Recap of ApeyMAY - Ready for Summer!

It has been a crazy and very stressful Birthday Month, otherwise known as ApeyMAY. We did a lot of things I love to do.

We took a trip to the beautiful Nashville, IN for their Taste of Brown County celebration.

It was chilly, but walking around casually and looking at all the art and gifts, then trying all the food samples made for a good day. I liked getting there early, before the crowds, and having leisure time to explore.

I set up my pond, having to empty it and re-fill it once when the 7 year old knocked a tiki torch over, spilling torch fuel into the water.











I discovered the frog from last year had hopped its way back into the pond and definitely didn't want to kill it.
I also bought the water plant this year. It is really helping to keep the pond clean.

I have no idea what I am going to do with it over the winter.





Using pots to house the plants that wouldn't fit in the little flower bed, I created a little hummingbird garden. I'm hoping it attracts one or two. I did see a shadow of a hummingbird one evening in the front window, so I think it worked.








 For my birthday, I bought myself some entryway organization. This is the before picture of my entryway..

 This is the after. I like being able to hide the shoes, sit there if you need to, hang up backpacks or jackets, and I re-purposed two of those pictures as calendars for each boy for summer. The glass is a dry erase surface. :)

 I also bought myself a fire bowl. I have wanted a fire bowl for a long time.











I even got to build my first fire in it and enjoy it one bug-free evening. The dog was excited, too!

We took the boys to the first festival of the year to ride some rides. Here they got to enjoy their first Himalaya, which is one of my favorites.

I have been trying to keep up on my garden. It is harder to weed it this year, as more weeds have popped up in the established soil. Baby maple trees are the worst! We had a cold snap right after I planted, then it rained for 4 days, so some of the seeds did not germinate, and my peppers hated it. I had to replant. We shall see what kind of harvest I get.

I also planted this tulip tree in the perfect spot in my yard. The boys brought home 2 for Earth Day. One was accidentally mowed over by a careless 11 year old. This one, however is loving its new home!









The stressful part comes from work. I am so glad it is the end of the year! They say the third year is when you really find your stride. I'm hoping next year is smoother. This second one was full of learning experiences! I already have plans for next year; ideas of things to change and improve. Working in a class like mine, every year will be new, bring new challenges, and be completely different. I enjoy this. It also brings new stresses. These I have to learn to deal with. For now, I am ready for summer and a mental break for my mental health!

2013 Year In Review In Pictures

January

January must have been pretty boring because all I have pictured is my then 5 year old dressed up as a gangster with a Nerf gun. 

This is the month my oldest turned 10. He took so long to decide on his birthday party, as in 2 days before, so when we texted family, they were all busy. We told him he had a choice between having a party or getting to do whatever he wanted, like go with the family to a movie, or go play at Bogey's Fun Center or Bouncin' Barn or Bowling.. He didn't decide.

February

I emptied my computer hutch and moved it into the bedroom for some peace and quiet when I was doing homework for class.

We emptied the game cabinet out and moved it where my hutch was, sorted the games, got rid of a few, and re-filled it. We have a LOT of games!

March/April

Easter Egg Hunting! I had my nieces overnight and took all 4 kids to 2 Easter Egg hunts with family. It was windy and cold. We also hosted a nephew overnight. It was a month of family sleepovers.

Then we celebrated my youngest's birthday and my Dad's.

The youngest learned from his brother's mistake and had a bowling and bouncing party. All the kids had a blast, and my nephew won the big ticket prize at the arcade. 

May

We went the Indy Children's Science and Technology Museum where I got to see Geckos and the boys climbed a rock wall.

Then we visited Nashville, IN for their "Taste of Nashville" event where all the food vendors supply little samples of their wares and you buy tickets. Each sample costs so many tickets to try. Here the boys sample ice cream. They also had gellatto, panini's, steak soup, strawberry shortcake, oils/vinigrettes and bread, chocolate covered strawberries, fudge, and many many more. You can vote for your favorites and the vendor wins a plaque or something.

We built 2 raised bed gardens. 

June

The boys made stepping stones for my new pond.

There were 6 fish in here at one time..

 I harvested some radishes. They were a little hot. Some of them were good.

 I painted this picture. After my college class and work was over for the summer, my creative juices were flowing.

Hubby surprised us with a trip to our first indoor water park in Ohio. 

Our newly planted cherry tree had a cherry on it!

July

I started growing HUGE cucumbers.

The littlest learned to ride his bike without training wheels!

 We took a road trip north for my cousin's wedding and passed huge wind farms..

And visited a Railroad Museum.

 My cousin had a beautiful wedding.

I grew some beautiful gladiolas.

 We found the very fat raccoon that raided my compost bin every night!

 My youngest tried out a pogo stick.

 The boys enjoyed the pond. Probably because a frog decided to move in!!

We went to the fair.

I harvested some carrots.

August/September

 I harvested A LOT of veggies! And MORE veggies!

 We went fishing. This reel is being held by the 4th generation!

We caught some fishies.

We had a family reunion. This is supposedly the last one. All the people who started this reunion are getting too old to come out.

October

 I took my sister to a concert. Pictured here are Hawk Nelson, The Afters, and Building 429.

 The boys dressed up as Transformers for Halloween.

They carved their pumpkins with a little help.



November

 I painted this for class. I like the quote.

Then we started giving the oldest his own room. Both boys helped paint.

December

We made a Christmas mess. The boys got a few nice gifts.

We celebrated with family. The season is about togetherness. Cherish the moments you have!

And the biggest gift of all was his own room.



My goal for 2013 was to try new things. 

• I was a successful gardener. 
• The pond was something new and took some learning. I lost all the fish by the end of the year, but two of them grew rather large and I had a frog living in it! I call that pretty successful if wildlife moved in. 
• I tried a new food. 
• We went to new places, like the museums and water park, and the boys got to see their first wedding and spend their first nights in a hotel. 
• The youngest leaned to ride a bike without training wheels and use a pogo stick. 
• We took our annual trip to Holiday World and the youngest was tall enough to ride the big rides! We discovered the new water slide area and though we got sunburned, we had a blast. 
• We went to an indoor waterpark.
• I became a Godmother.
• I took my sister to a concert. We began to bond.
• The boys got juggling sticks for Christmas and we've tried them out.

I guess trying new things was a pretty feasible resolution. In hindsight, it was going to happen. The point was to learn to be open to new opportunities, look for them and go for it!