Train and Garden Show!

My friend, Mandy, invited me to this Train and Garden show, which happens every year. I think it's mainly for adults because of the intricacies of the train set-ups and the risk involved when kids are around, but as long as the kids were kept in check, we all had a blast! Max didn't go with us this particular Saturday because he had to work. He probably would've rather been out scouting for deer anyway. We went to four different back yards of people, some in Wichita and one in a town called Augusta about 30 minutes from Wichita. The one in Augusta was the most impressive, but they were all fun and unique. Many of them had very nice gardens too.

Another episode of face "painting"

Click on the title to see the first episode.

Gloria got into my make up bag the other day and decided that mascara goes on the cheeks, not the eyes. I'm relieved that she didn't try to put it in her eyes, that could've been a real disaster, and painful. I love the guilty look on her face.
Thankfully, my mascara is the kind that comes off pretty easily with water...although it means that I look like I have black eyes whenever I tear up or get any sort of water in or near my eyes when I'm wearing it.

Another cute one...

This is last Wednesday, but today the kids also went to MDO (Mother's Day Out). I thought I'd post another one since I have all this "free time." It is great having one day a week (9:30-3pm) where I can get stuff done without disruption. It is an amazing, God-sent ministry that is such a blessing. There is a minimal fee per week, a registration fee, and I have to volunteer once a year in one of their class rooms, but it is highly worth it. I love my kids and enjoy being around them most of the time and they are such blessings, but having this free time is so refreshing as a stay-at-home mom of a 3.5 year-old and 2-year-old.

They are both so excited to go too. I just have been praying for their health this year though because they are in so many different childcare situations with Bible study for a couple of hours (BSF, which has a really good "Bible Study" time for the kids in their respective classrooms), MOPS (every other Thursday for two hours), MDO, and nursery on Sundays. I know this is exposing them to a lot of germs, so I just pray for their little immune systems to be strong and fight off the germies and for wisdom as a mom as to how much they (and I) can handle.

Off to school!...One day a week.

This is last Wednesday, the first Wed for this year of Mother's Day Out at a church in a neighboring town. I called it "Kid's Day Out" in front of the kids so that they would get more excited about it. However, they were excited enough about the backpacks and insulated lunch saks that they were taking with them.

I just had to take a picture of them before I took them to "school." They looked so cute in their backpacks. Gloria was actually letting JB put his arm around her neck...it's strictly for the camera.

Bye Bye Sweet Gum Tree!

Here is the big stump left by the Sweet Gum Tree we had in our back yard. Max is standing on a tree stand he used to cut the branches off. We took out this tree because it dropped prickly balls that were not fun to clean up or step on. The kids enjoy throwing them though.

We left the big stump for now from which to hang our hammock. Now there is a lot more light let in to let the back yard feel bigger and help the grass to grow.

Refinishing the Stairs

Here's Max staining the stairs, every other stair so that we could still go upstairs that evening. When Max's parents were here they stripped the carpet and the old finish off the stairs, then Max's mom sanded them. Max did some more sanding, then he stained them, then finished them with varnish. It's really nice having hard wood stairs now although a bit noisier than the carpet.

Tiling the Bathroom

Two weekends ago (labor day weekend) Max and I did lots of projects on the house. I tiled the bathroom, which formerly had carpet in it. It was surprisingly quick because of how small the bathroom is. We used the same tile as in the kitchen.

Another foal!!

The one you see in this picture is not even a day old! We were hoping another foal would be born while we were visiting and our wish came true on the last full day we were there. We woke up and out in the pasture was Sparkle and her new boy. This foal was a little shakier and not as brave as the other one, but I would be too if I were just born! Sparkle was hard to catch and was very protective of her new baby. The dad of these new horses lives on the Bremer ranch right now, but neither of the foals look very much like him. He is dark brown. Poor stallion has not been let out of his pen for a while.

JB at the woodlot

A "tricycle" with really big wheels!

JB was so excited to be able to go on the three-wheeler with Daddy. We spent some time at the woodlot, having a picnic one day and then Max and Grandude went another day to clear more brush.

She's a lap foal

After Max kept the foal from getting up a few times (with the mother hovering protectively but permissively), the foal calmed down and almost fell asleep as we were petting her in our laps. No, I'm not strangling the foal, I'm petting her neck.

Hold your horses!

I bet you didn't know that was a literal saying. This female foal is about two weeks old in this picture. Max is "imprinting" her, which means that you do whatever you can with the horse while it is very young to make it comfortable with people and so that the horse knows who's boss. This is a very person-friendly foal. Max asked if I wanted to try picking her up and I declined. She was a lot of fun to play with though.

We're not in Kansas anymore!

This is our first full day in Colorado with Gramma Shell and Grampa Duncan (Grandude). Gramma Shell was in the hospital when we first arrived on a Friday evening because of abdominal pains and found that she had to have her gall bladder removed. Thankfully, Gramma Shell spent most of the four days at home, doing fine as long as she didn't eat fat in her diet, and having a good time with the grandkids. She had the surgery soon after we left.

The pony that the kids are riding is "Faithful", JB's pony. They were holding on pretty well and only once in a while started sliding off.

World's Largest Palesite Meteorite!

Here in this little town of Greensburg, KS they also have the (at one time) largest palesite meteorite, found in KS. Here are JB and Gloria at this small town museum. This is the same place as the World's Largest Hand-dug Well. This is in the back of the museum gift store. See the well experience in the earlier post (below).

Biggest Hand-dug Well!

On our trip out to Max's parents' place in Colorado, we stopped about 3-4 hours outside of Wichita in Greensburg, where they have the world's largest hand-dug well. This is a picture of us at almost the bottom of the well. It's about 109 feet down and 32 feet across and built at the end of the 19th century so that the people working could have water for steam engines and for everyday use. The government funded the project and I think it cost about $45,000, a lot of money for those days and a lot of work with just shovels, pick axes, ropes and pulleys!

It was a bit scary going down the stairs with the kids because it was a long way down from the top, the stairs are steep and there are gaps everywhere on the way down (or up) for dolls or kids to fall into. Max and I held them the whole way down and up the stairs, so that we didn't lose them to the depths of the well!