Pumpkin Patch

While Michael and I were at the ballgame, the Taylors made their yearly trip to Carolyn's Pumpkin Patch.

Ever since Violet was born, she's had her picture taken in the giant rocking chair. And each year she gets a little braver. This year Violet and Lincoln had to jazz up the picture and stand up in the chair.

Picking just the right pumpkin for carving can be a little intimidating, especially if the pumpkins are as big as you are.

I wonder if Violet took this picture. She's getting pretty good with a camera. Yeehaw!!!

Last Day at the "K"

I took advantage of Michael's Executive Host status at Harrah's and went with him to the last day of baseball for the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

While a win or a loss made absolutely no difference in the Royals miserable season, the crowd was still extremely enthusiastic. It was also the very first time I've ever had a foul ball caught by the guy sitting next to me.

Three of us pooled our money together and bought 80 tickets ($20) for a 50/50 chance at winning $15,000. Needless to say it's like winning the lottery. Didn't even come close to the winning number. Once again the Royals lost but it was a great way to spend the day with my son!

45 Year Class Reunion

As you get older there are certain things you hate to say out loud. One being your age and another the year of your class reunion.

My Osage Beach outlet mall shopping provided my outfit for the evening. I need a few tips on how to take a mirror selfie.

As I headed to the reunion, I panicked. Would I remember anyone? Would anyone remember me? All the fears went rushing out the door as I talked with people I hadn't seen for many, many years. We may have aged a bit but fun times we had a teenagers were remembered fondly.

One guy pointed out a mention in our Senior Histories of a "Tornado Squad". I vaguely remember adding this fictitious group to my history but for the life of me can't remember why we did it or what it actually meant. One guy said he could tell us but he was waiting for his Supreme Court nomination to be finalized first! He was always a cut up.

The photo booth was set up on a timer, taking a series of 4 photos every 5 seconds. For some reason I couldn't quite focus on the timer and the pose at the same time. By the way, I do know by sight two of these women. I needed to read name tags for the other three and still don't remember two of them. Maybe we should have reunions every year instead of every 5 years!

My New Gardener - Lincoln!

Melissa had parent duty at Violet's school so Lincoln came to spend a few hours with me.

We started with play doh. Lincoln had these pictures of a dolphin, dinosaur, dog and other creatures and wanted me to help him create one. He picked the wrong person. I have a hard enough time just trying to get the play doh out of the container. We ended up with what we'll call a dog. He was happy with it so that's all that matters.

Entertaining an almost 3 year old can be quite taxing. His attention span usually lasts around 5-10 minutes. So I loaded him up and we went to the grocery store. Picking out Halloween treats was his favorite. When we got back to my house there was still another couple hours before Melissa would be back. Lincoln loves to play outside so we did yard work. I couldn't stop giggling at Lincoln's enthusiasm to help cut down bushes and pull weeds.

Luckily Melissa came home just as we were finishing the yard work. I don't know what else I would have done to entertain him. Whatever I did was worth it for Melissa because he passed out within minutes of heading home. I can relate very well with Lincoln. He's a second child just like me - full of energy and a bubbly personality!

Osage Beach Outlet Mall

Michele and I try and get together with my Aunt Donna at least once a year. I missed last year but this year there was an added surprise. My cousin Lesley was visiting so the 4 of us headed to the outlet mall at Osage Beach.

I don't remember much "catching up" news as my focus was on buying new things for myself. I walked away with 2 pairs of boots, 2 shirts and a vest. Doesn't seem like much but so much more than Michele who walked away with nothing.

The Piano Man Plays at Kauffman Stadium

It's been 39 years since Kauffman Stadium hosted a concert with REO Speedwagon taking the stage.

Over 35,000 fans flocked to the stadium to see Billy Joel including me, Gary and Lee Ann. The parking lot opened at 1:00 with an 8:00 starting time for the concert. Thinking most people wouldn't wait until the last minute to get to the stadium, we had dinner first then headed to the stadium. Boy were we in for a big surprise. I should have known the crowd would be an "older" generation and not into tailgating before a concert. It took us an hour and a half just to get to our seats. I think Kauffman Stadium was also a little surprised as the concert didn't start until 8:30 to accommodate the last minute rush to get to the stadium.

