whelp. i find myself in a familiar predicament. i’m so far behind on my blog (it’s september 20th as i type this), that i’m overwhelmed with the prospect of catching up. we packed so much in this summer, it’s going to be hard to remember details, but i will do my best. but, before summer, there was may, which seems like a lifetime ago. let’s see what i can remember.
in early may, we celebrated our pal kaylin’s 13th birthday, which i had the honor of making cupcakes for. anna disappeared with a pack of girls once we arrived, so hazel and i stuck together, playing games, stuffing our faces, and making new friends.
we also attempted to continue our tradition of celebrating cinco de mayo. we listened to mexican music, read up on the history, made some papel picado, partook in a feast of mexican-ish fare, and obviously had a few margaritas (adults only).
papel picacdo 
more. 
margarita, plus some cool sunglasses from my friend heather.
on mother’s day, anna gifted me a new t-shirt, and the irony of only talking to my dog on mother’s day is not lost on me. derek prepared all of the carbs for me. and isaac made me a josh allen perler bead figurine. anna and derek and i went downtown for the afternoon for a little artisan market and a beer and then maybe some cookies and other treats.
i’m not sure if this gift from hazel was for mother’s day or just random. but either way, it was funny. the wrapping. the label. the actual item.
may is pretty much the best month. cinco de mayo. anna’s birthday. mothers day. and strawberry season!! we only live like 4 minutes from the best strawberry patch in the area, so we may or may not have made several trips. also. anna is the only one that would go with me. sigh.
once we procured an obscene amount of strawberries, hazel was glad to help me turn them into a delicious dessert. our favorite is sweeten them a bit and pile them onto some pound cake. of course, real whipped cream doesn’t hurt.
we did have some excitement in chicken life in may. not this photo. this is just ruby the worlds best dog, hanging out with the chickens.
one morning, we heard a bit of a scuttlebutt just outside, and glanced out the window to see chickens all flying up in the air and dispersing. when we went out to investigate, we interrupted a fox as he was carrying off one of our beloved chickens (tina fey 2.0). she was basically ripped to shreds and her guts were hanging out and we didn’t think she would make it. we debated putting her out of her misery, but decided to give her a few days to see if she took a turn either way. we rinsed out her wounds, slathered her in antibiotic ointments, and put her in ruby’s crate on the deck. we fed her aspirin spiked water and lots of yogurt and other healthy chicken options. anna was a doting nurse and future veterinarian.
after a few (very stinky) days in the crate, we made the executive decision to put her back in with her flock. for one, she was pretty miserable and everytime we would clean out the crate, she would try her best to get back out with them. and for two, we were leaving in a few days for a 2.5 month road trip, and if the other chickens were going to attack her (because that’s what they do to wounded mates), we wanted that to happen on our watch, not the folks who were helping us with the coop. basically, it was sink or swim for tina.
i’m happy to report that tina made a miraculous recovery and seems to be fully healed at this time. i’m not sure if she’s laying again, and that part of her anatomy still doesn’t look quite normal, but we are happy to let her live out her life as a non egg laying part of our flock.
and now, for some random photos and happenings…
busted isaac playing restaurant with hazel. 🙂 
still a fan of anna and elsa. 
and this guy is way taller than me.
breakfast reading. 
camper deep clean assistant. 
the big two lidkids had their confirmation at church. we all got mostly dressed up, so it seemed a good time to snap a photo.
before we could embark on our epic summer road trip, there was the small matter of wrapping up our school year. even though i have homeschooled these kiddos for quite a few years now, this was the first time i had to administer end of year tests. (i sent isaac to be tested at calvary one year, then we were technically florida residents while we were on the road and they don’t require testing, and last year tests were not required because of the coronapocalypse). this year though, all three lidkids, myself, and even ruby got to participate in the wonderful world of standardized testing.
it all went well. the lidkids smashed them. i mailed them in. and the 2020-2021 school year was in the books. and we were off to adventures!
Good month for the Lidboms!