The Accidental Boilermaker

Today for lunch and just for something fun to do we went to the Roanoke Lebanese Festival. There was so many different foods you could try and it all sounded really good. Evelyn was kinda in a mood and didn't want to try anything. Nate and I both got falafel sandwiches and then we tried some grape leaves stuffed with rice and meat and a spinach and feta pie.  For dessert we got what was basically fried dough with powered sugar, but it was good. It was an incredibly well organized event with indoor and outdoor seating, music, and different tables where you could learn about Lebanese culture. The church even had swings so of course we had to play for just a bit before we headed home.

My parents were here for Memorial Day Weekend and since it probably will be their last trip to Virginia before we move, we kinda had a bucket list of a weekend.  Saturday morning we went to the D-Day Memorial.  It was nice to be able to see the water features this time. Evelyn was well behaved during our walking tour, but she needed some out of the stroller time by the end. After the memorial, we drove back to Catawba to have dinner at the Homeplace. Sunday we stayed home and watched the Indy 500.  After the race, Nate and my dad made a bonfire and we grilled hot dogs and had s'mores. Evelyn says I'm tired of all these pictures. Monday we all drove up to Mill Mountain to see the star. Afterwards we got ice cream and stopped by the Candy Shop to get some gummies.  Evelyn didn't want ice cream so she had cheerios. But she was happy to share some of Grandpa's doughnut before dinner. My dad and I dressed Evelyn up in...

Evelyn helped me clean the kitchen floor today.  Actually, I gave her the hard wood floor mop to distract her while I swept.  It worked pretty well. Even better, she took about an hour nap so I was able to get a few more chores done in the afternoon.

Last Thursday afternoon we left for Fort Wayne.  Evelyn first had her well baby check-up in the morning.  She weighted 21 lbs 6.5 oz (53rd percentile) and was 31 inches tall (66th percentile). Fort Wayne is about 8 hours away, so with Evelyn it was closer to 10-10.5 hours.  But she did pretty good on the way up and thankfully transitioned very well from car to hotel room.  Friday morning, we found a coffee shop and walked around downtown Fort Wayne.  Nate had a meeting with the VA after lunch so Evelyn and I played at a nearby park. Friday evening we met up with my parents!  They drove over from the Illinois to spend the weekend with us.  Saturday morning we all went to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo.   It is really a nice zoo - lots of fun animals and good sized, perfect for Evelyn.  She got to see a hyena up close,  Hide in a tent with Grandpa, Ride a komodo dragon, and  Feed a giraff...

This will be our last summer in Virginia.  Nate's post-doc ends in August and he has been offered jobs in Huntington, WV and Fort Wayne, IN.  Both are VA positions.  It will be very hard to leave Virginia.  We both love it here, but being 12 hours away from family is also difficult and both opportunities place us closer to the Midwest.  We were lucky enough to visit both towns to get a feel for what it may be like to live there.  A few weekends ago we drove to Huntington, leaving early on Saturday since it's only a 4 hour drive from our house. Our first stop was at the visitor's center which also housed a cute coffee shop.  Nate and I enjoyed some coffee while Evelyn played dominoes.  Then w e walked down and along the Ohio River for a bit. From downtown we walked over to Marshall University.  We visited the bookstore and saw the memorial fountain to the 1970 plane crash. After lunch we drove over to Ashland, KY to get a ...

Evelyn turned 15 months on Sunday and her well baby check-up is on Thursday.  Not much has really changed from 14 months other than Evelyn is a walker now.  She still crawls on occasion but walking is definitely her preferred mode of transportation. Evelyn loves the chickens and they love her.  Probably because she feeds them bread almost everyday we are home together. Now that the weather is warmer, Evelyn can even watch the chickens from inside.

We watched the Kentucky Derby with some friends this afternoon.  Harper tried to teach Evelyn how to play corn hole. Harper also gave her a new hat to wear for the race.  It may been slightly lucky; Evelyn's horse, Frosted, came in 4th place.  Better than the horses Nate and I picked. Let's go back outside guys! Watching people play corn hole after the race.