Grant Goes Teen!!

Wanting to know how I am suddenly the mother of TWO teens???

REALLY???

That's the truth!!

You may recall that Grant's birthday was the day of the garden show. .

which was initially very disappointing to him!

He got over it pretty fast!!

And he's been partying all weekend. .with friends to come and party next weekend too!

He was thrilled to get some Skull Candy headphones.  Seriously. .

These things look like the first headphones they ever created. .Kids these days have all these sleek little earbuds to use..and they are all going back to these huge suckers. .and lovin' 'em!

I don't generally allow the kids to have ANY thing with skull and cross bones on them (call me quirky). .but these phones only have a skull. .and no bones. .besides they sit on his "skull"--so I see where the name came from. (how's that for rationalizing things out :-)

We took the whole photography crew to eat at Ghengis Grill. .as his choice for supper that night.  We were the only ones who have eaten there. .but everyone else loved it just as much!! It is a Mongolian grill. .you essentially fix your own plate of food and they grill it for you. .YUMM!! It's on Rock Road next to the mall. .if you are in Wichita and haven't tried out yet. .better do it!

We were pretty excited to welcome home our ex-Houston family!! The cousins had a blast. .and it was a nice time for the adults too!! They are glad to be here. .but will be happier to have their stuff. .which won't come in until Wednesday.

As is the custom. .Grandma made the birthday cake.  Grant wanted a surprise flavor and decoration. .so it was her choice.  She fixed an orange cake. .and put a trashcan drum on the top. How creative is that!!

Cami was BEGGING to help Grant "blow up" his cake. .and she may have blown out a candle or two. .or maybe she just spit on our cake. .Whatever happened. .she went away happy and ate a huge piece with a chunk of ice cream too!  Seems that all my kids are "growing" right now. .and I can hardly feed them enough!!  As grocery prices are rising. .I think it is time to get worried!!

Grandma always brings the other kids something to open too. .and Keith and Devin got these little guys that have "laser lights" on their bellies. .Dev was afflicting Grant with a beam.

We ended out our evening by cutting up seedling potatos after everyone left.  Grant saw some at the garden show last weekend. .and we decided to give it a try.  Now, I recall when my mother used to grow potatos. .but it is very distant and hazy in my memory. This is new to me, and I am excited for the challenge.  We sliced our potatoes (2 red varieties and a Yukon gold) and they are hanging out in the basement, waiting until the time is right.  Dev was snapping pictures. .so I will keep you posted on how it goes.

The projects are flying high at our house right now. .and energy levels are dropping! Jeremy is furiously trying to finish his new racing truck before the season starts. . .in two weeks. .He has been working night and day and it now LOOKS like a truck. .and got it's first coat of real paint yesterday! I'll have pictures of that soon. .The carpenter will be pouring the cement for the front walk soon (this week, hopefully). We have hit snags with the tub and shower being here. .so the bathroom project has not started yet. .but he assures me it will be done by the time I have family here for Tristan's 8th grade graduation in May.  I'm trying to make arrangements for some education coming up within this next month. I'm a little glad that the weather hasn't really made me itch to be outside yet!! There will need to be some dirt work done around the pond soon too! The greenhouse is doing well, and my pepper and tomato seedlings are looking great!! It seems like every time I leave Walmart, I have another packet of seed or another bag of roots to put in the ground. 

I wonder. .

Do they have help groups for gardening addicts???

Sign me up!!

Hi. .my name is Melanie and. . . . . . . .

In like a Lamb. . .

Well. .March is in. .my 2nd grader deemed it "in like a lamb" since it was so nice.  And we all hate that it means "out like a lion" to come. Blech!! As I am in the habit of doing. .I rang March in with a trip to the Wichita Garden show!! All three boys got to participate in the 4-H judging contest and classes.  The bigger boys were pretty independent in their photo taking this year.  And Dev just likes to hit the trigger. .so life was good.  I was able to enjoy the gardens with little stress.  The guys each got some adequate photos. .and even a few that might be fair material. .will just have to see them full size on the computer screen before knowing for sure.  This year's theme was "Gardens in the Movies."

The large gardens featured scenes from the movie Avatar. . (the fuzziness was created by the fog machine. .super cool atmosphere in there!)

