Kansas Native Wildflower Weekend

Hey Friends!!

Hope this writing finds everyone well, and enjoying some delicious weather!!

This past weekend found most of our family enjoying the great outdoors in one fashion or another. .

This girl and I. .

attended a really great event. .

Sponsored by the Kansas Native Plant Society.

Every year, interested persons group together in one part of the state. .

And enjoy the comradery of fellow flower enthusiasts. .

As they listen to expert lectures, go through business meeting essentials. .

And our favorite part. .

Field trips!

This year it was held in Pratt. .

Not too far from us.

And I KNEW. .

that the locations within the scenic Red Hills would be amazing!

We were NOT disappointed!

Cami and I drove up on Friday afternoon for the field trips. .

The first stop included a nature museum in Pratt.

There were lots of stuffed Kansas animal and bird specimens. .

Exhibits displaying live fish, reptiles, and this one showing common bird eggs and nests.

They also have a small native plant garden that this bee hive works to pollinate.

It is a little hard to see, but to Cami's far right, you can see an oak framed tube.
It comes out from the bottom of this bee hive, goes around the wall. .

And the bees go outside through a hole in the wall about the size of a golf ball. .

Very  COOL. .

for little people and big people alike!

While we were inside the museum. .

I heard someone call my name. .

I was fairly certain it was the gardener whom I follow from the blog Gaia Garden.

She recognized Miss Cami!!

We enjoyed catching up and getting to know each other for the rest of the afternoon.

She was a gracious and patient teacher to my little girl. .

And Cami enjoyed every personal minute of her time!!

They were using a stick to lift up a pile of cow poo to see what kind of bugs they could find under it. .

And she taught her some things about taking pictures as well!!

We found this ginormous spider on Friday afternoon. .

and then saw quite a few more like it throughout our weekend. .

Miss Gaia gave it some really long name. .

And I know she will forgive me for forgetting!!

Cami and I ate dinner with 75 other gardeners in Sun City Kansas that night. .

And then headed for our own beds!!

We went a little late on Saturday. .

in hopes of missing part of the stuff that a 6 year old would most definitely NOT enjoy.

But she REALLY enjoyed the nature aspect of the weekend. .

Rocks. .

Sticks. .

Butterflies and bugs. .

What is NOT to love about that!!

One of the things that I was looking forward to most. .

Was meeting up with the Gardener from Sherlock Street.

Cami was our photographer. .no faces here but check the LUSCIOUS Kansas clouds!!

It was SO great to catch up on life with her. .

From "meeting her" online. .

To trying to answer the questions from my teenager about WHY I would invite a stranger to our house a few years ago. .

Through lots of garden related emails over the last several years. .

And multiple mail service plant swaps. .

She has proved to be a GREAT friend. .

And there is always plenty to visit about!

She showed me new ways to use my camera. .

With stunning results. .

The three of us (and one 1/2 pint) wandered around all afternoon. .

observing. .

teaching and learning. .

visiting. .

and laughing!!

It was an incredible weekend!!

We headed home Saturday night, even though the tours extended into Sunday. .

We were provoked to go check out our own little patch of nature. .

Finding plenty of flowers that I had NO idea we had (including snow on the mountain!!)!!

And hubby took us "ditch diving" on the hunt for THIS flower. .

so I could collect some seed and try to get some growing in an area that I hope to plant with native grasses and flowers.

Look how these little guys are growing!! Faster than my kids!!

All in all. .

a FABULOUS weekend. .

Very refreshing for our souls!!

Wishing you all a BLESSED last week of September!!

Proud Mama Moment. .

The weather is definitely changing around here!!

Last week the temps dropped about 30 degrees over the course of 2 days. .

Our homecoming was on Friday. .

And the high was 52 degrees with our ever-present wind. .

Making it seem EXTRA chilly!

With homecoming. .

Came lots of float building for the boys!

The seniors recycled their prom decorations for their float. .

Which this mom thought was a GREAT idea!

Their theme for prom was "Return to Neverland"

Tristan and a handful of other artistic guys spent HOURS building this crocodile for the corner of the dance floor. .

It made the front of the recycled boat on their float (you know, kind of like those big Viking ships). .

With a couple of clever sentiments like "Sink the Lancers" and "Knock the Ship out of them."

(I actually hadn't read the signs until I was looking through my photos late in the night. .my giggles may have kept some from sleeping)

Here is the junior float. .

which. .

got 4th place (out of 4).

 You can see Grant sitting on the float right above the big J.

It took them significantly less time to build theirs ;-)

Grant is a little antisocial like his father. .

and he was NOT going to ride the float. .

with no amount of coaxing from me. .

