Kellyn's Spring Program

On May 7th, the Kindergarten and 1st Grade of Wheatland Elementary presented "Gettin' Down With Mama Goose." Kellyn was so excited to perform, especially since she got to play the xylophone! The program was really cute, especially "We Will, We Willie Winkie" set to the "We Will Rock You" tune.

third row from top, second from right third row from top, fourth from left

playing the xylophone the whole group (well, most of them - I don't have a panoramic camera!)

Paul's Bike Trip on the Katy Trail

Paul, along with his brother David and good friend Mitch, rode their bicycles along 160 miles of the Katy Trail in Missouri during the last weekend in April. They left at 4am on Friday the 24th and drove to Sedalia to start. They ended up in Washington on the afternoon of Sunday the 26th, where they hopped the Amtrak to get back to the cars. They had to drive back home in the rain and didn't get here til 2am Monday morning, but they had a blast! They all enjoyed checking out the sights along the trail, roughing-it in tents, getting good exercise and bad sunburns, and eating fatty foods at lots of little hole-in-the-wall places along the trail. Highlights included getting barely any sleep the first night while they listened to a bunch of guys drinking and blaring their music nearby, and getting lots of verbal and "fingeral" insults from drivers while they were crossing a narrow bridge into Washington. Paul definitely had a great time and is already making plans to do it again! Here are some pictorial highlights:

Getting started in Sedalia (Mitch, Paul, and David)
an old bridge along the Trail (Paul)

the fancy rock-faced side of an old tunnel under the railroad tracks

the other, more humble side (David & Mitch)

an old shelter someone built into the rocks bluffs (Paul)

the biggest Burr Oak tree in MO, with a couple of dwarfs under it (David & Mitch)

another big rock with the years and heights of the MO River flooding carved into it (Paul) their campsite the 2nd night (Mitch)

the big bridge into Washington as viewed from the train station

Easter Day

Shelly came down from Lawrence to visit us on Easter weekend, which was a nice treat! On Sunday morning, the kids were up early to see what the Easter Bunny had left them. After a great service at church, we stopped by Gram and Grandad's to visit awhile before heading down to my Aunt and Uncle's in Argonia. Unfortunately, it rained the entire day so the family volleyball game was out, but the kids still had a blast playing with their cousins and breaking an Easter Egg pinata. We adults visited and played cards, and of course, we all stuffed ourselves silly with ham and blarney stones!

Decorating Easter Eggs

Fireplace

Paul finally got the fireplace done in the basement and it looks great!! My carpenter-extraordinaire-father-in-law built the mantel for us, Paul installed it, and I antiqued it. Paul then endured about a hundred nicks and cuts while installing the metal lathe that went under the stone, but he got it all done, saving us at least $600 in the process! I think I'll do a darker glaze to make the onlays and corbels stand out more and make the whole thing look older and more distressed, but overall I am so thrilled with the way it turned out!! (the pictures don't really do it justice - the flash made it looked too bright and without the flash it looked washed out, but hopefully you get the idea)

Breckyn's Birthday Party

Breckyn's 4th birthday was celebrated at our house on March 21st with her friends, Gram, and Shelly. We had hotdogs for lunch, then played some games, opened presents, and finished off with cake and ice cream. She was pretty excited to be the center of attention, and even more excited about her great haul of new toys, make-up, and dress-up clothes. She was especially thrilled with a huge tub of jellybeans - which lasted exactly one week!

Nature Center

On a beautiful March 18th, my friend Sarah and I met at Great Plains Nature Center with our kids. We enjoyed eating, getting some exercise, and especially exploring the Nature Center's awesome interactive exhibits and animals. If you've never been, you need to go - and it's FREE!!

Happy Trails

After a picnic lunch at the Nature Center, we all got some exercise and enjoyed exploring a couple miles of trails. We were fortunate enough to see lots of wildlife including plenty of birds, ducks, a turtle, and even a beaver!