The lovely month of May

We've been having a lovely month--up until the last couple of days. Friday was so blustery it was uncomfortable to go outside (and we lost a bunch of our growing plums).

Andrew and Evelyn had well child visits at the beginning of the week and both are doing well. Mid-week was pretty unremarkable, but here's a sampling of Oliver's lovely artwork. He was very proud of himself.

Evelyn got her hair trimmed so her growing-out bangs are finally blended in with the rest of her hair. I forgot to take a picture when she was done--and then she went outside and played in the rain with the neighbors, so by the time I remembered, she looked like a bedraggled rat. I'll try for a better shot today.

This weekend has been a little crazy. Yesterday, we cleaned the church, then our house, then Evelyn and I went to a self-defense class. I thought it was helpful--even if I did have to have a slightly uncomfortable talk with Evelyn afterward (she wanted to know what "rape" meant, since the instructor mentioned it several times). Hard as it is to think about, though, I'd rather she knows what the word means and how to defend herself against it--esp. as it's much more likely to happen coming from someone she knows than from a stranger on the streets. Here's hoping neither of us need to know that information.

On the way home, we grabbed lunch from Dairy Queen (guess who picked?), then I had to shower quickly before going down to St. George for a bridal shower for Dan's cousin's son's fiancee (whew, that's a mouthful). It was lovely: Cindy is such a great hostess and it was fun to see some of Dan's extended family again. (Plus, I won some stuff, including a London-scented candle that smells like tea and lemons and is amazing).

Meanwhile, Andrew spent the morning with his friend, and was so helpful setting up for a party they planned that afternoon (for his friend's little brother--a party Evelyn had already been invited to), that they invited him to stay. So he and Evelyn spent the afternoon at a party, and it was just Oliver and Dan guarding the fort.

We rounded off the day with a wedding reception that evening--Evelyn and I went, but I had to convince Andrew he didn't really want to come (he only wanted to go for the food, but he would have hated everything else). Evelyn was enchanted by everything: the decoration, the bride's dress. Well, and the food (pizza and ice cream!).