Happy 60th Birthday, Mom

I am going to work backward tonight because the past couple days have had a crazy amount of stuff happening and I'm not sure I will remember it all. We all slept in today because we were up late last night. Rob and Ellie went to church and Nick and I hung out here. I got a couple baskets of laundry put away and more laundry into the machine. The kids spent all afternoon outside. The weather was not warm but the sun was out and the neighbors were setting up their trampoline. My friend, Lee, came over for a couple hours to visit and to see the kids. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner to celebrate Mom's birthday. We ordered in from Pita Inn and we brought some appetizers and a fruit salad. It was a lovely time. The kids got to play outside for a bit before we headed home to have showers and get to bed.
Saturday was cooking day here. Jo and I were hosting a party for a couple of Mom's closest friends to celebrate her 60th. Rob took Nick for a play date for a couple hours. Ellie helped me cook and prep. Everyone helped clean up and get the house ready. Jo came over and we were ahead of schedule and we were able to sit down and visit for a bit. Ellie worked on the table-scape and set a wonderful table. We had tortilla soup, mojito sorbet, lime chipotle rice, Mexican salad, sweet potato cakes, coconut pineapple and veggie enchiladas. Jo found a Mexican vegan bakery and picked up an assortment of dessert cupcakes. Dad came over and joined Nick and Rob for dinner out at Red Robin. It was a lovely evening. The kids got to stay up late and watch Ella Enchanted while the ladies visited.
Friday was a whirlwind day...not as planned. Rob had the day off of work and started his day taking his car in because the check engine light had illuminated. Turned out it was more than a couple things and we decided instead of putting any more money into his 10 year old car it was probably time to look for a new one. I went grocery shopping to finish my shopping list for Saturday. We met up at lunch time and had lunch at home and decided our game plan. We had a couple hours before we needed to be at school and we went to the neighborhood dealership to look around. We were originally going to buy a replacement car for Rob but after looking around we discussed the idea of him getting my car and getting me a minivan. We went to school for Nick's dinosaur play. Nick was a pterodactyl in the play and got to recite a couple lines about it. We also are now the proud owners of the classroom's ant farm. Ant farms have really grown up since my school days. This one plugs in, has a very cool blue light, and the ants tunnel through this gel. I was told the ants will die in the next couple weeks and then we can throw it away. After the kids came home from school we went back to the dealership to really try some minivans out, we weren't thinking of coming home with one  - but we did. We bought a Town & Country and I love it. It has all the features I love on the Escape and more. The kids have so much more room to stretch out and we now have built in DVD players. It was a lengthy process and the kids really were most excellent in the patience department.
Thursday morning I got the kids off to school and went to pick up Lee. We were able to visit on the drive to/from her appointment. We had a great lunch together. We did a bit of shopping, too. Manic Thursday afternoon took place - cooking club, dance class, and to add to the chaos, Nick's Spring musical concert. The kids loved cooking. Nick made Irish soda bread and Ellie made cakes in a cup. Nick's concert was super cute and he was so proud of himself.
It sure has been a busy end of the month. So much packed into a couple days. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree