It was as if the sun came up at 1am in the morning. A bright light filled the room but the birds weren't singing yet ... no, the sound that we heard came from the dozen or so fireman at our neighbor's house. Seems that a young man had fallen asleep at the wheel, jumped the curb and drove through the side of their garage before coming to a stop. Thankfully no one was hurt. Curiosity (and the desire to help) led Paige and I to the scene where we talked to Charles and Kristen and offered our assistance. Otherwise, it was a quiet Memorial Day weekend ... we're off on our overnight family vacation next Friday (and of course, we'll have lot's to blog about!).
With an attempted murder suspect on the loose in Tonganoxie, we picked Tyson up from a locked-down elementary school on Friday and headed to Perry Lake. Well ... that really wasn't why we went to Perry Lake. Truth be known, it was the perfect weather for some camping by the lake. Highs in the 70's ... ah, it was beautiful. And we didn't have to go far to get to the lake ... it almost came to us! Many of the campsites were still flooded from the flooding earlier this month. But we found the perfect, secluded site in the Slough Creek Campground on the east side of the lake (about 30 minutes from our house). We used the overnight get-away 
to go through our emergency preparedness kits and evaluate what we're missing and what needs rotated (including the MREs we had for dinner - simple to prepare and mighty tasty!). Tyson also completed his Outdoorsman pin for Webelos! The camping spirit lived long into the day as Tyson built his own tent with his new Cub Scout knowledge in the backyard - tick free![NEW pictures added to the photo album ... click here!]
We previously posted about Tyson's 4th grade music performance. And to prove just how small a town Tonganoxie is, the weekly newspaper ran an article on the performance. Classic. Click here to read the stunning coverage!
We knew it was inevitable. The hill/mountain in our backyard is slowly coming down as the new development begins to ... well, develop. If you look closely in this picture just below the water tower, you can see the first framed house. Needless to say, we're feeding our new strategically placed trees Miracle Grow by the gallons. Grow baby ... just grow!
After a week of flooding, everything seems to be drying out. We still have standing water in some places (mosquito breeding ponds is what we call them) but the temperatures have been particularly warm. Tyson and Cody went on the church's Father-Son campout near Perry Lake for an overnighter. Came back with some fun memories and 9 ticks, 6 for Tyson who now refuses to go outside.
... and before you know it, the Edwards have been enjoying Life in the Midwest for two years! To commemorate the occasion, we took the annual picture in front of the house (and updated the one on the side of this blog) and then headed to IHOP as the tradition dictates (see blog entry a year ago by clicking here). Be sure to check out our weather blog too to see the impact of the flooding in our area!
The scenery was beyond anything that he had ever seen before ... unique rock formations, cascading waterfalls, depth defying caves and double-wide trailers decked out with sofas on the front porch.
Cody and his friend Nate Beyeler spent four fun-filled days in the backwoods of Arkansas hiking along scenic trails and driving through redneck culture. Here's some highlights and a brief recap ...
- Visited 3 State Parks: Devils Den, Mt. Magazine & Petit Jean
- Hiked over 16 miles (excluding trips from the camp to the bath house)
- Hiked through rain, fog, sunshine and excruciating heat & humidity
- Witnessed the sweet fragrance of Arkansas chicken farms
- Sat atop breathtaking cliffs and ledges
- Just missed crossing paths with a pack of 20+ kids in a 3 ft wide cave
- Stood atop the highest point in Arkansas at 2753 ft (Mt. Magazine)
- Visited Parley P. Pratt's grave site
Indeed some of the most beautiful country lies in Arkansas (see a collection of 41 photos here)as well as some of the most intriguing, friendliest and culturally diverse people.
The last stop on Cody's business tour took him back to Utah where business was mixed with pleasure. Outside of a few days work at the Herff Jones plant in Logan, Cody spent an evening visiting with Kyle and then geo-caching with Joe before heading up to Idaho where a mountain was ready to climb with his dad. He also met his father-in-law at a park in Ogden for a visit and had a BBQ dinner with family in Ogden. Meanwhile, Paige and Tyson counted down the days till school gets out. One's excited, the other not so much.
In his final performance at Tonganoxie Elementary School, Tyson and the other 4th Graders had a music program at the school delighting us with songs from around the globe. We witnessed Russian dancing, songs from the Caribbean and music on the recorders. It was a festive evening enjoyed by many on tiny wooden bleachers in the gymnasium.
It was as if the sun came up at 1am in the morning. A bright light filled the room but the birds weren't singing yet ... no, the sound that we heard came from the dozen or so fireman at our neighbor's house. Seems that a young man had fallen asleep at the wheel, jumped the curb and drove through the side of their garage before coming to a stop. Thankfully no one was hurt. Curiosity (and the desire to help) led Paige and I to the scene where we talked to Charles and Kristen and offered our assistance. Otherwise, it was a quiet Memorial Day weekend ... we're off on our overnight family vacation next Friday (and of course, we'll have lot's to blog about!).
