The Sun Did Not Shine

A few minutes ago, Little Miss vented her frustration:  

"My sun isn't working."

Mr. P asked:  "Did you want to play with the sun today?"

Her reply:  "It didn't work, it just didn't come on!"

At least it worked on Friday.

Who knows, maybe it'll "turn on" tomorrow.

The sun may not have shined, but I witnessed a lightbulb turn on.  

B understood a math concept this evening and I can't be happier ... Inside, I'm smiling like this:

Maybe I'll start kicking my legs like these boys did, but rather than sing the "We're happy to be on a field trip at the zoo" song, I'll sing the ... "Wahoo, he get's it" song. 

FYI:  witnessing the moment a child understands something might be one of the most profound moments a person can experience.  I wish I had a picture of THAT!

Since August 6th ...

We've been a little busy ... Our basement flooded; we purged a lot of stuff - including all our packing supplies; the Mrs. attended a funeral; the Mr. applied for jobs; Lolo flew in from California; we drove up to Minnesota; we attended a family reunion; we met the newest member of our family; went to a few favorite stores; shopped in a giant mall; played at a theme park;the Mr. applied for jobs;  the Mr. and Mrs. played softball - the Mrs. played in borrowed shoes; we saw an amazing storm; B started second grade and soccer; the Mr. applied for jobs; Little Miss signed up for ballet; B lost another tooth - he exercised forgiveness when the tooth fairy forgot to visit (she came the next night); the Mr. applied for jobs; the Mr. got a job; we celebrated 10 years of marriage in Denver; the kids spent 4 days with friends; the Mrs. uploaded 381 pictures; and the Mr. PASSED the bar ... It's been a productive month.  We feel so blessed.

It's time to amp up our productivity because, unfortunately, a house can't pack itself.  Denver, here we come!

Girls Camp

Today, the high temperature was 102.  The heat index reached 118.  A substantial pile of camping stuff is sitting in our van.  My living room is home to a smaller one ... 

For the past two days, my mother-in-law (she is visiting from out of state) spent time making 72 neck buddies for people she didn't know. 

The temperatures for the rest of the week aren't going to fluctuate more than a degree or two and yet ... and yet I, along with about 150 girls and women, am going camping.  IN TENTS.  OUTSIDE.  IN.  THE.  HEAT.  

All of this is in preparation for one thing:   Girls Camp.  I love to camp, really I do, but this year might be the most daunting camping experience I've had ... And yet, I'm going.  Why?  Because I was asked; because I want to; because I want to show my kids that service can be fun and a little daunting, too.

Service

15 minutes before the Sunday morning session of General Conference, the Mr. looked out our kitchen window and noticed our fence was swaying four feet in both directions.  We went down to investigate and realized the post supporting that section of our fence was rotted.  We also noticed ALL the fence posts were rotted and swaying with the wind.  With that knowledge, we realized that if we didn't take the fence down immediately, the strong wind could knock it down.  If that were to happen, the fence could potentially cause damage to our neighbors homes and belongings.  We knew we had to take the fence down and we couldn't do it alone.  So we called for help.  

Within minutes, friends from church were at our house ready to take apart our fence.  They sacrificed their Sunday morning to help us thwart a potential hazard.  (If we had left the fence up, the Severe Thunderstorm Warning we had this evening, would have taken it down for us.)

An hour later, the fence was down and I was reminded of one important reason I am grateful to be a Latter Day Saint.  The Mr. and I don't have family here in Kansas, but it's like we do.  We have a Ward Family (a Ward is very much like a local church congregation - click on the highlighted link to learn more).  That "Family" is there when we need them most and today they came with gloves, tools, helping hands and smiles.  So to our friends: thank you so much for helping us.  Thank you for sacrificing your time, especially on a sacred day.  Most of all, thank you for teaching our family about service.  

Inclement Weather

The rain has been falling ...

The gutter's been flooding ...

So we've been playing indoors ...

B's last day of baseball was held inside ...

He didn't like it, but the protests did subside ...

Even through the gray and dreary day, beauty can be found ...

Raindrops form ...

Then fall ...

Wetting all around.

Freezing

Yesterday at the La Brea Tar Pits the high was a balmy 59°.

Before we left, we stopped by the gift shop. While waiting to checkout, I overheard:

Store Clerk: "It's freezing out there, you really have to bundle up."

Patron: "Yeah, that's why I'm wearing my coat."

Yes, yes, I know: Californians can be such wimps. I was almost embarrassed.

Maybe I should have shown the pictures of the flowers and blossoms I had taken minutes earlier:

Weather Talk

The day after Christmas, temperatures climaxed to 68 degrees F (a record high!).

That evening, a tornado watch was issued. Before we went to bed, it was hailing.

The next morning, we awoke to freezing rain. By noon, there was an inch of snow on the ground.

The high was 33 degrees F. Gotta love this Kansas Weather!

Click on the highlighted words to learn more.

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Here are pictures of the freezing rain ...