Let's Go To Science City!

Spring Break 2010 didn't take us any place warm ... but it did take us to Science City at Union Station in Kansas City, MO! After all, isn't an educational field trip on a day off from work and school better than visiting a warm place under the sun? We got to walk through a blood vessel, experience optical illusions in the "Mister E" hotel, launch rockets, walk through a crime lab and experience science in a hands-on atmosphere! Looks like the rest of the greater Kansas City area was also taking advantage of the discounted admission price. What was even more amazing to Ty's parents were the fact that Ty is at that border line age where such places are almost too little for him. When it was all said and done, we dined at KC's original "Gates Bar-B-Q" where they're famous for saying: "HI! MAY I HELP YOU?!!!"

The Trail Left Behind

Paige's mom once said that you could always tell where she'd been in the house based on the trail that she left behind her. Tyson is no different. Take for instance the "little bathroom" that he uses. Who else would leave behind a Windows drawing on the shower wall?

Bucky, as he is now called, also had five (5) teeth pulled this week in preparation for his braces this summer. We've yet to see the tooth fairy since we've been out here. Perhaps the orthodontist bill scared her away.

Mrs. Fixit

After two weeks of work travel, Cody came home and parked the truck in the garage. Unfortunately, that's where the truck would stay for the rest of the week. You see, the parking brake was stuck and wouldn't disengage. But that's why we have a Paige in the house, the resident Mrs. Fixit. With the back of the truck jacked up, Paige jumped on the Internet to problem-solve the situation. The lil' grease monkey ended up taking the wheels off, removing the brake drum and then just like that ... problem solved and the truck was rollin' again. Now she's recommending that we replace the brake pads as well.

Snow All Winter

Sure, there are other places around the country that have more snow than Leavenworth County, Kansas ... but we actually HAVE snow on the ground and have had snow for much of the winter, something that doesn't normally happen round these parts. In fact, there's something about it that makes it feel more like the winters that Paige & Cody grew up in out West. Tyson (Ty) took the above picture. He's developing into a great little winter photographer. This upcoming weekend though he gets to go camping in it.

New addition to Cody's collection of Top-10 lists

Since Cody has a fascination with "lists" of most any kind, Saturday was a perfect opportunity for Paige to provide him with a Top-10 "late night" style list. I don't know that he was thrilled to be adding it to his collection of lists, but it's still great for a laugh.

Top ten things learned by having a flooded
laundry room/kitchen/basement:

(sorry, no pictures, unless Cody took some that I don't know about)

10-) I assume the washer/dryer must be "grounded" somewhere because no one got buzzed... (or worse...)

9-) Half of my kitchen floor no longer needs to be mopped!

8-) 40 gallons of water is MUCH more than it looks like when it's inside the washing machine.

7-) The "Cold" cycle has more benefits than those listed on the laundry soap bottle/box.

6-) A hamster can roll an exercise ball at least 5 - 8 feet through 1 inch of water (cold, not hot) with out drowning. (Neither did the dog who was closely following the hamster in the ball through the water...)

5-) Cats can't (or won't) walk on water, and though a wet towel offered a bridge to dry land, Tommy still sent plenty of water flying, flipping his paws with every little step. (I probably shouldn't have laughed.

4-) Wet/dry vacuums only suck up water when the hose isn't clogged.

3-) Clearly, the law of gravity is still fully functioning, evidenced by all the water that moved from the upstairs to the basement.

2-) I realize now that turning the basement into a swimming poor really isn't as good of an idea as it might sound, not that the idea was being entertained mind you. That said, the basement floor is the cleanest it has ever been since the house was built.

1-) Always change the water filter on the fridge before cleaning up the flood water from the floor. I'm still not sure exactly what happened, but after I replaced the filter for the fridge I tested the water, only it wouldn't turn back off... so, more water on the floor...

Maybe I should have left the water on the floor, bought some goldfish, and told everyone that the latest trends in interior design are "flooded-floor" ponds...

Do you think anyone would believe me?

Coming up next week: Top-10 reasons why sucking lint from the clogged "past due for a cleaning-my clothes are taking two hours to dry" dryer vent with the same wet/dry vac used to clean up the flood water is a bad idea...

Stuck on His Birthday

Any and all youth in the Edwards house have reached teenage status. Ty's birthday (yes, we're officially going by "Ty" now) was last week. What's the most exciting thing about being 13, according to Tyson ... er Ty ...? Being able to have a Facebook account! Hooray! He invited a few friends over to play some video games. The evening would have been uneventful had the Mitchell's made it out of our driveway on the first try. Instead, we spent almost two (2) hours in sub zero temperatures working to "unstuck" them and keep them from driving into the ditch. Ah ... memories! Ty loved all the excitement and activity surrounding his birthday. We've escaped the frigid -15° temperatures that kept us huddled around the fire, but now we can't see the end of the driveway due to dense fog. It is pretty though - as seen in this picture taken by Ty himself.

Cold Enough for a Snuggie

Now this feels like winter! Kansas City had the 3rd snowiest month of December including a doozy of a storm that dropped 12" over Christmas. Since then we've had snow on the ground every day! Why? Because it's been ridiculously cold with temperatures struggling to make it out of the single digits. And more cold air is on the way. Church has been canceled each of the past couple of Sundays and there are days we struggle to make it out of our driveway. The fireplace in the living room acts as an animal magnet drawing the cats, the dog and the two-legged creatures to its warm flames. Other rooms in the house aren't as warm, thus the need to pile on the blankets to watch a Kansas City Chiefs football game. With no arms in the blanket to use the remote control, a Snuggie seems to be in order.