Formal Night

The local high school homeschoolers have a prom alternative where they can still get all dressed up, but instead of a dance, the seniors choose a different activity. This year the venues were Kobe's Japanese Steakhouse, the Wichita Escape Room, and Freddy's for ice cream. Since we had 2 children attending this year, Shannon and I went along. He ended up chauffeuring half the guys, so I rode with several moms. We did eat together! Though he got to be one of the 3 adults who assisted the teams in the escape room.

The girls met ahead of time and took pictures in the park. Here is Annie with the other girls close to her age. (the newbies)

This was a picture chosen by the color of their dresses.

And here is Annie with Mama dear.

Another pose, this time on the merry-go-round.

Oops! This dad couldn't resist shaking out a few squeals!

Since it was raining at the restaurant when we arrived, the full group pictures had to be taken inside.

The dashing young gentlemen...

Our two teen twinnies.

At the escape room, none of the 3 groups mastered all the clues to unlock the locks in an hour, hence the sad faces and negative comment signs.

I was enjoying my hot fudge ice cream sundae with pecans too much to take any pics at the next stop. That was a little taste of our first time Formal Night!

Early Spring Garden~April

I planted half of a pound of Contender green beans in early April before a lovely spring rain. They germinated well and are growing nicely except in the spots where our little dog has dug. I'm not sure if he is smelling something or just being an animal. I'm not particularly a pet fan unless they produce something...I suppose he keep wild critters away and certainly alerts us of visitors down the lane!

Our lone tulip that bloomed this year of a dozen bulbs planted 2 years ago. There is still hope they will show a lovely display eventually!

The barrenish garden behind the patio. I'm loving my small burst of color in the outdoor pillow!

Horseradish is growing around the birdbath. It is spreading with vigor.

 radishes

 spinach

 cilantro

baby sugar snap pea row

pineapple mint 

raspberries 

salvia 

I dug up some of the wildly sprouting horseradish and blended it, jarred it, and covered with vinegar. It is quite tasty! I've never really eaten it much, but since it grows so well and is great for you, we are nibbling on it now and then...it's almost addictive! The girls were giggling to see who could eat enough to burn up their noses. They would roll up a teaspoon in a horseradish leaf and chomp it down; it really opened up our nasal passages! The leaves even have zingy qualities!

April's garden harvest was a slim 1 pound of horseradish, cilantro, and chives, but oh so yummy to be eating fresh again!

Family Comes to Kansas

March brought Shannon's parents, sister, and niece to Kansas for about a week.

It rained several days and was a bit muddy and cold until the end of their stay, when it cleared off. We went thrift store shopping one day where Caroline snatched up a karaoke machine. The girls discovered the microphone will plug into the keyboard too, joy! They tried it in all the bedrooms, then moved to the porch which made a great stage with seating and all.

Grandma fixed a nice dinner for us one evening that the girls wanted to serve like a restaurant with menus and waitresses (decked in aprons and clip-on earrings of course!)

There was opportunity for needle-punching tutoring and sewing lessons...and pantyhose overnight curls with the fresh supply brought from Grandma's house.

While the men found a few projects to work on. They finished hanging sheetrock on the newly-opened house walls and tore out the rest of the floor coverings.

We had in a few friends of Mom & Dad's one evening for supper and fellowship. Another night Aunt Britney treated us all to a first-time supper at the local sushi and steakhouse, then they were gone again!

Less than a week later, my parents, brother, and two sons arrived in Kansas.

The littles spent hours outside riding the small four-wheeler, beep, beep! Mom, Dad, & Shannon walked through a handful of houses in Pratt. Another day we all went near Hutchinson to check out a builder that could move a new house onto a corner of our property. We spent a few hours at Dillons Nature Center walking the trails, watching the geese, finding fossils in rocks, and playing in the stream.

Kris mudded the drywall for us so the walls and ceiling are ready to paint!
Our scrap paper supply was diminished by the making of paper boats of all sizes and colors.

And that is just a little snapshot of what happened in our life to make a month pass by quickly!

8 Winter Activities

Here are a few pictures of what we did this winter and early spring that I managed to catch on camera. I have not been taking photos much, which is nice for computer storage and less time spent editing, but I always enjoy looking back at the everyday memories that slip so quickly away.

1. Decorating bags to fill with goodies for the elderly in a small community.

2. A violin concert.

 3. Ice skating on our frozen pond. It was only cold enough once this winter for this to happen and sadly for the children we just had a skiff of snow once as well.

4. Acrylic painting and sewing projects from a library book.

5. Basketball. It's a long season beginning in October - March, playing over 20 games and driving up to 3 hours away. I would not consider us a sports family, but the littles dearly love the social time and Annie & I enjoy running concessions when necessary.

There are some really fun games to watch like dads against boys too...

6. A pretend drink store using old bottles found in a nearby trash heap.

7. More violin showcases. This was a less-formal Irish/bluegrass mix on St Patrick's Day. Caroline soloed Amazing Grace in song and instrument.

8. Sister tea parties inside and out. Basically their afternoon snack all girlified, sometimes in dress-up attire, sometimes with stuffed animal guests.