. .Jurassic Park (right in front of the "wrecked" pickup was a cement cast of a huge dinosaur track filled with water from the "rain.") And that WAS a full size vehicle. .to give you some idea of how huge the dinosaur replica and the trees behind it are!

And my personal favorite. .the movie "Up." This house was "up" in the air. .and standing directly below it. .the floor was still a good several feet above my head (and I'm 5'10)!

This year the exhibitors had an abundance of these Avandale redbud trees! They are a multi-stemmed redbud that is more of a shrub.  About 4-5 years ago, a friend happened to be at the garden show on the last day, when they sell many of their plants, shrubs, and trees for 1/2 price.  She brought home one of these beauties for each of us.  That spring. .Tristan gave it a pruning (unbeknownst to me at the time). It is slowly growing taller. .and does provide a beautiful show when we need it most to welcome in the spring! 

I didn't take a lot of pictures at all. .less than 10. .but this simple little swing just invoked a feeling of peacefulness to me!! And I couldn't resist! 

Here's our judging crew!! They enjoyed the swimming late last night more than they enjoyed the judging. .but they DID admit that they had a good time and learned some things.  My guys and I crammed in some shopping too.  Tristan and I were able to sneak out for an hour yesterday afternoon to shop for his 8th grade graduation attire.  He bought his first tie. .Ooooooh. . .Awwww. .

And when we got home this evening, his first stop was youtube to find out how to tie the sucker!! True story! Grant celebrated his birthday amidst all the activities yesterday. .and there will be more to come on that. We are looking forward to having our Houston family here tomorrow for the party!! They made it to Kansas yesterday for their permanent move home! As I gaze ahead on my calendar. .I am overwhelmed by the number of things overtaking it in the coming weeks. Life will be crazy. .and I am struck with the realization that, as fast as time moves. .in about a week or two. .I'll be sitting here pondering the arrival of Christmas. .does anyone else's life seem to move that fast??? An incredible phenomenon for sure!!

Well. .I have worn out the short break I allowed myself from my trauma class studyin'. .Better get back after it! I'll be glad when that class is over next week!! Enjoy your weekend!

Bathroom Upgrade

Our home was built in 1912-13.

In the 1930's, the home was hit by a tornado and displaced. .in one piece. .off it's foundation.  It had 2 stories. .possibly 3.  The second story was damaged enough that is was completely removed, and the roof was slapped right back on. .dormer windows and all.

By the time we bought it, it had been neglected for YEARS, if not decades! But I could see so much potential for it, and the location was perfect for us!

We bought the home 13 years ago last Christmas-time and spent the next few months completely gutting. .and re-doing EVERYTHING as cheaply as possible.  We moved in 2 weeks before Grant was born. .and have been upgrading things slowly ever since!!

This was the original bathroom. .

The ONLY bathroom the home had!!

I wish I had taken more photos of it. .but this was the only one I had.  Gross, huh?? There was actually a mouse carcass in the bottom of the tub when we looked at it! ICK!! And I don't remember for sure, but I think that small piece of linoleum in front of the tub was actually duct taped to some ratty old carpet.

Next week will see this bathroom getting it's final makeover for a Loooooooong time!

So I thought that I would give you a little tour before the construction gets underway.

I start with the trip to the bathroom. .because this entails a change as well.

Note the bookshelf to the left.  Now, note the jog in the wall as you enter the hardwood area in the hall.  That, my friends, is a brick chimney. .that goes to no-where.  We do have a heater duct that runs up it and into the boys' room, but my jewel of a carpenter assures me that we can fix that.  So. .the first thing to go is the chimney. .which will allow me enough room to get my wheelchair through the opening and turn to get into the bathroom when I am old!!

Here's a different view of the chimney. It makes a lot of wasted space for sure. By removing it, I will get another foot of space in both the hallway and the bathroom!! The new door will be put on an angle in this expanded hallway.  And every other door in that hallway is on an angle. .so it will match :-)

As you walk into the bathroom, you'll see the cheapest pre-made vanity that one could find. .with no door pulls.  This area will house the toilet and the existing shower will become a 32 inch jacuzzi air bath.

