Spring is definitely in the air!  Mostly in the form of rain. It just won't quit. We were going for a record of the most consecutive days of precipitation, but then we had a small break. Small. Still not enough time to really get out and do serious yard work. I still have half a pile of mulch in the driveway. And the bushes are growing so fast, they really need trimmed before we put down any more mulch. At least my grass patch has taken off in the front yard.

So has the wildlife. We have a new baby bunny in the backyard. And my bluebirds returned, made a nest in their box, laid eggs, hatched a few baby birds and they have already left the nest. And then they started all over again. As soon as I cleaned out the box, they were busy at it again. I keep them happy with a bird feeder full of meal worms. It is fun to have them in the backyard.

And there were plenty of outdoor activities scheduled on the weekend. Not much fun in the rain though. I wanted to attend the Wine in the Woods event on Sat and Sun. I would have loved to sign up as a volunteer. You only have to work 4 hrs and then you get a free tshirt and tickets to enter and taste wine for free on the following day. We used to go when it was a smaller and cheaper event. Mostly to picnic and listen to the different bands playing while drinking our own good wine that we smuggled in while the kids ran around blowing bubbles with their bubble guns(sound familiar Mark?). Tom really hates Maryland wine though(tastes like fruit juice). So he had no interest in going  and working the event, and I could not talk anyone else into joining me. No one wanted to volunteer. And my friend Gloria who would have gone with me was still working out in San Francisco on a nursing job, so I had to pass. Not so bad though since it poured for 2 days. Then there was the Preakness Horse Race on Saturday. Another muddy mess with alcohol. And sadly the Kentucky Derby winner, Nyquist, did not like the mud either and he lost the race. Exxagerator won and now is off to Belmont, NY. Everyone was hoping for another American Pharoah, the winner of the Triple Crown last year. I did not realize that they host multiple horse races during the day leading up to the big event. 2 horses actually died earlier in the day-1 horse had just won its race, took a photo and keeled over from a heart attack! Another horse broke its leg and had to be put down. Rather intense. There was also the Hot Air Balloon Festival at which Scott's Boy Scout Troop volunteers to work in celebration of the Preakness weekend kick off. Scott and I have helped out for the past couple of years assisting with handling the balloons and folding and unfolding them. Unfortunately, Scott already had several other events and work scheduled during the volunteer hours, so we did not attend this year.

Our family has all been pretty busy lately. Allison is happy to be home and decided to do a major room clean out. More stuff for me to sort through. She was pleased with her grades, As and Bs from Spring semester. And before she headed home from school she took part in a campus wide convocation honoring all the students with high grades and awards including her induction into Business School NHS. She was also glad to hear that her upcoming summer internship was officially approved for her class requirement. Now she just has to meet with her boss, Jeannette, to set up her summer work schedule. In the meantime, she is enjoying her time off and we are enjoying having her home.

I especially enjoy having Allison around. Not just for her lovely company, but she certainly comes in handy for all those extra errands. She has been so helpful in running Scott around to some of his appointments, like the dentist or guitar lessons, boy scouts. She even cooks and cleans! I think I will keep her!

Tom is also happy to be done with his last class. He's thinking of taking the summer off so he can start working on writing a paper for his last professor. He was asked to contribute a chapter to the professor's book. I don't think it pays anything, but kinda cool to have your name published!

Scott in the meantime is busy trying to keep his head above water as the school year winds down. He finished standardized testing, only to start preparing for High School Assessments. He will take a government and biology test and probably an english test too before the year is over.  He is also trying to finish up end of the year projects. He built a crazy marble sorter in Engineering class and he has finished all his readings in English,  ending with Animal Farm and now the class is busy working on writing their own graphic novel as the next assignment. He loves that.  We also enjoyed attending his end of the year Robotics dinner at the school. Last year we were all invited to one of the coach's house. We ordered pizza, brought cookies and watched the 'kids' run around the backyard. It was very nice. This year they reserved the high school cafeteria, ordered lasagna and we brought cookies. They also passed out certificates, introduced the kids and their roles on the team and then brought out the robot so we could see it in action. The Robotics team also plans on running a summer Robotics camp at the high school which Scott was interested in, but it looks like they will be having it when he is off to boy scout camp. He is also looking forward to summer boy scout camp in July and plans on taking Horse back riding and driving around on an ATV.  He said he thinks his butt is going to be very sore!

