Langfest 2018

Hard to believe it is already the time to celebrate America’s independence, but  we certainly had a great time at Langfest!  We were especially excited when Madison and Andrew got there!   It was great to see them!   

Nothing beats eating bbq, throwing back a few cold ones and playing with fire.  The kids had so much fun and so did the adults!  

Happy birthday America!  

This one

Preston finished his ball season last night with a couple of losses in tournament play. Jim took him while the rest of us were at a different ballpark.  Jim didn’t take pictures, and the pictures I took the night before were lost in the process of getting my new phone.  I was told that he had a couple of amazing games with some great at bats.   We are proud of him for stepping out of his comfort zone and playing a little bit tougher league.   It was a good season!  

Ballpark rats

We have been going to the ballpark a lot.  A whole lot.  This week, Harper decided she would be my photographer, and she took a bunch of pretty good shots of Quincy and Landrie.  When i showed them to Quincy, she decided she would return the favor by taking some pictures of Harper at her game.  They both did a pretty good job I think!  They are having a lot of fun!

Cameron qualified for Nationals in FBLA.  He left for Baltimore yesterday.  I have to say that qualifying was not easy, and I am proud of him for not only this accomplishment, but also because he managed to raise most of the money he needed to go on the trip!  I hope they have a great time this week!

Colin's 20! And bonus pics

Colin turned 20 years old today!  He spent the weekend at Stampede with Spencer, but he did come home in time for his birthday dinner.  Unfortunately, the power was off for most of the afternoon, so he got pizza from Casey's and cupcakes by Little Debbie!  He didn't seem to mind, because like everything else he does, he keeps a pretty mellow attitude.  If you see this boy worked up, something big happened.  He makes us proud and he is one of the hardest workers you will find.  We love you Colin and hope this year is amazing!  

These kids were forced out of the car on the way home from church to get pictures beside our neighbor's wheat field.  Seriously, I think wheat is the most beautiful plant!  It is always the first green I crave in the spring, and the finished plant is amazingly gorgeous!  

We had nothing on the calendar for this weekend.  So to celebrate, I created a project. I do love a project.   The little girls have been wanting their room painted since we moved here.  Goodbye terrible blue splatter paint, hello garden room.  Butterflies will be delivered soon!  The girls had fun drawing the flowers and helping me paint them in.   It is bright and cheerful!   I can't wait to get it finished.   One thing left to do, as their bed broke when we moved it.  Jim will be helping me fix it this week when we get parts.   They are extremely pleased.  

Quincy helped with some gardening for a friend of ours. As a treat afterward, Q and their dog, Molly went for a swim in the lake and got ice cream cones.  They said Quincy worked very hard.  Quincy said she felt bad getting paid, because it hardly seemed like work at all!

We are most definitely in Kansas!

My boys (all of them - including the one I married) love cutting stuff apart.  We had a tree that died in the yard.  They have been clearing the fence row, but took a break from the red cedars to chop down this bad boy.  They had it down and were cutting the wood up when I got home from the ball park.  They were having too much fun for me to feel bad about them working while I was gone!  The girls were happy to join in the evening of excitement.  I enjoy these people tremendously.  I had to laugh as the conversation took a switch to the dark side for a while since our dog is in heat.  These little people are getting more of an education than what I bargained for when we decided to pretend to be farmers! 

The younger crowd and I attended Harper's ball game in Lyndon.  She had some great at bats, and made a great play catching a pop fly at shortstop.  Her coach bought her ice cream and everything!  It was an interesting game.  A beautiful day, with one cloud which parked over the ball park and wet everything down.  Since there was no lightening, and the sky was actually almost clear, they played in the rain.  Little girls are easily distracted and the rain did nothing to help them!  The rainbow did not help either.  Imagine about 18 girls aged 7/8 all engrossed in a rain dance and rainbow watching.  At least it wasn't contained to just our side! 

They're baaaack!

Quincy and Harper returned from camp.  They had a great time!  Their versions of how things went crack me up.  Quincy thought everything activity-wise was awesome and amazing "except for the science junk" she doesn't see a need for doing that stuff at camp. 


Harper told me more about the people at camp.  She had a great time, but had different stories to tell for sure!  I am happy they are back. I missed them! 

While they were gone, we stayed busy doing stuff around the house, and yard.  It was a nice break from ball games!  Mallory and Colin volunteered to set up new playground equipment at the Overbrook School.  I think Mallory is excited about it for her kids and her new job....Colin - well, he got "voluntold."  Saige is ready for the cement to dry so we can try it out before school starts! 

Speaking of Saige, she conned Mallory out of a trip to Gage park to ride the train and the carousel.  She originally asked to go to Disney World while the others were at camp.  Nobody seemed to think that was a good plan, so she got Gage park instead!  I love that she sets her goals big!  :)  She also managed to get Mallory to take her to lunch!   She is very convincing! 



The girls got home just in time to take a nap, and then get Quincy to her game last night.  She was tired, but played well.  Apparently Topeka got a lot of rain, because Preston's games were rained out.  I guess we are now back to regularly scheduled programming!