As I look back at our pictures from May, I realize that we got a whole lot done in 31 days! A Disneyland trip, Foster celebrated his 2nd Birthday, a vacation in Vegas and New York, Joy School graduation and James the Brave ended up on the shelves of Barnes and Noble. So many good things happened in May. But us Olsons believe very strongly in balance so we also experienced three cases of pink eye, 2 viruses and 1 flu. May was a perfectly balanced month.
May the 4th Be With You
We decided to celebrate Star Wars Day at Disneyland amongst all the Storm Troopers and comicon enthusiasts. It was packed. Star Wars fanatics came in throngs and we were happy to get in on the action. James and Foster were in heaven and just when we thought it couldn't get any better, James had a real life encounter with a Storm Trooper. He was so nervous/excited that the best he could do was stick out his tongue for the camera. We talked about it for weeks and I'm pretty sure it's something he'll never forget. But just in case, here's the picture.
 |
| Add caption |
 |
| Showing off their Star Wars paraphernalia |
Foster Turns 2!
Our little Foster is 2 and I make him promise everyday they he will stay my little baby forever. I can't stand the fact that he is growing up so fast! We had grandma and grandpa over for a very humble birthday party but Foster does not require much, all he needs is a set of gloves and a hat and he's a happy boy. And it just so happens, that's exactly what he got. We have since had to hide the gloves so that he will not throw a fit at bedtime when we have to take them off. We're the best kind of parents, we give presents and then make sure the kids never find them again. Evil.
 |
| He also got Goin' Fishin' but shortly after stuck gum in the holes and now it not work so good. |
 |
| Making a Wish |
Olson Vegas Vacation
We spent 5 days in Vegas with the Olson clan celebrating the blessing of our new nephew Elliot. It was great to see everyone and get some much needed cousin time. Elliot is perfect and Paul and Christine are mighty proud parents.
The first day in Vegas, we were on our own and spent the night at the Luxor. The boys were beyond excited to stay in a pyramid hotel. We ended up spending most of our time (and money 😢) at the Excalibur arcade. We really did have so much fun and here are the pics to prove it!
 |
| We really struggled to get a decent picture at the M&M Store. This was our best. |
 |
| Family Photo at the New York New York |
 |
| Game Time |
 |
| Mandalay Bay Aquarium |
 |
| Bellagio Gardens |
 |
| Star Wars and Salvador Dali meet at last. |
 |
| The Sprinkles cupcake/ice cream shop was one of the highlights of the day. Nevermind that we were sitting outside in the rain while we were eating our treats. We didn't even care. |
 |
| A Sunday stroll on the strip. Because that's what you do on Sundays...right? |
 |
| The Hardy and Olson families after the blessing of baby Elliot. |
Scott goes to NYC
It was good fortune that Scott's doctors appointment with a parasite specialists happened to be the same weekend his mom and dad were in New York. Not only did he get to spend some time with Peter, eating their way through the city, he also got to go to Connecticut for Ellie's baby blessing. He had a wonderful time touring the city for the first time, with his family. He even got to see a Broadway show, I was so jealous! And the doctor he saw found parasites that he has had since he served his mission in Nicaragua, 13 years ago! He is on three separate antibiotics now to get rid of them. We're hoping that once he is free from the parasites he will begin to feel much better.
In typical boy fashion, there are no people in any of the photos he took while in New York. But I can't complain, he took photos of the food which was his only assignment.
 |
| This bakery, Dough, was featured on Unique Sweets so I made Scott get a donut there. I want to lick this picture. I may have. |
James Graduates from Joy School
I can't even begin to explain how wonderful joy school was for James. I watched him become a completely different boy over the course of a year. He has grown socially by leaps and bounds. And his three best friends Berkeley, Hudson and Annalise, mean the world to him. Here are some photos of our most memorable joy school moments.
 |
| Courtney taught them all about how lungs work and they made these amazing crafts. They basically made artificial lungs. They're doctors now. Thank you Courtney!!! |
 |
| Sugar cookie making, always a favorite! |
 |
| Sizzor skills. Berkeley may have cut off about three inches of her hair but look at how much she has....no one even noticed! |
 |
| James' first dance with one of his best girls, Annalise. |
 |
| The crew plus Leah. They are the cutest bunch. |
 |
| Making Oobleck, this was one of our science days and it was so much fun. |
 |
| They just finished their binoculars for lady bug hunting. This was my favorite day of joy school. |
James the Brave at Barnes and Noble
It was such a shock when my friend Courtney called me to tell me they just saw my book in the featured picture book section of Barnes and Noble. After recovering from shock and getting over two weeks of illness, I finally made it over to the store to check it out. They were almost sold out of their copies so they ordered 10 more which I came in to sign. It was such a magnificent surprise, even my publisher was surprised!
I know this is the longest blog post of my life but May was so wonderful that I have to add a few more "honorable mentions".
• We actually got rain more than once in May! You know what they say, "May showers bring"...wait, I don't think that's what they say. But we're in a drought so we will take rain any month we can get it!
 |
| Poor James, he had to wear my raincoat. He probably didn't mind since it vaguely resembled a Storm Trooper costume. |
•We had a lot of dr.s appointments in May. While waiting with James in the examination room, James turned to me and said "how long before this human gets here." I reminded him that he too was human and that we always have to wait for doctors. Two very important lessons if I do say so myself. He'll probably skip a grade now.
• And last but certainly not least, Scott and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on May 24th. I had the flu so instead of going out like we had planned, we stayed home with these two helmet heads. It was real life perfect.