About a hour before the parade. .

he found out all his buddies were riding. .

And out the door he went. .

Looks like he was having a good time to me!!

Tristan was a homecoming candidate. .

And he seemed to enjoy all the fun stuff that went along with that. .

Like competing in the pep rally against the other candiates. .

I'm not sure the lipstick was his color. .

But Brenna's aim was pretty good!

Devin and Cami wanted to be a part of the festivities too. .

And picked up Cami's friend Elizabeth early on in the parade!!

She was yelling Hey Mom!

I always wanted to be the one CATCHING the candy. .

But around here. .

They all want to be the ones THROWING the candy!!

Here are a few more of my photos of the day. .

Back to the "obstacle course" of events for the little candidate competition. .

Not only did the queens blindfold-apply lipstick to their guys,

They had to use their mouth only. .

 to eat the gummy worm under a mountain of whipping cream!

Brenna nearly puked right on the spot!

Guzzling a huge red gatorade. .

nearly made Tristan puke right on the spot!

They were dead last. .

and not a BIT ashamed!!

It was a fun afternoon for all the kids. .

And a chance for them to shine!

Gametime was a L-I-T-T-L-E cool. .

And all the kids were shivering and shaking. .

I finally called out to Tristan with my infinte MOM wisdom. .

To put his arm around his princess to warm her up. .

Cause that would be the loving, gentlemanly thing to do. .

Which illicited a few Awwwws and some smiles from the crowd. .

The other picture I took showed her throwing her arm around him and nudging up as close to him as she could. .

It was a sweet thing to watch!

They are two of my very favorite kids in the world!

Anyway. .

No crowns for our house. .

But a fun experience for Mr. Tristan. .

And. .

the important thing is. .

he is the son of the one True King. .

Which will forever make him royalty in this mama's eyes!!

Thanks for ooohhing and aaaahhhhing over our pictures. .

Have a GREAT weekend. .

one more week until the official arrival of FALL ya'll!!

And We're Off. .

Summer is officially over now. .

School is well underway. .

And the schedules are filling up!

This past Saturday. .

was a PERFECT day. .

to be at the races.

Sunny, a mild breeze and highs in the low 80's.

Grant won the high school division. .

He is not supposed to run the 1/4 mile track in less than 12.00 seconds. .

He was going 111 MPH this round. .

And had one round that he actually was faster than that. .

With all the harnessing and helmets and suits and an ambulance on site. .

I don't get too wound up about it. .

Football was more dangerous than this!!

 Jeremy didn't do so hot. .

And had a mild breakdown. .

(with his car. .not his temper)

He didn't do badly. .

Everyone else just did better!!

The purple nova runs in two classes. .

Grant drives it in the high school division. .

And Tristan takes it in a different class. .

He didn't have a good day either as the car seemed to be performing faster than he thought it should.

I'd explain it. .

but I can't!

This girl. .

Is the official photographer!

Couldn't resist!

It's always more fun for me when there are other people there that I know!!

These 3 brothers are good, long time friends. .

And the girls. .

had a blast!!

My friend Lindsay and I took these two downtown. .

In the hopes of scoring pedicures. .

We were the unlucky ones, as all the salons were full. .

So they had to settle for scooters and movies!!

I tried to get a photo of my guys. .

Yes. .he is trying to kiss him!

Which was better than the response that I usually get!

Lindsay even snagged one of us all!

Kansas may have temperamental weather. .

But it has PHENOMENAL sunsets!!

And they are even more glorious when you can be outside enjoying every moment of it!

In other news. .

I am the proud mama to 15 little guinea keets. .

They chirped their way into the post office on Friday. .

And are living in a box in my kitchen for now.

I am hopeful. .

that they are harder on insects than they are on gardens!!

If so. .

our chicken population will start to decrease. .

One BBQ at a time!

They are fun to watch. .

and so are the kids and the hubby. .

as they stop every time they walk by to cuddle or coo!

This one will have senior pictures in a few weeks. .

We took a drive out to the ranch last weekend to scout some locations for the perfect photos!

We'll also do family pictures that night!

It's been THREE years since we had official photos done!!

Time flies, eh?

The scenery out there is rugged and truly breathtaking. .

Summer was good to the land and vegetation!

We've also had some breathing time to just sit around our little pond. .

There are SOOO many frogs in it. .

I know I  mentioned it not long ago. .

but every time we walk, they hop, hop, hop into the pond. .

There are some mighty large ones too!

We have a few little wildlife adventures planned this month. .

Involving pelican migration and wildflowers. .

And respite for our souls!!

Which is always good. .

Enjoy your week!