Oh My Gourd!

My favorite building to tour during the Kansas State Fair is called the "Pride of Kansas" building.  This building contains commodities, organizations and items made in Kansas.  I love the showcase of local agriculture!  This building also contains the largest pumpkin and watermelon contestants.

Well, one of the classes on display this year, featured gourd creativity.  This would totally be the class that I would choose to enter!  Contestants utilize gourds/sqash/melons to create sculptures, animals and art.  I snapped a pic of one of my favorites.  This caterpiller is too cute to resist!  Even though it was not first, it certainly ranked up there in my books!

Cantaloupe

One of Mr. Fixit's favorite fruits is cantaloupe.  He often can be found stopping at the weekly Farmer's Market to nab a ripe one or two.  Once the prize fruit arrives home, he typically guts the melon and chops it into bite size pieces right on the deck.  The seeds are tossed onto the ground.

Well, one ambitious little seed must have decided this was the perfect home!  In July we started to see signs of a plant growing near the deck.  We let it grow to see how it would do.  We figured that the dry summer and lack of care would not yield any fruit, but take a look!  One cantaloupe is happily growing.  Mr. Fixit is keeping a close watch on this one, and likely will soon be enjoying a delicious bite!

4-H Signage

Mr. Fixit was the final stop for our team's sign project!  We gave him the challenge to make our signs State Fair durable - oh, and able to be prominently displayed.  Mr. Fixit brainstormed some options that would make the signs sturdy, easy to transport and easy to display.  It took about 7 hours of work!

The signs were created from a corrugated plastic, which is quite weatherproof, but can not stand on its own.  The signs measured 4' X 8', and needed to be supported in order to be displayed.  Mr. Fixit attached some OSB board, boards and hinges to the 12 signs.  They became sandwich boards of sorts -- very heavy sandwich boards!  They were perfect for the fair, and definitely look sharp, don't you agree?

Lunch?

The hay has been cut, baled and is ready for storage.  Soon the snow will be flying, and these round bales will be looking mighty tasty to some bovine creatures!  The bales had been hanging out for about a week, when the owner came by with a tractor and a semi-flat bed to collect them.

It was about 6:30 in the evening when the process began.  The farmer was pretty speedy in rounding them all up!  Mr. Fixit and I could not believe the speed.  Our "seven summer guests," aka heifers - even became a bit curious about all the activity.  As you can see in this photo, one lady has her eyes set on a bale!

Girlfriend

Neices #1 and #2 could not resist hooking up their youngest cousin with a baby doll on a recent grandparents visit!  Baby "K" had just awaken, and the girls posed him with a very pink, girlie baby doll.  I am sure he will cringe when shown this photo some day!

Nonetheless, he seems to enjoy his plastic friend.  Let's just hope that the girls do not want to dress him up in some frilly dress some day.  That just might be too much for a little boy to stomach, or could cause his Daddy to get a bit worried ;)

Six Months

Six months ago this little guy came into the world!  He was not quite happy with this world, at first, but has been doing lots of growing and learning since.  He currently is growing teeth, adding a few more hairs to his head, a bit more length and of course, more pounds!  Check out what he learned this month:

*How to bring his toes to his mouth.
*How to roll from back to front.
*How to bang toys together.
*How to sit, with a little bit of assistance.

Baby "K's" six month appointment brought 4 more shots - including influenza - and growth stats check.  Baby "K" only gained one pound since his four month appointment.  He now weighs 18 pounds and 4 ounces.  He gained a bit in length and his head circumference increased a bit.  He is now in the 50 percentile in all three categories.  He was in the 90 percentile.  We head back to the doctor in October for another weight check and a second influenza vaccination.  We look forward to more growing and learning in the months to come!

Flour Power

One of my great chef friends has been elbow-deep in baking adventures the past several weeks.  You see, the Kansas State Fair is practically in her back yard, and she was set to bake some winning entries.  Her younger sis was also in on the action - and while this was not kitchen stadium, that baking battles ensued!

I admire my good friend BH, because she can bake bread that simply melts in your mouth - and I am not a bread person!  I am totally a fan of her cornbread muffins, even though they did not place, and her dinner rolls looked perfect!  She even entered some baking challenges during the week, which, as you can see from this photo - requires lots of flour options.  So, congratulations BH, and thanks for the fantastic recipes!

