Update on the Taylor House

Things are moving fast on completion of Jamie and Melissa's new house.

All the painting, inside and out, is complete. The cabinets are all set, stained and varnished. Right now Jamie is working on the tile. The electrician and plumber are scheduled and the fence is ready for construction. Projected move is the first of August. I'm thinking it will be closer to the middle of August or the first of September.

Playland at the Mall

Violet gets bored playing with her toys so Melissa tries to think of other options to keep her occupied.

We took her to the playland at the Mall. She was the best dressed kid at playland with her Coach purse! It takes her a while to adapt to all the kids running around. But she finally abandoned her purse and played on the toys.

Her favorite is the recycling car - that is until it starts screaming "Recycle". It even scared me.

After thirty minutes of play time I don't know if Violet was ready to go but I surely was. We had a quick lunch in all places - the food court - then headed home for a nap - me, not Violet!

A Visit from Michele

It's been quite a while since Michele has seen Violet and she changes to quickly.

Last weekend Michele made a quick trip to Kansas City before she and Bruce headed to a geocaching experience in northwest Missouri. Violet really likes Michele. I don't know whether it's because Michele plays with her or because Michele reminds Violet of her Grandmother.

Made in the Shade

Lola and Khloe spend most of the day sitting by the front door longing to go outside. My yard isn't fenced so they can't just go out and play. When you do let them out Lola usually runs to the creek and takes a dip in the stagnant water. Melissa and Violet went to Sedalia today which left me to watch the puppies. I decided to take them out while I watered my flowers. So what did they do?

They ran to the shade in the front yard to sit. Ahhh - a dog's life!

Happy Birthday Aunt Pam!

I was looking for a new project a couple of months ago and Jamie told me Aunt Pam's birthday was the end of June. So I started an afghan for her during my trip to Florida taking my time, no rush. When I got home on June 7th, Jamie told me Pam's birthday was the next week.

So then the crocheting began in full force trying to finish the afghan in a reasonable time. This is a diagonal stitch - one of my favorites - in a white, black and red color. Tonight we took Pam to dinner for her birthday. Before we left the house I had Violet pose for me with the afghan. The post its are her new thing. She sneaks into my office and takes them out of my drawer. But it made her happy so I could get a picture.  (By the way, Pam isn't my aunt, she's Jamie's aunt. But I'm so used to the kids talking about Aunt Pam that I tend to do the same.) Happy Belated Birthday Aunt Pam!

Happy Anniversary Melissa & Jamie - 8 Years!

It seems like only yesterday that Melissa was living with me before she married Jamie. Oh wait, it was just yesterday and today and tomorrow and last week and for the last 11 months!

The other night I told Jamie - "8 years ago I gave you my daughter" - and he replied - "And 7 years later I brought her back!" He's such a funny guy.

Since Jamie had to work today, Melissa and Violet joined me for my monthly lunch with the girls. I don't think Violet's ready to commit to lunch every month. We're all so busy catching up that we don't have time to devote all our attention to listening to Violet's stories. She wouldn't even tell one story about her puppies. Happy Anniversary Melissa and Jamie.

A Day at the Pool...And the Zoo

Melissa so graciously reminded me that I forgot to post the picture of Violet in her new swimming pool.

One small blow up pool, a few bath toys and several buckets of water and Violet has her own swimming oasis on the deck. This pool even has a blow up bottom, sort of like an air mattress. Melissa and I laugh at the warning signs on the pool - "No Diving"

Violet attended a birthday party at the zoo. They only made it as far as the polar bears and penguins before Violet got tired. The lighting wasn't that great for a picture but now Jamie is trying to teach Violet how to act like a penguin. The way she mimics everything, it shouldn't be long.