Don’t judge me — I finally caved and bought Chris an iPad for his birthday. It was a joint gift from me and both sets of parents, so at least the price was reasonable. He got it on Friday and I’m fairly certain he didn’t put it down for more than an hour the entire weekend. Here’s the best part: now that he has access to all these cool apps, he has finally taken an interest in where we’re going for our cruise. Apparently he didn’t even realize the Kiel Canal is an actual canal with locks and everything. He’s a clueless idiot, but I love him anyway.

This is the first night in over two weeks that I feel almost back to normal. I caught a cold the week before the BBQ that quickly turned into an unbearably painful sinus problem. I had the same problem when we flew back from Rome a couple years ago, and I remember how completely plugged up and utterly miserable I was on that flight, and I couldn’t bear the thought of going off to Sweden like that. So the morning of the relay, I finally went to a doctor and got some antibiotics, and at last I can breathe again.

Speaking of the relay…despite the fact that it poured almost the entire day and I was walking in the rain with a sinus infection, it was a fun experience. Everyone there was in good spirits (some people went right on playing volleyball or whatever despite the weather) and it was all for the kids, so that was a good motivator. I would totally do it again next year. (Never mind that it’s been three days and my shoes are STILL wet…)

We had Brayden’s kindergarten orientation this week — my baby is growing up. He reached a very cool milestone today: he read a word on a sign by sounding it out! He’s been able to sound out the individual letters for quite a while, but he never put it all together until today. Awesome.

And we are only four days away from our big trip! I don’t think it feels quite real yet. I’ve been planning for so long that it just seems like it’ll never actually happen. We’re off to Stockholm on Saturday — how cool is that?

Everything worked out beautifully for our neighborhood BBQ this weekend, despite some last-minute glitches (we weren’t able to start setting up until two hours before show time, so it was a mad rush to get tents, tables, chairs, food, drinks, etc. ready in time). Weeks of planning really paid off — the adults all congregated by the tables under the tents while the kids ran amok on the other side of the yard. At one point I think we had over a dozen kids on the trampoline at the same time (plus a few under it, but that’s another story). Everyone seemed to have fun, I got more donations for the Easter Seals relay, and we have so much food left over that I won’t have to cook for at least a few days. Awesome.

My expectations for Mother’s Day were not that high (Chris wanted me to send him an email outlining exactly what he was supposed to do…sigh) but it turned out to be a pretty nice day. The boys insisted on giving me breakfast in bed, so they made the toast and poured the milk and served it all looking supremely proud. Then they went to Grandma’s house for the morning and Chris and I had time to go for a long walk and enjoy the beautiful weather. Then I had the whole afternoon to myself while he took the boys to the park. And finally, we went to his parent’s’ house for dinner, so I didn’t even have to cook. Ahh…

I’ve often admired how my parents get so involved in their community, whether they’re volunteering at a hockey tournament or giving money to the Red Cross. Chris and I donate money to various causes but we don’t generally do much more — so when a friend of mine asked me to join her team for the 24-hour relay to raise money for the Easter Seals camp (the one that Justin is actually going to this summer), I said sure. It really does feel great to work for a cause I wholeheartedly believe in. I’m becoming completely shameless about asking people for money, but I guess that’s what you have to do. And the relay itself should be fun, unless of course I get the 3 a.m. shift. We’ll see.

Here’s the link where you can donate, if any of my loyal readers are in a giving mood:

http://www.24hourrelay.com/sites/default.aspx?TeamID=1194&RunnerID=30693

Mom and Dad were actually here for a quickie visit last week, during which we found time to play a round of golf, so that was cool. When they were about to leave, Grandma asked Brayden if he was going to miss them, and he matter-of-factly explained that no, he wouldn’t, because they’ll be back in June. Nice.

Speaking of which…less than seven weeks to go until we leave for Europe! I’m sure the time will fly because we’ve got a lot going on between now and then. I’m wrapping up my latest tech writing course, we’re contemplating trying the Vancouver trip again, we’re hosting a neighborhood BBQ and of course I’m doing the relay. Things are hopping. And I like it that way.

These were taken at Boston Pizza the night of Brayden’s birthday. It’s been so long since we did a picture of Mom and the boys that I thought I’d do a special post just for them.

I love the look on Brayden’s face in the close-up. The ketchup really adds to it too.