Tuesday night was the 6th grade commencement at Maplewood. the band played several peices and there was a potluck dinner, as well as the awards ceremony. the band was surprisingly good. i'd never had the chance to hear them and was impressed that they they could actually play!

Wednesday was the last day of school. it was bittersweet. i love summer. i love all the fun things our family does and how we "go all out" to make summer memorable for the kids. but then i hate that the school year is ending and another chapter of the kids' lives closing. i attempted to take a picture of the kids in front of the Maplewood School sign as we were leaving that last afternoon, but my phone was on the fritz and wouldn't cooperate. i might have to swing by one day during the summer and get a shot of Margaret out front as she won't ever walk those halls again as a student.

a good friend, Mike, came and stayed a couple of nights with us as he had business in town. it was good to have compay. the boys especially liked playing with Mike who got out there and roughed them up on the tramnpoline.

Mike left Thursday and Brian's mom came in Thursday evening. Friday morning we drove down to New Braunfels to go to Schlitterbahn. Karen and Keegan met us there. it was really nice to have four adults to spread amongst the kids. Karen and i spent most of the day together with Samuel and Margaret. John hung out with Brian's mom, as he was too scared to go on any of the rides with the rest of us. Brian took Keegan and William around. we did so much walking as we tried to hit most of the rides in the park. thankfully it wasn't too crowded so the lines weren't bad. wonder what the baby thought of all those wild tube rides i went on.

Brian's mom stayed Friday night and left Saturday morning. i spent the day scrambling to get ready for a going away party we were hosting for the Raders. one of Samuel's classmates came over to play. Wesley lives at Mueller and spends most of his time in the care of a nanny. even on that day, a Saturday, he and his brother and sister were being cared for by the nanny. he has this huge house and lots of fancy toys and gadgets, but wanted to come to our house instead of Samuel going to his. i kind of feel sad for him.

the party was a success. we had about 5 families and tons of kids. there was lots of good food and good beer, as the Raders are beer snobs.

Sunday we were back at Redeemer. it was so good to be back in church after two weeks out. we had nursery duty during the second service so we ended up being at church from 8:45 until about 1! after lunch Brian and i took a long nap. it was so nice! i went and did my daily 4 and a half miles at the trail once the sun had gone down a little. all in all, it was a wonderful day.

this morning Margaret started his Big Job. she's working at a mom's helper for my friend, Robyn, who has three little boys. Robyn lives just down the street so this is a great set up. this will also be wonderful preparation for when the baby comes as Robyn's youngest is still a wee one.

Margaret starts swim team tonight. most of the team is made up of Maplewood kids, so i think she'll enjoy getting to see her school mates every day for the next month and a half.

my tummy has suddenly popped out. i can still wear my 00 Gap jeans, but only because they're extra streatchy and because i wear them superlow. i refuse to wear maternity pants of shorts. all the ones i've encountered are atrocious! i'll probably end up wearing yoga pants a lot as i grow. i went to the thrift store and bought me a pair of 7 For All Mankinds a couple of sizes larger than i normally wear and made me another pair of cut offs from them so i have 2 pair that should last me all summer. a friend from church gave me a bag of maternity things, but they are mostly heavy winter things, so i'll probably end up passing them on to someone else.

i am so excited about my ultrasound a week from today! it is really hard for me to believe that i am nearly half way done!

we're heading to Kilgore this coming weekend to visit Brian's family. we have seen them a lot this spring, but haven't been up to their house since Thanksgiving, so we wanted to make a quick jaunt up there. i always like that drive. it gives us lots of time to talk in the car and also for me to read.

speaking of reading, i've been reading like crazy. i read through 2 Paul Richard Evans books. both were sappy and syrupy as all his books are, but they kept me entertained while i was walking - yes, i'm still walking and reading without incident. i read House Rules by Jodi Piccoult, but i think i already blogged about that. i read an Anna Quindlen book that i hated, and now i'm reading the Mom Factor by Cloud and Townsend, which i think will be really helpful.

we're still not sure what to do about Margaret and school next year. it is frustrating not knowing.

that's all i have time for right now. dinner is waiting to be fixed.