May 2023! Happy Birthday Nori!!!

May was super fun and BUSY! First and foremost, Nora turned THREE this May!!! She's such a fun, sweet girl - she loves dinosaurs and sharks and gives the BEST hugs. She also has lots of opinions, which she shares with us on the regular (which we love, of course!).

Nora had a great birthday - we celebrated at home since she's still so young. We picked out cupcakes from the local bakery and went to the zoo for some carousel rides. She got a Bluey dollhouse, a robot builder set, a wheel barrow, some penguin books and a stuffy giraffe. We started potty training her about 1.5 weeks before flying to Virginia. Thankfully, she took to it really well :)

Ben also finished Kindergarten! He missed the last few days because we flew to Virginia to visit with family, but his teacher said he wouldn't miss much. Ben made some great friends over the year and is excited to start first grade in July.

Our Virginia trip was AMAZING! We should have stayed for another full week! We visited the transportation museum and science museum in Roanoke. We went fishing with Paw Paw, Uncle Billy, and Grandma Helen. We also got to spend an afternoon with Uncle Kevin, Aunt Kelly and Alexander - we celebrated Alexander's birthday :). We also had lunch with Paw Paw, Grandma Helen, Uncle Billy, Aunt Shirley, Helen's son, Drew, and his super talented wife (she's an artist), Meredith, and my cousin, Kelly's, daughter, Avery. Nora's favorite activity was swinging in Grandma's outdoor chair and Ben's was fishing! Next year I think we will spend two weeks there :)

One day after getting home from Virginia we drove to California to visit with Mema, Grandma TT and Grandpa Stan. Craig and I snuck away for a solo trip to Disneyland and California Adventure. We rope dropped at 6:45 in the morning and were able to ride quite a few rides first thing in the morning. We had some lobster nachos (certified gluten free!) at Lamplight Lounge right before Craig talked me in to getting on the Incredicoaster. Less than a minute in I realized that it was a mistake and let everyone know by yelling as much. Despite that, we had an amazing time, ate lots of yummy food, and came away with a super cheesy caricature of the family and a sketch of the 'I Lava You' volcanoes. I don't think the kids missed us a bit - Grandma TT kept them quite entertained.