Farmer Violet

Teresa got Violet a pair of overalls for Christmas.

Now overalls are not Melissa's style. But how can you not think she's just the cutest baby in these overalls. Note to Teresa - Violet grows so fast she probably needs another pair of overalls for the Spring planting - or in Violet's case - trips to play in the dirt at her new house.

New House Progress

Progress is continuing on Jamie and Melissa's new house.

The first floor is framed and the stairs are in ready to start framing the upper level. But the rain causes a few delays. Of course the weekends have been nice and sunny but I believe rain is predicted for next week. Target completion is June or July. I figure they'll still be here next Christmas.

Violet Meets the Maverick's Mascot "Mac"

We had extra tickets to the Maverick's game the other night so we took Melissa and Violet to the game. We saw the mascot "Mac" hanging around the upper level seats we had for that night. Jamie rushed off with Violet to get a picture. As long as they were at a distance, Violet was all smiles.

Once they had the opportunity for a photo, Violet wasn't too happy. But then as soon as Mac left, she started crying again. That girl can't make up her mind.

Violet is Walking

Violet started taking her first steps around 9 months old. The child couldn't crawl but she could pull herself up and walk. Then she discovered how to crawl. Forget the walking, crawling was so much faster to get to all the things she's not supposed to have like the dog's water dish, the open door to the stairs and my plants.

Now she's discovered walking again and it's not so bad. She's still very cautious with her walking but it won't be long before she learns how fast she can escape from her Mom and Dad. Be careful Lola, she's after you.

First Day of Spring

All the senior citizens in my neighborhood get a big kick out of seeing this sight around the neighborhood. And my neighborhood is nothing but senior citizens.

The walks are so much easier when Melissa isn't all bundled up against the freezing cold temperatures. Come on Spring, stay with us.

Violet - Happy First Birthday!

Exactly one year ago this wonderful little miracle came into our lives.

Although the intention for today was to go to the carousel at the mall, there was only time for Melissa, Jamie, Violet, Khloe and Lola to go investigate the framing of their new house. There was way too much activity going on so Violet and her puppies had to watch from Dad's truck.

We then had time to run to Harrah's for a steak dinner at the Range with Uncle Michael.

The waitress was even brave enough to bring Violet a big piece of chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. But the lemon is still her favorite.

Let's don't forget our last Etsy shirt photo. I think Violet needs a round of applause for putting up with her mother putting these stickers on her shirt every month.

Happy Birthday Violet!

Happy St Patrick's Day

One year ago today Melissa and Jamie came over for dinner frustrated that Melissa hadn't yet gone into labor.

Little did they know that 24 hours later they would have our sweet baby Violet. What a difference a year makes.

The Joys of Raising Children

I believe raising children is a lot like child birth. Many years from now you'll only remember the good times. Such is the case when I met one of Melissa's friends this weekend at Violet's birthday party. Angela decided to bring her 2 boys to the party despite the fact her husband was unavailable to attend. Angela has two boys, Mason - 3 years old, and Reed - 1 year old.

From the time Angela entered the clubhouse until she left, she was chasing after one of her boys. I laughed when I saw her trying to juggle two plates of food and corral two boys while going through the buffet line. I wasn't that cruel that I didn't offer to help her. She was then frantically searching for Mason who was under the cake table silently eating a cupcake. The next time I saw her she was behind the gift table trying to rewrap gifts that Mason had opened. She finally gave up and said her good-byes. As I glanced out the front door I saw her racing through the parking lot carrying Reed while chasing after Mason. When I finally caught up with her I took Reed as he was slipping down her leg.

Hang in there Angela. They do get older and listen a little better - or at least you think they do!

Violet's First Birthday Party

I'm not sure what was more stressful - Jamie and Melissa's wedding or Violet's first birthday party. After many months of planning and several days of preparation, the birthday party was a great success.

The star of the show stood in the middle of the clubhouse watching as everyone began to arrive. I can't remember the last time I was some place where there were so many children under the age of five.

But I loved every minute of the party. Violet was happy and playful with all the kids. But she was a bit possessive when it came time to open her presents and all the other kids started playing with her new toys.

Besides cupcakes and a cookie cake, Violet had her own personal birthday cake. She was even willing to share with anyone who was brave enough to come near her. There was quite a bit of icing on the floor.

