It has been too long. So much has gone over the past many months. It's full force summertime and I have been busy with a capital B. This week has been refreshingly slow due to both boys being out of town. Kobe is at Camp Mennoscah with his Mennonite buddies, and Caden is currently in Vegas. He went to Arizona with Tim, Kristy, and Jess, Nana, and Papa Ford to watch a couple of Giants ballgames, and then to Vegas for some extra fun.

Caden has had a really crazy summer. Boys State was all last week at KSU. He came home on Fri and had to take the ACT on Sat. Then turned around and left again on Wed for AZ. The rest of his summer includes LIFT camp, basketball, and more basketball. His calendar is pretty booked. Would have liked him to get a job, but there is literally no time.

Kobe will go on the Middle school road trip in July, but is otherwise busy with basketball and softball all summer. I pick him up tomorrow and I'm sure he'll be glad to see me. 7 days without tv, ipod, computer, phone is probably about to kill him. Kobe and I took a trip to DC/NY the end of May. Same school trip that I went on with Caden. It was exhausting but great!

In Feb, I started working Fridays at Prairie Star in Hutch. I absolutely love it. It's a nice change of pace considering it is a governmental dental clinic versus a private practice. I only work 1/2 days so that's nice also. Looking forward to another trip to Vegas with my office at Dr. Jensens. 11-11-11 is the date, sounds lucky, you think?

That about covers the most recent doings around here. I will now attempt to note some not so recent moments that are worth remembering...

Both boys had good basketball seasons. Kobe started on the 7th grade team and usually led in points and rebounds. On most occasions he was the tallest kid out there. Caden played primarily on the JV due to 8 Sr's on the team. He got some varsity court time, and really helped the team out during the Rupp tourney while 1 player was injured. It was unfortunate that he didn't get more opportunities, but he still had a great attitude and was a great leader on his JV squad. Looking forward to next season for sure!

-Caden had a successful track season, with increasing PR's in all events. He received many medals this year! Jr Prom was fun. He took a good friend and went will several other couples to dinner. We helped with after prom at All star sports till 4 am. Took a couple trips during school, St Louis with Wildcat Singers, and Dallas with the Band. Being chose for Boys State was exciting, and even though he's not big into politics, he had a great time and made lots of new friends. He even signed up to be on staff next summer.

In Feb, we had a pretty significant blizzard, and Kobe fell walking home from school. Making a long story short, he took a ride in an ambulance to Hutch, and had surgery to fix a broken left ankle. Dr Lairmore placed a plate and 4 screws. Poor kid had 6 weeks with no weight bearing, and since crutches were scary (for me), we opted for a knee scooter, which Kobe mastered in no time. He could really get around on that thing...faster than his normal, healthy walk! Had a few weeks walking with the boot, then on the last day of school had 2 pins removed. He actually went to school for an hour with no restrictions. Our trip to DC was only a week after, so all the walking was a little bothersome and painful, but he did well. The plate and 2 pins will stay forever...which he thinks is cool. Needless to say, Kobe was the track manager and will have to wait till next year to participate.


Our school district has been under fire the past couple of years due to budget cuts. The board voted to close Mt Hope grade which had created some emotional debates amongst towns. It is sad to see a school close, and with a new board coming in, it will be interesting to see what is the final result is.

Until next time...