Old and New, part 2 of 2

This is our old house in Kansas:

And this is Julie and Vern's new house in Kansas: I absolutely love it and was excited to be able to tour it with the former owner. Also, we walked around the whole yard and Julie drew a map of all the plantings. I was motivated to come home and plant some of the same ones myself!
Also when we were in Kansas, we wanted Christopher to be able to see all (or at least most) of his old friends, so we hosted a party at Googols of Fun on Saturday, and I do think they actually had Googols of Fun there. The attendees included Jake, Sophia, Meredith, Terrin, Kenton, Matthew, Adam, Mado, and Nate.

Mostly, the kids spent their time trying to earn as many tickets as they could so as to bring home more junk for their parents to surreptitiously toss later, but they also had fun playing tag on the playground and exploring the science area.
Tonight, Nate said, "I want to go back to Kansas so I can see the chickens at the Von Feldts' and go to that place where you play games and get tickets."

Rhubarb Madness

This is Shannon:

and this is the unbelievable rhubarb crisp she made using rhubarb from the Von Feldts' garden:

And here is the recipe, just for you:

Shannon's Rhubarb Crisp

Combine and place in a 9x13 pan:
4 c. rhubarb, sliced
1 1/2 c. sugar
Heat in a 375 degree oven until the sugar is liquid (about five minutes)

2 c. flour
1 c. brown sugar
Pinch of salt
Cut in 1 c. butter

Cover the rhubarb with the topping, then bake at 375 degrees until the topping is brown.

Old and New, Part 1 of 2

Christopher has been begging to go back to Kansas since the last time we were there, which was about 18 months ago, for Sophia's baptism. With the excuses of Memorial Day, Alyson moving to Missouri, and Julie moving around the corner from her present address, we thought it was a good time to make Christopher happy and visit our old friends again.

This is Alyson and Doug's house that they are selling, and if we still lived in Kansas, we would do our very best to purchase it ourselves, especially if Lucy, the chickens, and maybe a Von Feldt child or two were included.
The girlfriends had loads of fun cleaning out cupboards and bookshelves, and I was feeling rather helpful, until Nate decided to "touch up" Doug's lovely new painting job with his own royal blue version. I would have taken a photo of it, but I was far too horrified to do anything but grab the nearest Mr. Clean magic eraser. Luckily, Alyson and Doug are kind and understanding people, and remained amazingly calm and level-headed. I asked Nate, "What happened after you painted on the wall?" And he said, "Everyone looked at it and did this:" [Now make really big eyes and cover your mouth with both hands.]

I would say that we miss our friends already, but I think we've lined up a couple of chances to see them again soon: 1) We borrowed their dog, Lucy, for a few weeks while Alyson and the kids are in New Mexico, so either they have to pick her up here, or I'll just have to return her myself (that is, unless they finally cave and let us keep her indefinitely). 2) Shannon's big 5-0 birthday celebration is in mid-June, and I hope to make it back so I don't miss that big bash.

Room Moms Are Slaves

Tomorrow is Christopher's last day of third grade and I am up late printing and framing these pictures for his class. I have other projects still to complete before tomorrow morning, too, but I had to take a break to watch only the last five minutes of "American Idol" and I'm contemplating whether I can stay up two more hours to watch "Lost."

Here is the letter Christopher wrote to his teacher:

Dear Mrs. Kempthorne:

You were a super teacher because you were nice, helpful, kind, and you are the best teacher ever because you let us go to recess when we had work to do. Thank you for your hard work and for being the best teacher ever.

Sincerely, Christopher Merrill

Apples, Books, and Cheesecakes

If you've been here to visit us, we've probably stopped by Southlake Town Square. I think it's a really lovely place to shop, eat at many fabulous restaurants, play on the lawns and fountains, and watch all the wealthy Texans for the latest fashions. Matt, however, calls it "just another lifestyle center," because he's seen many developments just like it around the country, but he does acknowledge that it's a nice one. And no, it doesn't have the character and charm of downtown Lawrence, but I still think it's quite fabulous.

Recently, they've completed an addition, and our family has been there several times. On Friday, I told Matt that I deserved to go to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner and then wander around the shops since he was going to leave me with the kids while he went to Vegas for a convention.
As I said, I do enjoy the Cheesecake Factory, but not just for the cheesecake. However, I had a salad there yesterday and received the gift of food poisoning and was icky sick all night, so I won't say any more about that.

We had not been to an Apple store before, and we all had a lot of fun there. We do miss our Apple computer sometimes, and maybe someday we'll have one again. For now, though, we just enjoy our iPods and I got a new case because Matt stole mine.

Now, anyone who knows me knows that I love the library and I love books. When I look at a book I'm considering reading, I read the back cover, but also open it up and really smell it. Oh, that sounded weird. But now that there's a new Barnes and Noble in town, I may not be going to the library very often anymore. Barnes & Noble has every book I could ever want (I think) and even had a Mormon cookbook I was looking for. In Texas, I tell you! And they have a train set for Nate, plus unlimited free escalator rides for the kids.

See that little fox in the bottom right-hand corner? We sent that to Ben for his birthday, which is today.

So when you come to visit us here in Texas, I promise we can go to Southlake Town Square if you want, but maybe not to Cheesecake Factory. But there is a huge new movie theater opening there this weekend (Julie Cook, are you listening?!), and also a Hilton, if you are allergic to Siamese cats or Charlie dogs and would rather not stay at our house. We'll be going to Lawrence this weekend, so prepare yourself for more shopping pictures next week.

Bonjour!

Look! Matt is in "Paris," my mom is in Paris, and I'm in ... oh, yeah. Still in Texas. Don't worry. I'm not bitter or anything.

