Owl Prowl and a coyote in my trash barrel

Saturday night was "Owl Prowl" for all the north KC and surrounding area Girl Scouts. The name serves it well, as you basically stay up all night and prowl like an owl.

This was our first time attending the annual event, and we absolutely loved it. It was held at a city middle school, which is connected to the community center by a hallway. That gave the girls access to 2 gyms and an indoor pool. Girls rotated from station to station learning about other countries, making crafts, playing games, making friends, eating food...They made friendship bracelets, origami, did face painting, several bead activities and more. Just a few more things to do and they will have earned another badge. They learned about several countries and continents. It was a very well attended and well organized event. I would highly recommend it to any Girl Scout in the area.

On the way home, it began to snow. The further north we got the heavier it came down and as soon as we crossed the county line it turned into sleet. We took a 3 hour nap (well, I tried to nap-I had so much mountain dew in me by that time I couldn't sleep) then got up and headed back for Sunday School and church. More sleet had gathered and we were slow going for the first 17 miles or so, then it gradually turned back into snow and then nothing. By the time we got to church there was almost nothing on the ground. There always seems to be an line that we are always just north of. Usually we get it a little harder.

Yesterday morning, I looked out the upstairs office window to see a coyote (aka devil dog) in the trash barrel. Usually they don't cross the back pasture fence, but this one didn't seem to care. I didn't let my birds out of the coop and pen yesterday as a result, as I didn't want him to be thinking he could be visiting to be served chicken. I complained to JD about him and he reminded me that I knew where the guns were at....So, next time I will shoot, providing no horses, cows, kids...are near. Lately my birds have been venturing further into the back pasture to scratch (one even tries to lay in the horses hay bale), into coyote territory so I am afraid when it gets warmer we may loose a few. The next pasture over has lamas and no coyotes, so maybe we need to put a lama in this pasture. A lama will kick and fight a coyote and kill it, so usually coyotes just avoid areas with lamas.

I'm ready for Spring

I am tired of the cold weather and mother natures tricks. Once again we had weather in the 60's, followed by a day like today--cold and very windy. All day today I have had trouble feeling warm, even though I have several layers on. I just hope I am not coming down with something, I don't have time to get sick!

Today the girls and I slept in. Tonight we will stay up most of the night watching videos so we can sleep tomorrow. Saturday night we have an all night Girl Scout Owl Prowl. Owl Prowl is a non sleeping event, so we are gearing up so we can stay awake and enjoy it. The hardest part will be staying awake for church after Owl Prowl, and driving back home! I have children's church on Sunday, so I am sure the kids will keep me awake. But, I do plan on sneaking a mountain dew in...

Yesterday the I took the girls to the library in Liberty for a homeschooling class. It was an art class about Paul Klee. Emily has been helping with the class as Miss Susie's assistant.

This afternoon we worked on math, and health. Tonight we have some science and history videos to watch, and we will probably also watch a movie or two, and maybe cut more squares for the girls quilts.

Yesterday JD went and bought 20 foot of iron pipe to mount the windsock on for our weather station. We had planned on working on that this afternoon, but the weather was just to cold and windy. He says if I can have a windsock, he should be able to have a helicopter....... Maybe I can find him a toy one somewhere. Several years ago there was an auction on eBay of a John Deere helicopter. It sold for around $90,000. It was right before we got married, and he was convinced that I should get that for his wedding present. Needless to say, I was not convinced, so he didn't get it. He has never let me forget that. Anyway, JD has been studying up on windsocks. You can tell the speed as well as the direction of the wind by the angle the windsock is at. I knew it told the direction, but I was not aware there are charts on the wind speeds as well.

This semester I am teaching a class on American Presidents. I worked on my lesson plans today. There are a lot of interesting little facts that most people don't know about the presidents. Also a lot of untruths and myths. For example, George Washingtons false teeth were not wood, they were ivory and had real teeth wired into them--teeth from donkies, humans and horses. He did not chop down his fathers cherry tree--his father had no cherry trees. Did you know he was a redhead in his younger days? He helped design the White House, but never lived in it. He was the first president to be elected unanimously and was inaugurated in both Philadephia and New York. Do you know why some records say he was born on Feb 11 and others say Feb 22? And, both dates are technically correct??

