It's My Life

This week we have to say "see you soon" to some dear friends. Their life journey is taking them away from Kansas City and across the country. I have spent some time reflecting on our friendship and time together.  I met my friend Meeghan in graduate school before I was married; back when it was just The Boy and I. Meeghan's husband grew up in a small Kansas town which is where she lived when we met. Meeghan introduced us to her husband's childhood best friend and his wife ((Glen and Jen) when they moved to Kansas City. All three of us ended up having little girls that were exactly six months apart. The Short Chic is the youngest.  Through the years we have had a lot of fun memories. Fourth of July parties in a small Kansas town. A lot of birthday parties. Even swimming and gymnastics all at different times. There have been so many social gatherings in the years that we have been friends.   Baby brothers have been added to the mix. Older brother...

I have seen a few of these around campsites and I knew I would like to have one. The only problem that I had is The Husband. He already thinks we drag too much stuff with us when we go camping and if I had told him my desire to have a PVC Camping Light Pole he would have shut it down quickly! So, that leaves a girl with only one choice: Figure out how to do it by herself. I did some internet searching and found a few road maps on RV forums. They seemed easy enough! I visited the local hardware store for the supplies: An exterior post lantern light 2 inch PVC pipe (I used 5 feet but had to purchase a 10 foot piece) A 3 inch toilet flange A 3 inch to 2 inch Reducer PVC Glue A 12 foot electric cord kit 2 - 3/4 inch PVC Caps I also used a few supplies we already had on hand: White Spray Paint 3 1/2 foot - 3/4 inch PVC Pipe Drill Bits (1 inch and 1/2 inch) Tent Stakes The first step was preparing the lantern light. I could only find black i...

 We started school today. The Short Chic started first grade. She was so excited. She allowed me to walk her to the bus but that was it.  Her favorite food is cheese pizza. Her favorite thing to drink is Sprite (but she only gets it with pizza!) Her favorite tv show is Jessie!  When she grows up she wants to be a Disney actress, a dancer, a gymnast, and a designer. (She believes in keeping her options open!) She hates to clean her bedroom or pick up after herself. She also does not like bugs or crawfish.  She loves Monster High and American Girl Dolls. He is a Senior. Today was his last first day. Well, except for college. He recently decided he might want to be a teacher when he grows up. His favorite food is Mexican Food. His recently gave up drinking soda.  He loves sports. He hates vegetables. He spent the afternoon getting a job (the second one this week). He starts tomorrow afternoon. I can't believe he is graduating in nine months!

It does seem as if we make an annual trip to Bennett Spring State Park. We love the camping there and the fishing! This year we also planned a float trip down the Niangua River as we also try to take at least one float trip per year.  Bennett Spring State Park is only a few hours from our home; making this a really reasonable drive. There are six total campgrounds and we prefer campground Number 2. The bathrooms/shower facilities are a little dated but the space the park gives you per camp-sight is worth it! As we drove in we encountered a female deer and two fawns. I was happy to find that we encountered them several times during our stay. They even made an appearance during dinner on our first night.  I wonder...does anyone else have to take American Girls along on their camping trips? The Niangua River is a spring fed river so it is might chilly. It is rocky. And it is traditionally known as a party river because it is so close and accessible. ...

Happy National S'more's Day! How appropriate is it that my family was camping with friends the weekend before National S'more's Day. We love s'mores and camping as often as we do affords us ample opportunities to create the perfect s'more. My perfect s'more has a fully toasted, maybe even slightly charred marshmallow hot enough to melt the chocolate.  Over the course of the summer we have experimented with different wafers, different marshmallows, and different chocolates.  In theory I wanted a Reese's Peanut Butter S'more but I found that traditional Reese's Peanut Butter Cups did not melt the way I like them to.  This past weekend, just in time for National S'mores Day, we found these Reese's Peanut Butter bars that resembles Hershey's Chocolate bars. My immediate hope was that they would melt like a Hershey's Chocolate bar.   My wishes were granted and the Reese's bars did melt in the most perfect way!...