May Highlights

Well it's been downright hot here in Arizona. I know it's supposed to be like that at this time of year, but it seems like summer came earlier than usual. Then we had a bit of a 'cold snap' for a day or two, then hot again. I think we probably won't see any more of those cooler days until at least October now. September if we're lucky. At least the nights are still beautiful - we have about a month left of that before they too become unbearable.

Aside from the insane heat, we had a lot going on this month as usual. We started off the month by celebrating Terry's birthday with good friends at our favorite dive bar. We also learned that cab fare home is only $15, and made a pact with our friends to go there more often. They have live country music and dancing on weekends, but with no food to speak of dinner for me on those nights usually, and very sadly, consists of cheese balls and pretzels. And beer of course.

Justin, Suzie and Eric

Of course we also celebrated Mother's Day. Unfortunately we are not really able to bring Terry's mom to our house anymore so we have had to resolve to visits to her facility. On Mother's Day we brought the boys and Skyped with some of Terry's brothers.  It's absolutely wonderful that Skype is now available on the iPhone. Even though Suzie isn't really capable of having a conversation, it's good for her to see her kids and grandkids and at least have some interaction (and good for the kids & grandkids too).

Football has been heating up, of course now that lacrosse is done. We had a father/son game a few weeks ago and I think Terry is still sore from it. Terry and I think this year will be a great season for our team - we have some new (and pretty awesome) coaches, a great  though we still have some challenges to deal with, one of which is the fact that our school numbers are shrinking while others in the area are growing. This is mostly attributed to the housing market crash, but hopefully next year we will be able to drop down by a division (from I to II) which should help us - especially Justin since he will be on Varsity for the next 2 years.

We wasted no time getting into "summer mode" over Memorial Day weekend. We basically ate, drank and hung out at the pool all four days (including Friday evening of course). What we should have been doing is cleaning and doing chores, but that's tough to do when your friends entice you with the promise of barbecue and beer.

Clockwise from upper left - Albert with dad Sean; Albert with mom Alison; Albert with Todd and Terry; Albert with blow-up froggy pool chair.

I also cooked and baked (and ate!) some of my favorite dishes for our multiple parties:

Black Bean and Corn Salad

"Watermelon" Cut-Out Cookies

Red, White and Blue Cake from
Buttermilk White Cake recipe

Among others, including and especially one of my very favorites, Baked Stuffed Tomatoes. Somehow I didn't get a photo of that one, so I guess I'll just have to make them again! Seriously, I'll be posting the recipe soon.

And I can't believe school is out for the summer! Justin is keeping busy with early morning football training four days a week, playing video games, napping and watching Ridiculousness. Between us we have quite a few short trips coming up, including a business trip for Terry (to the cool respite of Lake Tahoe), a family reunion in Ohio and something I'm super excited about - a weekend jaunt to Las Vegas for Terry and I to see Toby Keith in concert!

Coming up in June:

• More football!
• Father's Day
• Summertime fun