Last weekend Scott was scheduled to work quite a few hours as well. On Sunday, the weather was wet and cold, and Allison asked if we could join Scott at the roller rink and skate while he was working. I haven't been on my blades for over 2 years, even though I help out with the GS roller rink event every year. I used to have time to skate. Not so much anymore. I was surprised to find out that my old blades are a bit too small. I've only had them for 20 yrs! I bought them before Allison was born and used to wear them playing roller blade hockey in LA with Tom and the neighbor guys. So Scott rented me some bigger skates and my feet were happy. After our skating session, we picked up Mom B and brought her home for dinner. Allison treated us to her recipe for salmon. Mom B especially loved the fresh corn on the cob.

Since the weekend was mostly cold and wet, Tom decided it was a good time for Scott to start his Eagle project.  Scott had Friday off for a teacher instruction day, so Tom decided to take Scott to Home Depot to buy wood and screws to try building a prototype of the handicap accessible gardening planters for my nursing home. The project has not yet been officially approved, but our Activity director at work was desperate to have something to transplant her strawberry plants. The old planters were falling apart. Tom figured even if the project did not get approved, it would still be a nice donation. And they need to make a prototype anyhow to test it out and finalize the cost. So they spent Friday shopping for supplies and all day Saturday out in the rain building the planter. It turned out very nice and on Sunday morning Tom loaded it onto the back of his car on a rack and we took it to my nursing home. We had to drag it through the hall and out the back door where we transplanted the strawberry plants into the new planter. It was a very muddy job. We cleaned up a portion of the patio and moved the old, rotten planters out of the way. So far it looks and works great for wheelchairs. Now Scott just needs to have his project approved by council. Tom hopes he can be done by the fall. He still needs to do some fundraising and have some scouts help him with the build for supervision purposes. I think Scott was just excited to start something. Tom too. And much more interesting than building benches like the other scouts  have been lately.

Tom and I are also interested in a bit of remodeling at our house. We would like to have our Master bathroom remodeled. We have been wanting to pull out the old garden tub and put in a large, walk in, tiled shower. I contacted a company and one of the reps came out during the week to give us an estimate. We liked what he had to say, but plan on contacting a few more companies to get some competitive prices.  I also dragged Tom off to an Estate planning meeting at a local Assisted Living Facility near my mom's place during the week. I thought Tom needed to listen to all the financial recommendations I have been looking over since taking over my parent's finances. I also thought I might learn something new. Not really. But we enjoyed a nice dinner from Mission BBQ. And Tom and I opted for a tour of the Assisted Living Facility to compare for my mom. We decided we like the place she is in now. Her place seems more friendly and family oriented. This other facility was quite big and had a lot of amenities, like a built in movie theater, it's own medical center where mom's doctor is located, an attached nursing home and larger apartments. But I still like the warm, friendly feeling at her Sunrise apt. I think she would get lost in this other place. Mostly I just wanted Tom to start thinking about getting a will, advance directives and estate planning in place for our family. Especially since Allison will be turning 21 this summer! 21!


Scott with his prototype handicap accessible garden planters at my workplace.

Looks like the one thing my mom and I did manage to give each other for Mother's Day were colds! The weather here did not seem to be helping. We just kept getting rain. It was  hard to get outside and do yardwork and put down the mulch. I kept having to cover it so the pile did not wash away down the driveway!

