Time for Dolls in Missouri

Steve and I flew to St. Louis on Wednesday, July 11th and returned to Las Vegas on the 18th.  We had a great week with Heather and Chad and our terrific grandchildren in Missouri.  One of the first things we did one afternoon was a girl's outing at the American Girl store in the mall in Chesterfield.  The store was huge, and it was pretty impressive with tons of dolls, clothes, accessories, hair salon, and bistro.  Kyra and Skye received American Girl dolls this past Christmas, and they have loved every minute since taking good care of them.  The dolls are placed each night on doll stands on top of a shelf in their bedroom.  My eyes were instantly drawn to them when I was walking through their house when I first arrived from LV.  The dolls had their hair done at the store while we stood and watched the hairdressers work their magic.  I had never seen a hair salon for dolls before.  After their hair was finished and two outfits were purchased, we had a very nice lunch at the store's bistro.  The dolls sat up to the table during our lunch in high chairs.  Everything was decorated very cute.  It was really fun to share this new experience with Heather, Kyra, and Skye.

Right before leaving for our
American Girl adventure at the mall

Skye, Kyra, and Dane are outside patiently waiting
in their back yard for the big shopping mall experience
to begin.

Steve and Dane actually spent three or four hours
in the mall doing "boy" stuff while the girls
spent hours at the AG store.  This picture
was taken at Heather's house right
before leaving for the mall.

Finally, the moment arrived!

Skye showed me the section of the
store that matched her "Skylar" doll.

Kyra showed me the section of the store
that matched her "Julie" doll.

The girls looked at everything
admiring every doll, every accessory,
and every outfit; it was just too cute!

This is right outside the bistro where we
ate lunch after shopping and
getting the dolls' hair done.

Here's Kyra watching the hairdresser
transform Julie's long straight hair
into a pretty impressive updo.

Finally it was time for Skye's doll, Skylar, to get
her hair done.  Skye was equally excited.

Both girls were pleased with their dolls'
new look.  Finally it was time to
sit down and enjoy "tea" at
the AG Bistro.

The restaurant was perfect; everything was pink.
The dolls sat up to the table and even had
tiny white cups for a pretend drink.

We all ordered "tea."  The bottom plate had fruit with
pink yogurt for dipping, the middle plate had two tiny
sandwiches and a tiny serving of macaroni and cheese.
The top plate was dessert.  We had a cupcake, brownie,
and chocolate chip cookie.  The teapots were full
of hot chocolate and pink lemonade.

Steve and Dane showed up just as we finished our
"tea."  Dane wasn't too impressed with all the dolls and
pink decorations, but the rest of us were pretty happy
about our adventure.

Room Changes

After Julie lived with us for three months, she decided to rent a townhouse about ten minutes from our home.  With her move, I decided it was time for me to make a few changes too.  So, I began working on the house this summer before Steve and I traveled to St. Louis to visit Heather and her family.  Here are some pictures of the changes I have made recently. 

This is the family bathroom across the hallway
from one of the spare bedrooms
Julie got me started on red and black, and
I am liking the color change.

I moved the bedding from the end room into the room
across from the bathroom.  It matched perfectly
with the drapes Julie left behind.  Now I just need
some wall hangings.

This is another view of the same bedroom.
I moved around some pictures that used to be in the
bathroom to the wall here and brought up some family
pictures that used to be in my office.  Grandma's old TV
is gone, but her rocking chair is once again sitting
in the far corner which you can't see in this picture.

I am very proud of my office.  It took me
three days to organize the closet.  It may not
look like much, but I bought a bookshelf from
Hobby Lobby and put it in the closet.  Now, I have
all of my school, church, and genealogy binders
and books off the floor and into the closet.
All of my scrapbooking items are on the top shelf.
That's what I call organization!

I decluttered my office!
Everything is dusted, most of my purses and bags are
put away, and I am in awe as I look at how nice and
clean everything is.  I finally got rid of my old printer and
installed a new one that's been sitting in a box in my closet
for over a year.  I think it was about time!

