Families That Golf Together Stay Together?

Dave loves to golf. Some might say he's obsessed. He would play every day if he could. I think we know what retirement will look like for him! Jones likes golf and he did a 3 day golf clinic when we got here. He is so big that he was ready for a new set of clubs. McKinley got his old set and after her first time at the driving range she was hooked! I've started to put my lessons from a year or so ago into some use. So, we are pretty much a golfing family, which for Dave, is pretty much a dream come true!

Duet

Jones has been taking guitar lessons for almost a year now, and Kinley just started taking piano last month. They found a song they could play together! I can imagine endless possibilities...

Wonder Mill

The way I view food has changed. I'm trying to do more from scratch. And when I do buy things I look at the ingredients and try to think about the process a particular item had to go through to get to me. That being said, I still eat junk! I'm just eating less of it. Last year I started making almost all of our bread. I'm comfortable with that. I'll be more comfortable when we have an extra freezer so I can make and store more at one time. Until then, it's small batches! But I wanted to take the next step and start milling my own grains for flour.

Happy Birthday to me from my dad and Martha:

Now that I owned the "world's quietest mill" I needed grain. Two 50lb bags to be exact:

Then I read the directions and measured and filled it with grain:

While it milled I admired its quietness....and then, like magic, I had flour:

So cool! Now I mill and store it in the freezer so it's ready to go. The WonderMill is Wonderful!!!

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

Kansas House Tour

Yay! It's a house tour! I'm thinking there won't be many people who will be visiting us here in the great state of Kansas. Blink and you could miss us since we'll only be here a year. But we still try to have a "home" even though we did keep a lot of our things in boxes this time for two reasons: 1) We just don't have the space. We can't park in the garage because it's filled with our extra furniture and items we aren't unpacking. 2) We can do without for 12 months, and it will save us lots of hole patching on our exit.

Ready? Here we go! This is a "double split plan" so bear with me on the explanations:

Windows above the garage belong to the kids. Left is Kinley and right is Jones.
 






The front door dumps you into what is supposed to be the formal living room.
It is my project room because that's how the furniture fit!
I've always wanted to craft by the fire!



The lighting is so much better in this shot. You can see straight through to the
dining room from this room.

 

We LOVE this kitchen!!! It's small but super efficient with a ton of storage.
Plus upgraded appliances which I certainly appreciate!



Down the stairs is the family room. Door leads to a little patio outside.



The open door is to a half bath, we have a little wet bar area,
garage is to the left, and then another short flight of steps down to the basement room.

 

Standing in the family room looking up to the dining room and looking down into the basement.
The playroom is to the left and the closed door is storage
(you definitely DON'T want to see that or the basement. Ugh.)
 

 

To the left in the extra large basement playroom.
The kids have their own fun space down here with a couch/bed, tv, wii and....

  

Desks, keyboard, and all their toys!!! Legos on the floor, as usual.

 

Now to the top floor to the right of the stairs is our room.
Across from the bed is Dave's desk. 

 

To the left of our bed is our bathroom.
Awesome small shower with double water heads....perfect!
I keep our laundry basket in the tub because we just aren't tub people.
Walk in closet to the left and toilet straight ahead.
 



To the left of the stairs is a closet laundry room and the kid's bathroom.



 

Jones' room. It's tiny! Only room to sleep and dress and read.
But that's why they have a playroom!

 

Kinley's room. She got the bigger room and bed, but she has to give it up for guests.



  

Big, fenced backyard. We love it! Any of you who saw our last backyard know
we are appreciating the topography of this one :)



The rear view. Nice little deck. Though somehow our umbrella hardware is
missing after the move so we haven't been able to enjoy it much yet.

  

 

So there you have it! The tour of our double-split-level Kansas home. We are enjoying it. Very close to post, kid's school, great farmers market, delicious restaurants and fun shops!



First Day of School

WOW! I know. I'm back! Well, we'll see how it goes, but I'm going to try. Hoping to post current stuff we are up to, in addition to revisiting some past adventures I never got around to sharing.

Big new for today? The first day of school for my babies!!! Not really babies anymore...I have a 3rd grader and a 1st grader. Can you believe it? I certainly can't. I got some photos on our way out the door. Jones mentioned that he thought he was too old for this - what!?!? He will seriously be holding a sign and smiling for the camera first day of his senior year. Too bad for him, but that's just how this mama operates. He also wasn't sure he wanted the little note and corny joke I put in his lunchbox. Kids these days! At least my Kinley didn't show any signs of being too grown up....unless you count the nail polish and curly hair she requested to go with her head-to-toe cheetah outfit. Yikes!

 

 

 

 

Good luck to those sweet things today! I pick them up in 4 hours. I couldn't wait for them to start, and now I can't wait for them to get back!