And since the weather has been so damp, I have had more time to spend working indoors. I did manage to squeeze in a small garage sale a few weekends ago and sell off some of the kid's books and clothes/shoes they have outgrown. Plus I have had some time to start reorganizing the basement and spare bedroom. I took a break last Saturday and attended a Caregiver Support group event at the local community center. I received an invite to spend the day participating in free,  relaxing activities including  breakfast and lunch, a painting class with Mocktails(non alcoholic drinks while we painted with sponges, Qtips and toothbrushes), an aromatherapy class, a foot and hand massage(reflexology) as well as a doodling class called ZenTangle. Needless to say it was a very enjoyable program put on by our county employees that service the Seniors. I even took home some potted flowers. The painting teacher recognized me as Mom B's daughter since she sees her during Art Therapy class at the Sr Center every week.  I am looking forward to attending the same event held again in the fall.

I was also busy running Scott around to work. He barely had time to get all  his homework and studying done last weekend. He had to put on a Video Game Club Fundraiser last Friday right after school, and then participate in the final Spring Choir Event. It made for a very long day-from 7am to 9pm. He didn't even have time to come home for dinner. He just ordered a pizza with his friend Tori since she also assists Scott with the Video Club.  After dropping off his supplies for the Video tournament, I managed to pick up my mom and take her to the salon for a wash and set. Afterwards, Tom and I took her to dinner and then enjoyed Scott's final concert. The kids did a great job singing the music from Grease as well as a few formal pieces. Scott is just happy to be done with choir. I was hoping he would have been interested in traveling to New York to see The Phantom this Spring since the trip to Chicago was cancelled, or even traveling to Europe this summer to participate in performances in Italy, including one at the Vatican. But it is not his thing. He is just content right now to continue with his guitar lessons. He has also been busy taking standardized tests at school which are annoying since he is pulled out of his regular classes to take the tests. Besides the standardized tests, he is also trying to keep up with his regular classes and working on a write up for his Boy Scout Eagle project. He wants to make wheelchair accessible planters for my nursing home. He has already met with our Activity Director who is very excited about the idea.

He has also been busy working each weekend at the Roller rink. We all took a break and enjoyed dinner with our friends, Beth and Barry at their house on Sunday night. Even Mom Bozyk was invited along as well as Cookie! It was nice to catch up with many of our other friends/neighbors in attendance. Even Allison made it home from school just in time for dinner. She was so excited to finish up her finals on Friday the 13th!  And we are so happy to have her home. And our friend Gloria returned from a traveling nursing job in San Francisco. She is happy to have taken a permanent position near DC.

My calendar is quickly filling up for the summer and it isn't even here yet! Kathleen

Spring Concert/Scott's Last Performance

Painting class/Art Therapy

Hope you all had a Happy Mother's Day. And Happy Birthday to Mark Seitz! Ride any saddles?  And Happy Birthday wishes to my best friend, Laura H. I hope your mom is doing better and returns home soon.

Mom B enjoys a plate of Scott's chocolate spaghetti for dessert on Mother's Day!

I always think of Mother's Day as more work for me! Tom thought about going out for Sunday Brunch(on Friday). Pretty much everything was booked up, or no buffet brunch. We thought about going to the zoo-taking my mom so she could use her scooter. Scott had to study for tests and the zoo closed early on Sunday. I thought about taking my mom to a movie, but it was just too nice outside, and our family went to the movies last Friday. I thought about a picnic at our local vineyard, but again, Scott had to study. And I did not feel like packing a picnic lunch. And I tried to get tickets to a Mother's Day tea with a tour of a historic home, but again, that sold out months ago. And Allison would have loved to come home or have us visit her in Salisbury, but she is also busy studying, wrapping up her finals. Instead, she skyped me Saturday night so we had a nice, long chat.

So we opted to stay home and have a nice dinner after I picked up my mom (and her laundry). I chose the menu(mainly since I did the grocery shopping). We went out to eat for Easter brunch, so I thought we could use an Easter type meal at home: Ham and cheesy potatoes. Tom made the broccoli/cauliflower salad. Scott made the dessert. Chocolate spaghetti! I also taught him how to make cheesy potatoes. So we had a nice, quiet dinner and then Mom and I took Cookie for a walk. I walked, Cookie walked and Mom B scootered through the neighborhood. I then dropped her back off to her place.

 Scott had wanted to try a new food item-chocolate spaghetti which we picked up at a specialty store in Old Ellicott City on Friday night. We decided to catch an early movie to see Captain America: Civil War. I thought it was a very similar story line to the Batman/Superman movie. But the Tony Starks character is always fun, and we enjoyed Spiderman's guest visit. We then decided to go to dinner in Old Ellicott City. Scott's food experiment turned out quite well as the chocolate sphaghetti came with a recipe for raspberry creme sauce. It made it taste like a rich, chocolate mousse. Very tasty.

On Friday night I had wanted to stop into the small church, St Pauls, for our neighbor's son's confirmation. We weren't exactly dressed for church, and turns out, there was standing room only. Even for the close family members. I am so glad Scott had his confirmation this time last year in our big church. No problem fitting in all the guests, no problem with parking and we even had ArchBishop Lori from the diocese of Baltimore presiding over the service. We just had to  suffer through being hungry and the wonderful smell of the Boy Scouts fund raiser BBQ dinner cooking in the church basement during the service. Again, Thanks to Mark and Linda for visiting last year for Scott's confirmation and extra thanks to Mark S standing in as Scott's sponsor. Anyway, we helped our neighbor's celebrate their son's confirmation at a luncheon on Saturday. Complete with Mission BBQ!  Then on Saturday night we attended an engagement party at our neighbor's house for their daughter. She is marrying a man from France who was in town to obtain a VISA as they both plan on moving to New York after the service. So they decided to have a quick party for the two of them. So we spent the entire day partying and enjoying some wonderful food!

It was a pretty busy weekend before then. Tom and Scott managed to put down some mulch that I ordered last week. Scott also squeezed in cutting the lawn in between rainstorms. We skipped the April showers and they went right into May. I still have not put in all my flowers. Making sure it stays warm.

I have also been busy after work with a few projects. I sang at the yearly GS Board meeting on Weds with our GS choir. We usually sing a few opening songs to get the meeting started. The choir usually needs some help since most girls have a hard time getting to events during the school week.

So last weekend was a bit cooler and rainy, but Scott and I still managed to get out and do a bit of yard work. We put down some grass seed in an area that needed patching after a bit of raking. I also started to clean out the beds-mulch is coming. I picked up a few pots of veggies and a hanging flower basket, but nothing too much yet(still waiting for the weather to warm up and stay warm).

I think we were all a bit glad that we missed the Boy Scout Bike and Hike. While Tom and Scott were off to Boston, the scout troop went biking along the C&O canal. I hear they woke up to ice on their tents! And it drizzled most of Saturday when they were out riding/hiking. Tom and Scott returned rather late on Sunday night, so we decided to let Scott take another day off school to catch up on homework and studying. Turns out he was also off on Tuesday as school was closed for the primary election.

Tom took Tuesday off as well so he could work on his paper for school. He also voted in the primary. I had already voted early, and I took my mom over to vote Tuesday night at the high school next to her apt complex. Like it mattered. Looks like the country is in big trouble. At least it gives Scott something interesting to discuss in Government class!  And since he had some extra time off, he was able to do a little work on his last Eagle required merit badge, Personal Management. He even met with the counselor to mark off some requirements. Plus he has started filling out the extensive paperwork necessary for his Eagle project. Too much paperwork! I also caught the parent's boy scout meeting on Monday night. It comes in handy to turn in even more paperwork for upcoming trips. Scott is also busy wrapping up his last semester in school. He brought home another good report card(although Spanish is not his friend).

Allison and Tyler took a break and spent a day on the beach at Ocean City.

 The schools will not be done until June 17. We are behind by one week due to the snow storm this past winter. So the teachers are cramming in the last of their lessons. Scott was busy reading Catcher in the Rye, Animal Farm and Macbeth in English(he liked Animal Farm). Plus he will be taking Standardized testing for High School Assessments. All 10th graders have to pass competency exams in Math, English, Govt. and Biology to graduate. Scott is a year ahead in math, so at least he can skip that test. Makes for a very busy end of sophomore year.