I am so excited about this change!  I converted the end bedroom
upstairs to an exercise room.  Steve gave away the old mattress
that used to be in this room to our neighbors, and we moved
the two exercise machines that used to be in our bedroom
into our new exercise room.  Julie gave me her treadmill for my
birthday. I brought home my refrigerator from school and fan. 
I don't really want to give Natalie back her rocking chair because
it is so comfortable, but I probably will have to do that someday.
I brought up all the DVD's and CD's from downstairs. 
THIS ROOM ROCKS!

This is another view of my exercise room.
For my 60th birthday Steve gave me a
42" TV.  He mounted it on the wall the
night before we left for St. Louis.
Again, THIS ROOM ROCKS!

This room has a few changes in the decorations.
I framed the picture of Jace that one of my students
drew for me at the end of the last school year.  I
put all of the stuffed animals and dolls I have on the
shelf or bed.  In the closet are the toys.  This room is for my
grandchildren all of which I love more than words can say.

My Summer Activities

The hot temperatures in Las Vegas have definitely made this time of year feel like summer. Today was the hottest day I can remember in some time. Thank goodness for air conditioners and swimming pools to help alleviate some of the hot and lazy days of summer.

This is our atomic clock in the kitchen.
Yes, you're reading it right.  It was 111 degrees today!

A couple of weeks ago Julie and I went to St. George with
a friend of mine from our ward.  She had never been to
the St. George Temple.  It was really a special
treat to share such a lovely day with both Julie
and my friend, Kristi Reed.

After the temple and lunch out, we went
shopping in St. George.  Julie had fun
trying on some rather unique pieces
of jewelry.

Also this summer Steve and I enjoyed the 4th of July with
Natalie and the Ellsworth family.  We went out to the Indian
reservation near Las Vegas again right before dark and
enjoyed watching a rather lengthy display of fireworks.
Believe it or not, it actually rained that morning and was
a bit on the cool side that evening for the fireworks.

Here's Natalie, Ashton, Thomas, and Cali
waiting for the fireworks to begin at the
Indian reservation.

Here's Cali with some of the Ellsworth's cousins,
Nikki, Matty, Cali, Emmi, Ashton, and William are
all patiently waiting for the fireworks to begin on
the 4th of July

Also, this summer we have been swimming numerous times
 where Julie lives.  It has been a lot of fun.  Steve and I usually
go for a couple of hours each night.  Once this summer I
invited Cali to spend the night, so she joined in the
swimming fun with us.

Cali and Me enjoying the jacuzzi at Julie's

Here's Cali soaking her feet in the jacuzzi

Cali and Grandpa at Julie's place

Cali and me at Julie's place; we had a lot of fun
diving for rings.  We had
the pool all to ourselves.  Such luxury!

An Unexpected Trip to San Diego

I just got home from California on Tuesday afternoon, and Julie asked Steve and I if we would go with her and Cali to San Diego on Thursday.  She had plans to run in a 5K race there on Saturday, and she also wanted to spend Friday at Sea World.  Her plans had changed a few times, but it appeared she needed someone to go with her.  We quickly began to make things happen.  We had a great time.  Julie made reservations at the Sheraton Hotel where we stayed for two nights.  Cali was cute, well behaved, and a great travel partner for all of us.  We enjoyed Sea World and the race this morning.  Thanks, Julie, for including us in your San Diego trip.  It was great fun!

By the pool area at our hotel in San Diego

Waiting for the Shamu show to start at Sea World

Waiting for another show to start at Sea World

Waiting to get on a water ride at Sea World

On the gondola ride at Sea World
"Mission Bay"

Waiting for the dolphin show to start at Sea World

The dolphin show was the best;
what amazing animals

Grandpa and Cali having a little fun

The Wild Arctic was very interesting;
we saw polar bears, walruses, and
white Beluga whales

Cali was very excited to see a white polar bear

Heather and Julie prior to the 5K race
in San Diego

Natalie and Cali made signs to cheer on
Julie and Heather Jones

Part of the run was near a jetty;
so picturesque

Julie running across the finish line

That's me and Trent Jones holding up
the cute signs that Cali brought with to
cheer on the runners

Both Julie and Heather finished the
race and were very happy with
their results

A Proud Dad!