may. – gentino family

We started off the month by finishing homeschool co-op for the year, playing the last game of the soccer season, and coming down with Covid. Most of us had a fairly mild case — congestion and fatigue — but David had flu-like symptoms for a whole week.

Jump Off Rock Half Marathon

Judah and David had finished their training program right before they got sick (actually David realized he ran the 12 miles while he was sick), and we were all a little worried they wouldn’t be able to get their strength back one week later for the race. They drove up to Hendersonville the night before, and both did a fantastic job — a half marathon is no joke (13.1 miles), but especially recovering from Covid and especially running it in the mountains.

Also: Judah got his braces off earlier that week. It was a big week for him!

Girl trip to Georgia

Amie spent three days in Georgia with her friend Caroline, visiting her grandparents. The girls had a great time swimming in the pool, riding the golf cart, re-watching All Creatures Great and Small, and eating lots of great food.

Lake day

While Amie was away, the rest of us spent a magical Friday afternoon at our friends’ David and Terri’s lake house, swimming, kayaking, and relaxing. We always feel like we’re on vacation when we’re at Lake Murray.

Starting summer

We finished up homeschooling for the year, which is a truly amazing feeling. I need to wrap up reporting, Judah and I both have summer reading for 9th grade, and to the younger kids’ annoyance I’m making them do about 20 minutes of a subject on weekdays. This is only in areas I feel like they need to keep reviewing. Other than that, we’re thrilled for two glorious months of freedom.

Judah continues to expand his record collection, and picked up three more at the Cottontown flea market. We’ve learned that used is the way to go — vinyl is expensive.

Lately, Noah is very into the bug identifier app I recently downloaded on my phone. He discovered and identified a Pandora sphinx moth.

A., the girl we’ve mentored for two years through Ezekiel Ministries, is going to be adopted, which is an answer to our prayers. We went a good-bye party at her foster mom’s house to say good-bye before she moved in with her new family. If you think of it, please pray for her transition.

We’re praying and talking to Ezekiel about who we’ll mentor next. It’s been such a great, learning experience for our family, and we’ll continue to have a relationship with A’s foster mom and foster brother even now that Aaliyah has moved away. In fact, her foster brother will be going to camp with Gabe and Noah this summer!

I gave Gabe the challenge of reading at least a chapter a day this summer. He always enjoys books once he actually sits and reads … he just doesn’t often think to do it on his own. Amie was like that for years too. Gabe’s currently enjoying the Fablehaven series. Noah will be tutored in reading by our friend Sarah all summer, which I’m thrilled about. And the kids and I are reading the Wingfeather Saga aloud together on weekday mornings (Judah sometimes graces us with his presence … but he’s read the series, so it’s still fun to talk about it with him). We’re on book 2, and it’s already become one of our favorite summer memories.

Amie, our friend Ann, and I took a fun trip to our favorite place in Columbia: Seven Oaks Plant Shop. We each had a few things to buy, and since Amie was buying a birthday plant for her friends, we headed to Home Goods afterward for planters.

Gabe’s birthday

Gabe turned 11 on May 27th! He had kind of a rolling birthday celebration all weekend … time with his cousins Friday morning, with Nina and Papa Friday night, then Grandpa and Mum-Mum on Saturday. The theme of this birthday was games and Rubix cubes. He now has 17 different cubes.

He got some really fun games: Throw Throw Burrito, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, Exploding Kittens, and Crossfire. And of course Monoploy: Avengers Edition. We recommend all of them if you’re looking for a gift idea.

Ams baked an amazing birthday cake: dark chocolate with raspberry cream cheese frosting, a recipe she found in Southern Living.

Kira’s firsts

Kira had a big month too: first Starbucks pup cup, first Pelican Snoballs pup cup, first trip to Soda City market. She’s not spoiled at all.

Memorial Day

She also took her first road trip. Here’s how it happened: Kira was supposed to get spayed on Memorial Day, but three days earlier she went into heat. Yes. That actually happened. It’s been a pain in the neck but is mostly over now.

The bad news: we have to wait two whole months for the surgery, because apparently it isn’t safe to operate until she’s completely through that cycle. The good news: with the day free, we were able to spontaneously meet up with the boys’ birth family in Greenville to celebrate Gabe’s birthday.

David and Judah had a day-long paddleboarding trip planned, so I took the three younger kids and Kira to the upstate. Kira did great riding in the back of the van in her crate. It helped that we put a seat down so one of the boys could sit next to her. She is truly always game for an adventure: which makes her a true Gentino.

We walked, rollerbladed, and ate a picnic lunch in the brand new Unity Park, then headed into downtown Greenville for Jeni’s Ice Cream — my very favorite.

Noah: “Why does every Mom want a picture with their dog in front of that wall??”

Paddleboard trip

Meanwhile the guys paddleboarded 17 miles down the Broad River with a group of friends. They had a blast, despite yet again breaking our two paddleboard fins.