On Sunday morning he attended a training session for the Church youth work group that he will be going to this summer in Pennsylvania. He is going to be assisting by rebuilding homes. I think the experience will do him some good. He also had some time to squeeze in a little fun by joining his girlfriend Tori at the ice skating rink Sunday afternoon. A little different than roller blading, which he did on Saturday afternoon. I dropped him off at work and picked up my mom to join me for a Women's Fest at the local community center. It was basically a bunch of vendors selling jewelry, clothes, or services for Seniors and women. Surprisingly, I was already familiar with most of the services(not really a surprise). Afterwards I took her out to lunch in the small town of Sykesville where I work for lunch at a local tavern. I also picked up an application to order my mom a free photo phone. It comes with large buttons and you put in photos of your family and friends, businesses, etc and you program in the phone numbers. No more dialing. She can dial the phone, but I thought this would be easier. I also decided to sign up for a free estimate for a bathroom remodel.

Tom and I have been discussing remodeling our master bathroom for many years now. We don't use our big garden tub, and we would like to pull it out and replace it with a walk in, tiled shower. That would be so much nicer. I was inspired by a few of my coworkers who have been busy putting in new, walk in tiled showers. Pretty much what we were looking at. Besides comparison shower shopping at work, we were celebrating OT month. We had a dessert luncheon one week, and a pizza party another week. So I thought we should do some work and I made a poster outlining our job, along with photos and I made an OT word search game for the residents, patients and staff to complete. If they finished, their paper went into a raffle for a scratcher lottery ticket as a prize. We had quite a good turnout, and maybe they all learned a little bit about what we do. (mostly eat I think). I actually dragged our blender into work so one of my patients could make a strawberry milkshake. Before that I had a patient making omelets. Next I will be working on mac n grilled cheese sandwiches. (I love my job!). So Happy OT Month!

So I had the house all to myself last weekend. Tom and Scott headed off to Boston, MA for a long weekend to enjoy a Video Gaming Convention/PAX(Penny Arcade Expo). Scott's friends were attending and invited Scott along. They obtained tickets, but were not able to provide assist with transportation or a hotel. Most of the hotels were booked, and he was only able to obtain a ticket for Friday and Sunday admission. The tickets for Saturday and 3 Day Passes were already sold out. And this was all done last year! So Tom volunteered to go along and book a hotel room for both of them. Tom also had some free airline miles to use up, so they decided to fly(so much quicker than driving too). The convention is held 5 times a year all across the country in 5 different locations. So it turned out to be a kind of overdue Spring Break trip for Scott as well as making up for his cancelled choir trip to Chicago. Sounds like the two had a great time-both at the convention and touring Boston. Scott does not remember too much from our time living in Boston since he was just a toddler. So if they weren't at the convention trying out all sorts of new video games and hanging out with the UTube personalities, they were out and about the city. They stopped into an Open House at MIT while Tom restocked his MIT shirts. They also visited Faneuil Hall/Market for some clam chowder downtown and spent most of the day at the Science museum. Scott had a blast making a small boat in an engineering challenge and catching the indoor lightning show. I had free admission for them both with our Baltimore Zoo passes.

Just before he left, Scott turned in his NHS application. (He was the first one!) He won't hear back until next Fall. He also had a lot of tests to study for including an all day English standardized test that involved writing a paper. It actually rolled over into Friday, so he will have to finish the makeup test in May. He also squeezed in his guitar lesson and video game club meeting, plus boy scouts. He had some time to meet with his Eagle project counselor and start the paperwork. He has been working on a design and cost estimate for raised wheelchair accessible garden planters for my nursing home.

