Catching Up on May and June

Sometime in mid-May, I finally felt confident that summer had arrived in Minnesota.  Being outside in shorts and a tank top felt marvelous, even when the humid air left my hair a frizzy mess and dirt stuck to my sweaty skin as I hauled mulch, turned over garden beds and dug holes for new shrubs.  The rest of May was devoted to bringing life and color back to our yard and on the last evening of the long Memorial Day weekend, I sat on the front stoop, tired from days spent in the sun, and watched the kids ride up and down the sidewalk on their bikes and wondered, had winter really been that bad? 

Spring brought a number of firsts for the season - outdoor swimming, park playdates, attempts at getting back into running form, mosquito bites, bike rides down to the river to splash in the fountains, the farmer's market, ice cream at Grand Old Creamery and adult rec league softball games.  As spring quickly gave way to summer, we settled into a new routine that involves going to bed way too late since the sun isn't setting until after 9:00 p.m. and letting housework slide since we'd rather be outside instead of staying on top of laundry and dishes.

As is always the case, summer weekends are so precious and few that they fill up fast.  At the beginning of the summer, Chris and I looked at our calendars to see if there was a weekend night we could take advantage of Andy and Danielle's offer to watch the kids so we could get out of town just the two of us.  We didn't find one weekend that would work!  We conceded defeat and asked Andy and Danielle if we could take a rain check for the fall.  

But then again, we have an unusually busy summer and the craziness hasn't even fully gotten underway.  Renovation of our house starts in mid-July and by the time the contractors finish sometime in the fall, we'll have a brand-new master bedroom with walk-in closet and master bath, laundry on the first level and a mudroom.  But until we get the finished product, we're going to see the roof and ceilings torn off the back half of our house and we'll end up bunking with the kids for part of the renovation.

We also have an au pair arriving from Germany at the end of the summer.  He (yes, he!) has agreed to come to Minnesota and be our au pair.  More so than simply being willing to sign up for a winter in Minnesota, he was undeterred about our unknown adoption timeline and knows that when he arrives our house will be a construction zone.  We were ecstatic when he said yes and are looking forward to his arrival.