May-Cember

I've heard it said that May is just as busy and crazy as December, but the only difference is the weather and absence of holidays! That was incredibly true this year as we made our way through an incredibly busy month! It's normally chaotic with all of the spring sports and end-of-the-year festivities, but this year was even more crazy with three graduating kids. We crawled to the finish line of the school year, but summer is finally here and we are SO ready for the break.

Caleb had "Decision Day" on May 1 at school. He is super excited to be heading to ISU with his best friend, Micah, in the fall.

The busy spring sports season came to an end. Caleb loved doing another year of water polo while Leah and Joel took on another year of track.

We had the last of all the band performances. Our last marching drummer - Joel - marched in the New Lenox Loyalty Day Parade. The final concerts for all three were great and it was definitely bittersweet to see Caleb in his final performance. Band is one of the activities that Caleb has done the longest and we have truly enjoyed watching him grow as a musician.

Caleb had a blast going to prom. He tagged along with several friends and made the most of the night. Joel had his 8th grade dance and also had a great time. He bravely asked Laney (a friend since kindergarten) to the dance and they were just adorable together!

We loved getting to witness all three of the graduations that took place for our kids. Nyla finished with her Masters in Sports, Recreation, and Tourism. Caleb wrapped up four years at LWC. Joel finished 8th grade and ended a long run with our kiddos being in such a wonderful school district (NLSD122). He was also chosen to receive a special award honoring a teacher/administrator who passed away last year. He was quite proud and so were we!

And it wouldn't be right to end the school year without the traditional last day pictures. These kids sure are growing up way too fast!

Joel's DC Trip 2026

We took our final of three trips for the traditional Sturm-kid-8th-grade-Washington DC-adventure! Even thought we've done it twice already, it was just as fun and enjoyable the third time around. We packed in SO much in four days and came home ridiculously tired, but it was well worth it!

Day one began with an early morning flight and we landed in DC around 8:30 in the morning. We left to get our rental car and the adventure began. We started with a stop at Arlington National Cemetery. Afterwards, we headed down to Mount Vernon, where we enjoyed a tour of the house and exploring the massive grounds. We headed back towards DC and checked into our hotel. We got settled and headed out to the air and space museum and botanical gardens. Despite being completely exhausted by dinnertime, we ventured about a mile north of our hotel to the portrait gallery - only to be super bummed to learn that the presidential portrait gallery and several other galleries were temporarily closed. Joel's spirits were lifted when we discovered that there was a Raising Cane's right around the corner for dinner. After a yummy dinner we trekked back to our hotel and almost immediately fell sound asleep after such a long and exhausting day!

Day two started with Joel's favorite - hotel breakfast - and it was delicious! After that, we took our first Metro trip towards the White House. Joel was fascinated by the Metro and it quickly became one of his favorite parts of the trip. We made our way to the White House, but ended up having to take an insanely long detour due to everything being blocked off for an event that was taking place. Fortunately, our long walk left us crossing paths with a national park worker who gave us free tickets to the garden tour event that was going on. We held onto the tickets and made our way over to Ford's Theater to do our scheduled tour there. When that was done, we headed back to the White House and got a one-of-a-kind experience where we got to walk through the grounds on the southern side of the White House. When that was done, we made our way to the Capitol for a tour and then visited the Library of Congress. After that, we took the Metro out to the Pentagon to see the 9-11 Memorial and then we grabbed dinner in a town right by the Pentagon. From there, we rented bikes and visited a ton of different monuments. Our sunset biking adventure was wonderful and a great break for our sore feet!

Day three started with much cooler temps and rain. It was the perfect excuse to hop on the Metro and head to a coffee shop that our pastor recommended. We grabbed our coffees and then rode the Metro back to the National Mall, where we visited the archives, museum of natural history, museum of American history, and museum of African American history. By the time we were done, the skies cleared and it was a gorgeous afternoon. We ventured up to the national zoo and had a blast seeing all of the animals there. Joel was lucky enough to see the panda bears eating and playing. We also got to witness the orangutans being extremely playful and interactive. When our tired feet were done for the day, we once again rented bikes and made stops at a few other noteworthy places. We turned our bikes in and hopped on the Metro to a delicious burger place in the southern part of the city. From there, we headed back to the hotel and crashed into bed with exhaustion.

Our final day started with a trip to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The tour was fascinating and we really enjoyed it. After that, we walked over and visited the Holocaust museum. We had just a bit of time left, so we headed back to the Washington Monument to take in the views one last time. With just a bit of time left before needing to head to the airport, we decided to stop into the American Indian museum, which was a new one for us. When that was done, we headed back to the hotel to grab our things and then took one last Metro ride to the airport. The ride home was quick and we made it home in time for a homemade meal prepared by Grandma! It sure is amazing how much you can cram into one long weekend!