At Least the Dishes Aren't Sunburned

Tonight, when I opened the dishwasher detergent compartment, I saw this:
I was puzzled, because we only use Cascade gel, which is green, or little Cascade pouches, which are green and white. So I braved a sniff, but still couldn't figure out what had gotten into the dishwasher. Next thought? Nate!

Me: "Nate, do you know what this white stuff is that's in the dishwasher?"

Nate [Enthusiastically]: "Yeah!"

Me: "Well, what is it?"

Nate: "It's sunscreen! But I couldn't figure out how to start the dishwasher. I tried and tried, but it wouldn't go!"

I have another Nate story from the weekend, but it's going to have to wait a couple of days so I can cool down a little.

At Primary Today ...

Christopher gave this talk, which he co-wrote with his mom:

Heavenly Father loves us very much. We are his children, and he has given us many gifts that we are grateful for. Some of the gifts he blessed me with are: my family, my pets (I have two cats and a dog), the world we live in, including plants and all the animals in it. I try to remember to thank him for our blessings when I say my personal prayers.

One of the greatest gifts Heavenly Father gave us is the gift of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Every week at church, we learn about the gospel, and learn about the many blessings the gospel brings to us.

Because we are members of this Church, we know that Heavenly Father has a plan for us. If we follow his plan, we will always be able to repent of bad choices, and Heavenly Father will forgive us. I am so glad that, because of his plan, I was able to be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

One of the blessings I am very most grateful for is that I can live with my family forever.

I will always try to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ so I can have all the blessings Heavenly Father has promised us. I am so grateful for all the gifts he has given us, and for the blessings of being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Fort Woof

"I finally found a place where I am in heaven on earth."

Christopher said this, after discovering the dog park in Fort Worth, where he met a Great Dane, Rhodesian Ridgeback, and a Greyhound all in one night. Charlie was also in doggie heaven, and is exhausted today from trying to herd the Greyhound.

If you're looking for a reason to move to Texas and live by the Merrills, consider this: Fort Woof, our dog park, is the #1 rated dog park in the entire country! What could possibly top that?

http://www.fortworthdogpark.org/

Enough!

This is Nate, who is sick of having his picture taken:

And this is Nate, who is showing us his very grumpiest face:

And this is Nate, who can't stay grumpy very long, even when he tries:

Bella Notte

Lucille and Frank are here:

and last week, they were here:

Ted and Mary were just here:

and were also here:

I am here:

If anyone needs tips on how to prepare a spaghetti dinner for 200 in advance, I have great tips for you. Also, if you are in need of techniques to force people to take spaghetti home with them because only 100 people showed up to your ward party, I can help with that, too.

Invention Convention

Today, it was the third grade's "Invention Convention." They have been working on an invention unit for the last couple of weeks, and today was their day to show off their creations. Here, Christopher is demonstrating his invention, the "self-cooling popcorn bowl," to Nate. Christopher always eats his microwave popcorn out of a colander, because he says it cools off more quickly, and he took that theory one step further by sticking a fan to the bottom.

After our visit to Ro's school, the three of us went out to lunch. The boys wanted to go to Wendy's, but I was able to convince them that Spring Creek Barbeque would be better: it was the A& W root beer that sealed the deal. It was fun going out with my two boys, and they even packed a doggie bag full of "smoky turkey," as they call it, for Charlie.

Lest the Canadians Feel Left Out ...

My Many Coloured Days

Friends Who Blog

I will freely admit that I am a little bit of a snoop. I also really enjoy several reality TV shows, and I think that it's the snooper in me that enjoys peeking in on others' lives. So I'm really quite the fan of blogs, because I feel like I have the opportunity to frequently peek in on my friends' lives, but really, it's also just a great way to keep in touch, right?

Here are the links to my friends' blogs, and I check each of them regularly.

Dr. Mar

Camie and Matt

France Family

Three Men and a Lady

Blog Soup

A Day in the Life

Kathleen in Kansas

Do you have a family webppage or a blog of your own?

Friends and Neighbors

These are our friends and next-door neighbors, Julie, Skyler, and Barry. Julie is about to have a baby girl, and Skyler has decided that her name will be "Star." However, Skyler said that if the baby's name can't be Star, she would settle for "Banana Bongo." What do you think they'll choose?

Charlie and Victims

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

If there's one thing I've never worried about, it's Nate's manhood. People always say to me, "He's all boy!" Indeed, he seems to be. Before my kids were born, I took the "nurture" side on the nature vs. nurture debate, but now, I'm pretty sure that they mostly come out just how they're going to be, and we parents are along for the ride the majority of the time. Nate likes cars, trucks, riding skateboards and other wheeled vehicles down the hill as fast as he can, and I recently found him bent over his Jeep, fiddling with the battery, with his "plumber's smile" peeking out and everything.

Consequently, I've never been a bit concerned that he was going to struggle with gender identity confusion issues, and I didn't care when he wanted the Strawberry Shortcake book like Skyler's, or when he wanted to get the lavender Dora gloves like Skyler's. But tonight, he found these:



And you should have witnessed the wailing and grasping of the boots at Old Navy. No amount of reasoning or parental persuasion could convince Nate that: a) The boots are size 12-18 months, and thus will not fit him, and b) The boots are designed for little girls. Nate begged and begged like this: "Puh-leeeze, mom?" And I finally caved, and said to Nate: "Please don't be sad when you realize that they don't fit you."

On the way home, Nate struggled with the boots, a little Cinderella trying to squeeze into his flowered rubber slipper. He asked me for help, then asked Christopher for help, then said that maybe his dad could help. And when Nate finally realized that the boots really didn't fit, I truly felt sorry for him as he put his head in his hands and cried.

Maybe they have more sizes at www.oldnavy.com.