Dad picks weeds up around the house.

A stop in Kansas usually means a visit to the Longaway Farm. The odd little zoo my Dad is running was teeming with life, from goats to peacocks to pigs. I much prefer a May visit to the freezing January ones I have had in recent memory. . . .

Malmbergs take on the Capitol.

Today I have my last set of photos from Virginia. We already stopped by wine and Monticello, hiking, and graduation. This last bunch is from Richmond, where we toured the Virginia State Capitol and Monument Avenue. . . .

Pink and watercolor florals invite guests to celebrate Velma's 80th birthday.

Happy 80th birthday, Grannie! My friend Kali, who you might know or have heard of because I also made her nursing school graduation announcement, asked me to made birthday party invitations for her Grannie's 80th birthday. I was given free rein, so I used pink and watercolor flowers to create a happy, hopefully inviting, postcard.The back of the card made for easy distribution. . . .

Mom and Dad "enjoy" seeing the city of Charlottesville from above. (In Dad's defense, he didn't know I was taking a photo.)

Continuing in the series, "Last Day in Virginia Recap," I bring you wine and cider tastings, and a tour of Thomas Jefferson's place. . . .

We finally saw a bear! All this time in Virginia, and we never saw a bear!

Phew. Life has been all over for the past few weeks. Here's a short recap before I go telling stories from May.

• Cole graduated from law school. Woot!
• Bud, Michele, Kady and Maggie did a little vacationing with us in Virginia.
• We drove to Kansas, which included a stop in Omaha, Nebraska.
• We spent two days in Phillipsburg, Kansas, with family.
• Surprised my brother in Kinsley, Kansas, for his birthday! Surprise!!
• After the surprise, we did some dancing and then stay in Garden City, Kansas, with Janel and Dillon (yay!).
• More driving across long expanses of nothing.
• We arrived in Cali and moved into our new apartment and are sorting out life.

So, that's that for now. I will just back to May 20 — Cole's birthday! . . .