Happy 3rd Birthday Violet!

I can't believe Violet is now 3 years old. But she's not too happy about anyone drawing attention to her birthday.

Even Jamie putting 2 party hats on his head couldn't cheer her up.

She did perk up a bit when the waitress brought a candle and she blew it out.

I could get her to smile a little but that's only because I brought the hats and horns.

But the best gift of all was from Karen. She got her a fingerprint set that you use in the bathtub. As soon as Violet opened it, she wanted to go home and take a bath.

Lincoln enjoyed Violet's birthday. He sang Happy Birthday all through dinner. I think he was trying to irritate her. Happy Birthday Violet. Hopefully you'll be in a better mood with all your friends when they celebrate your birthday on Sunday!

Gymnastics Update

Violet is doing much better at gymnastics.

She pays attention to the instructor and tries everything until she gets it just right. I noticed she was the only one who actually looked at the ground when the teacher told her to dismount from the hanging bar. Of course she's the best. She has that perfectionist gene like so many in my family do.

Cruising to Jamaica

My latest cruise was to the islands of Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Grand Stirrup Cay and Cozumel.

We were so excited to finally escape the cooler climates of Missouri and head east to Florida.

Our first stop was the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, FL. My friend Sam met us at the airport and was our driver to Miami.

On Sunday we boarded the new Norwegian ship, The Getaway, and headed to Grand Stirrup Cay - a private island in the Bahamas owned by the cruise line. There wasn't much to do on the island. There were a few locals who put up tents and my goal was to buy a t-shirt in every port. The ship also had a huge shelter house where they fed us a barbecue lunch.

Some of the islands don't have piers so "tenders" are used to transport guests from the ship to port. It isn't my preferred method of transportation. You have to wait for the tender to fill up before they'll take you back to the ship. I hate to wait.

Part of our cruise included a dinner package where we could go to specialty restaurants 4 nights of our cruise. My favorite was Teppanyaki. This is a Japanese steakhouse where they cook the meal on a hot grill right at your table. Our waiter was superb. The dinner lasted an hour and a half but was so delicious it was worth the wait. I had fried rice with scallops and shrimp. Part of the entertainment was the chef flipping fried eggs into our mouths. I thought he had forgotten about me but he didn't. I was sure I would look the fool trying to catch flying egg into my mouth. But on the second try, the egg went right in. Everyone, including the chef, raised their hands in the air and shouted "nothing but net". I didn't know whether to be proud or embarrassed.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica, was our next stop. Most of the excursions offered by the ship involve scuba diving, snorkeling and lying on the beach. Not some of my favorite things to do. So I enjoy investigating the shopping port. 

Watching the people is another fun thing to do so we took a break at Margaritaville.

Grand Cayman was my favorite. I actually believe I could live in Grand Cayman. The shopping is fabulous. This picture can't be far from the truth. I can truly see myself shopping all day long.

I bought a morganite necklace to go with the ring I bought on my last cruise. There are so many things to see and do. But our trip was cut short due to an unexpected storm coming in. So we had to leave early even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

Our last stop was Cozumel. It's funny how commercialized most of these ports are. I couldn't help myself from getting a hamburger from Hooters. The local cuisine just didn't appeal to me. But the trio sitting next to us had name badges from the ship and they were from the United States. Very rare for a cruise ship. They were actually on the other ship in port and part of the entertainment. One of the gentlemen was more my age and the stories he was telling us of past musical groups was very exciting. 

All too soon the cruise was over and time to head back to reality. But not before spending a couple more nights at the Hard Rock. I did accomplish my goal and got a t-shirt from every port. I kind of cheated and bought 2 from Cozumel.

One More Round for the Princess Dress

I think Violet lives in her princess dress. But I can't put all the blame on her.

I can't go to Walmart, Kohl's, JC Penney, Target - just about any store - without buying something for Violet and Lincoln. Today it was a tiara, earrings, bangle bracelets and a magic wand to go with her princess dress. So, of course, Violet had to put on her princess dress with all her new accessories. Lola was a little upset I forgot to get something for her. But she made up for it by stealing a piece of Violet's chocolate. Hopefully it won't hurt her - Lola that is!

Lincoln Turns 3 Months Old

Sometimes time goes by so slow and other times it flies by.

Lincoln is already 3 months old. He's still going through a very needy period and it seems as though Violet is getting just a bit tired of it. While asking her who gets to come to her birthday party, when I mentioned Lincoln, she said "No".

Sky Zone Trampoline Park

Gone are the days when kids played in the backyard or rode their bikes all day. Now there's Adventure Parks, Paradise Park and the newest Lee's Summit attraction - Sky Zone Trampoline Park.

Yesterday was "toddler time" so Jamie and I took Violet. This place is full of small trampoline areas where kids spend hours just jumping.

There was also a foam block pit and basketball court. Violet was a little small to get the ball through the hoop and a little too light to jump high enough. Although toddler time lasts for 2 hours, Violet ran out of energy after 30 minutes. Then we had blue raspberry slurpies. Life as a toddler is tough!

Happy Birthday Ashley

Today is Ashley's birthday but she and Michael were both off work on Monday so we did what every young couple does when they want to celebrate a special occasion. They took me bowling.

Now I haven't bowled for...well I can't even remember the last time I went bowling.

But Michael and Ashley are pretty good and pretty competitive (I wonder where they get that from?)

Michael and I were pretty embarrassed after the first game. Our two scores combined didn't even equal Ashley's score and that was with the first 2 frames of us all getting gutter balls.

Then I got a lighter ball and my scores started going up. I finally beat them the last game. I'm paying for that little adventure today. Even though I've been doing quite a bit more exercising, I still used muscles that I didn't even know I had.

Ashley was pretty excited about her gift from Michael - a new Michael Kors cross body purse. Happy Birthday Ashley! I'm free next Monday for marathon bowling!