Beating Up The House

 Cassandra was given a ball by Uncle Doug.  That in itself is not much of a surprise but what was interesting is that the ball lights up whenever it is hit hard enough.  Cassandra enjoyed the flashing effect but was not happy when the flashing stopped after a few minutes.  She would go over to the casement (doorway) and hit it until the flashing would start again. She did this repeatedly, happy when the lights were flashing and on a mission when they weren't.

    

After the novelty of flashing lights wore off (took about 30 minutes), Cassandra returned to her roots.  She began working on puzzles.  There must be a gene for this because Mommy, both grandmas, and more than one aunt really like puzzles.

I Have A Tent

As mentioned previously, Cassandra has a tent to play with.  She had so much fun with the tee-pee over the fourth that we decided to break it out.  As you can see, she likes playing with it.

She is so excited that her tongue is hanging out!

Apparently, Mommy likes playing with the tent too!

Fireworks

Cassandra had never really been exposed to fire works prior to this year.  She was quite fascinated by them. 

We dressed her in PJ's so when she fell asleep on the way home, we could just put her to bed without a lot of fussing.  She was looking to us to see if it was alright.  She always seems a little unsure around something new.

Out And About

We had some time to blow and decided to stop by the mall.  This would allow us to walk some of dinner off and not melt at the same time.  Cassandra decided to work on her learner's permit hours.

After some review, Cassandra has decided that this is her preferred transportation.  While it has a lower top speed, she won't have to worry about getting cut off in traffic.

Hanging Out

After the parade and lunch, Cassandra spent some time hanging out with two of her cousins in a tee-pee.  Yep, you read that right.  Grandma Hodges happened to have one laying around.

As you can tell, she thought it was great fun.  She seems to like forts and other convenient hiding places.

Fourth Of July Parade

In accordance with family tradition, we dressed up in our flag tee shirts and attended the Lenexa parade.  It was more fun than last year with Cassandra understanding more of what is going on around her.  However, she still didn't quite understand what to do with the flag on a stick.

This is start of the parade and Cassandra unable to take her eyes off of it.  It's the flashing lights I tell you.  I think they do a better job of getting kids attention than adult drivers.

Of course, Cassandra loved the Shriners.  I'm just glad she hasn't asked for a car for Christmas.  Still, having a subcompact car would really come in handy when shopping.  It's not just me, right?  It seems the ability to park parallel to the lines is deteriorating in the general population.

Cassandra didn't know what to make of this.  She just sat there and stared.

Cassandra's favorite part of the parade wasn't the fire engine, the police, the Shriners, or the corvettes.  Nope, her favorite part was a cow.

 And of course, what parade in Kansas would be complete without a tractor?

Ribbon Collecting

Cassandra continues to show an interest in ribbons and bows.  This time, we were able to convince her to wait until Aunt Diane and Aunt Cheryl had taken them off the presents to play with them.  At this age, many times the packaging is more interesting than the present.  Oh, how easy life would be if I still had such low standards.