Billy Joel was fantastic and our seats couldn't have been better. He played some of my all time favorite Bill Joel songs like Big Shot, Piano Man, Uptown Girl, and It's Still Rock & Roll to Me. Leaving the stadium was as big a nightmare as entering and it was a late night for this girl. Check off another concert for 2018!

Wedding Bells for Aunt Pam

The day finally came and Pam and Chris were married. The wedding was in Concordia, where Pam grew up, at Concordia City Lake. With August weather being a little cooler and rainy, we were all hoping for a bright sunny day. Be careful what you wish for. It was blazing hot.

Violet made the perfect flower girl. It's hard to believe she's so grown up that she walked down the aisle by herself, threw the flower petals, and stood with the bride and groom during the whole ceremony.

Jamie had the honor of walking Pam down the aisle. I love the casual look of the suspenders. Pam was almost giddy she was so happy.

After the wedding we headed to the Concordia Community Center for the reception. Pam & Chris' reception didn't disappoint. They had all the traditional wedding activities with toasts, dollar dance, tossing the garter and throwing the bouquet. Trish and I, although single, were in the bleachers at the time playing with the kids, so we "sadly" missed the bouquet toss.

Me, Melissa, Jamie, Violet and Lincoln got - you guessed it - Build a Bear bride and groom  bears for Pam and Chris. The envelope that Violet made contains the birth certificates for the bears which we named Mr. Opfer and Mrs. Opfer. I know Pam will love it.

Congratulations to Pam and Chris. May your lives together be forever filled with love and happiness!

A Walk Down I-70

Virtually walking the Appalachian Trail can get a bit monotonous. I'm just walking around my neighborhood or my living room and Michele is keeping track of our steps to add to a map.

So after 17 weeks and 700 miles, we decided to ditch the Appalachian Trail (for now) and started a new challenge.

We're now walking down I-70, each starting at our own homes, to see where we meet in the middle. After 2 weeks, I've made it to Hiway 65 while Michele is in Warrenton. I give her credit though. I may have walked a little further than her but she's had the distraction of the outlet malls. Nothing much to see for me as I progress but if memory serves me correctly, there may be a few antique stores along the way. I get distracted easily so Michele may gain a little bit of ground. Let's hope we meet some place where they at least have a McDonald's!

The Artist at Work

Thursday is art day at Violet's school and I was lucky enough to be the subject of her art project.

This is Violet and me eating ice cream at our favorite place - Chick-Fil-A. Violet was writing "Grandmother" on the line underneath but she didn't have time to finish. Either the teacher will learn you can't rush Violet or Violet will learn to complete a task within the allotted amount of time. Good luck to Violet and the teacher!

Dilly Bars

We were having lunch at Dairy Queen and Violet asked if we could have a Dilly Bar after lunch. Melissa had this questionable look on her face and asked "What's a Dilly Bar?" Then I had the questionable look on my face and said "You don't know what a Dilly Bar is?" I'm not sure if she was more confused about the Dilly Bar or the fact that Violet knew what a Dilly Bar was. Doesn't everyone know what a Dilly Bar is?

Dilly Bars have been around since 1955. Dairy Queen is known for their Dilly Bars. What I didn't know was they not only made them in chocolate but butterscotch, cherry and Heath. We did a little shopping after lunch then went back to Dairy Queen to get the Dilly Bars. Melissa was so embarrassed about asking for "Dilly Bars" at the drive-thru that I had to go inside and get them. We ended up getting the cherry Dilly Bars at Violet's request. Trust me, not the right choice. We all learn something new every day!

Bachelorette Party

What's a wedding without a proper bachelorette party. And where do 62 year old brides have their bachelorette party? Hamburger Mary's!

Hamburger Mary's advertises as a bar and grill for the "open minded" and offers a "flamboyant" dining experience with entertainment from "Dining with the Divas". In short, it's a drag club.

Instead of fully enjoying the show, Melissa, Trish and I were trying to figure out how the "divas" tape and tuck themselves to appear as such flawless young girls. This girl/boy/lady/man - whatever they like to be called - started out with this fancy dress but later stripped down to an all revealing leotard, kicking her legs in the air and dropping into splits on the stage. It was fascinating.

Pam is such a wonderful person and the greatest Aunt to everyone of her nieces and nephews. She deserves to have all the experiences every bride has. Just two more weeks until the wedding. I'm sure there won't be a dry eye in the house.