Following are some of the highlights of Veda's visit with us last month. It was so special to have her here for LM's first birthday. The boy could not have been more thrilled - someone who would walk and play with him forever! Such fun!
Besides running around with us to get ready for the birthday party and taking said party in, we did a few other things that we probably would NOT have done had she not been here. I will say, because it has been one of the hottest summers on record, it was hard to do some of the things I would have LIKED to do with her. We just had to opt for indoor things.
First up, the American Girl store.
Veda has several American Girls, and wanted to visit the store while she was in town. I had never been there, so it was interesting to check it out with her. The store has a restaurant in it, so we went around dinner time to eat there and check out the store.
Veda and Mom at the restaurant
This is where Veda's doll would have sat.
Veda's doll wasn't with us for dinner, because we had dropped her off at the salon to get her hair done. That's right - there is a doll salon. I'll show you some photos in a sec.
The menu.
The
menu was full of kid-friendly fare. It was a two course fixed price menu. You had your choice of several appetizers and then a main course. Veda and Mom ordered the same appetizer and Veda and I ordered the same main course.
The chicken tenders.
Mom and Veda had the fruit appetizer and I had the pretzel bites. Veda and I had the chicken tenders and Mom had the spinach salad. The food was good, but not great. It was more about the experience, I guess. And that was fun. They had a box of table topics on the table. We took turns answering questions while we waited for our food and then at different points in the meal. That was a neat way to spend the time.
This was the light fixture.
Veda wanted me to take a photo of the light fixture above us because she said she thought her dad could make one for her room. Steve, please take note. There it is. Get to work.
This is the doll salon.
That is Veda's doll Felicity, one of the historical dolls, getting her hair done.
Mom and Veda watched the action.
Veda posed, because we asked her to.
After the salon, Veda with Felicity and her new 'do.
I'm not sure the hairdo lasted very long. But, it was the experience that was worth the $10, I would say. It was a cool set up, I thought. Veda seemed to like it too. After the hair salon, we walked around the store again and again and again looking at all the merchandise, because Veda was trying to decide what to purchase with the money she had burning a hole in her pocket. Interestingly, all of the merchandise is displayed at about a four foot level. I felt like Gulliver, but Veda was right at home. Target audience and all. Seriously these people at American Girl are marketing geniuses. They have it down, how to get little girls and their mamas to part with their cash. Mom and I even parted with some cash, buying Veda one of the doll beds and a shirt for her and her doll. Let's just say, if I had a daughter, I'd be steering clear of this place until absolutely necessary. Seriously!
On the next day, we went to the Galleria Dallas to go ice skating. This was S's idea, so S got to skate with the girl. The rest of us watched. Veda had never been ice skating before, so at first it was pretty touch and go. But, in the course of an hour, she got her "ice legs" as it were and really was doing a bang up job of skating around the rink. At the end of the time on the ice, Uncle S got into the silliness action himself. After the skating, we found this funny ad that you could stand in front of to look like you caught a big fish. That was fun too. Here is a slideshow of all the ice skating/Galleria fun:
Editor's note - for some reason when I upload this, the end is cut off.
I've tried several times. It's beyond me.
Then, later that day, we decided to break out the kiddie pool to swim. S's parents got the pool for us, but we had not used it before that day. It is a pretty big one, as kiddie pools go. S used his compressor to blow it up and then we ran water from the hose in it for just a few inches, since the boy was going to get in it. My dad was worried the water would be too cold. Turns out, when it's 106 outside all the time, water from the hose is sort of like what you would get out of your bath. Tepid. And just fine for playing. We really showed the neighbors our high society roots by placing the pool in the front yard and then surrounding it with lawn chairs. Yee-haw! Here are some photos from that little soiree:
Veda and the boy in the pool.
At first, Veda would not put her feet in the water, because she had blisters on her heels from the ice skating. She said it hurt the blisters. I'm not doubting it hurt the blisters, but we kept telling her to just put the feet in the water and it would go away. But, it was her feet and her blisters, so you know, she did her own thing.
Look how sweet she was with LM
Yes, S was finally convinced he needed to get in the pool.
And he had fun. Don't let him tell you otherwise.
Of course the boy had fun.
Grandpa made things even more fun by turning on the hose for a while.
I wish I would have taken photos of the peanut gallery in the lawn chairs, but I didn't. Class act that we are, you won't be subjected to that. Now...one more photo - the post wouldn't be complete without this photo, snapped with my phone, of Miss Veda riding LM's trusty steed.
Priceless.
Hee hee! She was having a good time and so were we. It was so nice to have her here. I'm so glad her parents, who I know missed her, let her come. I hope the whole family can come down and visit sometime soon.
That's it for now! See you soon.
