Lizzy Is an Adult?!?!

     Lizzy celebrated her 18th birthday. While the younger kids were at summer school, I took Lizzy and the older boys to lunch at V's. Lizzy's friend works there along with her mother, and Lizzy really likes it. Charles and I had the buffet, which was very nice, and Lizzy had her favorite Shrimp Fettuccine. Devon had spaghetti.

As it was a birthday meal, she was presented with a birthday cake.

    Later, the kids had a water fight, but then they went for head shots, so I put a stop to it. Kids, I tell ya! It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye. 

    On her actual birthday, we went to Fort Osage to relive the past. We got caught in a downpour, but it only lasted half an hour, so we contented ourselves with sheltering under the few tents until the tempest abated and we could return to our activities.

The boys made magic potions.

    The final festivities included a lemon cake with some of our berries from the garden. Our berries are growing wonderfully. They really made the cake pop.

    

Happy Birthday, Lizzy!

A Little Lavender and Lace

     On the Saturday following our trip, I left for Heartford, KS, to visit a little lavender farm to take tea with the Jane Austen Society. It was a 2 hr drive, but I had never been out that way before; it was a nice drive. I finished listening to my book on the way there and back. 

   As part of the excursion, we were able to gather some lavender to take home.

    After a refreshing morning, I headed to Independence to celebrate Strawberry Days. The Vaile Mansion hosts a festival each summer, and I had wanted to tour the mansion since learning of its existence a few months back. Daniel, Teddy, and Lizzy went a little before me. I was nearly on the last tour of the day.

    A real Warden Box! I read all about them and how they allowed the English to smuggle tea plants from China. It was fun to see one in person. The dresses were amazing, and the chandeliers in the front parlors were intended for the White House, but President Garfield felt they were not grand enough, so Colonel Vaile snapped them up. The house was built in 1881 and was the very height of modernity. It had running water: hot and cold, flushing toilets, and a 48,000-gallon wine cellar!

This is a sewing machine. I had never seen one like it before.

   

     It was a fascinating home, and I loved all the little details. Next year, I hope to go earlier to get to see more of the festival; they were all packing up when I left the mansion. I bought a lace handkerchief, a necklace, and some cards from the gift shop. The lady running it was quite flustered as she was not used to the card reader, but she was very nice. 

Day 3

     We saved the best for last! We woke up early and packed up after breakfast. We stopped to return our keys, and I tried to tell the staff that the map is a mess and to tell incoming guests to go the easier way along the road. The lady kept correcting me, and I am sad to say I was overcome with the spirit of Lady Cathrine De Bourgh and stated that she needn't tell me about the roads as I will never grace their establishment again. Daniel followed behind my sweeping exit and murmured good-humouredly about getting in a final sting. I was quite put out.

    We drove to Silverdollar City. We went early enough to get good parking; however, with our inexperience, we parked a good distance away. They have regular trams and buses to bring you up to the front. We joined the rapidly lengthening queue and settled in to wait. There were signs that said it was a 6 min walk, and after the second tram bypassing our stop, we decided to trudge up to the entrance. 

    There are several artisans throughout the park. They had demonstrations throughout the day. We saw the taffy maker make caramel-flavored taffy. It was fun watching them work.

We took the train and endured train robbers. Emily gave one of them some of our popcorn.

    Teddy went on this ride, and there was an adult and his father getting on the ride too. They were recreating a picture from when he was a little kid. It was fun talking to his mom as we waved at our kids on the ride. 

    This Huck Fun water ride was Henry's favorite. It has hand-cranked water cannons all around the ride and on the ride, so you can interact with people waiting to get on or passersby. When I first entered the park, I saw several people in swimsuits, and I was wondering why, but there were a surprising amount of water rides. 

    He got absolutely soaked, but loved shooting the cannons. We went into Grandpa's mansion, the place is full of optical illusions and surprises. It was nice and cool in the slanted room, as I sat on the downward slanted bench, it was the most comfortable I'd been in days! I didn't want to move.

An army of Henrys!

    After a long day playing, we started for home, stopped off for some ice cream at Brahms. Daniel had remembered them from various trips in the past, and it was well worth the trip. The store sells many things, with a ton of ice cream and dairy products, as well as a fast-food side. Apparently, you can even get a bag of burgers!

    The Ice cream was wonderful and just what we needed to finish our trip. We headed home for some well-deserved rest.