More Party Pictures

Here are a few more pictures of the party for my dad. The second and third pictures show the progress of the brownies. The man holding the plate is Steve a friend of my brother. Steve and his wife brought the brownies. I believe it was Jennifer's idea to put the candles on the brownies. They were a big hit especially with a scoop of ice cream and chocolate sauce on them. They were yummy!!!

The BIG PARTY for Jack

The first picture is the brownie plate. More on that later. The next two pictures are Ed and Jack checking on the chicken. The last picture is Sarah and Jennifer playing croquet.

The BIG PARTY, Part II

The food spread. We had shrimp and chicken as the main courses and then all sorts of salads. A fruit salad, jello salad, black bean salad, potato salad, pasta salad. The second picture is Jack going first at the food table just as the birthday boy should.

There was no cake but some incredibly fantastic brownies. Candles were put on those and then brought to Jack. I'll have more pictures of that later in the week.

Destruction in Joplin

On the way back from the casino, we drove through the part of Joplin hit by the tornado. It is really hard to comprehend even when you are right there the complete and total destruction that took place. The first picture is St. John's hospital.

Joplin Aftermath

More in Joplin

It's hard to fathom that everything is just gone. The other side of the street looks just like this. Looking in any direction you see the exact same amount of destruction. The pictures on TV give you no sense of what has happened. And this is a month after the tornado hit.

Disaster in Joplin

What's hard to believe is only a few blocks from this complete devastation buildings are untouched. You would never know what had happened those few blocks away.

A Visit to Downstream Casino

After lunch, we headed to Downstream. My first day of gambling did not turn out to well. I recovered on Friday. I wiped out my losses. Jennifer and Ed did fine. My dad ended up loosing some money but he did well on the last machine he played on.

We had a nice afternoon swim in the pool. Then a nice fancy dinner. I have to say I was a little disappointed in my choice. I had salmon which was very good but the portion, in light of the portions other had, a little small.

After dinner a little more gambling and then a look at the pool which was delightful.

Sandstone Gardens

We took a little road trip for my dad's birthday celebration. He wanted to go to Downstream which is a casino near Joplin. He also wanted to stay over night there.

On the way to the casino, we stopped off at Sandstone Gardens for lunch. The lunch was very good. Here's a look at the inside of the place. Most of what you see is for sale.

Ed's Vines

Ed has grape vines in his back yard. He makes his own wine. The vines were becoming over run with beetles. To help ward off the beetles we all helped wrap the vines in this netting. The last picture is Dexter one of Ed and Jennifer's cats.

Baseball at Hammon's Field

We all went to see a baseball game last night. It was the AA Springfield Cardinals part of the St. Louis Cardinals' minor league system. It was a wonderful night. The stadium was really nice. We had really great seats right behind home plate. Results of the game not so nice. But we had a really great time anyway.

One of the Better Plays by the Cardinals

This is a great base hit by the Cardinals. In the second picture you can actually see the ball on its way into the outfield.