"Ana Don't Eat All Her Dinner!"

Analeigh fell asleep during dinner this evening. Interestingly enough, David's only concern during her head bobbing in the videos below, was that she hadn't finished all her dinner - which of course is required in order to get a treat.

Sleeping Under the Bed

We used to have no trouble with David staying in his room all night. But now, we've found him asleep at the foot of our bed when we've woken up in the morning. However, this evening, David was there earlier than usual - before we'd even gotten into bed. He'd even taken our sheets and make himself a comfortable little place to sleep under our bed.

The Treat Drawer

Today we were invited to the Smith residence to eat lunch after church (clarification: we were actually invited a few weeks ago, we just didn't come over until today). From what we can tell, the family make waffles every Sunday and have extended an open invitation to much of the ward to come anytime they want (waffle batter can be extended fairly easily - as opposed to making a casserole, or some other such thing). And many people did indeed come. It was quite fun.

Anyway, in addition to learning that Sister Smith enjoys blogging (see the new blog listed under "Blogs from Kansas"), we also found out that she is really looking forward to being a grandma someday (when her kids are old enough to be married and do that sort of thing). As part of her preparation, she has a treat drawer that she taught our children to locate. Both children loved this discovery and will likely be taking advantage of Sister Smith's generosity for the foreseeable future.

Ellsworth Fireworks Spectacular Extravaganza

Tonight we had a long, fun night. First, we drove to Salina for a church social at 6:00p.m. We figured we should probably spend time getting to know other members of our new ward. We had a great time.

Then we drove back to Ellsworth, stopped by our house to pick up blankets, then drove to the fairgrounds in time for the fireworks show at 10:00 p.m. We sat in right field in a baseball diamond, across the street from the where they were going to light the fireworks. Being inside a fenced area was beneficial, as Analeigh is prone to wandering - that is, until the show started and she thought we were being bombed. Then she turned around and started coming back towards us, calling out for her mommy.

Meanwhile, back on the blankets, David was embracing the fun of the show. Periodically, David would yell out, "BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!" in synchronization to the moments the fireworks would sound. We tried to capture video of him shouting, but it was too dark to see him, and he stopped as soon as he knew he was being recorded. He also laughed hysterically during parts of the show, calling the fireworks, "funny!" (we're still working on trying to explain that just because something is "fun," it doesn't necessarily mean it is "funny"). This is in stark contrast to the boy who only two years ago, sat in his father's lap, terrified of the noises around him.

In case you're interested, here is some video of the fireworks show. Enjoy!

Pining for Mommy and Daddy

We're really trying to help Analeigh go to sleep on her own. She refuses to stay in bed an ends up laying on the floor next to the door almost every night. Sometimes she falls asleep, with her hand outstretched under the door, pining for the heartless parents who stuck her in her room.

Smaller and Smaller

Since Ben and Liz were married, in 2003, they have lived in 4 different cities. Recently we noticed a trend about these cities - they keep getting smaller and smaller. At the time of the 2000 Census, these were the populations of the places we've lived:

Logan, Utah - 42,670
Ypsilanti, Michigan - 22,362
Great Bend, Kansas - 15,345
Ellsworth, Kansas - 2,965

We were actually surprised to learn that Ypsilanti was smaller than Logan - mainly because Ypsilanti's border is so close to Ann Arbor, Michigan (population: 114,024), that is feels bigger than it apparently is.

It is a good thing we're planning on staying in Ellsworth for a while - the next town we live in might turn out to be non-existent (or maybe just a farm house in the middle of nowhere)!

Today's Must-Have Item

Today's must-have item, if you're living in Ellsworth, Kansas, is an air conditioner - not just any air conditioner, but one that actually fits in your window. The air conditioner left by the previous homeowners does not fit in the replacement windows they installed before moving. So, we'll be needing to invest in one soon.

The following is courtesy of KSN's WeatherLab Network:

Sort of a Family Photo

Tom and Meredith left us this evening to pursue their trek westward to visit more family. Before they left, we decided to get a family photo, even though Analeigh was upstairs taking a much-needed nap. We had a great time visiting with them and hope they drop by again on their way back home to Pittsburgh.

4, 3, 2, 1...

Actually, the title of this entry should probably read 1, 3, 4, 2, since that is the order the children decided to sit in. Anyway, while the cousins were together, we thought it would be fun to get a picture of them in chronological order (David being 4, Braden being 3, Analeigh being 2, and Keri being 1). In the end, we were just happy to have them be willing to sit down at all).



UPDATE: As noted in the comments section, Braden will not actually be 3-years-old until July 2. Thus, there is a logical mathematical sequence to the seating of the children: 1, 2, 4, 2.

Fun With Letters

Before Tom and Meredith came to visit, Ben rearrange the wooden letters we have, which normally spell family, so that it read "Lima." While Tom was here, the letters also read "Fail," and "Mail," among other things.

On the Way Home from Church

Going to Salina from Ellsworth each Sunday (and on the way back), we've often noticed a run down stone house. Ben has often thought about what a nice black and white photo the scene could make. Since his brother, Tom, enjoys walking through abandoned houses and buildings, we stopped by the house on the way back home after church. From the inside you could see that there is a basement, in the home, though the stairway has long since been destroyed, as are the stairs up to the main area. But, if you're ever interested in testing the quality of your tetanus shot, this is a good house to check out sometime.

If you want to see it on Google Maps, type in the coordinates "38.752698,-98.00261" then use street view, looking north. Interestingly, Google Maps also links to a photo of the area, showing that we weren't the only ones attracted by the ruin. You can see their photo on Flickr. Or, you can check out our classy black and white photo, below.

