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.
After three weeks of bitter, unseasonable cold weather that followed our balmy, unseasonable warm weather in March, it was time to dig a hole or two ...
... actually there were about seventy (70) of them! It seemed like every other day the UPS or USPS truck paid a visit with another shipment from Gurneys, the Arbor 
Day Foundation or the Kansas Forest Service. Most were small, bare-root plants but we gave them big holes with lots of wiggle room to grow. So just what went into these holes?- 10 fruit trees
- 25 thorn-less honey locust trees
- 25 currant bushes
- 10 pine trees
- and a host of other small flowers and vegetables
...
and on top of all that, we got the boxes built for Paige's lasagna garden. They'll be perfect for growing spaghetti squash.
It was way too cold to do any serious yard work Saturday so we decided to get cultured instead. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art near the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City offered such a venue. A fascinating place offering more artwork and statues than you can shake a stick at. Of course it was Tyson that received the greatest education ... after all, who would have thought that an art museum would have 
so much ... well ... artwork based on the human body! Needless to say, those were the exhibits that he felt the most uncomfortable with and whooshed right past (Cody preferred to linger though ...). At least Tyson felt comfortable standing next to the Badmitten sculptures. Oh, and Paige won't be bringing the other Cub Scouts there for their Artist pin when they enter the Webelos program. [Photos updated ... click here]
Date Night was actually Date Day this week. Home from his business trip, Cody spent the day with Paige doing temple work up in Omaha, NE at the Winter Quarters Temple. Tyson spent the day at school and then with neighbors while Kallie had to hold it while in her kennel. Thomas & Jeffery of course had free roam of the house.
Lot's of storms and rain this week. See our weather blog for our latest weather purchase ...
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!
