Photowalks
Caleb was given a camera to use for one of his classes at school. He had the assignment to take photos that were framed and in focus. So, the past two nights we have taken photo walks together. He was suppose to take 15-20 by Friday. He is up to about 200 now. That is my style though. Many many photos, and a few of them will be great.
We have had fun though. Bonding. We also discovered that our cat, Harry, loves to join us on walks. He sprints down the path, jumps into the soybeans and waits. As we walk by, he jumps out and pounces on us, then sprints down the path again. Over and over. He also loved climbing on hay bales. Both Caleb and the cat enjoyed that.
Nice memories.
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Distractions
We have been playing badminton again, now that the evenings are a bit cooler, and the AC is fixed, so we can cool off after a game. The hardest part about playing is this trusting cat. He walks out in the middle of the court and just flops himself down. Everyone (except maybe Jared) would gladly miss a hit, if it means scaring the cat. Sometimes Harry moves to the post, where there is a dangling string. He bats at the string, and we all laugh and marvel at his cuteness. Except Jared, who takes advantage of the moment and serves the birdie, which I miss, because my kitty is being so gosh darn cute.
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Skinny people
We just got home from our vacation yesterday. I will write about it in detail soon. What I want to address now, is skinny people.
We went to two different amusement parks. Neither of them were designed for "pooh sized" people. I could barely fit on some of the rides. This was ambit of a wake up call for me.
So, we are changing eating habits. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. No canned foods, no processed foods, no corn syrup, ect ect. Now, when we go to people's houses, I won't fret. I will just eat. But food at the house, will be fresh.
The kids are not terribly excited, but I don't think it will be as bad as they think. Today was the first day, and they are happy so far.
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The Speech
My uncle, gave a wonderful speech on the day of my grandparents' anniversary celebration. My mom passed along a copy of it, and I will pass it along to you.
All of these people you see here this afternoon are the children of Doctor Grafton and Estyl Bowers, along with their spouses and the Bowers grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And we are here to celebrate Doc's 97th birthday, which was yesterday, and Doc and Estyl's 75th wedding anniversary. The family has come from St. Louis, Lathrop, Lee's Summit, Columbia and Warrensburg, Missouri; Raleigh, North Carolina; Glendale, California; and Topeka, Kansas.
Grafton Bowers and Estyl Cowgill were married on June 2, 1935 at the home of Stella Thompson, clerk of the court, in Kingston, Missouri. They had met, rumor has it, at the swimming pool in Cameron. The way I heard it was, Grafton jumped off of the high diving board and made a huge splash, and when he came up, his face was just inches away from the beautiful face of the girl whom he would marry and spend the remainder of his life with.
Doctor Bowers is a 1938 graduate of Kansas State University School of Veterinary Medicine. Following his graduation, he and Estyl borrowed money from Dr. Frick, his surgery professor, to buy a car, which would take them to Baton Rouge, Louisiana where Doc would be a meat inspector for the United States Army. Later they moved to Chicago with the army, and ultimately settled on a farm south of Cowgill where they raised their four children. Doc practiced veterinary medicine for 35 hears all over Caldwell and Ray county. His 1945 and 1946 Willy's Jeeps became an icon to the community. somehow in the midst of everything that happened on that farm, Estyl managed to receive a Bachelor's Degree in Piano Pedagogy from what is now the University of Central Missouri at Warrensburg, and later, she earned a Master's degree in Music. She taught piano lessons from their home on the farm for over 40 years.
Their four children are Mitchell and wife Agnes, who live in St. Louis; Brenda and husband Pete, who live on a farm east of Lathrop; Ellen who makes her home in Glendale, California; and Charlotte and husband Jim who make their home in Topeka, Kansas.
Music has been a huge part of the Bower's family from the earliest years of their life together. Grafton has played the bass violin, the banjo, mandolin and sings tenor. Estyl plays the violin but is basically a keyboard person, playing the organ, piano, and accordion. Together Grafton and Estyl have been known as "We Two", and they have played impromptu at innumerable community events around the two county area.
As a tribute to our favorite "We Two", the family is going to sing a few songs that we are pretty sure most of you know, and we hope you will sing along.
Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue
Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet
Let Me Call You Sweetheart
The World is Waiting for The Sunrise
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Summer Vacation!
It is here! We are on summer vacation! So far, we've spent quality time on the internet, and played lots of video games. Ah, this is living.
