Building a Snowman

Yesterday afternoon, Ray, Wyatt and Andrea built a snowman.  It is nice being the photographer sometimes.  My hands didn't get quite and cold and wet as everyone else.  I did help fill in cracks and smooth surfaces some.  Sometimes these projects start out with children helping and then they wander off.  Not this time,  Wyatt and Andrea were interested all the way through.  There were a couple of reminders to stay on track, but for the most part the two were right there with Ray.  Wyatt rolled the head and Andrea picked out stones for the mouth and eyes.  I went in and got a carrot for the nose.  You know, baby carrots just don't have the same effect.  After we finished everyone came inside for hot chocolate.  By the time Ray took them home,Wyatt and Andrea were planning a whole family for their front yard.  Ray said they got right to it when he took them home.

The second Snow

The snow waited to come until after it was dark.  When we woke up this morning it was pretty and white again.  Ray got busy with the snow blower, I think he has recovered his investment with these two snow storms.  He did our yard and several others.  He took the picture of the cardinal too, I get to claim some credit for editing it, but that is all.  It didn't take long after the sun came up for all the icy snow to start dropping off the trees and the roof.  I think we will spend the rest of day off.

Good try, but no cigar , yet.

No picture for this post, just a short comment.  We had a huge snow the other day.  Everyone in the area posted photos on Face Book or if they still blog on their blog.  About the time we were enjoying watching it melt which is the second best part of snow in Kansas, we heard that we were going to be hit by another "Big One".  Truthfully, I was glad to hear this.  We are in a drought situation and all moisture put into the ground is a blessing.  However, so far the snow has been a bust.  The temperature won't go below freezing and nothing falls for very long.  Maybe we will get lucky tonight and it will finally start.  We don't have to go anywhere tomorrow, so let it go.

Snow Day 2013

It snowed yesterday, last night and is promising more today.  This is the most snow we have had in a long time.  Right now it is at thirteen inches here in Haysville.  It has been so dry that as far as I am concerned it can snow for a long time.  The snow was over my boot tops when I went out.  It almost buried the kid's jeep and Kokopelli is up to his navel in the stuff.

We have put out food for the birds and the squirrels are busy helpng themselves.  For the most part we are just staying in, staying warm and enjoying ourselves.  Both Ray and I appreciate that being retired means we don't have to go anywhere if we don't want to.  So far we don't want to.

Ginger Bread Dogs and other cookies

February 9, 2013

Wyatt has been obsessed with the Gingerbread Man story since before Christmas.  He even wrote his own story of the Gingerbread Dog which is really quite good.  He had been asking me to make gingerbread cookies so he could make a gingerbread dog since before Christmas as well.  I finally gave in and we made cookies.  Wyatt cut out his dog which he refused to eat, but we also cut out a lot of other shaped cookies which we did eat.  Both he and Andrea enjoyed the experience.

No more training wheels

February 17, 2013

After a couple of years of goofing off,  Wyatt is finally taking the training wheels off his bike.  Ray took advantage of the same good weather that led me to to zoo to get Wyatt riding without the training wheels.  Wyatt has been able to ride his bike without the support, but he lacked the confidence to to it without the wheels.  So like it always happens, Ray moved the wheels out of the way and worked with Wyatt until he was going up and down the street just like the seven year old he is.  It won't be long before he will be able to come over here on his own.

We went to the Zoo

The weather was really nice on February 13th, so Nicole came over and asked if I wanted to go to the zoo with her and Andrea.  I hadn't been for a while and agreed.  The day was so nice that I am glad I made the effort.  During the winter Wednesdays are $2.50 to get in.  Good deal, the regular cost for an old lady like me is almost $12.00.  What happened to the days when the zoo free or cheap entertainment for the kids?

We went with the plan of only being there a couple of hours and mostly visiting the petting farms.  We managed to see quite a bit more than that, so the animal viewing portion was a success as well.  In the outback area there were Wallabies around loose.  Nicole and Andrea were fascinated by them.  Nicole was the worst.  She really wanted to touch the one laying on the path, and wished she had the rest of the time we were in the zoo. 

The Sedgwick County Zoo is outstanding, should be visited often in spite of the cost.  I will say that if you go regularly the season pass is quite reasonable.

Hello Wyatt

We gave Wyatt an inexpensive tablet for Christmas.  The purpose was not totally unselfish.  He could play games on it instead of my tablet, Papa's notebook or our phones.  A side benefit (?) is that he wants to see my blog.  He knows that I post photos here and I guess he would like to see what is going on.  Trust me Wyatt, there isn't much here that you don't already know about.  However, I am truly flattered and honored that you think enough of your grandmother that you want to visit here.  Welcome.

Abilene Day Trip

Ray and I were tired of staying home on the weekend.  We just did not want to take an overnight trip anywhere.  The solution turned out to be a day trip to Abilene with Andrew and Theresa.  It was chilly but not really cold and sunny.  All in all a great day to get out of town.  It is almost three hours up there and the scenery isn't spectacular, but we enjoyed the drive and it went quickly for me at least.
We first stopped at the museum and library.  There was an interesting exhibit of fabric art by a professor at Tabor College in the library, and the museum is set up in a very interesting way.  You get a variety a things too look at, and about the time you are tired of guns and battles, you get to see the dresses and china.  That works well when the group has different interests.
After we toured the museum, we went up to the Brookfield Hotel for lunch.  We had never been before, and we had never gone to the original building in Brookfield.  When it was rebuilt in Abilene, the owners tried to keep it as much the same as the original.  I guess they too most of the interior with them and  used it in the new building.  
Let me tell you the fried chicken which is the only thing on the menu is fantastic.  I could never fry my chicken with the coating like this even if I fried chicken.  It came with a sweet cole slaw, cottage cheese and bread and butter pickles for an appetizer.  The main course was the chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and cream style corn with biscuits.  It is all good.  We were so glad we stopped there.
After we rolled out of the restaurant, we made a quick stop at the Russell Stover Factory.  We ate samples and bought more candy than we should have. 
All in all a great trip.

29 Years, Really?

The Baby Boy Andrew turned 29 yesterday.  He is holding up pretty good for all the physical misery he has gone through as a result of the motorcycle accident.  The mental stress has been pretty hard on him as well.  I think maybe some things are starting to even out.  I pray that is so, he and Theresa deserve a little bit of smooth sailing in this life. 
We took everyone out to Red Robin for dinner for his birthday.  The food is good and there is lots of it.  This was one of the rare occasions where I took food home, there was so much.  It could have been all the strawberry lemonades that kept being placed in front of me.  They are the best.  The end result was that we cancelled the second half of the evening which was a trip to Cold Stone Creamery.  No one could eat any more.
We are now officially in the middle of the Brown Birthday season which runs from January 3rd and Nick's birthday through May 9th and Nicole's.  It gives us plenty of reasons to eat out. 
I finally made a card that was appropriate for Andrew.  It was camouflage hunting paper and two die cut guns.  I am really appreciating the design ability I have now with my Silhouette Cameo.  It is a great machine.