Sitting in a Tree

Analeigh saw her brother and older cousin sitting in the apricot tree above the sandbox and decided she had just as much right as the boys did to be sitting in the tree. So, after coaxing her daddy into lifting her up, Analeigh was happy to enjoy the view from up high.

Ringing Doorbells

Ben's brother Tom (perhaps better known as the founder of OralAnswers.com) came to visit tonight, along with his wife and two children. Since they drove all the way from Pennsylvania, they were rather tired of sitting, so we went outside after dinner. Liz was still inside the house when he found David teaching his cousin, Braden, and sister, Analeigh, how to make pretty music by ringing our doorbell. David was smart enough to flee the scene before a picture could be taken, thus leaving his accomplices to take the fall.

Painting the Kitchen

We decided to put a rush on painting the kitchen since Ben's brother (and his family) were coming to visit this weekend - which would have pushed painting back another week. Since we didn't want to stare at pale, unpainted walls that long, Liz expedited the process by staying up late a few nights to get it all done. While Ben helped, he was not nearly as dedicated as Liz, so the credit should really go to her.

In the end, it turns out that we bought too much paint (we have an extra can of white that isn't pictured), but at least we have some for when we decide to tackle future projects in other rooms. We also learned that our children enjoy being pushed around on the dolly we borrowed from our neighbors to pull out the stove. They were probably very sad to see it go.



But, since you've probably all been holding your breath in anticipation, since we announced the makeover on June 10, we'll now show you before and after pictures so you may breathe a sigh of relief. The top color is "decorator's white." The bottom color is a light green called, "serenity" (at least according to True Value). So, without further ado, here is what our newly painted kitchen looks like:

Breakfast Swap

This morning Liz prepared her breakfast, quick oats with raisins and milk. Analeigh wanted breakfast too, so Liz went to the kitchen to make her a bowl of Cheerios. When she returned, Analeigh was sitting in Liz's chair eating Liz's breakfast. So Liz ate Analeigh's Cheerios and called it even.

Party Pooper

Today we went to a wedding for one of Ben's old co-workers in Great Bend. David was very excited that, after the wedding, there was going to be a party with hot dogs. We're not sure where he got the idea that there were going to be hot dogs, but we went with it. Fortunately, there were little smoked sausages available at the reception, so we were covered. In addition to regular smoked sausages, there were also bacon wrapped smokies - which were delicious!

Sadly, in all the excitement of the day, David passed out on his mother's lap, shortly after arriving at the reception. He did get to eat some "hot dogs," but he missed out on the cake.

Our First Remodel

One of the things we decided before we bought our house was that the wallpaper in the kitchen needed to go. So, these past couple days Liz has been working on peeling off the wallpaper using a spray bottle of water and a butter knife. So far, the wallpaper has been coming off nicely. Liz is very happy with the result so far and is looking forward to having it completed. We've still got a long way to go, but once we've finished painting the kitchen, we'll post more pictures.

Flower Power

Recently Ben taught David and Analeigh all about blowing dandelion seeds off of older flowers. While Ben was outside trying to fix our garage door, Analeigh picked dandelions and had a blast.

A Little Light Reading

Our garage door hasn't been working, so Ben decided to take a look at the old user's manual left behind by the previous owners to see what could be done (other than replacing the unit). In the end, it turns out were probably going to have to replace the unit after all.

Anyway, while Ben was reading the manual, David decided he would read his library book too.

Odd Hours

The past couple of nights, Analeigh has been refusing to go to sleep, which is strange since she usually doesn't fight it once she is in bed. We finally got her to sleep last night, only to have her wake us up early this morning. Ben isn't really sure what time it was, but he does remember seeing a "4," followed by a colon. At that moment, he didn't really care what the numbers after the "4" were. Ben laid down with her in her bed, but was woken a couple hours later by Liz, who reported Analeigh had apparently not stayed in the bed for long after he fell asleep.

While Liz got ready for church, Ben went downstairs to check on Analeigh, who was supposed to be eating breakfast. Instead, he found her like this:



Analeigh was startled by the noise of him coming down the stairs, so she sat up, but apparently did not wake up:



Then she went through a process of drowsily reacting to doors opening and closing upstairs:



Finally she decided to just stay asleep:



We're going to have to work on figuring out some way to encourage Analeigh to sleep during normal hours.

Garage Sale-ing

Every year the city of Ellsworth has a city-wide garage sale, so today was a great opportunity for us to drive around town and pick up clothes and anything else that looked interesting. After a few garage sales, Liz had been able to pick up a bunch of clothes and shoes for Analeigh. We had trouble finding things for David because there just weren't very many boys clothes being sold.

One of the last sales we went to had an old hide-a-bed couch for sale. It was marked for $15, but the owner quickly marked it down to $10, as soon as she saw us hovering around it. We probably could have haggled some more, but we got her husband to drive the couch to our house for free, so we figured $10 was a fair deal.

Of course, we realize that, when you first look at it, you're probably going to be thinking, "Wow, what an ugly couch!" Nevertheless, because you're polite, you'll probably just tell us, "Gee, what a great deal you made!" On the plus side, the couch is ridiculously comfortable to both sit on and lay on. So what it currently lacks in style, it makes up in coziness.

Our plan is to eventually buy or make a slip cover for it that will still let us open up the hide-a-bed. Then we'll make new cushion covers, since the current ones are easily removed by opening the zipper. So, whenever we finish that project, we'll post pictures. Until then, here's a picture of the couch, with all the clothes we bought too.



By the way, we still have our futon (which is now in our spare bedroom/craft room), so we have plenty of bedding if any friends or family want to visit. Just be sure to let us know before you come, so we can make food!