The boys are going to do summer school for the first time ever this year. The school will pay them cash for attending, which is just the motivation they needed. Jared and I will both be working summer school as well. Although, Jared's summer school is one week less, and half days only. Sheesh. It hardly seems fair.
We are just two months away from our vacation. We've been doing our weekly vacation theme nights. This last Friday we had a National Parks themed night. We grilled sausages, had chips and soda with them. Ate smores for desert. We watched a tv show about Cuyahoga National Park, played some badminton, and topped it off with ice cream. It was a bit of a hodge-podge of nights. I'm trying to decide on what kind of tv program we can watch for "colonial Philadelphia" night. We can dine on some of Martha Washington's favorite recipes.
Anyway. Summer Vacation. For one week, pure bliss.
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Cat person
I now know, how people become obsessed with their pets. I remember growing up, it was rumored this one weird, crazy lady had hundreds of cats. I have no idea if it is true or not. I was a teenager, hearing it from other teenagers. Anyway, the point is. I really like this cat.
He came to us in the late fall, tiny and skinny. He even won Jared over, who had declared NO MORE PETS. It was a time, when we were at our lowest emotionally. Well, I was at least. Money was tight, so tight it was pretty much non existent. There were problems with the house is Riley. Problems beyond the fact it wasn't selling. Work was hard to find. No solution in the future. But, we had our family. The kids were happy. And we had this new kitten. If we hadn't relocated, we wouldn't of gotten this wonderful kitten. Oh, the family is great too!
I'd bring him inside, and just pet him for hours. If I came home grumpy from work (I know, shocking I would be grumpy), Jared would bring me Harry. I spent hours, sitting outside on the deck, petting him. When I take care of the dogs in the morning and evening, or burn the trash, I carry Harry around. He greets me first thing in the morning. He greets me when I come home from work. He keeps Dagny company all day long. He's even made friends with the other stray cats, of whom we are NOT feeding or keeping. He tolerates Ladybug.
He calms me instantly. He purrs nicely in my ear. He cuddles under my chin when I pick him up.
I really like this cat.
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Privacy
Some interesting things happened over the weekend. Both things happened to Caleb. But, that's as much as I feel I can say.
As the boys are getting older, the stories I have to tell here, seem more and more private. The fact that I've had a blog is no secret from them, or society. Caleb will often tell me "do NOT put that photo on your blog." I try to respect that. Now, with facebook, I feel I'm even more out there in the public. I am facebook friends with some of Caleb's friends (if they ask me, I always say yes). Perhaps he doesn't want his friends reading about him. This is not a hard blog to find.
It is interesting, this generation of kids. They have grown up with their photos on the internet. Parents post things about them on social networking sites or blogs. They have a very public childhood. I personally, don't think this will hurt my boys in anyway. I hope that they enjoy going back and reading about what we did, and seeing the photos. I remember talking it over with Jared, before I started blogging to make sure he agreed.
But, now, as they get older, and are more active on the internet perhaps I need to be even more careful. I already don't talk about work. I am running out of material. I'll think of something I'm sure.
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A good good day
We received the news yesterday, that someone is showing great interest in our house! Now, I'm trying so very very hard, not to get my hopes up, but frankly, I'm just so thrilled to get someone that likes it! We hear so many complaints, and never anything good, that it's just reassuring to know someone out there agrees with us, that it's a good house. So, we'll keep our fingers crossed, and hope St. Joseph casts a magic spell on these people.
Jared had a job interview as well. He rocks at job interviews, so I'm sure all is good in that area. Everyone should keep their fingers crossed for us in that area too!
Really, my whole day was great, just because of these two pieces of great information.
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The View
I love our view. I love all of the green and blue that I see when I look around me. The colors of nature surround me. It is lovely.
Alex got sick at school today. I think he was more embarrassed than sick, when I took him home. It was very close to the end of the day, so I didn't need a sub, although, I'll get a report tomorrow, telling me how good of an idea THAT was. Hopefully the day ended well for all involved. Alex is currently a wee bit bored in bed, which is a good sign. His field trip is Friday, and we want him up and about for that.
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Visitors
Today, Jared's parents came for a visit from Manhappiness. I took one photo. A delightful photo, with Jonas, Alex and Cheryl on all their iPods/iPhone. One photo. I was gambling there, only taking one. It didn't turn out. Next time, I might want to take more than one picture, so I can commemorate the event.
Once again, I get to be marvel in the fact, that we have a wonderful family surrounding us. I often take that for granted, but when I remember, I smile.
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