Darwiniana

Today our oldest turns 16. It's not that hard to believe we have a 16-year-old, since a) we don't feel all that young, and b) we're already used to having a 15-year-old (and will have another one again in September). Still, memento mori and all that.

My dad sent me this photo (developed from film, it's that old) of a pair of babies 15.5 years ago.

The oldest now has that sweatshirt and wears it despite, and perhaps because of, its totally rattiness now.

Here's another baby, the latest model. You can compare the two and see for yourself that we only have one mold here in Darwin-land.

This past Saturday our 7yo made her First Communion, wearing the dress that Darwin's mother made for the second-oldest. (We have four girls and two communion dresses, so each has been worn twice.)

Everyone in the family cleaned up for the occasion, and we even managed to get a photo in which the 9yo was not making a dopey face.

Speaking of the 9yo and dopey faces, he's recently been experimenting with the art form known as the selfie, which results in me finding a lot of oddness on my phone. On First Communion Day he was wearing a suit and had his hair slicked back, so this is what turned up.

The Smoulder!

 Darwin put in a lot of effort over the fall/winter building a new retaining wall and planting a plethora of bulbs. Everything's in bloom now -- what a mercy to be able to see the results of hard work, and to find it good.

It's hard to see, but there are two apple saplings planted in the big open space. One day they'll help pollinate our espaliered apple tree, just out of the photo on the left side of the house.

The 14yo and 12yo just finished up a run in The Seussification of a Midsummer Night's Dream. One was the narrator Thing 1, and the other was one of Titania's fairies. It was all pretty zany.

Speaking of drama, we're about to start our rehearsals for Big River. It will surprise no one to learn that I will be playing the Strange Woman. Art imitates Life.