Sad Loss and Spring Pigs

We got some sad news this afternoon that my mom's uncle "Slug" passed away. There just aren't many guys like Uncle Slug around....he was a great guy with a quirky sense of humor. Since he and Aunt Geraldine do their laundry at least once a week in the laundromat next door to my office, Preston and Quincy see them all the time, and they are pretty sad. They have had a ton of questions too, as this is the first real loss that they have known in their little lives. We will all really miss Slug, until we meet again someday.

We also made a trip to our pig raising friend's house this evening to look over the choices for 4-H hogs. The kids really had a great time looking at all the babies. They really are cute although I never in a million years thought that I would be one to admit to liking pigs....what have you done to me Grace???

Madison is in love with these little Durocs. They are sweet with their little flopping ears! I think she will be getting one, however I am worried that when it is time to sell she will be too attached. It might be better to buy an uglier pig!

And just a small update - the grill worked great. Cam had a wonderful time cooking on it, and I must say he is turning into a fine grilling chef! Notice the marshmallow? That is the best part of open fire as far as he is concerned!

Jim returns tomorrow from his training classes. I really miss him, and can't wait for him to get home. The kids feel the same. Life is better when we are together!

Tuesday

Jim left for Wichita early this morning. He will be home on Thursday. The kids didn't give him too much grief about leaving this morning, they will save it for me tonight! I got really 'smart' and killed the lunch hour by feeding Preston and Quincy in the car and running some errands - including purchasing the stuff for their Easter parties at school....this way they didn't notice that Jim never came home for lunch - that will be tomorrow's big sorrow!! Now we are waiting for the boys to get home from school and we are going to wear ourselves out at the park. Luckily this time with Jim gone should be easier since winter sports are over and the summer ones haven't started yet. The girls have track practice, but the school runs a bus for that, so I don't have to worry about getting them anywhere. Jim didn't pick the dates for this, but it did work out a little better! I have a huge amount of respect for all the single parents out there...honestly I don't know how you do it. These few training sessions have also given me a new appreciation for my husband, and all the stuff he does around here - especially the stuff I hate doing like taking out trash!

Gettin' ready for Easter

I mentioned that we attended the nursing home's annual egg hunt this weekend. It doesn't seem to matter what weekend they decide to do this, it is ALWAYS cold and windy!

The 4-H club also made little baskets for the residents. I don't know if you can tell from this photo, but they turned out really cute, they were made from little plastic cups with ears and a tail on the back and the kids drew little rabbit faces on the front. I have to remember this for the future.

Even though it was cold, Preston and Quincy still found a lot of candy, and they had a good time. Colin also enjoyed hiding the candy and posing it up with his friend the big rabbit!

recap of the "sad" weekend

The little ones were disappointed in the 4-H swimming party being postponed. It will happen but not this Saturday - and their mom was dumb enough to tell them where we were going - had I been quiet about it no sadness would have occurred.

The older ones (including Jim and me) were disappointed in the Cats not showing up to play in their elite 8 game. Cam nearly lost his mind entirely over it! I am sure it will take us a long time to get over that loss!

The nursing home had an Easter egg hunt, which we attended, but Harper was sad because it was so cold and windy that I tried to keep her head covered with a blanket - she really hates that! The 4-H club helped decorate baskets for the residents and hide eggs for the kids...good for community service time that the girls still need to get in before Confirmation in the fall!

Overall, I would say that this was one disappointing weekend! I don't want to be a negative poster though, so we did have a few good things go on this weekend. No sports - none! That meant that we had a weekend at home to get caught up a little bit. That was nice. Also, Jim and Colin got a lot done on the basement, I am really starting to feel that we will be able to finish and get the kids moved around in the next few weeks. We found our upstairs hallway and unblocked the entrance to the upstairs bathroom (thank you Madison). We had stored some stuff to be sorted out up there and it was really out of control. We still have a ways to go, but it is looking lots better! And we will be getting our hands on some baby pigs this week, the kids are really excited about that! Jim is attending the last (that I know of) city clerk training class in Wichita this week. The kids are not any more excited this time than they were the last 2 times. However, I am hoping that with the forcast being for 70+ degree weather the time will go much faster. We got our garden tilled and ready to be planted. I say bring on the warm weather! I am looking forward to a busy Holy Week!

Elite 8!

Harper says GO CATS!!

The rest of us say we hope that this game isn't as tense as the last one!

One Man's Trash....

Friday is trash day in Overbrook, so it is common for people to put stuff at the curb on Thursday afternoon. Yesterday, Cameron took Quincy for a walk. About 20 minutes later I hear Quincy screaming at the top of her lungs, sounding like someone was beating her. Here came Cameron dragging home a grill...it was at the end of our neighbor's driveway with their trash. He saw it and decided since our grill died last fall we needed a new one. So he brought it home. Wonder why Quincy was howling? Well - because she thought he stole it, and stealing is BAD!! It is good to know she has been listening and learning!

Actually, it is a very nice grill...I am not sure why the neighbors were throwing it out! Even though it is a gas grill, it has the place for charcoal (which is what I like). We will try it out this weekend! If it works, then I have to go back to the drawing board on a Father's Day gift for Jim. And now that I have posted this on the internet, I guess it is official, we really are 'those' people!!

ears and spring snakes

Today was Quincy's appointment with the Ear Nose and Throat doctor. We have used this doctor in the past, and I really do like him! He walked us through her history, and examined her ears today, and they have significant fluid behind the eardrum (I guess this is a bad thing?). We have decided to go ahead with getting tubes and she is going to have her adenoids out at the same time. I do not like putting my children through surgery, and especially if its not absolutely necessary, however in this case we think that the benefits far outweigh the consequences of not doing this little surgical procedure. So she will have all this done in mid-April. They said to expect for her to feel a little under the weather for about 2 days. That doesn't sound too awful!


The appointment with Quincy ran a little bit long, and we weren't here when the boys got home from school. I truly trust them to come home from school, fix themselves a snack, do their homework etc. They called to say that they made it home and were playing in the yard. They then proceeded to tell us that they caught a new "pet" snake. I like snakes and lizards and don't mind them bringing one home now and then....usually we try to figure out what type it is, show it to the neighbor who is housebound and enjoys seeing them, and then turn them loose. And since I have been craving spring like mad, I was even quite happy with the find, figuring if you find a snake, the weather really must be turning warmer! I was not quite as pleased to find out from Colin later in the evening that he had saved the snake mostly because it bit him on the leg and he was worried it might be poisonous! Well, at least if it had been poison we could tell the ER what type of snake it was!! We will watch for infection, but I don't really think this little guy is going to kill him! I do think he was probably mad because Colin and Cam interrupted his first meal of the spring though! He has been safely released into the field behind the house now! Grace put some nice cardinal photos on her blog to show spring - well we just aren't that nice around here!!!