My Baby Flew the Coop

Last weekend, Lindsey was a bridesmaid in a dear friend's wedding. Her friend, Hannah, offered to do her hair. Wow, she did a gorgeous job. I cannot believe Lindsey let me take pictures. So she must have thought it looked pretty good.

Last night, August 26, 2010, we had a little send off party.
This was "Lindsey" week around here.
I made all her favorite meals including:

Tuesday: Steak and red smashed potatoes
Wednesday: Best ever taco salad
Thursday: Chicken lasagne

She has pretty good taste, wouldn't you say. We all enjoyed the excellent food.

Keith and Kristel came to enjoy the lasagne and celebrate the sending. Kristel has been the "big sister" and Keith has been the "big brother" that Lindsey needed over the past few years. They have really stuck by her and been great FRIENDS.

Dave (our soon to be "neighbor") came with fruit.

Farmor also joined us to see her granddaughter off to college.

Packing day. I suggested to big sister to let the siblings help. They were thrilled and made quick work of it. Here they are in an almost empty and clean room.

The car is loading up. Good little Honda.

She was happy to help. Actually, Cora is almost always smiling.

Hmmm...where do I want that. Starting to wonder if it will all fit...

Uff! This one is heavy. But I'm getting the job done!!!

Come to think of it, why IS she so happy?
Because this means the girls get to move to a new room,
which is VERY exciting for 3 young ladies.

Kloey did her fair share, for sure.

Loaded to the gunwhales! She only took what she needed.

GROUP HUG!
Sibling style.
Micah is in the middle.

Loves that boy with all her heart.

I'm here to tell ya, he's a great kisser.

Sharing a moment.

He's going back for an extra slobbery one...

Cora is still smiling!

Erik got a hug and a tickle.
They are both fiendishly ticklish.
My allergy kids.

Kloey went in for the warm hug. Not sure what she is thinking.

Erika got her fair share of a hug, too.

Going......

Going....

Gone!

She went off to college. After successfully living at home for 2 years, her schedule at the university dictated that she live nearby. She got a sweet deal on an apartment with a job attached.

There she goes.

Another milestone.

I'm not sad.

I am thrilled because she found something that she is passionate about.

Besides, she will most likely be home next weekend. :)

Toddler Toilet Tales

What do you get when you mix a toddler and a toilet?

A project for the front yard.

Hmmm, which end is up?

I don't see anything, do you?

Peek-a-boo!

The culprit is watching the surgery.

Washing up. A job well done.

Here is the evidence.

Yes, two bars of soap were the problem of slow to no flow. The toddler did make a full and complete confession prior to this event. He was quite proud as he held up not one but two fingers to show how much soap he had disposed of.

Is life ever dull?

A Year Later

This was our family picture in June 2009,
leaning against the rock with the ocean behind.
There were 10 of us. We did not all fit in one car.
The boys were little, just barely one and two.

A year later, there are 11 in the family and we found a car that fits.
The boys are not so little anymore, not compared to the baby anyway.
Same rock, same place, the ocean in the background, the trees, a little bigger.

Life is really good!

Simple Prayer

Lord, help me to:

Live in a way that honors You;

Be the person who reflects Your love;

Do the work that You have set out for me;

Learn true contentment and accept Your way.

Lord, let me be an instrument of Your peace.

Amen.

Photo Credits: Both photos are Kansas sunsets. I took the top one. The bottom picture is to Lindsey Peterson's credit.

Whooo-weee!

This is how my man-child changes not-so-sweet smelling diapers.

A.K.A. The t-shirt cover up.

I have been trying to catch him on camera for months.

"Oh, come on Mom.....!"

Aside from enjoying his methods, I appreciate that a sixteen year old boy is willing to pitch in and help out wherever needed.

Kudos to Jerrod!!! Love that boy.

Beach Day

A day at the beach is like a mini-vacation for me. Something about the wide open spaces allows everyone in our family to relax. The bickering ceases, smiles spring up, sand goes places it probably shouldn't, and people enjoy the outdoors and each other. Somehow it is easier to keep track of everyone even when the beach is crowded. We travel about 75 minutes to the ocean and every mile is worth the trip.

We grill steak or chicken at the picnic area with salads, baked beans (right from the can), and brownies for dessert. Usually, we are one of the last cars to leave around 8:00pm.

We went on July 5th and while we were unloading the van, Bob showed the kids how to do this:
Chief Trey! Gimme some wampum!
Even the big kids had to give it a try.
When he is not the chief, he is laughing.
We lathered and slathered and ghosted everyone up in the shade by the parking lot.
Not too sure about this whole beach thing, slimy stuff (first time that she was old enough), and the hat. I was determined to train her to wear a hat.....haha.
She likes it, she likes it.
We quickly found the water.



