Bridal Shower for Aunt Pam

Today was Aunt Pam's bridal shower. It only took her a little over 60 years but she finally found her Prince Charming.

Violet was also invited to the shower. She'll be the flower girl at the wedding. I offered to be the flower girl but since this is Pam's one and only wedding, she decided to go the traditional route and have a 5 year old for the flower girl. Violet's being silly with the wrapping from Pam's present.

It's hard to think of things for someone who has just about everything. My gift to Pam was matching t-shirts. One said "Mr.", the other "Mrs." Pam loved them.

Not a bad time to get a picture of me, Melissa and Violet. We should have planned our clothes better and got matching outfits.

Pam isn't really my aunt. She's actually Jamie's aunt but everyone else calls her Aunt Pam, so why shouldn't I. Congratulations Pam!

Uber on the Appalachian Trail

Michele and I are still trudging through the Appalachian Trail but her hiking trip to Colorado and my laziness has put me way far behind.

So much so that Michele thought it might be funny to add a little caption to my character. Do you notice how her character never changes but mine is so versatile. Is Uber even available on the Appalachian Trail? She eventually has to go back home, then I'll make my move!

Appalachian Trail Update

I have no idea where we are on our virtual Appalachian Trail adventure. I know Michele is ahead of me and I know we're in Virginia climbing the Iron Mountains (part of the Blue Ridge Mountains). We might be over them by now. I'm waiting for an update from Michele.

Other than that - as you can see from the carton depiction - I'm tired. Michele has the advantage of being in Boulder, CO this month with Bruce (who, by the way, NEVER stops walking) and taking nature hikes each and every day. I'm waiting for her to get back to St Louis. I'm sure she'll take a few days off to recuperate and I'll forge ahead. Wishful thinking!!!

Violet Loses Her First Tooth

After many weeks of wiggling her tooth, Violet finally lost her first baby tooth.

Even though her permanent teeth are coming in, the dentist recommended the tooth fall out naturally as opposed to him pulling the baby teeth. The tooth was so loose this morning that Jamie was going to put a piece of dental floss around it and pull it out. By the time he got the dental floss in place, the tooth was out.

I guess the tooth fairy is coming tonight. What's the going rate for a tooth these days?

Violet's Second Day of School

It's only day two and Violet is exhausted. She keeps telling Melissa how long the days are. Why the school district changed and made kindergarten kids go to school all day long is beyond me. They're only 5 years old!

Violet made it until 7:45 but then she was out like a light. One more day then she has the weekend to rest. I wonder who's going to tell her this lasts for 9 months!

Violet Goes to Kindergarten

If your phones were having a hard time getting a signal near a cell tower near a school this morning, you'll know it's because every mother with a kid in school was Snapping, Tweeting, posting on Facebook or Instagram a picture of their kid's first day of school.

And mine wasn't any different. After 2 long years of pre-school, Violet started kindergarten today. I've got to remember to have Melissa save Violet's apple sign so we can see how it changes each year. Now poor Violet will be walking down the aisle at her high school graduation with a sticker on her back posting her age and carrying a sign with her desired degree!

There weren't too many tears from Melissa but Lincoln wasn't ready to leave after telling Violet goodbye.

After 7 hours of grueling school work, Violet survived the first day of school. What a new schedule the Taylors will have to get used to. 

And I forgot to ask, do kindergarten students have homework? With that big of a backpack, I'm hoping Violet doesn't have to carry it full of school work every day.

New Dinner Theater - Mamma Mia!

It's always fun to get together with the people I used to work with. Today the retirement group went to the New Dinner Theater production of Mamma Mia!

This was a Saturday afternoon matinee which included a buffet lunch. I've never seen Mamma Mia so it was an extra special treat for me.

Now I want to go see the new movie (well probably old by now) Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Whatever happened to ABBA?

Italian Leather Chair

After almost 5 months of waiting, I finally got delivery of my Italian leather chair I bought while browsing the aisles of Bloomingdales in Chicago.

Now I'm not sure if it goes with my other furniture. This chair is very contemporary. My couch and loveseat look rather frumpy compared to the sleek design of the chair. I took out one of the old coffee tables, which helped. This black coffee table pairs well with the chair even though it's my $20 Walmart put-it-together-yourself table. I can't part with it because it's the table Violet used to bang her toys on when she was just a baby.

I need the help of an interior designer. Michele, where are you when I need you? But I'm also very eclectic so maybe I'll get used to it. Either that or it's back to furniture shopping for me!

Appalachian Trail and Two Million Steps

On May 1st, Michele and I started our virtual quest of walking the Appalachian Trail. We started in Springer Mountain, GA and we're about a quarter of the way to the end at Mount Katahdin, ME (2,181 miles).

Sometimes I'm ahead and sometimes Michele is ahead. This week I passed her but not by much. I notice Michele has put me back in my shopping outfit probably hoping I'll get distracted along the way and go shopping so she can zoom ahead.

With so much motivation, I've also hit my 2018 goal of walking 2 million steps and it's only August. I'm anxious to see if I can keep up this pace and how many steps I'll take by the end of the year.

Chill Out!

After our quick lunch with Michele last Tuesday, Violet, Lincoln and I went to Build-A-Bear. Melissa had coupons from her 9 hour wait to get bears on "Pay Your Age" day.

Not only did Violet and Lincoln get Build a Bears but I bought one for myself. Her name is Amaya (A-my-a - get it...a my a bear!) Don't everyone laugh at once. The original dress I picked out just didn't suit my need for a helpful de-stress bear.

So we went back and I got her a t-shirt and panties. Now I have Maryellen and Amaya. Sometimes I wonder who is the bigger child - Violet, Lincoln or me!

Shrinky Dinks

I always try and take something for Violet and Lincoln to do when I babysit. It's either that or get stuck playing Barbie's. Yesterday's arts and craft project was Shrink Fun Fairies or as we used to call them - Shrinky Dinks.

I can't remember how we made them years ago but in this package you used a colored pencil to color the polystyrene plastic sheets. The fairies were approximately 4" tall and paper thin. After baking, they were about 2" tall. We were real disappointed because Melissa's oven light was out so it was hard to watch the fairies shrink and harden.

As we were putting our fairy garden together, Melissa called and we were off to meet for lunch. Time flies when you're having fun!