Memorial Day weekend

Madison and Mallory have been watching their little cousin (my sweet nephew). They are sad that they only get to spoil him for one more day! They have plenty of other stuff lined up to fill their time though!

Memorial Day weekend went by way too fast! Like every long weekend always does!

We almost blew away at the cemetary mass this morning! Cameron even joked with Father Anthony that his robes made him look like a giant kite and he would probably fly away! Father just smiled and asked Cam to grab his shoe strings if he saw him taking off!

It was also the opening of the city pool. Although it was warm out, the wind made it feel kind of chilly for swimming. That did not stop Quincy and Preston from breaking in the water though! Preston turned blue and sat on the warm cement for most of the hour we were there! Quincy did not seem bothered in the least by the cold! She is ready to join the polar bear club!

We made some progress on the closet cleaning this weekend....but we still have a long way to go! I am convinced that someone breaks into our house and leaves stuff rather than taking it! I wonder if I should file a police report?!?!

first week of the season and a little sugar

Quincy
Preston

And Cameron all had their first league games this week. It was a busy week, with lots of chilly nights at the ball park. So far, there has only been one rain out! Which is amazing since we are officially in monsoon season here!
Colin has been playing this week too, but I like to take photos of the kids in their uniforms before their first games, you know, before they get stained up and stretched out!

Harper loves to eat. She is especially fond of sugar, and we have had to relocate ours in the pantry because she had herself a little feast! There was sugar all over the floor, and she had a nice Santa beard!

And although she is mostly afraid of loud noise, she comes running to the mixer - hoping to get a beater! She reminds me of a cat we had who came to the can opener!

It is now time for the holiday weekend. I am looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend where we pretend that we have no responsibilities! I am sure that this is not going to happen, but for today that is what I am dreaming of!

Side note on the ball uniforms - for YEARS Mallory was on teams who got to pick out their own uniform colors. She would proudly stand there and yell out "How about ORANGE?" and the kids on her team would turn up their noses....and she would end up playing on a green, blue, or red team. Well, Quincy came home with her uniform the other night - including a bright orange shirt- and Mallory has not gotten over it yet! Quincy told her that when the season is over, she can have the shirt! :)

4-H spring fling

The kids 4-H club had their first spring fling tonight. Of course, no 4-H party would be complete without a rousing game of cow tongue football!

Cam found that he has a ways to go before he can compete with Gene Simmons!

But he did have a fun time with flinging the tongue at certain girls in the club!
Quincy and Preston thought hands down, the best part was the slip and slide. They have been wanting to swim really bad, so this is the next best thing!

There was also an overly competitive game of wiffle ball....one in which both sides claimed that they won!

How many kids can you get on a slip and slide?

It was a very good thing that the party was planned for tonight, because 24 hours earlier it would have been interrupted by tornado sirens. We did not have any tornadoes hit Overbrook, but there were several not far from here. It was enough to make Mallory go into prep mode and put all the supplies in the basement.

Coming up on the first week of regular season base/softball. I am looking forward to watching games.

Forgot to mention

Madison successfully drove with a DMV 'scary guy' in Lawrence this week and earned her FARM PERMIT! This means she will be able to drive to school this coming year, and can drive on farm related errands - which means she can drive to the country to feed the pigs - without me! Admittedly, I think she is a pretty good driver, but it still scares me a lot! The thought of her being free - terrifying for a parent!

Mallory wanted to take the test to get her learner's permit - however somehow I failed to remember I would need her social security number for this, so she has to go back next week. She was not too upset, she said it would give her a few more days to study! She wants to get her learners permit and then maybe late in the summer try to get her farm permit as well....this way if Madison is sick, she won't have to ride the "nerd wagon" to school!

Who rules summer break?

The princess of mud
the boss of the universe!

The queen of hiding (mostly hiding other people's belongings)

The hungriest baby in Kansas!

So far this summer, we have wondered where the summer weather is. We have officially finished week one....frozen at ballgames, and been a little house bound because of rain/rainy cold weather. I am sure it will be warm before we know it, but Quincy seems to think that the pool should already be open, and she should be swimming every day - even though she would probably die of hypothermia if she did!

We have also spent quite a lot of time looking for personal belongings. Madison's cell phone mysteriously disappeared off the face of the earth....only to be located in the furnace vent! We seem to have help in the losing department - and once in a while if we ask Miss Harper she will even retrieve the stuff she has stashed in her secret hideaways!