The bathroom doesn't seem this long when you are in it. .but I laughed when I saw the pictures. .cause it looks like you'd be tired before you got to the back of it!!  The far end used to house the washer and dryer. .which I totally hated. .because my bathroom was NEVER clean!!  EVER!

And a look back towards the door. There will be a vanity and some built in storage cabinets in the area where the toilet is now.  That short wall next to the toilet will also be moved slightly to make a more efficient use of space.

You'll note that the water hookups are still here for the washer and dryer.  In this spot will soon be a large shower. . .provided we can find one close to what we are looking for. .nothing fancy. .just one with some storage space. .why they would NOT create more showers that have places for toiletries than no-shelved specimens is beyond me!! But it's a true story.  That has so far been the hold up!!

I can't wait to have some storage space for my extra toilet paper, clothes hamper and my sweaty workout clothes!!

I'm hoping to reuse this cool old medicine cabinet that I found at the flea market years ago. .

It contains my collection of old medicine bottles, boxes, and tins.  Maybe they are only something that intrigues people in the medical field. .but I love 'em!!

In addition, I am hoping that our little project we started 2 weeks ago (which hit a snag) will be done soon! We are making a shadow box to hold some antique bathroom items.  The lid, you may recall, is the old cabinet window picked from my ancestry. 

I can hardly wait for them to get started. .but have plans to be at a trauma class next week for a few days. .so I also hope things go smoothly without too many decisions that I need to make while I am gone.  This fear is stemmed from an incident occurring during the remodel of the kitchen 3 years ago.  I found myself in Wichita with the baby in the hospital.  These jokers called me and told me that they thought I had gotten the wrong paint color because it was black.  I got hot and sweaty. .and then my stomach started to hurt.  They led me astray for quite awhile. .and I got home still thinking that the paint color would be all wrong! They were kidding me. .but the damage was already done       ;-)  (BTW. .it was exactly the color I chose and, to this day, still looks wonderful!)  Crazy guys!

If they didn't do such good work . .I would have hired someone much less funny! 

Check back soon for pictures of the demo and finished project!

Mother Nature Mix Up

Or is Mother Nature on track. .

and my kids are mixed up??

Anyone driving by this afternoon. .

May have peeked into our yard and thought it was summer!!

I, myself found it necessary to consult the temperature queen.

Hmmmmm.   I know that the water coming out of this hose. . .

Wasn't ANYWHERE near 69 degrees!!

But they didn't seem to mind. .

only when Cami took off her panties too. .did they really mind. .

when the panties went back on. .

Life was cool!!

They must have played in this ice cold water for 30 minutes or longer. .

"It's not cold" they assured me!! 

Uh huh. .

That's what I thought!! 

As I turned to go back into the house. .I noticed these clouds!!

These clouds coming in are bringing us a 50% chance of rain

or SNOW

later this afternoon or evening!!

I say. . .

REALLY???

Please, mother nature. . .

Just make up your mind. .

We can't take the teasing anymore!!

From Snow to. . .

Spring. . .??

Back to winter. . .Sigh!!

We were sure glad to get a little of this stuff a few weeks ago!!

This particular snow was absolutely beautiful on the pond!!

It wasn't the 12 inches that some of you got..but it was the most that we have recieved here for a while!

It didn't take too many days for it to disappear. .and was promptly replaced by temperatures very near 80!! The pond water was above 50 over the weekend (after 3 days of very warm weather and no freezing at night) and the fish were out and about.  We fed them some rice krispies to be easy on their tummies! It was great to sit out on the rocks and just watch them glide through the water. .it would have been very peaceful too. .had the boys not been able to fire up their go-kart! Oh well!  Can't have everything my way I guess.  Luckily we don't have any close neighbors to annoy!

