April and The Rest of May

I shall forever be playing catch up on this blog....

I invited the neighbor ladies over for a cherry blossom luncheon on the 17th.

 It was fun to get out my pink tablecloths and flower-charger plates.

 I served two different types of savory crepes for the main course.

 Then there was a crepe bar for dessert. I guess it was a hit because I didn't have any leftovers!

 I made these cherry blossom cookies from sugar cookie dough,

and packaged them up to give to the ladies as they went home. It was a nice way to welcome Spring!

Here's one of the Easter bunny cookies I made, too.

 Here are some pictures from when Kent's younger brother, Joe, came to visit at the end of April. It was his first time to see Washington, DC.

 You can see they had lovely weather, and rented bikes to do their sightseeing.

On the Saturday before Mother's day I put on a mother-daughter lunch for the activity day girls. There were 24 girls and their moms who attended.

Kent, as usual, helped me with the set-up. I put up a photo booth where the girls could take pictures with their moms wearing hats, boas,or scarves. Then we ate a nice lunch of chicken pasta salad, croissants, veggies and fruit pizza, (all which I made by myself), and then the girls presented a skit for their mothers. It was my last activity with them since I was released the next week.

Kent had purchased a living social deal on tandem skydiving, and made his jump in May.  I wasn't interested in skydiving, but went along to document the occasion.

Kent was by far the oldest person who was making a jump that day.

 Not that you can really see that this is Kent, but it is.  The first thing he said after he landed was that once was enough for him.

Each spring we try to visit the National Arboretum in Washington, DC when the azaleas are in bloom. 

 By the time we went in May they were past their prime, but there were still some lovely blooms.

We've been seeing signs to the "Lyndon Johnson Memorial Grove" for all the years we've lived here, so we finally went to check it out.  It wasn't that exciting, just a small park along the Potomac River.

 If I remember correctly, this granite slab is from Texas, where President Johnson was from.

My last big event of the month of May was hosting a garden party for my Bible Study group.

 I had fun channeling my inner "Martha Stewart" and using some recipes and decorating ideas I'd found on pinterest.  (Layering the lace tablecloths was an idea from pinterest.)  I served crab quiche, ham and broccoli quiche, fresh pineapple, sweet potato muffins, and blueberry breakfast cake.  There was herb tea and water to drink.

 With the help of my right hand man, Kent, we draped 20 yards of sheer fabric to make a false ceiling and cover the bare beams of the deck above the patio. I then draped it behind the food table. I added party lights, a chandelier, some paper lanterns, and voila! garden party decor!
                               
I was very blessed that the weather was just right--not too hot, without much humidity.  You never know what the Virginia weather will be like in the months of May through August.

 My theme was lavender and hydrangeas, though the real hydrangeas in our yard weren't blooming yet. Of course, Kent always has the yard looking lovely, so it's a nice setting for a garden party.

 Doing this kind of event is stressful for me, yet I love doing it. I like thinking ways to incorporate my theme, coming up with creative decorating ideas, and planning the menus.  I think what I need it a bunch of servants like they have on "Downton Abbey" to help me carry out my grandiose schemes!!