Good Morning Grandma!

Grandma and Grandpa S. came for a visit recently, and we were quite excited to see them!  It had been almost two months since the last visit, and Baby "K" has changed a bit.  He has certainly grown, and has added a few new tricks to his repertoire.   Oh, and certainly a few more babble words to his vocabulary =).

Baby "K" and Grandma were chillin' in the kitchen, shortly after Baby "K" woke up.  He was in an outstanding mood, and was looking forward to picking out his outfit for the day.  We headed out to breakfast, and bid the grandparents farewell.  All this socializing wore out Baby "K," of which, he took a three hour nap after we returned home!

Toe-tally Tasty

One of the latest Baby "K" tricks is to touch his toes!  Yes folks, he likes to touch his toes with his tongue - and it does involve a little bit of flexibility.  I tried it, and I can do it.  I just am not certain why one would want to do this trick?  Nonetheless, it is a daily favorite!

We are still awaiting the arrival of the first tooth.  It is quite close to popping out.  I can feel the little tooth ridgey bumps on the bottom right of his jaw.  I am predicting another week, and then it will likely be visible!  He is still enjoying cereal several times a day, and I have been purchasing some veggies for the next step of baby dining.  Delicious!

Once Upon a Pie

Have you ever tried driving with a vanful of about 40 baked items, woodworking projects, flowers - in water, - photographs, hanging clothing, rocks and other multiple items?  This was my 14th year of making the State Fair quest, and well, one of my "passengers" simply did not stay put!

I did really well – until I hit the I-70 & I-135 interchange.  That darn cloverleaf, totally upset my contents!  I even took it at 15 miles per hour.  Suddenly, I heard a plastic crinkle sound of something moving.  I looked over my shoulder and discovered that the cherry pie, had slide down beside the sliding door – on its side.

I pulled off along the side of I-135 and discovered that I would have to open the sliding door to retrieve the pie.  As I did, cherries and filling started dripping onto the highway shoulder.  Some nice lady stopped to see if she could help.  Do you think she had a spare pie on her?  Nope, not a one.  I, of course, had no paper towels or cloth of any sort to wipe up the mess.

I drove on - as I was on a mission to make it to the fair!  I did take the pie in to a judge, and begged for understanding.  She was quite understanding, as she has driven pies many miles too!  The pie did get a blue, but I am convinced that it could have gotten a purple.  I really wish that I would have had a fork.  At least I could have told him how delicious it was!

A Sign or Two

I truly have the best husband in the world!  You see, some co-workers (friends in youth development adventures =) and I have been working hard on a new campaign for the Kansas 4-H youth development program - about nine months - and we are about ready to reveal the work!

Mr. Fixit is helping us get the sign materials ready for the upcoming Kansas State Fair.  We simply have only a week, well not even a week, less than a week to get all the materials ready.  So, Mr. Fixit went to town and purchased some OSB board, hinges, screws and braces.  These signs are not going to go anywhere!  They are going to love hanging out on the State Fair Grounds for a couple of weeks.  Stay tuned for the final result!

Moon Marble Company

About several weeks ago, I headed with a group of kids to the Moon Marble Company.  Talk about a fun field trip!  The kids were taught how to play marbles, watched a demonstration on how to make marbles and picked out their very own set of marbles to take home.  The set even included one shooter!

The Moon Marble Company location really is a diamond in the rough.  The building is made of cinder blocks, and sports a drab gray exterior paint.  But, check out the inside, and that is where the treasure is!  Of course, there are marbles galore -- since that is the namesake, after all, but there is so much more.  The shop features nostalgic toys, and toys that maybe have been forgotten by many.  Toys that simply do not require batteries - only imagination!

The photo features some of our crew selecting their own set of marbles to take home.  The marble selection reminded me of a bulk candy store -- bins, and bins of marble choices everywhere!  Tons of color options, smooth, textured, sparkled, shiny, and mirrored.  Wow, what a fun place!  Check out more at www.moonmarble.com and well, head back to childhood for a bit =)