This afternoon we attended a Black Lives Matter march and rally in downtown Des Moines. We met downtown and marched to the capitol, with a stop at city hall. When we stopped at city hall we had to lie face-down on the ground for 8 minutes and 46 seconds while they had speakers and others reading some of the things that George Floyd said while he was being held down. At the capitol there were a variety of speakers sharing their experiences and changes they would like to see.
Today we celebrate Rose’s 5th birthday. Her friend Hili came over in the afternoon and they played in the creek, where there is a little beach area. The Reagens and Mimi and Papa came over in the evening for a pool party!
Rose at 5 continues to be a real sweetheart. She loves to give big hugs and kisses. She enjoys drawing, coloring, writing, and building things. Her favorite birthday present was probably a Chelsea camper (think Barbie Jr). Rose gets up every day around 7:30 or 8 and likes to make her way downstairs to read with mom and dad or do a coloring page. For breakfast, she likes bagels, sometimes with cinnamon. For lunch she likes macaroni and cheese or chicken nuggets. For dinner, she likes spaghetti and meatballs. She loves to play outside with Lucia and the neighbors. She loves playing in the pool, but is not always a fan of our family walks. She goes to bed around 9 or 10 at night, still sharing a bed with Lucia.
Rose wanted me to be sure to add that she loves playing with Oreo, the cat, including carrying him around. She does get scratched on occasion, but that is a small price to pay.
This afternoon we went for a hike a Kuehn Conservation Area, about 30 minutes from our house. It was nice and provided some interesting trails.
This afternoon we joined the Liess clan at Crowder State Park, in Missouri. After a rough start, because Rose got car sick on the winding roads, we had a great time spending the afternoon hanging out. It was a beautiful day and everyone had fun socializing and exploring.
Mari has been working on redecorating her room. She painted The Great Wave on one of her walls, painted the other walls gray, and added a photo collage above her dresser.
These girls love their coloring pages! Susan or I print one for them every day and they sometimes color them.
It may have been one of the colder Mother’s Days on record but today we celebrated in what has become the traditional ways. Susan joined Kathie and Erin for a walk in the early afternoon and then when she got home we did some planting and had salads.
I can’t remember what this one was called, but Mari made another amazing dessert this week.
When we moved back to Des M0ines after our trip, we were hoping to find a house with a pool. That didn’t work out. Now, with the prospect that pools won’t be open this summer, we decided to get a relatively cheap above ground pool to enjoy.
Mari likes to bake on Thursdays and today she made these great whoopie pies. The filling is a chocolate, cream cheese frosting.
