May, you were marvelous ...

Um, May, where did you go?

My favorite month of the year flew by. At least we have much fun to show for it. Cate turned 4. And we had a fun party. We spent a long weekend in Louisville, celebrating my brother's wedding. We also went to Churchill Downs and visited with family. And then we spent Memorial Day weekend at Kentucky Lake for the second year in a row. Consider it a new tradition.

And those are just the Hill family highlights. One of my favorite parts was having my sister and brother-in-law in the country for much of that! In fact, I spent three of the four weekends in May with some portion of my family. I consider that a blessing.

Other May activities included a date for my 32nd birthday, a baby shower for a dear friend and another friend's birthday party. Plus we picked strawberries and finished out Cate's first year of preschool. Add to all those celebrations the ordinary life with a 4-year-old girl and 18-month-old boy, and I found myself rather busy.

So busy, I haven't even gotten to share some of it with you, blog readers. So, here I go ...

We had a good time socializing at L&N Wine Bar for the rehearsal dinner. My dinner -- grilled salmon served on top of grits and with asparagus -- was delicious.

We got our nails done. It was Cate's first nail salon experience. She was quiet while we were there, but has talked about it many times since.

Laine was a beautiful, beautiful bride. We're happy she's officially a Hill after already being part of the family for years. And below you can see the two colors of bridesmaid dresses mixed together. It looked lovely. My 4-year-old Cate took that picture below too. Good eye, sweet girl!

And there's the attempt at the family photo while we're all dressed up. Could be better, but it certainly could be worse.
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The thing I loved about Laine and Kevin planning a Friday night wedding was it left Saturday and Sunday to spend with family in a less busy setting. Greg and my brother-in-law Zac had never been to Churchill Downs, so we spent the afternoon watching some horse races.

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And then there was Memorial Day weekend at Kentucky Lake, which included ...

... jet ski rides. Cate told me, "I went super-duper fast when Daddy drove. It made my belly tickle." Clearly, he's the better jet ski driver!

... messy boys. Ben and Jax have a couple things in common. They both have sensitive skin and messy, messy boys. Aunt Cassie didn't care about their messes and posted with them. The unintentional coordinating outfits were too cute -- and messy! -- to pass up.

... s'mores. Cate preferred her s'more to be in eaten in pieces, which proved messy.

... more cuddling and playing.

... facing one's fear and letting go. Cate was nervous about swimming in the lake, even though she's done it before. She just had to work up her confidence here at the beginning of summer.

... pep talks from Aunt Cassie. Really, wearing a pink life jacket isn't the worst thing in the world, even for a handsome boy.
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I can't say I'm sad to look at clearer June and July calendars, but, May, you were fun, while you lasted. And so I don't forget you, I took plenty of pictures throughout the month, especially at the wedding.