Allison caught up with me on Skype briefly. I was planning on visiting her Friday night. Salisbury University was hosting the Relay for Life cancer walk/run over the weekend, but Allison was busy hosting an end of the season Frisbee party. I had wanted to go out and support one of Allison's classmates and my previous girl scout whose mom recently died from ovarian cancer. Another fellow Girl Scout leader.I also thought it would have been cool if the team could have participated in the walk. But scheduling just did not work out. The Frisbee girls did not make the Finals Tournaments, but that was not such a terrible thing. It gives Allison more time to study and wrap up projects as she nears the end of her semester, scheduled for May 13th. Looks like she also finalized the paperwork for a summer internship at the Baltimore Chemical company managing accounts receivable. (I know she is going to miss Girl Scout camp!). But we are so excited she was able to find a position as it is a business school requirement.

So I had a whole weekend to schedule events for myself! I ended up spending the first day, Friday at the medical office. Seems like I neglected to make my own physical exams last year when I was busy running my parents around to their appointments. So my doctor decided to squeeze everything in on Friday.  I did a bit of running back and forth to the medical office. It wore me out. I spent the rest of the day on the couch. Not what I had planned, but necessary. On Saturday I thought I would take my mom out to a matinee to catch the Jungle Book movie. Instead, my co worker Anne asked me to join her for dinner and a movie. We ended up at the matinee to see God is Not Dead 2. It featured one of the christian rock bands that we saw at the concert in Baltimore. It basically revolves around a court case based on previous issues where religion is brought into question in the classroom setting. In this case, a teacher spoke about Jesus and his teachings in her AP History class when a student asked how He related to Ghandi or Martin Luther King. It was interesting. Afterwards we went out for crab cakes. On Sunday I started the day off singing with the Girl Scout choir at the yearly GS Earth Day Outdoor Event. The scouts set up different environmental booths at a local day camp to teach the girls about their environment in honor of Earth Day. Our GS choir usually puts on a singing seminar to teach troops some of the traditional campfire songs. Fortunately is a chilly but sunny day for standing out in the woods. The sight of the Day Camp has been slowly shrinking,  being surrounded by lots of housing. So it is strange to see so much wildlife left in one little area-including a Great Horned Owl's nest complete with a baby chick(the size of a full grown adult!). One of the vendors had a telescope so you could look up into the tree at the nest on a platform that the scout naturalist mounted. I figured all owls nested in trees and only came out at night. I guess not.  Turns out, we have a Great Horned Owl living in the woods near our house too. I can hear him hooting in the woods all the time. After the event, I picked up my mom so we could do some grocery shopping and then grill out for dinner at our house. So not a very exciting weekend, but relaxing. The weather was a bit rainy most days so I did not get much yard work done. Instead I spent some time indoors organizing our garage attic. I would have squeezed in some dog walking as well but it looks like I already wore Cookie out on walks when the weather turned nice. She was limping all weekend, so I made her rest as was previously recommended. Which means I had to rest cause she follows me all over the house!







PAX convention in Boston(AKA Lots of guys with no lives! Or too much extra time on their hands like my two guys.)

Scott playing a virtual reality video game

Chowder at the Barking Crab(lots of Brady shirts:before he was busted again for deflategate)

Spring has definitely arrived! The weather has been so much nicer than the previous  weekend with lots more sun and much warmer. That means more grass cutting and weed pulling. Tom was out cutting the lawn last weekend(he got brave). At least he was able to breathe. Thank goodness for Zyrtec. I was busy filling my bird feeders. I was so excited to see that the bluebirds returned to their nesting box in our backyard. I couldn't help myself and I peeked inside. Lots of little blue eggs! I am sure they will enjoy the meal worms I put in the bird feeder especially for them.

It was a nice weekend to be outside, but Allison could have done without the pollen! She came home to participate in an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament at Uof Maryland last Saturday and Sunday. With all that running around outside on the grass she was ready for her inhaler by Sunday afternoon. They won a few games and lost a few games and had fun!  I was just happy to have Allison at home for the weekend.

