TRIP TO VISIT GRANDKIDS IN KC

Tracy and I took a quick trip to Kansas City this weekend.  Hubby had intended to go but something came up at his work and he couldn't go.

We arrived Friday afternoon and Carter had something going on at his school that night.  So, Tracy, Karlie and I went to Red Robin to eat while they all went to Carter's school.  

It rained on Saturday, so we decided to just go to a dinosaur museum.  It was a cute museum.  I think Carter and Karlie enjoyed it.  I kept thinking Abby would have enjoyed it also.  There is not much in AR for us to take Abby to.

This room was where the kids could create their own dinosaur and then go back out and see a picture of it with them on a screen.

Michelle and Karlie digging for fossils. This might have been Karlie's favorite.

Not sure the meaning of the tree.  Maybe it was petrified.

Some kind of animal in the tank. They had a baby hedgehog and snakes and other animals.

Michelle trying on a gas mask. Not sure the purpose of the masks either but Carter enjoyed them.

Carter enjoyed trying on the different masks.

We went to eat at Old Chicago on Saturday night and Karlie had to bring in her box.  The place was packed but it didn't bother Karlie carrying her big box in between all the people.

We left Sunday afternoon to come back to Oklahoma.  It didn't seem like we got to spend much time with them.

OUR TRIP TO COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO

Last year, my oldest daughter Tracy and I decided to take a mother/daughter trip each year. Last year went to San Antonio, Tx and stayed on the River Walk and this year, we went to Colorado Springs, Co. Despite some family members who thought we should have gone where it was warmer, we really enjoyed our trip. We did go through some snow on the way there, that slowed us  down quite a bit. It was very cold when we arrived in Colorado Springs that night to check in our hotel. But, the next day it was 37 degrees, not that bad at all,  but it did require a coat for me, when we were outside.

The next day it was close to 50 degrees and I didn't even need a coat. It was so nice to be able to look up at the snow on the mountains and some still on the ground and feel warm at the same time. I am really glad we decided to go to Colorado at this time of year. BTW, everyone else in the family had been to Colorado but me. I can now add another state to my list.

 The 1st stop on our list of things to do was  Garden of the Gods. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1971. These pictures will explain its beauty.

I am even posting a picture of me.

You can tell it was cold the first day, by this picture of Tracy.

The Airplane Restaurant

Our next stop on things to do was the Airplane Restaurant.  We were hungry.  The restaurant was in an airplane.  It was unique, but the food was just so-so.

The restaurant.

Cave of the Winds.

An awesome view on our way up to Cave of the Winds.  These pictures don't do it justice.
We didn't see a real live bear.  About the only animals we saw were rabbits.

Manitou Cliff Dwellings.

This was a stop on our 2nd day also.  These were very interesting. The Manitou Cliff Dwellings were relocated to their present location in the early 1900s, as a museum, preserve, and tourist attraction. The stones were taken from a collapsed Anasazi site in southwest Colorado and shipped by railroad to Manitou Springs, and assembled in their present form as Anasazi-style buildings closely resembling those found in the Four Corners.  The Anasazi did not live in the Manitou Springs area, but lived and built their cliff dwellings in the Four Corners area, several hundreds miles southwest of of Manitou Springs. As many as nine people lived in one  room of these caves.

Manitou Springs

These pictures are borrowed from the internet because there was an accident just before arriving here and  our camera got broken.  I just wanted to give you an idea how cute this city is.  Lots of little shops.  Tracy went in one of the little shops and bought the grand kids t-shirts.

 Wimberger's Old World Bakery and Delicatessen

 We also went to this Bakery and delicatessen while we were there. It was a blogger's list of 10 top things to do in Colorado Springs. We bought a few things but wasn't really our thing.

MEMPHIS ZOO/1959

I grew up in a small town in NE Mississippi, that was a little over an hour from Memphis.   In 1959, when I was eight,  my sister moved to Memphis. I remember the first time my family and I went to visit her after she moved. She lived in a boarding house, so we picked her up and went to my uncle's house and had lunch and then went to the Zoo. It was the first time I had ever been to a zoo.   I am not even sure I knew what a zoo was.  We did not have a TV in 1959.  But,  I was so excited just being at a zoo that I don't think I paid much attention to the animals. I remember the entrance looking the exact same as the one in the picture but there was always a long line to get in.

 Hubby and I married 12 years later and we honeymooned in Memphis. He had never been to a zoo, so you guessed it, we went to the zoo. I know Memphis may not be the greatest city now, but it holds so many of memories for me.

HUBBY TURNS 64

Hubby turned 64 on yesterday. We had sleet and freezing rain the night before, so we weren't even sure we would be able to go out to eat. We decided to go anyway and the streets weren't bad at all. We went downtown to Bricktown to Kevin Durant's Southern Cuisine Restaurant(KD'S). Tracy had been twice before and loved it, so she decided to treat Melvin there for his birthday. It was really good, but not a meal you could eat every day, that is for sure.  Hubby and I are from Mississippi, so we grew up eating meals like this almost every day.  But, we cannot do it anymore.  Meals like this are now only for special occasions.



The menu lights up when you open it. I thought that was pretty neat.

Hubby with his meal.

Fried chicken with collard greens and yes, that is a waffle underneath the fried chicken.  We also ordered cornbread and I think it may have been the best cornbread I have ever eaten.  You could taste the bacon grease in it, which I  am sure is what made it so good.

After we had finished eating, the waitress came and ask hubby if it was his birthday.   She said she thought it was, because she saw Tracy hand him a card and we were taking pictures. She was very observant and very nice. Everyone in the restaurant was. So, after that she brought him out the bowl of ice cream, with a candle in it for his birthday.  Everyone was almost too full to eat any, but hubby managed to eat it all though. LOL

ABBY/DANCE LESSONS

Abby started dance lessons. She should be a pro at this.

ABBY TURNS SIX

We had not celebrated Christmas with Michelle and family this year. So, Friday nite Michelle, Carter and Karlie arrived for us to all open Christmas gifts.   Kim and Abby also came to help them celebrate and also to celebrate Abby's six birthday. Abby did not really have a birthday party this year, she just celebrated with her cousins. She did want to go ice skating for her birthday and she got to do that.



 Abby and Karlie.

Yes, Abby is a little girl but she wanted a dragon cake and that is what she got.

Abby and Kim.

The cousins.

Abby can ice skate.  Abby had wanted ice skates for Christmas but Kim didn't think she would use them enough to warrant buying them.  Also, Kim wasn't sure she would be able to skate.  Abby was really good at it.  She fell a few times but got back up and went again.

Michelle could ice skate also but Karlie fell on her bottom too many times and decided she was through.  Karlie had a good attitude saying she would practice and practice until she became good at it.  But I think after she fell on her bottom a few times that good attitude went away.  Carter said it was the worst experience of his life. LOL

After she had fallen.

Michelle and Abby.

Go Abby Go!

The three.

Mama Rojas Mexican Restaurant.  After ice skating, we all went to a Mexican restaurant to eat.  This restaurant overlooks a lake.  It is my favorite Mexican restaurant, but we had to wait for an hour to get seated.  Abby told the waiter it was her birthday and they brought her out a sopaipilla with ice cream on top of it with a lit candle.

Hitting the pinata. Abby wanted a pinata for her party.  Yep, it is a dinosaur.   That is what she chose.  Carter said he would let the girls go first and then he would break it.  But, Abby broke it.  Carter and Karlie didn't even get a turn.

Picking up the candy.  By the time Tracy got back out with baggies for them to put their candy in, they had decided that each one could use one of the dinosaur legs to hold the candy.  Pretty smart!