The zoo is having dinosaurs for the month, and since our membership expires this month, I took advantage of the holiday and took the kids back in time for Juneteenth. It's nice having kids old enough to take care of getting ready by themselves. I was having FoE friends over for dinner, so I was putting together things for that while the kids made their lunches. It made for a quicker getaway, and I knew they would eat whatever they made. Win-win.
When we got there, we were told to return to our vehicles, and there was some sort of emergency. We never found out what that was and only had to wait a few minutes before they allowed us in. As I predicted, Lizzy only wanted to find the dinosaurs as quickly as possible and then see some animals, whereas the other kids wanted to experience the zoo as well as find dinos.
We were practically the only ones in the sting ray area. I petted on and it reared up and went for a high five, I was startled and exclaimed a bit, Lizzy then told me that there are 2 who like to spook people. Thanks for the heads up!
Emily was pretending to be a diver while Henry was an octopus, and Teddy was a king salmon.
They had fun. Then we went home to scurryfunge before our guests arrived. The Langdons came from Minesoda on a church history tour. While planning their trip, Tawnia asked on our Messenger chat where to eat in KC. I quickly replied, "My house!" She messaged me later to see if I was for real, and I assured her I was. I love having friends over. They wanted to try KC foods, so I tried to make ribs and pulled pork as authentically as possible. I even made barbecue sauce. The ribs I had made the day before, so I just had to warm them up. The pork was cooking in the pot I got from another FoE, Amy. The mashed potatoes were the real favorite of the night, though.
After dinner, we had St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake. Then the kids had a light saber fight. The night was nice after a 92* day. It was a pleasant visit.
There were many wounded, but luckily, Teddy had healing grapes! Once ingested, one was free to fight another day! Hurrah for Healing Grapes!
I texted my Father-in-law to see if he had any plans for Father's Day. He didn't, so we invited him, Heather, and Floyd over. He came to hear the kids sing to the Fathers at church, and then went home to change. We had our celebration for Daniel, and the kids signed a card for Ron. When Lizzy and I were searching the thrift stores for her birthday, I found some vintage overalls. Daniel loves overalls, but had retired the ones he had and never replaced them, since I don't like to snuggle with him if he's wearing them. I always seem to get hurt! But I knew it was high time he had a pair again, so I was excited to give them to him for Father's Day.
The younger kids had done portraits of him, and Henry made him some pictures. Henry had dressed like a billionaire and didn't want to change out of his suit. He kept saying, "I'm a Billionaire!"
Then we got ready for our guests to arrive. I made chicken shawarma and yellow rice along with all the leftovers from Lizzy's party. It was pretty tasty, and even the kids liked it! Floyd brought a delicious banana cream pie to share. It was nice to catch up. I hope to have more get-togethers in the future. Next time I'll remember to take a picture!
Lizzy decided she wanted to have a tea party for her birthday. She only wanted to invite five friends, and she had a long list of food she wanted. She also wanted everyone to decorate their own cake. In preparation, we scoured several secondhand and thrift stores for tea cups for her guests. It took more time than I thought it would, but in the end, we succeeded in finding just enough! They started playing games. Daniel made a list of mocktails as well, and they were yummy. I had Teddy try mine, and he kept saying it was "Spicy Good!"
Lizzy made these cute napkin bows that the kids were afraid to take out and use.
I made way too much food, but that's ok since we were having family over for Father's Day the next day.
They took decorating seriously.
Josh got her a bag of her favorite Dino Nuggets as her present. If you have ever spent time with my daughter, you will eventually hear her views on chicken nuggets. She waxes on, extoling their virtues and declaring their standing as the undisputed best of the nuggets, the pterydactyls are the best, of course. Josh has heard her monologue on nuggets many, many times, so this was a hilariously perfect gift. She also got this amazing butter dish from her grandparents. The box doesn't do it justice; it's actually beautiful. She loves it. The plug-in mushrooms are so fun, too.
Happy birthday, Lizzy! Here's to another good year!
I finally got the pictures from Prom, so here's the belated post. Lizzy went with a group of friends, and they took pictures in downtown KC. Prepare yourself for the barrage! Lizzy put her former modeling and photography skills to good use!
She had a good time and enjoyed hanging out with her friends. Her date chose the restaurant that was teppanyaki style. This would be great except he was allergic to shellfish, so he couldn't eat much and refused to tell the staff. In case you were wondering, almost injuring yourself instead of taking precautions garners you no favors nor a second date. She wore her temple necklace and a string of purple beads on her wrist that belonged to my Grandma Elizabeth.
We had our first tornado touchdown in Independence on Tuesday, the 3rd. I was at an appointment in Overland Park, and the hospital went on lockdown. I was stranded until the warning was over with the other patrons and staff. The kids are in summer school now, so they were all directed to the gym to wait it out. Luckily, I wore the right color!
I texted Daniel, and he was able to pick up the kids. Henry is insisting on tornado drills here at home. It did do some damage, but not a ton. Of course, people were outside taking pictures. Lizzy, Devon, and Teddy were home, and Lizzy got them down in the basement and waited until the warning lessened, and then walked to work. Her manager was shocked! No one else came in, and her pants were soaked, but she was there on time.
On the second, Daniel and I celebrated our 19th anniversary. Henry made us dinner. He decided to do pigs in a blanket, even though he was not terribly fond of them before, but wanted to try them again. He did a great job.
It's strange to think sometimes how long we have been together. I love our life together and the adventure we are on: 2 states, 6 kids, and 8 residences. We have done a lot. Here's to our next trip around the sun!
We had a get-together in Olathe on Memorial Day and visited Grandma. It sprinkled a bit on us, but we had a good time.
Josiah had brought a cedar stick that he was trying to turn into a wand with Grandpa's help. He got pretty far, but the stick broke.
Ron had a lot of stuff from one of the brothers he ministers to, among the "treasures" was a respirator that Lizzy had to try on.
It was fun to catch up. Cynthia was able to come over and visit with me on the following Friday. That was wonderful. It had been quite a while since we had been together, and I think the last time I called her was after Marty's stroke.