On Friday afternoon I took my mom over to the hairdresser. When Allison pulled into the driveway, we all picked up my mom and headed out to dinner. We decided to take the kids to the Pizza place we ate at last weekend. It is right across the street from Scott's workplace. He switched his work night to Friday so he could go to Hershey Park on Saturday with a school friend. We stopped into dinner Friday night and then dropped Scott off to work and Mom back to her apartment before heading home. We finished off the day by watching the new Star Wars movie at home on DVD before picking up Scott from work.  I had put in a long day starting off with an early visit to mom's broker to fill out more paperwork(what fun). Then I had my swim class and lots of errands to run before I picked up my mom in the afternoon.

Everyone was up early on Saturday morning. Allison had an early start for her Frisbee tournament and Scott headed out with his friend Matt and family to Hershey for the day. When Allison returned home that afternoon, Tom was out the door and headed up to Hershey also for a hockey game with his old work friend John. He enjoys watching the Hershey Bears play(and it is a lot cheaper than going to a Washington Capitals game). Tom had a serious need to catch some live hockey with the playoffs going on. He was also happy that the Hershey Bears won. Scott also got home late that evening from a fun filled day. He really enjoys his new friend and their family-5 kids total and the family is from England. (and their mom talks very fast and has a very strong british accent). It is fun just to listen to her talk! Their Dad had discount tickets to the amusement park from his work place, so Matt asked to take Scott along. Scott loves having a friend that enjoys the coasters as much as he does! Meanwhile, Allison and I decided to have a girl's night out and we enjoyed dinner at Qdoba and then went to see Disney's new movie, "The Jungle Book". We really loved the movie. There were lots of kids at the movie and it was packed. I thought it was a bit intense for the little ones as it seemed to follow the original story line more closely than the cartoon version. Of course they had to throw in a few of the songs! I will have to take my mom to see it next weekend. I was disappointed that I could not see the movie for free during the week with my Baltimore zoo pass. We had other plans that night.

On Sunday morning, Allison was up early and out the door for her last day of Frisbee. She usually heads back to school afterwards. She still had plenty of homework to do and is busy with group projects. Scott spent most of the day busy studying for upcoming tests. He thought he would have a break after finishing up his 3rd semester, but no such luck. On Sunday night I had to run him over to the LifeTime Fitness pool for his Boy Scout swim test. He plans on doing some summer trips with scouts this year that involved water, so the boys have to know how to swim. And Scott can sure swim. Too bad our high schools don't have swim teams. On Monday night he came home with a letter from his choir director. The kids were putting on a dinner buffet/cabaret show. The kids signed up to perform if they wished, but if you were not entertaining, then you were serving dinner. So Scott came home with a letter on Monday stating he needed to show up Weds night in khaki pants and shirt and tie. Great. He does not own a pair of khaki pants. So off to shopping we went Monday night. And we parents were asked to bring food for the buffet, so I picked up a few large pizzas from Sam's club on Tuesday night.

On Weds I rushed Scott over to school. They set up small stages in the cafeteria of the high school, and decorated all the tables. I had a front row seat and really enjoyed all the kid's entertainment. There really are a lot of amazing, talented kids at the school. They sang, played guitars or piano alone or in groups. One girl even played an electric ukelele and sang an Elvis song. And one boy memorized the soliloquy from the new Broadway play "Alexander Hamilton". Amazing. Scott was not completely off the hook. The entire choir got up and sang at the end-one of their songs from the Christmas concert. The kids did a great job, the food was incredible for a pot luck, but it made for a long evening-3 hrs!  Fortunately, Scott's Robotics team had to reschedule their end of the year party. It was scheduled for the next night! Too many activities.

Spring has definitely arrived in Baltimore. We have had gale force winds, thunderstorms, a small tornado, sleet, rain, hail and snow. And that was in just one weekend!  But Scott and I braved the elements and started yardwork anyway. Scott got the backyard mowed and I did the front, along with some thatching and picking up lots of little birch tree branches. And I have the blisters on my hands to prove it. We didn't dare send Tom outside. He has been having a difficult enough time breathing with all his allergies and that is even when he stays indoors. The pollen has begun to collect on the car windows-thick, yellow layers. Even with all the sneezing and coughing, the flowers have been very beautiful this year.  Tom also ran out of available time to get in any fertilizing or aerating of the lawn, so it looks like another year for Chemlawn. Tom is just too busy traveling, writing papers for class, and oh yes, working.