Last week I sowed seeds for several varieties of peppers and tomatos. .as well as some purple basil and regular sweet basil.  And just for kicks. .I sowed 3 yellow squash seeds.  I thought that I could put them in a big pot in the greenhouse and see how they do in there as we patiently wait for spring. .that from someone who has never grown yellow squash before in her life.  As of last night. .nearly everything was sprouted. .woo hoo! Better scenario than last years oven fiasco for the non-germinating seeds!  I also have some butterfly weed large enough to transpant into their own pots. .but no coneflower or black eyed susan plants. .I think the seed just got too hot this summer in the greenhouse. .I have since moved my seeds into a more temperate climate in my hall closet. I have strayed from my usual beefsteak varieties. .and found myself seeding Brandywine heirloom, chocolate cherry tomatoes, a regular cherry, and one called Mater Sandwich (we love Cars. .and I was tickled at the name). I also started a new variety of paste tomato (they totally make the best salsa!).  The Big Mama variety that I have planted in the past grew huge paste tomatos. .so I hope this one does as well. .the seed catalog didn't offer it anymore. .and I hope this one works out.

Speaking of tomatos. .We have been eating a few tomatos from the greenhouse for a couple weeks.  They have been tasty. .and the vines have stayed very small. .despite the fertilizer and ample sunshine we have had this year.  So now I'm thinkin'. .maybe I can plant smaller pots and double the tomatoes next winter. .hmmm!! I have only gotten to eat on one of them. .the rest disappear off of my counter before I even know it!  My basil cuttings didn't do well, but the chives are finally looking good. .and the geranium has been blooming a lovely pink.  Jeremy let the outdoor wood stove burn out before he left last weekend for his motor head weekend. .and didn't turn it on until Monday morning.  In the meantime. .the outdoor temperature Sunday night got down to 18.  I was pretty worried about how I would find things inside. .and was annoyed that I hadn't thought about having him turn it back on (we knew it was going to be much colder). But the plants seemed to weather it fine. .my thermometer is in need of a new battery. .so really no idea how cold it got inside. .but apparently not to freezing.Which is great to know!

It has been great to be able to kick around in the gardens for a few days. .and to soak up some vitamin D.  I think that I will surely be able to hang on till spring now!!

The days are getting longer. .enjoy them!!

Saturday Nite Worship Jam

Psalm 63:3-4 "Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name."

And that's just what we did!

The 3rd Annual Rock and Worship Road Show came through Dodge City last weekend.  We took a caravan of 4 large vehicles to the new arena to watch.  The older boys and I had been to one a couple years ago. .and this one was just as great!!

Since we met another vehicle of people from our group in Dodge. .we had over 30 kids and parents sitting in our section.  We were so thankful to be able to sit together. .right after being thankful that we got in.  Because it was $10 at the door seating. .it was first come, first serve.  The new arena, which holds 3500 people was near capacity! We had seats on the floor. .and the viewing was much better than that of the coliseum a few years ago.  

Devin was pretty impressed with his first loud rock concert!! And he couldn't believe that we were watching people that we hear on the radio!

There was a lot of great worship music. .and lots of hands in the air praising God! 

There was some visiting of friends!! One cool thing about going to a concert in a smallish town in western Kansas was that we knew lots of other people there too. .and kept bumping into ones that we knew. The boys found lots of friends from sports and various camps they have been to. . and watched from the door part of the time so they could catch up with old friends. 

There was lots of standing up, dancing, hip swinging, clapping, and singin'! Many of the groups had their lyrics on the big screens so people could sing along! 

Psalm 47:1 "Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy."

Psalm 149:3 "Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre."

                                     

They don't use lighters anymore. .Now they use ipods and cell phones to wave in the air.  This picture was taken as the Afters sang Light up the Sky.  Awesome music!! 

I had a blast trying out my new camera in the dark setting.  Many other people were using their phones to catch pictures.  Actually, Devin took the photo above, which I loved when I viewed it from my computer. 

The kids had a great time.  But my boys didn't care for the really heavy rock band. .or the loud aspect of the concert.  Devin did really well until about 9:30. .and then he began to fade. .F.A.S.T!!  Finally, by 10:20 he was BEGGING to leave. ."Please. .mom. .even if they AREN'T done. .can't we just go anyway!" Of course, the final band was Mercy Me. .my favorite. .and I made him suffer it out! 

Besides. .he needed to get GOOD use out of this blinking mouth piece that he HAD to have. .good thing he brought his own wallet!! He couldn't wait to wear his new Mercy Me t-shirt to school today!