Missing my baby....

Emily (and my niece Molly) return tomorrow from their youth group winter retreat. They have been at camp since Saturday. I am anxious to see how it went for them, as this was their first time to this particular camp.

After church, the twins and I went to Walmart. Rebecca picked out her fabric for her quilt, and preshrunk it. We got a few squares cut out tonight. Elizabeth is ready to start cutting hers out as well. Since this is their first one, we are going for something simple--a 4 inch square pattern with 3 colors or patterns. Their goal is to make their quilts twin size, but since it is their first they may stop at a lap quilt size. We will see how it goes.

After they get some experience from this, they will start making quilt blocks for Girl Scouts. Their troop is made up of 12 girls. Each girl is to make twelve (one for each girl) blocks of twelve inches. Their block is to represent their personality. Then the troop will put them together and each girl will have their own quilt with their own twelve inch quilt block (square) in it, and one from each other troop member. I think that is a real cool idea and a good way for the girls to remember their troop. Most of the girls in the troop have grown up together, so it will hold a lot of meaning.

Sending Emily off

This morning Emily, and my niece Molly, leave for a weekend youth group retreat in Kansas. I think they are both rather excited. The will return on Monday afternoon. The rest of us girls will be meeting with our girl scout troop at church for most of the day working to get things ready for an event next weekend.

Girl Scout cookies are in!!!! Too bad they always arrive at the time people start their diets over for the new year. Thankfully though, people order them in December when dieting is not on their mind.

Our cold weather continues but at least for now the sun is shinning.

I'll try to maybe get another post in after we return this evening.

Wednesdays are sooooo quiet at my house....

Wednesdays are getting to be the quiet day at my house. On Wednesdays I often don't have all 3 of the girls as that is "internship day". I want all my kids to "intership" at a business each month to see how they operate. Emily has chosen to work at a branch of the Mid Contient Library (it took awhile for that to happen--supervisors had to approve and such...), and Elizabeth has chosen to work for Crain Vet Clinic in Grain Valley--my cousins Jerry and Robbie Espey are the vets there. They don't all go on the same Wednesday, but on opposite ones of each other. When the weather gets a little warmer, Rebecca will join them-but we haven't quite figured out where yet-but she wants something outside. I do have my eye on greenhouse/nursery nearby that is run by a semi retired couple who homeschooled all their children. When they open back up at the first of March, I will approach them about Rebecca working one Wednesday a month. That will give us 3 quiet Wednesdays a month. Something about having an odd number of children makes it noisier. I have noticed that when I have my neices and nephews (from either side of the family) here also--if one leaves, it is quiet again when we get back to an even number of kids.

Tonight Emily has a training session for an all night girl scout (non-sleeping)event coming up. So, when I go to town to pick her up from the library, I will be there until her training is out at 8:30. I think the twins and I will kill part of that time at the library, Walmart, and CVS.

Day of Science

The twins have been working on a badge for Girl Scouts, "Science and Technology". They have been working on it off & on for days, and most of today. They have worked with a pulley and weights, batteries and lights, robotics and more. The came as a "badge in a box". Its a box that has everything in it to do this badge, and the box goes from troop to troop. It has been kind of interesting. Girl Scout rules state you can't use a school project for scouts....but, Mamma's homeschool rules don't state you can't use a Girl Scout project for a science grade... So, I am counting the time they have been working on it towards their science hours.

We got the rain gauge and a thermometer mounted in the weather station today. I am still the leading bidder on eBay for a windsock, but have 2 more days till that auction ends. The windsock will mount on a piece of conduit that will attach to one of the wooden poles. My idea is that the windsock will be about 10-12 feet off the ground. It needs to be high enough to not interfere with the instruments below it.

I sold a pair of outgrown snow boots on ebay yesterday, and shipped them off today. I also listed an identical pair yesterday. My goal for the year was to try and list one thing a month (I am starting out small), and so far I have done two.