Investigating.
The girls are waiting for the next big one.
Caught the wave!
Woohoo!
I am honestly not sure whether it gets any better than this.

New Look

I don't love this but it is different.

I suppose I might change it tomorrow.

Because I can.

It's All About the Hair

Hair, hair, and more hair.

I am determined to take better care of all the hair in my domain.
We discovered http://www.blendedbeauty.com,
a website dedicated to biracial hair products.

Just what I needed to get a better handle on all this HAIR!
Apparently we have a type 1, a type 2, AND a type 3.
It is a fly away, frizzy, dried out mess. :(

Erika did the initial shampoo and
THEN
we went for the deep herbal conditioner.

She enjoyed the beauty treatment.

This is a shower cap that I brought home from a hotel last year.
She kept it and, sure enough, it came in handy.

After combing her hair out, we looked on the web and

found a tutorial for twists and gave it a try.

The deep conditioning worked.
We have never seen her hair look so good.

The twists were fun to do and pretty easy
after I twisted everything in the right direction.

I bet we will do even better next time.

This whole process took about four hours.
Soon enough we will be straightening
and I won't be on duty anymore.
I think I will be sad.

How We Made It To The Prairie

We drove halfway across the country and made the pilgrimage to several "Little House on the Prairie" sites because they were on the way.

While we were in Missouri we visited Rocky Ridge in Mansfield to see the house where Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the Little House books. A museum was attached and a highlight was seeing Pa's violin. The house was just as Laura and Almanzo left it. This site was on my bucket list and let's just say that I'm glad we were driving by and didn't make a special trip.

Here is how 10 or 11 people travel long distances in "style." The funniest part was one day we noticed all the strange looks we were getting. People would point to our van and stare. Finally Jerrod said, "Well Mom, not too many people ski in Kansas." Duh! We borrowed an extra Thule for the trip and they were both loaded to the gunwales with baby paraphernalia including three portacribs, 3 strollers, fishing gear, swim gear, diapers, and a bunch of other stuff.
A friend suggested we borrow their luggage rack and attach it to the back for extra cargo room. Brilliant! We could have squeezed the bins in but it sure gave us extra leg and people room in the van. The bins had clothes, food, bedding for the cribs (stuff from home for the babies), and kitchen stuff.
We had a fun journey from Branson, Missouri to Douglass, Kansas, about a 5 hour drive. The landscape changes several times from the Ozark hills to farmland to flat prairie. Lots of corn. I think one half of the United States must be planted with corn.

As I was the navigator, I read the AAA guide book and looked up all the little towns we went through. We toured Carthage, Missouri as we drove right through it and looked at some older Victorian homes. Then on a whim we took a minor detour to see the Precious Moments Chapel and grounds. It was time to stretch our legs and I thought the younger girls would enjoy the figurines. Oh my, what an experience. The visitor center and museum are off the beaten path about 3 or 4 miles outside of town. We rounded the corner and our jaws dropped. The parking lot was FULL, I mean a couple hundred cars and several buses. We had no idea it was a destination spot. Then we noticed lots of red t-shirts and kind of surmised that some family reunion was visiting.

As we entered the lovely pink foyer, we were serenaded by someone singing in the indoor garden cafe. We rounded the corner to see a (PC here) smaller man doing a reasonable Elvis impersonation for a full house. We elbowed our way through to go see the chapel and got in a line. After 10 minutes, Jerrod figured out that we were in a book signing queue. Finally, somebody informed us that the annual collector's reunion was in full swing. Ah-ha......

We got a tractor ride with a Precious Moments dress up character waving at us. We toured the chapel and then on the walk back we let the kids go in the "Jump for Jesus" bouncy house. We passed on the bean bag game where, for $2, you could win free figurines. Husbands and wives, kids in strollers, seniors, you name it, we saw it. To top it off, there was a petting zoo in the parking lot. Micah and Trey got their very first pony rides. Kloey was in heaven petting the goats and sheep and holding a 10 day old piglet. I loved the experience. Did I mention I do not even own a Precious Moments figurine.....
We traveled from Branson, Missouri to Douglass, Kansas and drove right through Independence, Kansas where the original site of the "Little House on the Prairie" is purported to be. The cabin was a replica out in the middle of literally nowhere. The fun part was standing in the field and imagining nothing in all directions.


The little boys slept through the whole thing. Bob chose to stay in the air conditioned van. The kids humored me in the one room school house.
Although the site was a little anticlimactic, it too was on my bucket list. So I can now say, "Been there, done that."

We arrived in Douglas, Kansas that evening with a couple of stories to tell.