Rocket and rollin' around town

I never thought I would be one of those parents who would wait in the Toys R Us line at 5AM for the "it" toy of the season. But, the truth is, I would do anything for Grace. Even drive around town looking for a rocket. More on that later.

It is good to rediscover some of the great things about your town. In honor of National Curiosity Day (did you know there was such a thing?) a local bookstore hosted a storytime and tea party. Naturally, their theme was everyone's favorite curious monkey - Curious George. But they read other stories, too, and brought a curious 9-week old kitten from the humane society. The entrance "fee" was a box of dog or cat treats. Grace was very proud to bring her gift for the animals that don't have a loving home. She loved sitting in a quiet corner exploring the books,

sampling her "tea",

and holding the kitten.

One little girl really thought her parents were going to let her bring the kitten home. I chuckled to myself when her dad tried to distract her with ice cream instead of the kitten!

Luckily, I had prepared Grace that we were NOT adopting a kitten so I didn't need to do much to lure her away from that cuddly, little grey puff of fur. But, going to the toy store and getting a cupcake didn't hurt.

I think a dollhouse might be on Santa's list this year.

While we were eating amazing gourmet cupcakes outside the bakery, two rocket cars kept speeding by. Any four-year-old would definitely want to ride one of them. So, I kept watching where it was turning and we started on a "rocket hunt" looking for the place where people were boarding. I knew Grace really wanted to ride because she didn't complain as we walked looking for it. Kyle was helping from home looking for the rocket cars on the computer, but finally I decided to get in the car and FOLLOW THAT ROCKET! We found it at the Catholic Church where we jumped out of our car and waited in a short line before our turn to ride. It was worth the hunt...both for the ride and the ear-to-ear smile on my Grace as the wind blew through her hair!