Days with the Dorans

 Memorial Day marks the start of summer and it's the day we get all the toys into the water. It was a perfect day. The kids played while the boys worked... And Sean squirted Marty (who is obsessed with water guns)... And the ladies had a lo-cal summer beverage. It was fun to see all the kids spending the day like I always did... wiffle ball in the yard and playing in the lake. My parents have the best home! It's time for summer!!

Sean's "Soft Slide" see video below.

This kid just started the Roomba to clean the floors. This kid then decided to help with the dishes. And this kid decided to grow taller than his mama! EHHHH!!

Goose is our kid who doesn't sit. He always wants to be outside and he's usually moving or making something. I was excited he decided to try Stride which is a YMCA sponsored running group at the school. He had avoided it before because of soccer but this time, he did both and he had a blast! The boys learned lessons and would of course run. At the end of the season they ran a real 5K and encouraged each boy to have someone run with them. Well... since his BEST BUDDY is a runner, Papa was Z's "Someone". It was rainy and nasty but Jeff and I went to cheer on the guys! Jeff drove Papa and Goose and I met them as soon as I dropped Al off at her dance competition. After we saw them take off, Jeff and I headed toward the finish line. It was actually a great park and I would have loved to explore more had it not been raining.  Thankfully there was no lightning and I think they all liked running in the rain. Thankfully our umbrellas saved our signs from ...

This was the first time I didn't stay to watch Al dance. I actually had to drop her off and get outta town to see Z run his first 5K! I didn't even walk in with her. It was a wee bit stressful because her close friends weren't at this competition (Al's other dances were the day before) and when she got there they decided to change the hair from low bun, part on the side- to high bun with no part. I wasn't there to help her but she got it done! Ali's grown a lot this year in dance but what I've been most impressed by isn't necessarily her dance moves but her ability to be flexible and make things work! I got back in time to see the awards. And in the end, the hard work paid off. They were the studio who had the best scores overall so they got a nice check. Way to go, TDS!

 I'm so proud of my little brother! Like me, he's a teacher and when I got my "Teacher of the Year" picture back I thought it would be funny to give it to him with a funny bit on the back. Well, he gave it back to me on my 40th with a picture of him and a "Drapal of the Decade" thing on it. Well, today he actually became "legit." He won the high school teacher of the year in his district which is really sweet! I'm so proud of him. So while is NOT the "Drapal of the Decade" he's a pretty cool Drapal. Congrats, Danny! Your students are so lucky to have you!!

On Mother's Day I learned that Sean loves me because "You let me go on walks without pet Marty." He also filled out one of those questionnaires about me which was really cute.  After Ali's game (yes she had a game- away), we went home and walked over to Great Nan's. I'm not going to lie. Being around her is heartbreaking. We did get some smiles out of her but most of the time she lives now in a state of confusion. She no longer knows who we are and she can't see and hear so well either.  It was good to see her smile though! It's hard to believe that not long ago she was getting on the floor with the kids to play and now she's almost 99!! After our visit with her, we headed to the lake where my mom gave us some "Mommy Medicine" (love it) and the boys cooked for the women in their lives. It was a perfect day! Nana and all her kids! Steph and her kiddos! Me and my kiddos!

 We are so lucky to have great friends who are also close by. I feel like we haven't known Jojo, Dave, Kurt and Eric for long (I've obviously known Ang and Ty for a long time). Despite not knowing each other for long we've become fast friends and spend every weekend at one of our houses it seems. Usually the parents stay inside while the kids (who don't feel cold) go out and play things like "Ghost in the Graveyard" and "Infection" but this time we parents hung outside. It feels like spring had finally sprung so what better way to spend nights than around the fire with a beer and some guitars! We had a fun sing-along and of course Marty loved all the attention he got from Eric.

Joe did a great job at his recital. He still goes through rounds where he doesn't want to practice and I find that he WON'T unless I am sitting in the room with him or watch him get started. This year he had a fun "Mario" song that he did. He also did "When the Saints Go Marching In" which was pretty easy for him... You can watch him play HERE . We are so proud of him and love listening to him play! His kind of bouquet!

My cousin, Nicole, is like a sister to me. We grew up together and have a small family so it really was her, Danny and me most of the time. She married an amazing guy (I blogged about their wedding) and I was THRILLED when she was pregnant. She lives in Canada now so my Aunt Barb (her mom) was keeping me updated by texts on how the labor was going.  At one point I got a worried text that they were "concerned about the bleeding" and I flipped out. I was on my walk with Marty and I had tears streaming down my face as I said aloud (because somehow saying it out loud made me think God would hear it better), "Please God keep Nicole and Baby safe... Please God keep Nicole and Baby safe..." I repeated it over and over for probably two miles! I know what can go wrong and my heart and mind went to some pretty dark places.  The good news is... HE'S HERE! Torin was born via c-section on May 10th at 11:15pm (which is also his Busia's birthday AND Marty's- tee...