Hi, everyone!
From the middle of May to the middle of June, we have a lot of family birthdays! James’ birthday comes first! We went over to his house to celebrate! His cousin McKenzie and her fiance Jake came, too! James wanted pancakes for birthday dinner and an AWACS cheesecake birthday cake! Grandma and Grandpa and I gave him a new book about me and a birthday party jigsaw puzzle. His favorite present was the new Zelda video game from his parents. He started playing it while we were still eating his birthday cake!
Thomas’ birthday was four days later. He wanted takeout from Olive Garden for his birthday. While we were waiting for Uncle Steven to bring the food back, Thomas worked on some number puzzles I brought. McKenzie and Jake brought birthday mustaches for everybody to wear!
Thomas was happy to get the present from Grandma and Grandpa and me, because it was a case to protect his phone! He used his phone to photograph his birthday cake before he blew out all the candles.
After church the next day, Grandma and Grandpa took me back out to the bay. This is the prettiest time of year there for flowers! We didn’t want to miss any of my azalea or rhododendron blossom friends!
The water level was going down just a little. We went to watch sunset at Sodus Point.
Monday, we went back into town. Grandma took me to see my flower friends at Highland Park. The lilac festival was over, and most of the lilacs were past peak. My favorite lilacs, Sensations, are late bloomers and I found three of them!
The magnolia grove was pretty much leafy green, but the buckeyes were just starting to bloom. The peonies were blooming, too!
When we walked along the lilac slope, I found some lilacs that hadn’t bloomed yet! I saw two more of my Sensation friends. There was still some festival trash around the lilacs, so I made sure to pick it up and throw it away!
After I said hello to my friends in the pansy bed, Grandma took me up the azalea gully. More of my azalea friends there were in bloom, but a lot of them were still just buds!
When we got home, I told our new lilacs about their cousins in Highland Park!
Grandma wanted to go back to the bay on Tuesday, so she could get the deck ready for staining. Rain was predicted for Wednesday, but then we were supposed to get a long period of dry weather. I was happy to get another chance to be with my Sodus flower friends and see another sunset. Guess what? It was warm enough to have dinner on the porch next to the blooming azalea!
We were back at the bay on Friday, so Grandma could stain the deck. She used a different kind of stain and was happier with how it came out. More of the rhododendron blossoms were completely open, but the Mothers Day azaleas were still mostly buds. My very first white azalea blossom friends were openings, too!
Saturday, Uncle Steven’s family joined us at the bay. It was time to put the dock out! Grandpa got everything organized, and Uncle Steven and Aunt Kara did the lifting and moving.
Meanwhile, James played his new Zelda game and Thomas looked for rocks to skip. It was a warm, sunny day, so I made some shade for Thomas’ new phone!
The dock was all in place before lunch! After lunch, Uncle Steven and Aunt Kara took two of the kayaks down to the boathouse. Then it was time for family electronics!
I took time to make friends with some May apple blossoms and a Jack-in-the-pulpit in the woods. When we came back into town, I made sure to make friends with the only surviving flower on our rhododendron there. I’m happy it is growing new leaves after the deer ate them all off a year ago!
Yesterday was Uncle Bill’s birthday and today is Memorial Day. Grandma always lets me wear Uncle Bill’s military dog tags on Memorial Day to remember him. This year, we went to the Fairport Memorial Day Parade, too. We were almost at the end of the parade route, so it took a long time before we saw the first parade unit turn the corner!
There was a long line of shiny convertibles with elderly military veterans in them. Grandma told me they get honored on Memorial Day because the weather on Veterans Day in November isn’t very good for riding in open vehicles! The Patriot Guard motorcycle unit brought along a dog and Grogu! The East Rochester fire department vehicle had Road Runner!
After the parade, we stayed for the memorial service. Uncle Bill and Uncle Steven both played in the band for this service when they were at Fairport High School. The band didn’t march in the parade this year, but I was happy to see they were playing for the service. Uncle Bill played sousaphone, so I made friends with one of the current sousaphone players. After the service, he asked about Uncle Bill, and I showed him Uncle Bill’s brick in the veterans memorial.
Love,
Lion-san