Upon arriving downtown, it was apparent there was some special events going on, because what little parking there was cost a lot. We finally determined there was a Reds Game and something undetermined going on at Fountain Square. So we quickly changed gears and headed to the zoo. Phillip has never been to the zoo, except for the nighttime Christmas Lights we did during the Christmas Season. Archie really enjoyed showing Daddy around. Archie enjoys checking the zoo map in particular. Even though we've been to the zoo a whole bunch, we always request a map on the way in so he can lead the way. There are frequent 'map check' stops along the way here or there. Once again, we were the only adults riding an animal on the carousel.
After the zoo, we headed back downtown to get some river pictures. By this time, the Reds game was over and there were lots of dollar parking spots available. We took some really neat pictures of the swollen Ohio River. First, however, we came across a whole bunch of pinwheels planted in the ground. They are actually there to represent children who have suffered from abuse. Archie said they looked like a field of cotton. He bent down to blow one:
Below, you will see a parking lot to the right and a boat to the left. The boat is sitting IN the parking lot. The parking lot is rather large and just goes at an angle and meets the Ohio River eventually. The water is covering most of it, enough that a boat can float on top of it!
This is a picture of Archie and Phillip at the beginning of the Serpentine Wall on the Ohio side. I'm sure Julie remembers that the river was a whole bunch of steps down the wall when she visited this time last year. There were only about eight or so steps above the water on Saturday. Also, you can see the signs in the parking lot making a gradual decline into the river!
It was a lovely day, albeit a bit cool. We rented some movies for a 'Jama Party', complete with ice cream floats, malts and popcorn. Archie and Phillip slept on the couch bed, which is a Jama Party requirement at our house. I opted for spread-out comfort in my bed upstairs after the movie!
On Sunday, it was Morgan's eighteenth birthday! I checked with her a few times in the past couple of weeks as to what she would like to do to celebrate it. She had been very vague, not giving me much info, so I didn't have adequate time to prepare something special. She couldn't decide whether to do something with friends or what she wanted to do with us. Give me some notice to budget and plan, and I will try my best to make it so. But no advance warning, well...no promises. I had suggested going to the horse racing track, since she enjoyed it so much that time we went before. And this time she could make her own LEGAL bets! But apparently it is out of season for turfway horse racing.
Ultimately, on Sunday afternoon it was decided to go to the Japanese Steak House for some Hibachi dining. It's a pretty expensive evening...definitely not something that can be done on a regular basis. So I suggested it out of uniqueness. It's not anything we've done before as a family. I've only done it once. It was really fun, but too expensive to make a habit out of it.
It was a great way to spend a birthday! We had such a good time! The chef tossed whole raw eggs into his 'cook hat' balancing the egges and tossing them from his spatula. Then he tossed pieces of chicken into our mouths from a few feet away, which was really funny. Morgan and I were the only ones to catch ours. The ladies were on fire! Speaking of fire...the fire on the table really impressed Archie. His eyes were huge! I wanted to take a picture, but I didn't want to miss any cool stuff in the process. The only fire photo I got was this one: The volcano onion!
Here are Morgan and Archie enjoying the show. I know it looks like I was trying to get a picture of a Styrofoam cup, all perfectly centered and everything, but I was really trying to get Morgan, Archie and the action going on at the table.
Here are Morgan and Archie enjoying their dinner:
One of the members of the staff was nice enough to take a family picture.
After dinner, we headed home for cake. Since no one would firm up their birthday plans in a timely manner, I had a store-bought one, instead of a Jennifer Special. I did try to go above and beyond by getting a Graeters' Ice Cream Cake instead of just a normal birthday cake. It was realllllly good!
Incidentally, Archie has decided upon a new career interest when he grows up: Hibachi Chef! He was super impressed by our dining experience on Sunday night! He has a lot of decisions to make...Reds baseball player, salt truck driver, hibachi chef...among others that I can't quite remember at this moment. Perhaps I'd better get a better set of knives for Hibachi Chef training!
Today (Monday) was a gorgeous day. It was in the low 70's and the sun was shining! I opened all the windows and doors in the house to let in the fresh spring air. It was just heavenly! I have a much stronger appreciation for the springtime now, more than ever, because it was just never very winter-y in Mobile. Comparatively speaking. We finally have blooming early spring flowers. I know all our Mobile friends and relations are already done with daffodils, but ours are just now beginning to bloom in full force! Plus we have tulips as well. I think it's not cool enough during the winter for tulips to grow properly in Mobile. The tulips are just barely beginning, but they will be spectacular in late April. right now, the daffodils are just fantastic! We have some growing in odd places on the back of our property where they really can't be seen very well, so I cut some for enjoyment inside. Here's a picture:
They make the house smell great! Hopefully they will do okay as cut flowers and last for more than a day. It's kind of interesting...the lady who owned my house before us really enjoyed landscaping and gardening. The gardens here are just gorgeous in the summertime. I don't know anything about 'nawthern' plants and flowers, so I'm just going to try to maintain what she started. Fortunately most of the plants are perennials, so they will come back. But now the only problem is determining up and coming weeds from up and coming whatever in the heck she planted. It is kind of humorous...I was sitting on my porch and a lady walking by asked my advice on when to move her plants outdoors...like I'm some sort of gardening expert. Well, I guess people might think so because of the garden that preceded me. I don't know flowers...I know vegetables. You can't eat a flower, so I always planted vegetables for my garden!
1 comment:
Wow....lots of water! Glad you are getting closer to spring where you are! The Japanese restaurant looks really neat...yet another thing I've never done...I'll have to put this on my "To Do" list, I know my kiddos would love it! Happy Birthday, Morgan!
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