one! Mackenzie and I attended a ladies tea at my mom's church. It was fun to see everyone dressed up in their big hats and spend some time talking about things that women struggle with.

My mom and Kim at the tea.

Mack at the tea

After Mack and I got back from the tea, we loaded up in the car and headed out to the Butterfly Pavilion for the afternoon. We had a good time walking around the garden and seeing the remodel of the inside of the pavilion.

Mack in a tree

Mason had fun at the Pavilion, too!

Mother's day dawned bright and early....for Mike, that is! He got up with Mason who woke extra early, at 6:30 am. The two of them made me breakfast in bed and , when Mack woke up, I enjoyed lots of cuddles and sweet cards. We headed off to church and then to our favorite Chinese/Thai food restuarant.  I spent the afternoon playing with my camera and editing some pictures before we headed out to my moms where Mike made ribs for everyone.

One of my favorite things to do when I have the time is to go on photo drives. With my camera in hand, I wander the old dirt roads looking for things that beg to be photographed. Mother's day was a great day for a photo drive!

My photo drive buddy

What's cookin'

Papa telling Mack to hold her clean hands up like surgeons do

Grams and Papa bought an incubator so the kids could see the whole process of chicks being born. My dad has about 100 chickens and, when the weather is warm, he gets about 60-75 eggs a day! So there were plenty of eggs to choose from. The kids " prepped" the eggs and now we wait to see what hatches!

Mack always wants to be where the action is

Coverall cuties

May Day 5k

Though I've been running for four years ( minus a pregnancy and csection recovery), I'd never participated in a race. I'd never expect to win but I was excited about the challenge it'd provide me with to always improve my time and pace.The only thing stopping me was my own anxiety about running alone. So when an old friend from high school invited me to run the May Day 5k, I jumped at the chance.

Race stats:
5k/3.1 miles
averaged pace: 9:47
Finish time: 30:22
Standings for my age range: 4th

It was a small race but it was so much fun. Franny was a sprinter who won lots of races through out high school so I was glad to even keep sight of her through out the race. She finished in 2nds place in our age group.

The race started just a few streets over so the route went through our subdivision. I couldn't help be smile and choke back tears when I neared Beth Ave and 4th street and saw Mike, the kids and my mom on the street corner, cheering me on! It was a great experience and I'm so, so happy to have done it. Next up- The Color Me Rad 5k in Colorado Springs!

Mike and me at the finish line

Official results

This is good!

My photo a day assignment is " this is good" . My kids never fail to provide for the pics I need:

Another resident

Seems another friend has taken up residence in the Long Family Zoo: