Art Fair

Every year there is an art fair right next to our church. Our church uses this opportunity to get to know our neighbors as they are walking by. This year there were snow cones, popcorn, cotton candy, a bouncy house, and a representative from the Alzheimer's Society and the Kansas Brain Injury Association giving away free bike helmets.

It was a cool morning so the foot traffic wasn't as dense as it has been in prior years, but it was still successful. I was in charge of Allison/managing the bounce house, and Nathan worked the helmet giveaway.

Allison was in the bounce house for the majority of the morning (we were at church 9-12:30) and by the time we got in the car, she could barely keep her eyes open.

 

 

 A big highlight of the day was when a firetruck parked in front of the church and the kids were allowed to explore it. Allison was first in line and immediately asked to go for a ride. We read a lot of books about firefighters and her favorite dog on Paw Patrol is Marshall (dalmatian fire dog) so Allison had a lot of questions for the firefighters.

   

 

   

Pin Wheel

Allison had school today and it was another rough drop-off. Yesterday at the zoo, we were riding the tram away from Africa and the woman in front of us was there with her teenage daughter. Allison was being wild and I was getting frustrated and she turned to me and said, "Don't listen to anyone when they say you're going to miss this." I wanted to hug her, high five, and and adopt this saint into my family. She totally got me.

After 20 minutes of crying, I finally got out of the Rainbow School and headed off to do my errands. I've started doing all my errands when Allison is in school and while shopping is easier, I don't get any downtime. I had 35 minutes at home today and I ate lunch, did two loads of laundry, and swept and mopped the floors before it was time to pick Allison up. Allison will go to school two days a week in the fall and I think that will be work better. One day will be for home chores, and another for outside the home chores.

Allison's teacher says that within five minutes she relaxes and always has a great day. The school focuses on outdoor activities and learning (which is perfect for Allison).

I saw this picture on the school website today. I forgot that she insisted on wearing my sunglasses today.

Koala Day

Day was a very exciting day at the Kansas City Zoo! The zoo welcomed two koalas! Coedie and Burra came from the San Diego Zoo and will be at the KC Zoo through the fall. I met up with our mom group before the zoo opened and it was a good thing we did because it was a very busy day! People were even sneaking past the main gates to get in early! The zoo opened 5 minutes early because people were going out back exits to the cafe and gift shop to get early access.

We immediately went to the koalas. The koalas are nocturnal so they were sleeping and they were behind glass so a good picture was a long shot (I also only had my phone, not my Canon).

Allison and I had koala pins that I made for this special day. We spent time yesterday talking about koalas and where they come from and what they eat, and I made the pins because I knew that the zoo would be selling stuffed animals, and cups and trinkets and that Allison would want one. Instead, i spent 20 minutes while she was napping yesterday and made us pins out of felt and she didn't ask for anything today.

After lunch it was just my friend Eleanor and her daughter, Camille, that wanted to stay longer at the zoo so we decided to take the tram and walk around Africa. After a long walk, and one more carousel ride, we headed home after a 6 hour trek to the zoo.

I took this photo as soon as we got home. You can see in my face (and frizzy hair) that it was a very long (but sweet) day.

Threes and Fours

I wanted to take some photos for Allison's third birthday but I wanted to use flowers at our neighbors house. Lois told me that she took all of her kids prom and graduation pictures by the shrub with the beautiful purple flowers but that they would be be gone soon so I took the photos today (I'll post on Allison's birthday).

Today would have been John Riley's fourth birthday and I was doing fine with it until I got an email from my Dad telling me that it was a hard day for him but that he hoped I was doing okay. This brought on the tears and I didn't quite recover for the rest of the day. Of course, it wasn't that my Dad said anything, it was just the opening of the floodgates. I received many thoughtful messages from friends and family today so any one of them could have brought me to tears.

Every year I look forward to a note from my friend Ashley, who was with me when I delivered JR. I tell people (who ask) the story and even I have to laugh when I tell the part about my friend Ashley driving me to the hospital, just after she got off work, then putting on a hospital gown, cap, and mask, and holding my had through the surgery. I asked so much of her that day and she was so brave to be by my side during something so traumatic. I laugh now because it was so overwhelming. Now that we share it, our friendship is stronger. I wait for the contact from Ashley because it helps me to remember that time as a crazy adventure girlfriends have, and I can smile.

