June was a birthday month, and a very
busy school month, so Alex chose to hold off a bit on having a birthday party. Considering how nicely his
Lighter Than Air Faire turned out, I would say it was worth the wait.

Amassing all of our thrifted treasures from their usual spots throughout the Bird House was kind of fun. Alex was going for a
Steam Punk and the World of Tomorrow vibe. Everything was gathered outside, for the big-screening of
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

Well, not everything... all the delicious pies were
inside.
Jola helped me collect torches to ward off mosquitoes. Ruth brought three more pies, including her amazing strawberry rhubarb pie...
that went fast! James and Eli oversaw Alex's slicing technique. Helen and Michael shared a beautiful bottle of their home made strawberry wine. Holly and I did side by side corn popping for movie time munching.

Geoff, Alex, William, Max, and I set up the
big screen and got it ready for its public debut. And Izzy and Maria were filling up, getting ready for all kinds of fun.

After eating, running, exploring, and playing chicken farmers with Tesla, Temple, Trudy, Zelda, Zoe, and Betty, then Maria, Parker and Izzy staked their claim on the hammock... prime movie watching real estate.

I thought Suki
knew the movie featured air-pilots, but her flight goggles were just Suki-random-happenstance.
It was fun meeting new friends, seeing dear friends, sharing with neighbor friends, making pie friends. I hope we will see
Henry, Issac, and Andrea again before they head off to school.

It really is nice to be settling down in one place. We find ourselves feeling more at home everyday, and enjoying the pleasures of being part of the community we live in... like seeing school friends Andy D. and Andy C. at the
Fair, and sharing interests, and activities, and play! with friends. Moving around so much, I think we were missing out.
This is fun!

Jola was telling me that William gave her a good description of
what Steam Punk is all about. Patricia and I shared garden tales. We made
biergarten-movie night plans with Michael and Michael. Helen met the chicas, and she and I agreed it is good to find we share a love of chickens. Henry and Andy kicked around a soccer ball, Jola and Andrea were chatting, as were Rich and Michael. We were so happy Issac could make it...
you never know where you can read Popular Science and have some pie on a Friday night, right Issac?
I'm just enjoying these happy recollections.

Whether at the Fair, in school, in robotics, Sky Consortium, at the Space Exploration Club, around town, or in our backyard... I hope these are people we will know the rest of our lives.