Making Smiles

This is teeth week for us. Kara had two orthodontic appointments on Monday, one in the morning, then a retainer later that afternoon; now the kids have cleanings today before school starts again.

Monday was a refreshing time with my little girl. The orthodontist is an hour away, so rather than driving home and coming back later, we spent time having some fun around Lafayette.

Dog-n-Suds is always the first stop. It's become the treat the kids enjoy after an orthodontic appointment. And we don't have one by us, so the kids love it. Sonic is the stand-by for winter appointments when Dog-n-Suds is closed.

Kara filled up on cheesy fries and a cheesy hot dog. Notice a theme?

Kara loves cheese anything. When she was a baby, I gave her a block of cheese (wrapped in heavy plastic) to play with in the grocery store. By the time we checked out, she had chewed through the plastic and was working her wittle teef on that cheese. I scanned that for the clerk so she didn't have to touch it.

After her cheese lunch, we stopped at Columbian Park. It was a perfect day for outdoor activities. Even with people staying socially distant, many people were there enjoying the playground and shelters and popping blankets on the ground for picnics. You have to watch out for the goose poo there, but otherwise, it's a fun place.

Playgrounds used to be more fun.

Here's a throwback to when playgrounds were fun. It's sad to see this equipment relegated to being a sculpture taunting all the kids who will never know the thrill of spinning down a slide like this, not caring whether or not it was burning our buns or legs.

Columbian Park Zoo

Kara didn't have a buddy so she skipped the playground, and we went to the free zoo instead. It's very small, but still lots of fun to see the monkeys, emus, and wallabies. They have a petting zoo with goats and other barnyard animals. Penguins are coming later this year to the zoo.

Thank you, Aunt K, for pool time!

Next, we had planned to go the the water park next to the zoo, but Kris's sister offered to let us use their pool since they live close to town. That filled the rest of the time waiting for Kara's second appointment. She would live in a pool if she could.

Plus, I was happy not to be around too many people. I have a crowd-size limit (nothing to do with any viruses) that gets filled up pretty quickly. Needless to say, I'm not often at concerts, festivals, fairs, movie theaters, or even crowded churches. Black Friday is a nightmare to me. I've always liked space.

All in all, Kara and I enjoyed the day, even though the start was rough because she had to get up about 3 hours before she wanted to. 7:30 in the morning is unheard of when it's not a school day.

More than anything else in the world, I love to spend time with loved ones. It fills up my batteries the best. And the smiles on Kara's lovely face are etched in my memory.