Speed Bump

In September, we helped celebrate the opening of Leavenworth highschool's new football stadium. As I've mentioned here before, this was a big deal for the school and the town and was part of a $60 million facelift for the entire school district. My parents worked very hard to help the bond issue get passed and they are faithful supporters of Leavenworth schools. This was a happy day for former, current and future Leavenworth kids. Fun for me that I got to see some old and dear friends. This is me and my former teammate, now head of Human Resources for the school district, Amy Zule. Me and my former track coach Tamra Strano. After 30 impressive seasons as the Leavenworth girl's track coach and 10 (TEN!) Kansas state titles in track, they named the new track after her. She is one impressive (and very kind) lady. Despite the pending tornado (only in Kansas), fans turned out in big numbers for pre-game food and fun. View of the new field and track with the highschool in the...

We discovered the Kansas City Community Garden recently. They had a special kids day full of fun activities and we went to check it out. It was a beautiful garden right in the heart of our city. Giant gords hung under the entranceway. "Please smile for mom in just one picture..." Uh-uh. Trying my hand at some nature photos...I'm so jealous of people with a photographic eye, wish I had one. There were butterflies, bugs and spiders in jars and cages... These ladies were spinning wool. Charlie liked seeing the wheel go round and round. And the wool felt rough to the touch. These were actual peanuts growing on these vines. We got to taste fresh peanut butter made from these very peanuts. There were several activities Charlie wasn't old enough for - like painting gords. Next time. Of course, where there's water you will find Charlie. Please don't jump in the lily pond, Charlie. This gord house was pretty cool, giant gords hanging from the ceiling and the ...

Not sure what this expression means...a half-smile, half-frown that involves wrinkling his nose. There is no logic to when it shows up. Also, next time you see Charlie, have him help you sing "If you're happy and you know it."

There is a fabulous old (restored/new made to look old, not really sure) carousel in Leavenworth. It has its own mini-museum and is run by volunteers in town. An old organ cranks out music as you go around. Charlie loves to ride it. It actually goes pretty fast, which is probably what he likes best.

Catching up on some older posts with Charlie. These pictures were taken on a beautiful Friday evening this summer, we went for a bike ride to the park and then rode our bikes to dinner nearby. Although I love fall, I'm going to miss those long summer nights. Ryan was trying to catch a quick rest at the park, but Charlie wasn't having it. Charlie is to water like a moth to a flame. There is no holding him back. I'm pretty sure he would have jumped right in. With Ryan's help, he didn't have to jump in... This is the kind of thing that happens when Ryan comes to the park with us. Boys will be boys, I guess. Bye bye summer!