Barbie Movie!         I think it was more exciting dressing up and going to the theater than actually seeing the movie.  Me Dressed Up to See the Barbie Movie, #GrandmaBarbie!       I had imagined the Barbie movie to be a little different than what I saw. The Barbie doll was introduced when I was a little girl. To me, playing Barbies was about a girl and Ken as her boyfriend and eventually husband. Later, my daughter played with the Heart Family mom and Baby Barbie. So, I thought the Barbie movie would be a romantic love story type movie. It was not a romantic movie. I think, a family romance type movie would of lead to more sales of Barbie.      I didn’t like how the movie started, and so it took effort to keep watching. Young girls killed their dolls to make room for a new doll, Barbie. Seriously, it was horrid to see girls treat their baby dolls that way. By the time I became a grandmother, there were so many options, besides Barbie’s. My granddaughter loved her American Girl

I just felt like I came from visiting the middle east! But I wasn't in the middle east. I was just a couple of hours from home. I went on a driving Safari! This driving adventure proved to be one of the best things I have done in this heat. Whew, it's hot outside. Can I say it again, It’s hot.  One of the best parts, was I was able to feed and observe the animals in my air-conditioned car! There was even Olive trees, which really added to the uniqueness of this adventure. And wow! The animals were friendly and were very hungry. I really enjoyed this wonderful adventure.    The Hungry Camel Was Very Friendly The only downside was I did get animal feed all over my car! Olivia tried to pick up as much from the floor of the car as we could to feed the animals, but when I arrived   home I realized my car needed a good cleaning.

  Next Stop Bat Watching in Austin! Apparently, watching Mexican Free-tailed bats fly from the Congress Avenue Bridge is something you have to experience. At first, I wasn’t too thrilled to watch bats, but it proved to be very relaxing. There was a cool, nightly breeze and the bats were many, but they didn’t fly towards you, they just flew up and away looking for food. You knew they were bats, but from a distance you couldn’t see their features very clearly, so they didn’t gross you out. I thought I might be grossed out by their ugliness but wasn’t. Several people hopped on a boat to see them flying from under the bridge. The bats flying out in formation was spectacular to see. Unfortunately, since it was almost dark, I don't have a good picture of the bats flying out.  Boat with Bat Watchers Amazingly, I enjoyed it and glad that I was able to watch the bats fly out at sunset.  I totally recommend it.

Playlist for Granddaughter as we travel to our next destination! How exciting!  Granddaughter Olivia Ready to Travel Having fun in the car! 

Before planning for my next party, I decided I needed to take some time to relax.  First stop was the beach!  I just love spending time with family, even more so now that I am retired. Let me tell you, the day I went with my family was hot! But that made the water so much more refreshing. I usually pack very little, because I don’t want to carry a lot from where I am parked. I do have a little wagon, I use, mostly so that I don’t have to carry my beach chair. I usually take sunscreen, a small cooler with drinks and snack bars and a few towels. This trip I realized I packed too many towels! it was so hot that the sun dried me off and I only needed the towel to lay on the sand and soak in the sun’s rays. There were plenty of seagulls to watch. I enjoyed sitting at the water's edge listening to the ocean waves. So glad I made the trip.         Picture of family pointing at seagulls.