Melissa was very creative and made a chalk board listing all Violet's statistics and likes. A very nice memorabilia piece.

Years from now Violet will realize how lucky she was to have both of her great grandfathers at her first birthday party.

I think Grandpa Taylor was ready to get on the floor and play with all the kids.

Thursday Dinner - Violet and Great Grandpa

We had our regular Thursday night dinner tonight at one of our old favorites - Cracker Barrel.

Dad shared his apples with Violet and she even stole a few kernels of corn he dropped from his plate. Michael made us a bit late for dinner because he hadn't changed his kitchen clock to daylight savings time. But Violet kept us entertained with her impression of Khloe scratching behind her ear, clapping and shaking her head. She's become quite the mimic.

Birthday Shopping

Violet's first birthday is coming up so we took a trip to Toys 'R Us last night.

It's a good thing Melissa and Jamie are building a 4 bedroom house. They're going to need one room just to store all Violet's toys. She's clutching a Cabbage Patch Kid 30th Anniversary Edition. I remember buying a Cabbage Patch Kid for my niece, Courtney, when she was born in 1983.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise

A couple of months ago I sent a text to my friend, Sonia, asking if she wanted to escape the cold Missouri winter and take a cruise. Within seconds she responded with a definitive YES. So I began searching the Norwegian Cruise Line website looking for a fun cruise. I wanted to take a 10 day southern Caribbean cruise but Harrah's would only pay for a 7 day cruise - poor me, right? So I selected a 7 day eastern Caribbean cruise to St Maarten, St Thomas and Nassau.

We boarded our ship - the Getaway - in Miami. This is my 4th cruise and I've never used the spa services. So I decided to pamper myself with a hot stone massage and access during the whole cruise to the salt bath, steam room, hot sauna and massage pool. I even got up early the next morning and took a yoga class.

This is the yoga teacher, Dalma, who is from Hungary. I've got all the yoga equipment at home but I've never taken a yoga class. Yoga has a lot of stretching, a slow pace and very awkward positions. Needless to say after that first and only class I felt as though someone had beat me up. I must have used muscles I didn't even know I had. Makes me realize just how much I need to exercise.

Our first stop was Phillipsburg, St Maarten. The weather was beautiful and we spent the day shopping the streets of St Maarten.

The next day we docked in St Thomas. We took the Coral World and Butterfly Garden tour. Coral World Ocean Park has an undersea observatory, Caribbean reef tank, lorikeet garden and this shark tank where they train juvenile sharks. While roaming through the park wild iguanas sneak up on you. Luckily our group was only 8 people and we were all ready to leave early.

The butterfly garden was right across the dock from the ship. The brochure for the excursion boasts the garden is "teeming" with butterflies. In actuality we saw about 20.

During "at sea" days there are many things to do aboard ship. I enjoyed the trivia games. This was an 80's movie trivia game. They showed a picture from a movie and you had to guess the name of the movie. I missed 3 out of 20. Not even close to several who had them all correct. I think the prize was either a t-shirt or koozie.

The ship has several places to eat and you can always find something open any time during the day or night. The buffet was always good and offered a great variety of food. We usually ate at the main dining room for dinner but we found this little café that served the best hamburgers.

When we returned to our room at night, the room steward had a little towel art sculpture waiting for us. I think this is an elephant but not for sure.

Our last stop was Nassau, Bahamas. We had originally planned to visit the zoo but when we got off the ship it was raining so we changed our plans and spent the day at the spa.

We stayed in Florida an additional week because who wants to spend the winter in Missouri. Melissa sent me this picture and I immediately sent her one back. But all too soon it was time to return home.

While we were waiting for our flight home there was an Antonov aircraft on the runway. The Antonov is a Russian aircraft designed to transport the Buran space shuttle. It is now used to transport oversized commercial equipment that you wouldn't think could ever fit on an airplane. It's the largest aircraft ever built. The man standing by the aircraft is standing right below the nose of the plane. Exactly what it was doing at a small airport in Melbourne, Florida, I hate to even think.

I learned a very important lesson about flying. DO NOT FLY if you have a cold. It's been 5 days since I landed and my ears still haven't popped. I've been to Urgent Care for antibiotics for a sinus infection and heading to my regular doctor tomorrow hoping for some relief.