5 Inches of Wet Rain

We probably could have floated to church today if we would have had time to build an ark Almost 5" of rain over the weekend almost had us gathering two of every kind. The sump pump in the basement was working 24-7 to keep the basement dry and it did a fine job in deed. Mushrooms in all variety have found sprung up everywhere to remind us of just how wet it is outside. 5 inches! By comparison, Logan's average rainfall is only 16" in a given year! But because this is Kansas, one can add the thrill of a tornado to the mix as well. There were elven in the area Friday night, including one about 10 miles from the Edwards plantation. And when it was all over, said and done, a beautiful double rainbow graced our view (a portion of our house is in the bottom left hand corner).

Headstone Hunting

The 5th business trip in 3 weeks landed Cody in the land of his ancestors and four fathers (still looking for two of them). In an effort to document and archive the family history of both the Edwards and Hull side of the family, a massive headstone hunting expedition was undertaken. With the help of his parents and a friend, the following cemeteries were searched, scoured and scanned for loved ones:

• Richmond, UT
• Lewiston, UT
• Fairview, ID
• Robin, ID
• Marsh Center, ID
• McCammon, ID
• Rockland, ID
• Honeyville, UT
• Ogden, UT
  

With a success rate of 98.2%, over 25 headstones were photographed and added to the database of family headstones. These headstone pictures will be added with other photos, stories, biographies and other family history elements being compiled in the aforementioned family history project.

Mashmallow Roast

We spent the "labor" part of Labor Day mowing our lawn ... for the first time in almost 4 weeks! The grass was so long that we would often lose Kallie in the backyard. There was a time or two that Tyson would disappear as well. Yes, it was deep and ready to cut, bale and sell as hay. We spent hours on Saturday trying to fix our lawnmower and ended up taking it to the lawnmower man down the street who in an act of genuine kindness loaned us his mower to keep our yard at bay. With the yard once again under control, we had our other neighbors Jay and Wendy over for a marshmallow roast - a fitting way to end the summer.

Kansas State Flower

FACT: No other state flowers produces more bird food than that of the Sunflower - official state flower of Kansas.
Photos taken in a field 10 minutes from the Edwards plantation.
News article located here.

Late Summer Worms

In a nasty, disgusting display of nature, a sign of late summer has appeared not only in our trees but in trees everywhere. The WebWorm has made it's presence known. They're known to thrive in 88 known varieties of trees - apparently none that we were familiar with when living out west. Fortunately these grotesque webs don't damage the trees - they're just nasty to look at. From the world wide web we learn the following: Adults of the overwintering generation emerge during May or occasionally in late April. Egg laying occurs in late May and early June. Each female can lay 400 to 500 eggs in masses on the undersides of leaves. The egg masses are covered with white hairs from the abdomen. Larvae begin hatching in early June and immediately begin to spin the web in which they feed. The web is extended as the larvae grow. The larvae mature and leave the trees to pupate in late July. First generation adults emerge during August and second generation larvae are present from late August into early October. Second generation pupae are the overwintering stage. There are two generations per year. That's just down right nasty.

How Was the Fair? Fair.

It was a night out at the Leavenworth County Fair Wednesday night. How was it you ask? It was fair. Seriously, there wasn't much there but a few rabbits, a couple of cowboys, and some 4-H exhibits. Fascinating. We did however buy our traditional 25 cent honey sticks. The total only came to 50 cents though ... 'cause one of us wasn't at the fair this year ...

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

It certainly felt like summer time this weekend. It was hot and muggy and there were peanuts and cracker-jacks at the ballpark. Tyson and Cody joined some friends from church at the Community America Ballpark for some Kansas City T-Bones baseball. What a hitting display they put on! The score was 9-6 after just the 3rd inning! Good times.

Then Cody & Paige took in a Kansas City Royals game the next night out at Kauffman Stadium. Another hot night but what an atmosphere for a ballgame! Adding to the excitement was Ken Griffey Jr. in a Chicago White Sox uniform for the first time. The crowd loved it ...even though he drove in enough runs to beat the Royals 4-2. Bummer.