It is May, and as anyone with school-aged kids knows, everything is crazy busy as the school year is winding down. I definitely have a love-hate relationship with this month!
It's been quite a while since I blogged, so here's a look at what we've been doing so far this month:
Henry's been taking art classes at Monart since March and he is loving them so much! The art school put on a show of all their students' work at the end of April and it was such a treat! Henry is learning so much in his class and it is something he looks forward to each week.
I hosted the annual library volunteer brunch at our house at the end of April. We have over 50 volunteers and are so thankful for all their work. (I also got to attend a luncheon for the Kinkaid library volunteers that same week!)
Henry failed his eye test at the pediatrician's office and we had to visit the ophthalmologist. It turns out the pediatrician's eye chart wasn't calibrated correctly and Henry does in fact have 20/20 vision. Poor kid went through all that for nothing -- and then his eyes stayed dilated for four days! He was rocking some cool Minecraft glasses, though.
Doctor's visits (especially unnecessary ones) call for a trip to get ice cream.
We had some scout bees scoping out an area above our entryway. They hadn't made a hive but we are in the process of making that space less inviting!
We love the bees, just not inside our home! They can come visit our new raised bed anytime they want, though! So far, we've picked some peppers and tomatoes and all our new plants are growing like crazy in the early summer heat.
Henry's piano recital was a couple of weekends ago. He did so well and we were all so proud of him! His teacher confided that he's one of her favorite students because he tells her exactly what's on his mind and where he has problems with piano. He has come so far and is so dedicated.
Nana and Pop joined us for the recital and came back to the house for dinner afterwards. We were so glad they could come!
Henry also had his final Cub Scout meeting of the year. He earned his Webelos badge during the advancement ceremony at this month's pack meeting.
We celebrated Mother's Day and Pop's birthday recently as well.
There's nothing like getting the whole family together for some fun!
Happy Mother's Day to Nana!
Gene made raivas!
And here's one quick photo of me with my boys on Mother's Day.
Henry has also spent the entire month of May working on his big Texas project. He decided to research the invention of the hamburger (one strong claim is that it was invented in Athens, Texas in the 1890s). This project was SO much work (research paper, tri-panel and a diary) and we are glad to be turning it in this week. (Will had a big research paper too, but I have no pictures of it because it was done at school and there were no huge extra elements!)
We have been spending a lot of our Friday nights lately with Nana and Pop. It's so much more relaxing to pick up Will from school and then head to Nana and Pop's for dinner and a good visit than to fight the traffic back to our neighborhood.
We even saw a peacock wander by their house one afternoon!
Last week, Gene and the boys had a couple of boys' nights while I went to hear author Aja Gabel talk about her new book, The Ensemble, at Brazos Bookstore and then had my monthly book club meeting. Gene took the boys to Kura, a revolving sushi restaurant in Midtown. The sushi comes out on a conveyor belt and you just grab what you want. It was definitely the most fun sushi experience the boys have ever had!
We always head to the farmers market on Saturday, and last weekend, Henry and I found fresh fava beans. The boys helped me whip up a fava bean-green pea salad that was delicious!
Last weekend was jam-packed with fun! After the farmers market, we went to see Sideways Stories from Wayside School at the MATCH in Midtown. Main Street Theater always puts on fun shows and this one was great!
The boys found our names in the restroom at the MATCH, on their graffiti wall.
After the show, we went back to Kura for some more revolving sushi, both because the boys adored it and because they really wanted to show me how cool it was. Will's favorite is the squid with plum sauce.
Our next stop was Empty Bowls at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. We got there later than we normally do, but there were still tons of bowls and Gene found the perfect one for matcha.
Even though we had just eaten lunch, Henry still managed to have a bowl of soup and we all tried some iced coffee and iced mochas. Empty Bowls is one of our favorite events because we find beautiful bowls while helping the Houston Food Bank.
After some downtime at home, Will was off for a huge birthday party extravaganza -- pool party, movie night, slumber party and laser tag the next day! He had a blast with his buddies! Henry, Gene and I went to the members' opening of the new Glassell School of Art. It is a huge space with an incredible rooftop!
The MFAH recently installed the Cloud Column by artist Anish Kapoor in the plaza outside the Glassell.. This huge sculpture weighs 21,000 pounds and is 32 feet tall!
On Sunday, Gene and Henry went to MineFaire, a Minecraft extravaganza. The boys went last year and we got two free tickets in the mail for this year's event. Henry had so much fun!
He even came home with this cool new t-shirt.
For lunch, Gene and Henry visited our favorite French bistro, Eclair Paris.
Dessert was an espresso!
Are you screaming "Mayday!" too after these crazy May days??
