May Adventures

I love May in Maryland. It starts warming up just enough for us to enjoy the sunshine most days, but we're not in the full soupy warmth of summer yet. 

When Seth heard that they had approved a Covid vaccine for ages 12 and up, he was thrilled. Seriously. He was so tired of only seeing his friends outside and trying to play games while freezing inside a garage (we tried to keep things outside). As soon as we found out about openings, we signed Seth up! He was definitely nervous about it, but as long as I kept talking to him while he was getting the shot, he was good. Also, no side effects. I was so jealous! 

Elijah got some more good practice in on his bike.

He's a little too fast and independent for my sanity now.

We'd been hearing about the horrors of the Brood X Cicadas ever since we moved here and discovered cicadas. "Just wait," they said. We heard stories about stepping in piles of dead cicada bodies, or having cicadas stuck in your hair. So when we visited Marley and her kids, we were thrilled to see our first signs of Brood X in their backyard!

My cicada lover was SO EXCITED.

Turns out Brood X cicadas are actually smaller than the ones we see annually.

Go figure. 

Catherine patiently helped Elijah accept that cicadas are fun and not scary. 

He was slightly terrified the first few weeks, 

but by the end of summer he was always carrying around cicadas. 

Emma LOVES Elijah and managed to lure him into the pool.

Seth at yet another awesome Deacon activity:

This was also the point where Jon threatened to take his computer away every time he rode without a helmet. Apparently giant hair is no substitute for proper headgear. 

Panning for gold seemed like a good idea in May.

Didn't count on getting a freak cold spell that day.

The panners were less than enthusiastic due to chilly fingers. 

Catherine also started her own nature journal, which I love. 

She does not enjoy writing, so I try to let her choose writing projects that she'll enjoy.