Heading Home

On the way home from Ohio, we stopped to check on some friends.  We could stop for dinner, stretch our legs, and get to see friends all at the same time.  What more could you ask for?  Cassandra certainly enjoyed hanging out with people her size.

Family photos of the Calta Family are hard to get.  Something about the grandparents not wanting to let the boys out of their sight when they visit Kansas City.  So, we visited them.

Uncle Bob's Memorial Service

Just to clarify, this is Janice's Uncle Bob, Grandpa Hodges' brother.

Cassandra doesn't have any idea what is going on, just that we have spent a bunch of time in the car and that a lot of family is here with her far from home.

A large portion of the Hodges clan was able to assemble for the memorial.  A lot of the family Cassandra had met previously, but most of the Ohio family had not been seen since she was six months old.  Still, she seemed very comfortable with everyone.  And speaking of everyone, here is a picture.

Afterwards, we were able to visit Uncle Bob and Aunt Dee's farm.  It was assembled from three pieces of property that were once in Aunt Dee's family.  As you can see, the seasonal changes were starting.  If not for the distance from home, I might consider moving out here.  It is really beautiful.

Afterwards, about 30 of us took over the back room of a local dinner.  It was nice being able to see everyone while we were in Ohio.

Fun At The Children's Museum ®

We took off on a road trip today and met up with Cousin Samantha and crew at the Indianapolis Children's Museum.  This is a really great museum for children due to the number of hands on exhibits.  Before you go, check their website for coupons.  You can save a few dollars on admission.

The kids are allowed to put on lizard skins (with tail) and "sit" on the eggs.  Cassandra had other ideas but I'm not exactly sure what they were.

Samantha helped Cassandra dig for more fossils.  They had rubber-like beads glued together and the kids were supposed to scrape them off to reveal the fossils underneath.

They did allow you to get inside some of the dioramas via tunnels which were of course very popular with the little kids.  Judging by Mommy's smile, it was popular with big kids too.

And here is Cassandra in an action shot.  She just doesn't like the way the clay sticks to her hands.  She doesn't like the way chalk feels either and likes washing her hands.  Don't ask which side of the family that comes from.  There are two possibilities and it can't be proven either way.

Cassandra wants to drive.  On the right is a picture from her 18 month photo-shoot.  Notice the caption?

There were a couple of cars that caught Daddy's eye in the Hot Wheels® exhibit.  The first might be fun to drive but would have some horrible blind spots.

The second was this diamond covered car that was made for the Hot Wheels® 40th anniversary celebration.  It has nearly 3,000 blue diamonds, taillights made of red rubies, and an 18-karat gold body.  It would be a very pricey car to replicate in full size.

The last exhibit we looked at was this clock.  Seriously, this is a clock.  Very elaborate, no idea how accurate, but I could stand having something like this in my home.

Oh, outside the building has a brontosaurus that has stuck its head inside the building.  Cassandra was really impressed by the dinosaur.

I Like Popcorn

Cassandra is a little popcorn fiend.  She loves popcorn.  Of course, due to safety and sanitation reasons, we make sure she has her own bowl.  She thinks this is a sign that she is all grown up.  Still, you need to watch your popcorn when she finishes her bowl...

Fun Day At The Farmstead

As the Empress had requested, we made a trip out to the Farmstead.  She had fun at the barn, which is not a surprise considering the two story slides from the silo.

She was a bit wobbly on the rubber mats at the bottom through.

She had fun looking at various animals.  She really like the ducks because they swim in water (she likes water) and this little lamb that Mommy pointed out to her.

Cassandra likes to play with water (not just look at it) and bath time can be very wet for people who had not planned on a bath so we thought this pump would be right up her alley.  I think she would like one in the back yard.

Finally, we found another playground and this one had one of her favorite toys.

A Visit To The Arboretum

With the weather starting to become more tolerable, we decided that it was time for another outing to the Arboretum.  She really liked seeing the green butterfly.

The railroad garden was completely open with three trains running.

Cassandra was really excited to go up into the cupola of the caboose.  Her face lit up when she was asked, "Where's Mommy?"  She was happy to wave for Mommy and the camera.

Of course, when she saw the trains running down below, she forgot about her parents fairly quickly.

Oh, well.  I'm told this is typical for her age.

Old Settler's Day Parade

Given our past success with parades, we headed down to see Cousin Samantha and Aunt Cheryl actually in a parade.  Cassandra was enjoying all the different groups but she especially enjoyed the fire trucks, old cars, tractors and lawnmowers.  (Yes, you read that right.)  She also enjoyed watching all the dogs that people brought out with them to watch the parade...although I'm not sure the dogs really like some of the fire trucks!

  

  

We also saw a few dogs in the parade.  I'm amazed at how well behaved the dog on the float was.  Cassandra wanted to take him home with us.

Samantha's girl scout group was near the end of the parade.  I think she was more relieved to see us than we were happy to see her because she was tired after marching for over two hours and she knew we were at the end of the parade route. 

The event is billed as Kansas' Largest Parade and it has over 160 different groups.  Aside from your standard fare of local civic groups, politicians running for office, school groups like bands, church groups, there are a pretty good number of contractors of various types that put floats in the parade: pest removal contractors, door, window and siding contractors, and landscaping contractors.  One of the latter groups actually put together a lawnmower team!  I think most people have seen the Shriner's weaving their cars in and out.  Well, this group was doing the same with zero turn lawnmowers.  The Empress wanted to ride one.  I'm not sure how to explain that lawnmowers aren't really rides.

How To Blow Bubbles

For Memorial Day, Cassandra invited a bunch of the family over.  It was a nice day out so we thought about breaking out bottles of bubbles.  After a slow start (due to the age of the bubbles) Cassandra had a ball.  Cousin Samantha entertained Cassandra for quite a while.

Ah, for the carefree days of bubbles, back when my knees wouldn't fall asleep from squatting flatfooted.