My mom had surgery yesterday. Things seem to have gone well for the most part, and I am hoping she will be home this weekend.

I am looking forward to a nice relaxing, quiet weekend here at our house! Hey, a girl can dream right?

Starting out summer

Colin had his first ball game last night- it was a double header. Of course, I have been cold at some of the kids games before - but I actually left during the second game because Quincy and I were so cold! Luckily, Madison had volunteered to stay home with Harper or we probably wouldn't have made it through the first game! Colin got to play right and left field and second base - and his batting was awesome - he did great! I am looking forward to seeing this team play - it is going to be a lot of fun to watch them - they have great potential - I just hope it warms up so it feels like baseball season!
Harper doesn't like to sleep alone - so its a good thing we have Stacy!

Yesterday there was a spring pig show in town. We did not show any pigs, but Mallory and Madison did try to sell some of their drawing tickets. They did not have much luck, and since it was so cold, they closed up shop early and came home! I drove about 80 miles yesterday, and all of it was around in circles in Overbrook! Everyone had some place to be, and everyone needed a ride because it was cold!
We have officially had our air conditioner on and then switched back to the furnace in the same week!
It feels a bit weird!

We promised Colin we would stop on our way home from vacation in Olathe at the Bass Pro Shop. BUT, on our way home from vacation it was snowing and we were exhausted, so we promised him we could go sometime in May! Today Jim fulfilled the promise! Quincy thought that they were going fishing - I hope she isn't disappointed when they get there!

Schools OUT for the summer!

That's right! It is officially summer break - although with the temperature at 50 it really doesn't feel like summer break! Might I just say that this week has been one that wore me out, so I am really ready for a break - at least a break from getting every one up and out the door in the morning! Time to spend hunting turtles, playing in the backyard until late, biking around with neighborhood kids, playing ball, scooping pig poo, and perfecting our diving abilities at the city pool!
On the last day of preschool at Jumpstart, they always have "Big Wheel Day" - Quincy was a little disappointed that it had to be held indoors this year (thank goodness for the gym at the Methodist church!). The only difference in having it indoors was that there was no bike wash - which is always such a big hit with the kids! Quincy had purposefully gotten her bike dirty so she could wash it! I promised her as soon as the weather is above 80 again we will wash it in the driveway! She had a marvelous time today!

I am a little sad that I don't have any kids to send to Jumpstart next year....it is such a fabulous program! Ms. Becky and Ms. Dana do a wonderful job of teaching the kids all sorts of stuff, getting them ready for school, teaching them fun bible stories, and doing all sorts of awesome crafts! I guess if I wait a couple of years they will take Harper!

Thursday evening the girls finished up their JV softball season. They won one and lost one. They like playing, but are taking the summer off, so this was their final game of the year. I enjoyed the season!

Colin also finished up his track season, but since his regional meet fell on the same evening as the visitation for grandma, we did not attend the meet. He did really well, and lettered in track. He said that he was happy to be finished with the season though....mostly because it is cutting into his fishing time!

swine and horses

Since the Kentucky Derby was today, and we had just been to Churchill Downs in March, Jim and I encouraged the kids to watch the derby. The kids had a good time learning about wagering, and odds, and Colin even picked the winner! They are now looking forward to watching more horse racing! I figure a little wagering among your siblings is a good thing right? Not for money, but maybe for chore swaps etc! It was a lot of fun!
Today was also the swine weigh in. Yes, we did pick them up on the weigh in day, and yes we are a little later than we have been in past years! Here are the 2011 4-H market swine. Mallory's is the white one. Her name is Stinkerbelle. She weighed 74 pounds, and is a crossbred hog.

Madison and Cameron got matching Hamps. Madison's weighed 67 pounds, and Cameron's weighed 59 pounds. They have a lot of weight to gain this summer! Madison named hers "Pigston" and Cam named his "Ed Squealy"

And Colin got this mostly black, crossbred hog he named "Sarge" who tipped the scales at 98 pounds! Colin has a knack for picking big ones!
The kids were really excited to get them, with the exception of Harper who was absolutely terrified of them! Poor little girl, it could be a LONG summer!

