Heavy Spring Rains and Cloudy In KC

Cup Cake Girl

Evie, Mary, and Jean

Up at 6:30. a cloudy day outside, and still spring like, 57º and highs in the 70's later in the day.  Trees have changed dramatically in the past twenty four hours, budding, ready to bloom, mostly the maples but ashes, too.  By the way, for my friends in Chautauqua, I was able to get gas her in KC for $3.22 a gallon, that's seventy two cents less a gallon then at the lake.  Amazing, the difference  925 miles makes...too bad it's not a little closer to Chautauqua!

Finally Spring Daffodils

Yesterday was a balmy Sunday in spring, warm and partly cloudy.  Evie and I were both up early so we went off on a nice hour walk, through the neighborhood and found some Nature Trails, part of Tom's community, a series of interlocking trails that follow either creeks or the woods.  It was a crisp, sunny morning for a walk, just what we wanted.  When we got home, everyone was up except for Nick who sleeps in on weekends, often till 11:00 or 12:00.  Ah Youth.  Wish I could sleep past 7:00

We didn't do anything special during the day, just hanging out with the grand kids though we were having Evie's sister Jean over for dinner, so Evie, Marlena, Tom and Mary spent time getting ready.  The kids seemed content to just stay inside, relax, play games, watch some TV.  Nick and a friend worked on English project with a buddy.  Evie and Marlena decorated more cupcakes for Jean's birthday.  Tom and I went off to Target, to get a few things for dinner, and we stopped at Dick's to browse.  I found a pair of shorts and a tee shirt, perfect for hiking in the 90 degrees weather of Scottsdale.

Jean came over at 4:00 and we then drove about a half hour, to Overland Park, in Kansas, as Nick had a basketball game at 5:00.  It's quite a drive, to Shawnee Mission North High, where they have two gyms, both going full time all afternoon, game after game.  Fortunately, Nick's team won a hard fought game by five points, with Nick sinking three of four foul shots in the last few minutes to clinch the win.  I recognized some of the kids on his team from the last time we were here, even the parents.

The Family

The Birthday Girl, Jean and Her Obnoxious Nephew, Nick

We had an amazing birthday dinner for Jean.  Tom had bought thick New York Strips from Costco.  And he found a great recipe on the Internet, where you slice the grilled steak and then serve it on a bed of chard with pine nuts, topping it with a balsamic vinegar sauce.  Earlier in the day, Evie made twice baked potatoes, so along with a salad and garlic bread, we had a Sunday feast.  During dinner, Marlena got out the Table Topic cards, and we all had fun telling stories about our worst day in school, answering mostly personal, easy to answer questions like that.  It's really fun for the kids as well as adults and makes the meal more enjoyable, as long as everyone takes it seriously, which we did.  We had cupcakes, of course, for dessert.  Jean stayed until 9:00 and we all stayed up till 10:00, Nick and I playing pool on his grandfather's pool table in the basement, Evie and Marlena playing Hangman on the IPAD.  We all went to bed at the same time because both Nick and Marlena are playing hooky today so they can see their grandparents for an extra day.  Yippee.

Don't Take My Picture