The rest of the weekend was so beautiful and warm!! We engaged in a lot of outdoor activities. .and Jeremy and I even went for a spin in his old model A.  I found lots of signs of life coming up from the ground. .and the water was warm enough to feed the fish a bit on Saturday.  They looked hungry.  It's cooler again this week. .back to February!! But the seedlings coming up in my basement are fun reminders that spring will soon be here.  Have a great week!

Psalm 81:1 "Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob."

The Final Talk

So, it has been a crazy week here that is nearly over now. Yesterday I spent the day in Wichita shopping for the ingredients to build our bathroom remodel. .scheduled to take place sometime next week.  There is so much thought that goes into planning something like that. .especially when you don't have your own designer!! Thankfully, our carpenter happened to be in Wichita yesterday too, and met me to help get everything together. .what a blessing!!

Tonight, we are headed to the Rock and Worship Road Show. .featuring Mercy Me, Thousand Foot Krutch, Matt Maher, The Afters, and Jars of Clay. For $10 at the door in Dodge City. Can't Wait!! If you were reading my blog right after I started writing 2 years ago, we attended their Wichita show during the first annual tour that they put on. Mercy Me and the Afters performed that year as well, along with several other bands.  They rocked the house!! And I'm not sure you can beat Mercy Me (who sings I can only imagine).  It should be a great time!! And Dev is excited to attend his first concert!

Hope to have some pictures to show later. .but true to my promise. .I have posted our final talk from the week.  Grant is trying out the electricy project this year.  For Christmas he got a small project kit designed to teach different electricity concepts.  He is enjoying it so far. .and that's what we used to base his talk on.  Now, you may recall that I actually write the talks and then the boys practice and perform them.  I know NOTHING about electricity. .and I don't particularly care to know anything about electricity!! So much of the information came from his guide book! Grant had his talk nearly memorized on Monday. .but read much of it in front of the judge. .which was disappointing to me. .but I settled myself by being glad that he got up to perform without alot of complaining or nervousness!! He also got a blue ribbon on his talk!

Wishing everyone a great weekend!!

Have any of you ever wondered how something electric works? Like the light in your own bedrooms? Today I’m going to tell you a little bit about my electricity project. Hi my name is Grant Dunn. This is my 6th year in 4-H and my first year in electricity.

Electricity wasn’t invented by humans. It is something that has been around since the beginning of time. Some of the first known observations of electricity include the Egyptians finding a species of fish that was electrically charged and could shock people. Can you imagine how “shocked” they were over that?? (Grant thought this was the corny-est line EVER. .but he did elicit some laughs from the crowd-much to his annoyance!) Lightening is another phenomenon that has been observed for thousands of years. But it wasn’t until about the year 1600 that anyone actually recorded their studies about electricity. About 150 years later, someone you’ve all heard about by the name of Benjamin Franklin tried to demonstrate the electrical properties in lightening by flying a wet kite in a thunderstorm. I wouldn’t try that at home if I were you!!

Electricity is a natural force that is all around us. .all the time. Perhaps the easiest experiment to learn about “static” electricity is one you all have probably already tried yourselves. You’ll use a balloon that has been aired up. Rub it on your head at least 20 times. .now place it against the wall. .The electrical charge built by the friction of your head is what holds the balloon to the wall. Cool, huh??

There are a lot of things to learn and know about electricity for it to make sense. For Christmas I got this essential electronics kit because of my interest in the subject. One of the first things that I have studied and experimented with are circuits.

An electric circuit is a sequence of electrical components in a closed loop through which electrical current flows. By using circuit diagrams like these (show book), I can hook the components together to make a light bulb glow. Watch and see. I will show you a simple series circuit. This type is the most basic. .the electric current flows around a single path. .First I will take a 9V battery and hook it to these two cords. Then I will hook the resistor up, then the capasitor, then the led light, and it will glow up.

Pretty cool right?? A second type of circuit is the parallel circuit. .Components are connected in parallel (show them with your hands what parallel looks like) then the same voltage is applied to each component at the same time. Watch as I light up two bulbs with this parallel circuit.

So, I hope that the next time you turn on the light in your room, you might stop to think a minute about what an awesome phenomenon electricity REALLY is. .are there any questions?