Deanna Rose

Nathan had to work all day today and then he had a presentation and dinner after so Allison and I were on our own. First we went to Deanna Rose Farmstead. It opened this month but we haven't been until now. The farmstead used to be free during the week but now it's $2 a person (which is still very cheap) and I overheard many people say they were surprised. There was a school bus that arrived when we were arriving who didn't know about the cost (the teachers were pooling their cash to get the kids in).

We spent 4 hours walking around, playing, petting cows, feeding fish, eating ice cream, and Allison's favorite, giving the goats bottles. Allison fed the goats 5 bottles by the end of the day ($1 per 2 ounce bottle). She was so brave! At first she was nervous and let the goats take the bottle out of her hands, but by the third bottle she was "shooing" away aggressive goats and walking around to find a goat she wanted to feed. By her fifth bottle she would only let a goat drink for a few seconds before taking the bottle away and feeding another goat.

After the farm, we headed down the street to Scheel's, the big box outdoor store with the ferris wheel inside. I had ride vouchers that we didn't use during our last visit so we rode the ferris wheel twice, played a five frame game of bowling (I won), Allison played in the kid-zone, then we played in the toy section with the train set until it was dinner time.

Nathan didn't get home until bedtime and he said that he had fun presenting to the donors of his trip to Beijing.  There was a Chinese diplomat visiting who came to the presentation and Nathan was in his element, entertaining and getting to know new people.

First Pool Day

I've been in a bit of a project slump lately. I've been working hard on finishing the 30 crochet hats that I sell each year at Great Lakes Farm. I need to finish them by the summer so that I can take them back to Boxall with me when I visit my parents this summer (so I don't have to pay for shipping). It takes a lot of time and I've been working on them since the end of January.

I recently got a break when my friend Melinda asked if I could make a fabric doll for her. I love making dolls and this one came with three accessories that I've never made before. I copied the design from a designer on etsy that Melinda found. It sold on the site for $80! I understand how it sells for that much by the time you factor in fabric, pattern making, and time, but that seemed crazy to me! I was happy to make it for my friend for cost of materials.

Today the temperature made it up to 29 degrees! After Allison woke up from her nap she was ready to play and we decided to fill up her pool. We used the hose to fill it up half way, then used hot water for the rest. (It's warm but definitely not summer). Allison loved it and stayed in until she was a prune.

Butterfly

It's been a wonderfully warm weekend here in KC. Allison spent most of Saturday in minimal clothes playing in the front of the house. Nathan cut the grass for the first time and then put down Weed and Feed in the afternoon so we had to stay off the grass. We spent the afternoon in the driveway with the chalk and bubbles.

April 20

Happy Birthday Dad!

Out of the House

It poured rain all day yesterday and Allison and I were stuck in the house. We did every activity I could think of but nothing was holding her attention very long. Allison needs to be outside with a lot of space to roam.

I needed to get two rolls of sod for a patch in the backyard, and since the garden center is near the zoo, I decided to pack up Allison and head to the zoo for a few hours before I got the sod.

The zoo was packed with kids on their end of year school trips but since we were just there to wander, we didn't mind the crowds. There is a program at the zoo that if you fill out a online survey regarding your last zoo visit, you get $5 in Zoo Bucks (money to be used anywhere at the zoo). It's amazing and usually I use my money (which I get at every zoo visit) to buy myself and Icee for the trip home. Today I used my money to buy a lanyard/zoo pass holder because the zoo pass is a flimsy piece of paper that cannot be laminated. I had a dollar left in zoo bucks so I let Allison pick out a little animal for 75 cents. She picked a panda bear and was happy.

We went to see the tigers first since the exhibit has been closed for a few weeks while the zoo welcomed two new tigers (young brothers from the San Diego Zoo). As we were watching them, Allison was goofing around and I told her to be careful with her toy. I asked her to put in in her pocket. She refused and less than a minute later, she had dropped in on the safety zone/ground between the watch post and the tigers fence. Of course, I wasn't going to act like the woman at the Toronto Zoo and hop the fence to retrieve a trinket while putting my life in danger, but Allison lost her mind and we'd only been at the zoo for 10  minutes. I managed to calm her down and she forgot about the lost panda and we had a good day. We spent 4 hours wandering around wherever Allison wanted to go and by the time we left, she could barely walk in a straight line.