We normally let the children pick out a few books at the library every week and read through them several times and then go back and get more. Normally I don’t have a problem with the silly words that Dr. Seuss makes up. But this week Fox in Socks has caused me to question if I can still read out loud. Every page is full of tongue trying word twisters that almost make a grown man cry. The boys love to hear daddy try and read it as fast as he can and sound silly, too bad I’m not trying to sound silly. Since I wanted everyone to be able to experience this all time classic I found a youtube video that lets you hear the story. Enjoy.
Fun at the pool
Today was a beautiful day and we thought we would take the kids to the pool this afternoon since we have a busy week planned. We wanted to make sure we did something fun for the kids, and what’s more fun than some ice cold water on a hot day. They also needed to make sure that their new goggles would not only work in the shower but also the pool. Since this was the first time at the pool this year I noticed that there were some new rules along with some old rules.
- No running; they want to see how long you can handle the hot cement on your feet.
- No diving; at the 6 inch entry I don’t really see how you would get past your hands.
- No diapers; only special approved tinkle catchers that they sell now for $2, thankfully we no longer need these.
- No food outside the concession area; I’m glad we brought our own so we never had to go through the concession security I think our water was more than the authorized 3 ounces.
- No hand washing; I was privileged to make 6 trips to the restroom with the boys and after one of the trips I noticed a life guard, the guys with the red bathing suits and the shirt that says LIFEGUARD, walk out of the bathroom stall and use the hand dryer and walk out. No I didn’t miss anything; he walked out of the stall used the hand dryer and walked out. My only guess is he had too much hand sanitizer on his hand from the little red pouch they wear around their waste.
Cleaning out the closets
This weekend we worked on helping DeAnna’s mom clean out some of the closets at her house and remove some larger items for Leeton citywide cleanup and we found a priceless treasure.
I knew that DeAnna had won Miss Leeton years ago but I didn’t realize that it came with such a large trophy! The order for the Donald Trump pageants goes Miss Leeton, Miss Johnson County, Miss Missouri, Miss USA, and then Miss Universe; she was only 4 steps away from winning it all but she chose to start college early and get a college education where she meet me. I think she ended up winning.
Since I figure I’m married to Miss Universe I guess we don’t need to keep the trophy just a picture of the trophy and maybe the crown that came with it for when she is asked back for the 50 year anniversary of her crowning in 2043.
How to fix a lawnmower
Well maybe this should be titled how to not fix a lawnmower but I’m more of the optimist so I thought I would start with the positive slant. Today the landlord sent his son out to the wild field that was growing in the backyard to see if he could locate the riding lawnmower and two push mowers that have been decorating his back yard since we moved in last November. I noticed out the window that he was having a difficult time pushing the riding lawn mower out of the weeds so I went out back to help him.
Once we got the riding lawn mower out of the 3 foot tall grass, which currently makes an excellent hiding spot for hide and go seek for Jonah, we tried turning the key. When I say we turned the key we each took a few dozen turns trying. We soon realized that he was not only turning the key but the entire starter and not really making any progress. So being the handy person I am, not, I thought it’s time to get the tools out! So once the starter was tightened and we put some gas in we tried again and it still didn’t start. So we decided it must be the battery.
Next option was to work on the larger push mower.
- Step one; make sure that there is gas in the lawnmower.
- Step two; prime the engine at least 5 times and pull the cord.
- Step three; repeat step two many more times.
- Step four; figure out how to fix the cord that you just broke because of dry rot from the lawn mower sleeping outdoors.
- Step five; look to see what else can be unscrewed, including the filter, spark plug and anything else.
Well, I am happy to say that I was able to get the lawn mower put all back together and was able to get it running long enough for 1 revolution of the blade to cut two dozen pieces of grass. So now that I have a nice sunburn and a partially working lawnmower I decided I would do what all computer geeks do. Google what the problem was and see how other people fix it. The solution is a new filter and spark plug. So tomorrow I’m hopeful that once I get these I will have a working lawnmower or at least the landlord’s son will.
