Delaney had a Birthday

Delaney was off on her exciting trip over her birthday, so we celebrated when she got back.   

 Her loot pile was hefty and her joy was full with all the lovely gifts.

 She was especially delighted with a box of fabric from her grandparents.  Long swaths to have much fun sewing.

Callie did not want a photo taken. 

But Delaney was having a marvelous birthday and having a very good time. 

She was pleased with all her gifts and happy to receive so many things she wanted.  

And.... the cake....... It has a story!  Delaney wanted a blue cake with purple frosting.  And it did look better in real life.  Anyway, I googled "blue Velvet cake" and found a promising recipe.  I was about done when I realized they required GEL food coloring, not the regular stuff.  Which explained why their cake was significantly more blue than I had thought you could make a cake.  I just poured in the entire container of blue.  And it was blue...ish.  When I got to the frosting, I discovered I had made a tactical error in using ALL the blue food coloring, because one cannot make purple without blue.  Oops.  And the commissary was out of food coloring.  No problem!  I googled "Kool Aid Frosting" and discovered that indeed, you can use grape Kool Aid to make frosting.  Unfortunately, it was quite lip-puckeringly tart and very, very grape. Not something I would ever do again!

Dan and Delaney's Taiwan Trip: Last Day

There was a koi pond out front

This was a stone horse head statue

The front of the museum

The airport had some fun statues

'Kung Fu Massage'? I need that!

Dan and Delaney's Taiwan Trip: Day 3

The breakfast buffet had lots of choices from noodles to fruit and rolls and other fun stuff.

This was a quick shot on the metro line down to the zoo.

The water pump was worth a jiggle.

She was mugging left and right for the first hour or two.

Make sure you look at this one closely.  This was the most illustrative sign I saw in Taipei.  Message is priceless.

The lounging bear was inviting this kind of pose.

The inside museum was a highlight.  Much fewer people and 100% shade.

??.  She was feelin' it so I snapped the picture.

A stuffed elephant.

These stationary things were popular.

The backside of the Taipei temple.  It was closed for cleaning that week.

My favorite picture of the trip.  I can't believe what a lucky Dad I am.

Obligatory Moroni statue shot.

The Shalin Night Market.  CROWDED!

Did I tell you it was crowded?

This was like something out of a CNN Asia special or documentary.  We were lucky to find an empty seat.  People walking constantly around these low end cook and eat right in front of you places.

Shrimp rolls and pan friend dumplings.  She ate fried rice.  This was the third time she ordered fried rice on the trip.  She did try things, but in small doses.

Dan and Delaney Taiwan Trip: Day 2

We saw some interesting things on the way to the mall.

A display of 'Tsum Tsums"(Delaney's friend's favorite thing in the world)

The sheep display in front of the stores. The shops weren't open yet when we got there

The Taipei 101 Mall. You could go all the way to the top if you wanted.  We wanted!

A shrine we saw when we were walking around waiting for the mall to open

This was what was inside it

I don't even know what this was

Alice in Wonderland things in the mall

We saw some cute chairs in a shop

"For Narnia!"

We saw this cool mannequin in the Taipei 101 mall

We did go to the top and the view was amazing!

Delaney posing at one of the windows

The inevitable "I was there" selfie

This was a huge ball hoisted up with the thickest rope I've ever seen

This random giant mirror in a lot

The menus at 'The Modern Toilet'

The bathroom was labeled 'VIP Lounge'

The food of the people next to us

Our food was tasty

Did I say tasty?

The whole place was awesome

Last picture there