Ducks

My last post showed a picture of Violet and Jamie feeding the ducks outside our condo. Today I looked in my backyard and I swear there were the exact same ducks that were at the lake.

Jamie said he brought them home with him. I think it just took them 5 days to walk here. Unlike the ducks at the lake, I couldn't get very close to get their picture. I needed Violet here to give them some bread.

Magic Dragon Car Show - Lake Ozarks

This past weekend was the Magic Dragon car show held at the Lake of the Ozarks. I wondered why they called it "Magic Dragon". Some people say the Lake of the Ozarks looks like a big dragon from the air as it winds through the Missouri hills. Several years ago it became known as The Land of the Magic Dragon. At their very first car show in 1987 they used the name Magic Dragon and it's stayed with them ever since. I thought it might be fun to take Melissa, Jamie, Violet, Khloe and Lola for a weekend at the lake. I booked a condo at Southwood Shores which just happened to be down the street from Jamie's Grandma Barb.

So Friday night we picked up Grandma Barb and took her to dinner at Li'l Rizzo's Italian restaurant. I didn't make a very good selection for my meal but Melissa, Jamie and Grandma Barb had the chicken parmesan and said it was delicious. After dinner we dropped off Grandma Barb and headed to the Bagnel Dam Strip to see the cars. I remember going to the strip many weekends as a child but if you blindfolded me and put me in the middle of the strip today, I would have no idea where I was. It has changed so much.

After walking the strip and looking at the cars we stopped at the ice cream parlor for a little snack. I think Violet had more ice cream on her face than in her cone. It was the favorite part of the night for her.

And then we tried to get her to pose with me in the giant chair. I should have been paying a bit more attention to my own pose.

On Saturday we spent the whole morning at the outlet mall. While Jamie headed back to the car show, Melissa and I drove through Steak 'N Shake for a quick lunch. But Violet couldn't even make it through the wait for our food. She fell asleep. So we decided to eat our lunch in the parking lot and head back to the mall. Melissa and I did a sort of "tag team" shopping while Violet napped. Melissa would go into the store, pick out something she liked, then come back to the car while I went in to see her choices. At some stores I think the sales people were getting a little leery.

Later we went back to the condo to pick up Jamie and headed to Miner Mike's - the kid's arcade at the lake. Besides the room full of arcade games, they had this giant maze. And even though they had many different types of slides, we couldn't get Violet out of the ball pit.

Jamie had to leave Saturday night and as he was loading his car, the ducks came around for dinner. So from the steps of our condo, Violet fed the ducks. I think I used the excuse of going to the car show just so I could go shopping at the outlet mall. Whatever works!

Let's Go Royals....I Mean Cardinals!

For Christmas Michele bought Bruce a package of tickets to go to the Cardinals games in St Louis. Much to Michael's luck, Michele is on a cruise right now so she gave Michael and Ashley the tickets for last nights game.

This is the view from their seats. You have to admit that Busch Stadium is beautiful.

True to Michael and Ashley's love for the Royals, they wore their KC Royals clothes instead of Cardinal shirts. (By the way, the Cardinals played Philadelphia, not Kansas City). But it was a victory for the Cardinals. Michael would like the tickets for the St Louis vs Kansas City game but Michele says absolutely not, those are hers.

Happy Birthday Dear Teresa...

Thursday night dinner turned into Wednesday night dinner so we could celebrate Teresa's birthday. We went to Zarda's in Blue Springs.

Michele made Teresa (and all of us) a family book from Shutterfly. It's almost like a family tree genealogy book only more fun.

Since Michele was snapping pictures I grabbed all the kids and had her take a picture of us. Too bad Teresa's birthday isn't closer to Christmas. I could use this for my next Christmas card.

Michele also brought Violet her birthday present - surprise - legos. She keeps talking about building Violet a robot. I keep waiting but I haven't seen one yet. Completing how I started this post "Happy Birthday Dear Teresa, Happy Birthday to You!"

Happy "Minnie" Easter

This year instead of getting Violet a basket full of candy, I decided to go with a Minnie Mouse theme - her favorite character.

I hid everything around the house but it didn't take long before she found all her Minnie things.

But what's Easter without chocolate. I can't believe I found this chocolate Minnie Mouse wearing rabbit ears. Violet's energy is pretty high right now. Just wait until she finishes her chocolate. She'll literally be jumping up to touch the ceiling fan on her own!

Wonderscope

Twenty-three months ago I posted my first video of Violet. She happened to be singing along with an Easter bunny. Since then I've posted several other video blogs and pictures of Violet's firsts. Now get a glance at this one.

Melissa took Violet to Wonderscope Children's Museum whose mission is sparking a lifelong love of learning through the power of play. They provide experiences that are fun, imaginative and promote a hands-on learning experience.

These are just a few of the activities Violet did during the morning play.

I really liked this colorful display of geometric shapes.

And water experiences are always fun. But Violet and a pair of scissors seems a bit disastrous to me. First it's paper, then the family photos, then her own hair. Watch out Khloe and Lola. You may not have to go to the groomer again. Violet will cut your hair!

Car Show and a Hockey Game

I need to do a bit of catching up here. Last Saturday Jamie, Melissa, Violet and I went to a car show before heading to the Maverick's hockey game. There are a few car shows held in auditoriums but most are rows of cars parked in a parking lot.

Back in the day you'd usually see this type of car which we called a jalopy on the top of a heap at a junk yard. Now it seems as though this is a collector's item.

I've got this one earmarked for Violet when she turns 16. I hope pink is still her favorite color.

Then it was off to the hockey game. Jamie and I didn't get season tickets this year but we still go to the occasional game.

Violet knows the mascots - Mac and Cheez - and can spot them far off in the distance anywhere in the arena. But let Mac or Cheez get close to our seats and she's still a little afraid of them.

But the night was a winner as the Maverick's won the game.