The Swim Report

I didn't take swim lessons when I was a kid. I had tubes in my ears due to a medical condition, and I couldn't put my head under water for several years. By the time the tubes were removed, I refused to take lessons at the pool with kids three or four years younger than me.

Char didn't wait that long, but she is a little older than most of the kids in Group 2 swim lessons. You can't tell by this picture, but someone is pretty nervous about getting her swim report. She will find out if she can move up to Group 3 at the end of this lesson.

It's not a great photo of Char's backstroke, but when I showed this pic to Daph, she said, "Look at that straight arm."

Here's an action shot fail.

Okay, it's time to get the swim report. That smile looks like good news.

Yay! We're moving to Group 3.

Sound Advice

Recently some pictures of the inside of Prince's Paisley Park compound have been released to the public. I assume they were taken during his death investigation and nothing was moved for the sake of preserving any evidence.

Along with pictures of his bedroom, halls, and walls, CNN.com reported, "Images showed cash laying out in the open, on desks, drawers, as well as wads of money stuffed in envelopes and brown bags."

The image of "wads" of money laying around is compelling, but I'm way more interested in the CDs under that money. What was Prince listening to before he passed away?

Now that is an interesting question. Let's flip the image and zoom in.

The CD on top is The Time Has Come by The Chamber Brothers.  I'm not familiar with them. Here's some brief information from discogs.com (my favorite internet stop for buying vinyl).

Psychedelic rock, funk, and soul - doesn't that just sound like something Prince would be into? When Prince died, Questlove was reported as saying something like, "Whatever Prince was listening to, I was listening to." Sounds like good advice to me. 

Even though Prince was listening to the Chambers Brothers on CD, I went for an original recording on LP.

 I'm going to put my copy of 1999 on the turntable when I get home tonight and look forward to my "new" record arriving in the mail.

Once again, thanks for the music, Prince.

Kansas City Here We Come

We attended a funeral in Kansas City, MO last Saturday. It's less than a three hour drive from Des Moines, but rather than make it there and back in one day, we stayed in a motel on Friday night.

I don't know if it was a spring break rewind or a preview of summer, but Friday night and Saturday morning felt like a mini vacation.

Daphne worked hard to find a downtown hotel that had an indoor pool. Most have pools on the roof or outdoors. A pool was our big selling point to Charlotte for taking this trip. Char knows that funerals aren't any fun.

When we got to the hotel, Char was disappointed by the pool's size.

I didn't blame her. At first I thought that this was the hot tub and someone had misplaced the pool. No, this was it.

While we unpacked, Charlotte set up a desk so she could negotiate for a bigger pool with hotel managers Sheep and Pinky.

The fruit snacks and applesauce bargaining chips were on the table. For the record, this is the first time I have ever heard Char use the word "negotiate".  And no, I didn't set up this picture. This was all of Char's doing.

I'm a big fan of using a city's resources when dining. We ordered seafood when we were in San Francisco. What do you order when you're in Kansas City?

BBQ, of course. We chose Jack Stack Barbecue because the restaurant was about a block from our hotel. It was dark inside, but the camera reveals a classy interior.

 Daphne and I share a sampler plate anytime we try a new BBQ restaurant:

"ROUNDUP – (‘cue for two) Sliced Beef & Ham, Pulled Pork, Pork Spare Ribs with Hickory Pit Beans, Creamy Coleslaw, Fries." 

Daphne substituted the creamy corn bake for the fries, and I'd highly recommend that. 

We swam in the tiny pool for about an hour when we got back. We were the only people using the pool at that time, and its size proved to be just right. The negotiations team agreed to back off.

The visitation began at 1:00 on Saturday afternoon, so Daphne planned to spend our morning at the Sea Life Aquarium. Daph didn't tell that to Char, though. She would have bugged us about it all morning.

We parked in a garage near the aquarium. The parking garage's elevator stopped at the "Exhibits" floor, and we stepped out. Suprisingly,  Charlotte started complaining while we were walking along the sidewalk. "Exhibits? I don't want to see an exhibit. That's boring!"

Daphne asked her, "Charlotte, what do you think an exhibit is?"

"It's this thing where you just stand around and look at stuff." 

When we rounded the corner she exclaimed, "Hey! That's Legoland!"

"And what's beside Legoland?" Daphne asked.

"Sealife! It's an aquarium! Are we going there?" Daphne nodded as a reply and Char thrust her fists in the air.

I asked her, "Do you know what an aquarium is?" I then answered my own question, "It's an exhibit."

Charlotte whispered to herself, "I love exhibits."

Daphne thought that this aquarium visit was the best one yet. Instead of just looking at each tank and then moving on, Charlotte wanted to read the displays and learn about the fish. She became really interested in the colorful tangs.

Color changes!

Cleaning up a virtual beach isn't all that satisfying.

I love this fish's guitar riff. link

Most of the aquarium was dark, and flash photography was forbidden, so that's all I have to share. Let's go to lunch at the nearby mall's food court. The deli had the shortest line.

I'm so predictable. I picked two hot dogs with relish and mustard. I would have perfered a coney dog, but I survived.

Yogurt for dessert!

We spent a few minutes in the toy store before heading to the church.

I don't believe my eyes, either. Your shirt is talking!

No Bunny Believes It At Our House (Spoiler Alert!)

Charlotte has believed in the Easter Bunny for years. Here she is in 2016. That bunny's eyes are only slightly terrifying.

This year it was cold, but we still got in an Easter Egg hunt.

Char used to be amazed at the number of eggs the Easter Bunny had hidden, but those days are gone. She and Daphne had a serious conversation last weekend. Mom wouldn't confirm or deny the existence of the Easter Bunny, but Char was positive he doesn't exist.

Charlotte didn't even seem to be upset. I think she felt triumphant because she had solved the mystery. Now she knows how kids all over the world can get candy from the Easter Bunny at the same time.They don't. Their parents and guardians hide the eggs. I think Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy have also jumped down that same rabbit hole.

Initially, I had written how I was disappointed that Charlotte has become old enough to stop blindly believing what her parents tell her. Come to think of it, I'm glad I don't have to lie to her anymore.

Talking to Char about Santa and his ilk made me feel slightly off. Maybe it was small pangs of guilt? I'll have to think more about that and edit as necessary.

Blink and You'll Miss It - Part 8

Easter 2011 (nine months old)

Easter 2012

Easter 2013

Easter 2014 (Just a little grumpy about going to church.)

Easter 2015 (Pretty happy about going to church.)

Easter 2016

Easter 2017 - It's irresponsible to take a child with a fever to church, but she can still hunt Easter eggs at home.

Easter 2018 (Hmmmm. That dress looks familiar.)

Insert the "time flies" cliché here.

Actually, it isn't a cliché; it's a law.