Picture Day
Many thanks to Angie for taking our family picture today. We are going to use the pictures for our prayer magnets that we will be sending out soon to our partners for their refrigerators. We went to a park that she knew about in Lee’s Summit that was a great backdrop for the pictures.
When we got to the little stream there were a few kids that were catching fish with just a hook and some fishing wire, and they were actually catching the fish. The boys had fun afterward playing with the snails that were on the bank and throwing rocks into the streams to see who could make the largest splash!
"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." Habakkuk 2:14
First T-Ball game of the season
They were only able to get two innings in but the final score was 20-16 and Joshua’s team won. In case you didn’t know everyone gets to run and the team that has the most players show up wins!
Joshua was the last batter in the lineup tonight, which means he had two grand slams and the first one he actually passed the runner in front of him. He slowed down between 2nd and 3rd to try and give her a chance but the 3rd base coach said to run fast so he passed her.
There were only 2 minor accidents where someone got knocked down and one player took a line drive to the face but there were no ER visits required. I was prepared though with my ER shopper chopper card for 2 free x-rays and 10% off band-aids.
Faith Like Potatoes
Powerful movie based off a true story.
Fun at the park
Today at the park I was voted to be the alligator or crocodile depending on who was running, anywhere between 2 and 10 children. There was common phrase that all the children yelled as they ran from me. “Nah nah nah nah boo boo you can’t catch me.” Now I tried searching online to determine the origin of this phrase and I couldn’t find it.
So I thought about where our kids might have learned this universal phrase that they all seemed to chant as they ran in multiple directions in order to distract the alligator. I could only think of one book that we read to our kids that had this phrase, The Gingerbread Man. WARNING to all parents if a phrase is repeated more than 10 times in the same book there is a high probability that the children will remember and chant the phrase. I would like to recommend the following rating on all children’s books.
- NR – No repeats (Safe for all children)
- R – Repeats a few times
- PG-13 – Parents Guide for reading out loud 13 Repeats or less
- PG – Parents Guess how many there are
- G – Gobs of Repeats so read out loud at your own risk
Pedal Tractor Races
Today was a beautiful day and there were lots of events to do outside but we wanted to find something special for the boys, and by special I mean free. We also wanted an experience that would let them have fun outside and burn off some extra little boy steam at the same time.
As we searched through the paper looking at the weekend events, we remembered the Deanna Rose farm in Overland Park. It had been a few years since I visited and I was really surprised at how much they have expanded beyond the normal petting zoo, playground equipment and sand box. They have added a milk farm to show how cows are milked and several other lager exhibits.
Joshua was our tour guide and navigator which meant that he carried the map for us. Each location on the map had a number associated with it and as he guided us to each location he would tell us the number and then to keep on moving because we had to get to the next number. He didn’t like the fact that Jonah and mommy had to take so long to stop and pet the goats; silly number 16.
At number 26 on the map there was an intense competition going on between a dozen or so pedal tractors. The boys had to wait for their opportunity to get behind the wheel of one of these highly tuned vehicles, since I was not the only parent in town that was looking for an economical experience for their children. Joshua took the lead and had fun swerving and drafting off the other racers and trying to knock the other tractors off the road. I think the final winner was mommy and daddy with two tired little boys.
Posted in home, Kids
Tagged Deanna Rose farm, Family Life, Pedal Tractor Races, Pleasant Hill MO
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Very nice date night
It was a very nice at Garozzo’s Ristorante tonight as we celebrated our 10th anniversary a day after the actual event. Tonight reminded me of the first night of our honey moon 10 years ago when we enjoyed an equally delightful meal at Ermilio’s Italian Resturant in Eurka Springs Arkansas.
We both enjoyed the veal, I hadVitello Spiedini alla Sophia Maria and DeAnna enjoyed theVitello Marsala. Both meals melted in our mouths. When you are in KC and have some time to enjoy some a good meal with excellent service I highly recommend you stop in at Garozzo’s.
D squared + J squared = Anderson 