A steady stream of children took one look at the fun outdoors this past Saturday and decided the Super Kitty Fourth Birthday Party for Molly James was immune to the bitter cold and wind. The Bounce House in the backyard was an invitation to freedom from well-meaning parents who made efforts to encourage them to wear coats with little success.
Molly seen climbing to the slide while Ella explained her rules
one brave mother tried to manage the chaosin the cold
Molly (L) and her best friend came inside to check out food
Molly’s mom, Caroline, made the birthday cake, planned the party,
made memories for her daughter thatwill last forever
Gigi and John watched as Mollyand friends inspected new stroller
Nana on secret mission for more chicken nuggets
let them eat cake – and they did
Molly not interested in sharing her birthday cake or her Super Kitty candle from cake
Molly was Queen of the Party and loved opening her gifts
Big Sister Ella kept a watchful eye
Ella so happy to see her friend, Thomas…
…so happy she picked him up!
oh, look! it’s a Super Kitty!
Super Kitty Molly with her friend Charlie and her dog Sadie
meow, meow, meow – I am Su-Purr Charged and Su-Purr Wild!
and now I’m also FOUR years old
The birthday party was a fun time for us on a day that we needed to celebrate hope for the future of our Molly who saw herself as a superhero – someone that went into the world creating good and righting wrongs. May she always have the courage and strength to keep those goals in sight wherever life takes her. She is already a superhero to her Nana and Naynay.
We took a road trip last week from our homes in Columbia and West Columbia, South Carolina, to Orlando, Florida, to celebrate granddaughter Ella’s sixth birthday on the first day of October, 2025. Parents Drew and Caroline with grandparents Nana and Naynay left on a Monday with granddaughters Ella and Molly two days before Ella’s birthday and returned on the Sunday five days afterwards which meant we were gone for seven days in case anyone is counting. We stayed on the premises of Walt Disney World for a fabulous, fun time arranged by Ella’s mother Caroline with the help of a woman she met in her business networking group.
The 450-mile drive down the I-95 corridor should take 6 hours and 30 minutes (unless you stop several times along the way including an hour visit to one of the countless Buc-ees in Georgia where Ripley’s Believe It or Not should know it’s possible to spend $8. per minute.)
and I have the receipt to prove it
Ella the Birthday Girl looks happy to climb a light pole
in Buc-ees parking lot
are we there yet? not yet
Day One: Typhoon Lagoon at the Orlando water park
Ella leaps from a canoe while Molly a bit more cautious
Both Ella and her younger sister Molly (three years old, will be four in January) are water lovers – what could be easier to start the magic of a Disney vacation and work out the kinks from ten hours in the car on Monday than a Tuesday at a pretend beach with a pretend ocean to begin to get a sense of the fun we would experience every day for a week? What could possibly go wrong?
Sigh. These days, if there is a way for me to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, I am apt to do it. Day One took a frightening turn for me when I wandered around the entire circumference of the Typhoon Lagoon with little Molly in tow while I looked for our family in their beach chairs. The more we walked, the more every part of the lagoon looked the same. I realized we were lost.
Suddenly Molly broke free from my grasp and ran toward one of the large water slides. I had a sickening feeling as she climbed the steps with the much older children, smiling at me when I yelled for her to get down. A teenage girl who was the life guard sat at a little table at the top of the stairs but seemed oblivious to my calls and gestures for her to stop Molly before she reached the big slide.
Then she vanished. By that time I was also moving as quick as I could through the water to climb the stairs. I can’t see my little girl, I screamed at the lifeguard. I think she just went down your slide, and no adult was there to catch her!
What color suit was she wearing? Pink, I answered.
I think I see a little girl down on the beach in a pink suit. She looks like she’s crying. You can’t see her unless you go back down the stairs, she added.
I turned around, flew down the stairs (again “flew” is subjective for a 79 -year- old woman), and there stood a tearful Molly with a kind random couple who were trying to understand her tears. Molly’s look was relief mixed with what? I’ll never know for sure, but I do know she was happy to see me.
Minutes later the search party of Molly’s daddy and Nana reached us to rescue us from our wanderings. Frantic cell phone calls from Nana had identified our location. Once upon a time we were lost, but now we had been found. All was well at the Typhoon Lagoon.
Ella was happy to have her little sis safe in her arms
Travel tip: make sure Naynay remains where you last saw her. Trust me – she did.
*******************
Mystery of the Missing Legacy Award Solved by Pretty and Drew
Teresa found the award in Drew’s truck when we were packing for our trip. He didn’t know we didn’t know he had it! It’s appropriate for us to place it in our den in front of Drew’s high school football picture, don’t you think? Whew. So thankful to have it home where it belongs – not nearly as grateful as I was to find Molly, though.
For the multitude of readers requesting an update on our little bottle-fed Summer Superstar, we have good news. Cheryl, Bennie’s new Upstate Mom, sends us pictures and videos showing Bennie’s good fortunes.
Bennie learning to eat with his three Big Brothers –
he’s a Big Boy now – one of the guys!
he loves to run and chase the Brothers,
but then he gives everyone a rest when he takes a break
Thanks to the US Postal Service for preserving Bennie’s sweet face (or some other lucky puss) on a Forever Stamp. It’s a collectible, right?
And thanks to Cheryl for the updates, pictures, videos – we miss him and are grateful to her for keeping us in touch.
Pretty has a new bumper sticker on her work truck:
Fools rush in Where wise men never go But wise men never fall in love So how are they to know When we met I felt my life begin So open up your heart and let This fool rush in
(nineteen days later at large military parade in Beijing)
Honestly, Xi, I don’t know where Trump gets the idea I’m in love with him, protests Putin.
That’s just how fickle his love is, Kim Jong Un blurted out. I have the love letters to prove it. What a two-timer. Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater.
Boys, boys, settle down in front of the military. We’ll discuss the United States back at the palace – we’ll sign secret tariff agreements and maybe have time for a round of golf. We’ll play at MY club where you fellows have a chance to win, Xi said. As for Trump, I’ll set up a zoom call of let’s make a deal with him that will send him down to Heartbreak Hotel. He ain’t nothing but a hound dog anyway. Crying all the time.
I'll Call It Like I See It 
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