And a special thanks to Uncle Eric for picking up and driving the pigs to Osage City for weigh in today. We appreciate it!

Life

Photos from Quincy's preschool field trip this week. They took a nature hike!

My grandma Shirley lost her battle with cancer this week. She died on Cinco de Mayo. While I am immensely sad for myself, I am happy to know that she is with Jesus and back with my grandpa, who I know she had missed. She accepted death with grace and dignity, and peace. Today, I had the pleasure of going through all of her photos to make some boards for the visitation. I am so glad I went! I was always close to my grandma, she lived a couple of miles down the road and I saw her literally every single day of my childhood. I saw her several times a month even in my adulthood. She was the one who insisted that we have birthday parties even after we were adults, so that we could all get together. What I learned today, though, was how truly blessed my grandma's life was. She had a happy childhood, with loving parents. She married my grandpa when she was young, but they adored each other and were very happily married for over 50 years. She was dedicated to her faith, and gave a ton of time serving her church. I saw photos of trips that she took, and of their 7 children, 20 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren - each of us knowing full well that she cherished us all. I was stuck by how a person with so many people in her life can truly love and give so much, and make all of us feel as if we were important to her. It was an honor to have her as my grandma!

Even though we have been saddened by losing grandma, life does keep moving. With there being only one week left in the school year, the kids have had a ton of year end activities!

Cameron was Larry Bird in the 5th grade wax museum. He did an awesome job! We were very proud of him! He worked very hard to memorize his speech - that he gave numerous times when you pushed the "button" on his hand! All of his classmates did outstanding!

Madison and Mallory had their year end Band Extravaganza this week too. The band was very impressive, and I truly enjoyed it!

Mallory and Madison were both honored with medals this week for being in the top 10 of the freshman class! Jim and I are extremely proud of them!

Preston and Cameron had their field day today. It was a bit windy, but I think they had a great time! Quincy and Harper had a good time watching all the kids!

Colin did not have track practice tonight, instead he thought it would be a grand idea if he hooked Quincy's electric motor cycle to the tractor, that way he didn't have to push Harper on the tractor - it would definitely save his back! If you look close, you will see a bike chain hooking them together....and bungee cords holding Harper to the tractor seat. I made him unhook it, but I did take a photo first - see what I have to deal with? :) The king of accidents - all I am going to say is I am glad Jim was at work when he concocted this plan!

Closer....

We had a somewhat relaxing weekend. Uncle Jay came up to go to the spring KSU game with the boys. Preston was really excited to go this year! Unfortunately, Harper has claimed the hat that he got! She wears the colors well though! It was nice to get to visit with Jay, even if Quincy might have been a little over-zealous in the entertainment department! Jay is an incredibly brave man to willingly stay in this house for a weekend!

Since we are getting closer to the end of the school year (school lets out May 13) life is just a little bit on the crazy side! This week alone we have softball games, ball practices, library board meetings, spring band concerts, track meets, field trips, reward trips, and countless other amazing things to shove into already packed days. I am starting to admit defeat, and am totally ready for school to let out!

Preston did have a good field trip to the zoo on Monday - sort of. This was the 3rd date that they had scheduled it on - the first two got rained out. They were supposed to ride the mini-train and the carousel, but both are closed on Monday, so he was a little bit bummed about that. He reported that the zoo is not any different than the last time he was there! He did like the otters though!

And on a totally unrelated, random note, the kids were playing in the yard and came in to tell me that the tree in the front yard had a huge crack in it. In the name of public (and child) safety, Jim had to cut a huge chunk of the tree down. To say this is depressing is an understatement. I have been trying for the whole 11 years we have lived in this house to get some shade - this tree was actually starting to cast some and now it is a mere 1/2 of the tree that it was. So sad! I know its not the end of the world, but you would not believe the tree drama that I have had in this yard! I want to go back in time to the previous owners and beg them to plant some trees when they built the place! We also had to cut down a smaller tree in our back yard because it died over the winter. Trees in our yard seem destined for trauma!

And last but definitely not least, I am told that my grandma is very near the end of her battle with cancer. I am very devastated by this, but know that she is ready for the battle to be over. She is the strongest person I ever knew....to see her reduced to bed, in pain, weak and struggling is more than my heart can take! She will be missed by many - one man in town told me that my grandparents are the finest people he ever knew. I agree wholeheartedly!