I did manage to sneak away to Salisbury U for a Girl's Weekend with Allison and her roommates. Allison was inducted into the Business National Honor Society, Beta Gamma Sigma this weekend.  She and 49 other students received lifetime memberships and pins in a small ceremony for their exemplary grades in business school, followed by a buffet dinner at the Perdue Business school. The event was very nice, the food was great and Allison's friend Tyler joined us. Tom opted to stay home with Scott to give him a ride to work. So I decided to spend the night. After our ceremony and dinner, we girls watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding 1 on DVD at the condo. Allison had never seen it and her roomy, Jen had a copy. We decided to go catch My BFG Wedding 2 at the movie theater on Saturday. I spent the night with Allison and in the morning we all went over for brunch at their campus dining hall. Afterwards, Allison and I did some shopping at Sams Club and then headed over to the movie with  Jen. We really enjoyed the second movie about as much as the first. After refilling the popcorn bucket for Allison, I headed home(in a small snowstorm). Allison had to get back to studying. At least she did not have any frisbee games last weekend. Overall, it was a very enjoyable weekend. Even the boys managed to squeeze in a movie-the 1st person movie, Hardcore Henry. They hated it. Not surprising.

Scott was just happy to have a small break last weekend. He finished up his 3rd school semester with a half day last Friday. All his teachers managed to schedule tests, quizzes and papers due that day. So he spent most of last week home studying and writing. He had to skip Boy Scouts to study for tests and get all his homework done. At least he had already scheduled a guest speaker. And he did get to his Video Club and guitar lesson. Unfortunately, his robotics team did not make the playoffs. They took a chance this year and built a huge robot which sadly could not keep up with the points that the little robots were earning. Scott was disappointed as he was looking forward to attending the finals at Uof Maryland. He loved visiting all the vendor booths and getting free stuff from video and computer companies. Maybe next year.

On Sunday, our family enjoyed Brunch with Mom Bozyk at her apt. The facility was hosting Spring Brunch(free of charge). We also took Mom B out to dinner that night at a new pizza place after dropping Scott off to work. The pizza place was across the street from Scott's sports complex, so we thought it looked interesting and wanted to try it out. It is a chain restaurant located at the beaches in Maryland and Delaware. It seemed pretty good.

I also enjoyed an evening with my mom during the week. I was invited to join the Activity Coordinator at mom's apt complex and a few staff members along with 12 residents to attend a free evening at the National Aquarium in downtown Baltimore. We had a wonderful time on a personally guided tour through some of the fish tanks and touch tanks in the aquarium. And it was a beautiful evening to enjoy being downtown. The residents all seemed to have a great time, including myself. The aquarium opens its doors to special interest groups a few times a year for no charge, including group homes, senior apts, and handicap kids. There were lots of wheelchairs and guide dogs along with our group. I felt right at home. I also helped to keep an eye out for the residents and assist with bathroom breaks, passing out snacks and loading and unloading the van. I had to earn my keep! So nothing new for me. And my mom also had a wonderful time! I just wish she had gone to the painting class they offered at her place the day before. At least there will be other opportunities to participate in that activity. Mostly I have been keeping my mom busy by adding an extra trip during the week o the Sr Center. They have a 4 hr program that they offer for Seniors with memory problems. Unfortunately, my mom decided that twice a week was too much, and she started turning away the drivers when they came to pick her up! So looks like we will drop back to once a week. I really think the program does her good, especially the exercise classes. She says she can do all that back at the apt(but she doesn't!). Just like missing the painting class. She says she is "too busy"! She does go out on the weekly lunch outings to different restaurants. And she is still really missing my Dad. So I try to keep her extra busy!