Happy Trails to you!

Well, we finished up two weeks of being on the road. We had to stop in and see all the folk in Kansas and also headed up to the Pacific Coast to see Portland Sister and her beau! It was a great time for all, but I must say there is no place like home.

I will post more in the upcoming days about our Portland trip, our Kansas trip and to introduce you to the newest member of our family!

Prince Charming with his two Princes!

Happy 4th of July from Windy Knoll Tree Farm

On our third trip to Kansas THIS SUMMER Prince Charming came with us! It was good for him to come back and realize 'it just isn't the same....' He hadn't been 'home' since we moved in February. It was different to come back to a place that didn't have a house for us to call home. It is always wonderful to visit friends, family, QuikTrip, Sonic and Taco Shop, but there is nothing like your own bed.

The four cousins 

I was so exhausted and grumpy he even got me two nights at a hotel. It seemed rather silly as we have a plethora of places to stay. My Wichita BF's mom says----"Guests are like fish outta water. After three days both the guests and the owners start to stink!" I think she is on to something. I'm not sure if I quoted her exactly, but the jest is there.

It was fun to see the Topeka Cousins who we hadn't seen since December. 

When you move away you (we) have to realize that people don't dance on tables for you and they too have a life. This is something I will have to work on understanding. I always resented (as a child) when our family rearranged stuff for the "out of town" guests. Now that I am out of town, I am ashamed of my behavior. I read something on Pinterest today that was apropos to this behavior:

Book Review: Serafina and the Black Cloak

A new Disney book my amazing boss, Ms. Beth, got for me to read! Pretty stoked about this. I'm glad to have a job and feel like I have a task to do everyday! I even had a chit chat with her when I went back to Wichita last week. It was good to know I was doing an okey-dokey job!

  The rolling hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where the vines weigh heavily upon the branches of the old trees, creating a canopy of darkness, withholding all light from the paths through the woods, there lies the rumors of creatures who walk the night. The rumors also say an abandoned  village is hidden among the crawling vines, moss, lichens, trees; the villagers would disappear without a trace and without any hope of discovery--dead or alive.

Not too far down the road from this isolated village is the beautiful estate of the Edith and George Vanderbilt, Biltmore Estate. In the basement of this mansion, hidden for as long as she can remember, is Serafina, a young girl whose soul longs to walk amongst the beautiful and exquisite ladies above her. Her Pa, the mechanic of Biltmore Estates, has made a secret home for them in the boiler room. Until recently Serafina was content with her life in the basement being the C.R.C--Chief Rat Catcher--of Biltmore Estates, but one night, while out hunting for rats, she hears the cries of a young lady visitor crying for help. A man answers her calmly stating he will not hurt the child. Serafina follows the sounds only to witness the girl being strangled by the black cloak and within a blink discovers the girl has disappeared. To her horror the man in the black cloak hears her and comes after her. Clawing, biting and kicking for her life, Serafina wins the first round, barely escaping the death of the black cloak, but knows the next encounter might not find her so lucky!

Serafina must tell her Pa about what she has witnessed, but he does not believe her. She finds courage to go upstairs to find someone who will listen to her and discovers Braeden Vanderbilt, a young man who has the ability to speak to animals, but doesn't have any human friends. As Serafina knows in her heart she is something other than human, a fast bond is formed between these two and they know they must solve this mystery! Each night a child is taken; they are afraid they will be next.

Mystery, magic, murder....this coming of age book is a page turner from the very beginning. 

You can see the full review at Books & What Not [DOT]com

The really cool part about this book was the setting! It really is a place in our American history. After finishing the book I went and checked out the website. I think I would like to visit this wonderful place: Biltmore Estates.

Book Review: The Fixer

I am madly in love with the depth of the characters in Jennifer Lynn Barnes latest novel, The Fixer. I found I was still reading at two in the morning and laughing out loud at Asher's sense of humor. Laughing. Out. Loud.  Now, don't misunderstand, this is not a humorous novel; it is about a 17-year-old girl, Tess Kendrick, who is living on a ranch in in Montana when we first meet her. She is maintaining some semblance of high school normalcy. Due to an altercation with one of her teachers, she is sent to the counselor. Tess has been able to manage taking care of their horse ranch, and keeping a secret: her grandfather has Alzheimer's. The school counselor has noticed something is off and calls in 'The Fixer' --Ivy Kendrick. Ivy, Tess' older sister, swoops in and instantly takes charge. Grandpa is shipped off to a treatment facility in Boston and Tess is now living in a two bedroom apartment in Washington D.C. starting at a prep school with the elite children of the bigwigs of D.C.

I was astonished to learn of the depth of political nominations and the prices paid to gain access to the top--the layers kept peeling away. The political scandal is unearthed within the first few chapters with the complexity of the crimes continuously evolving throughout the book. Your word is law in D.C. and the phrase 'I'll owe you' is one you must be willing to ante up on when your card is called. Unlike Tess, the students at Hardwicke Prep School know this as well as knowing Ivy Kendrick is called to resolve issues when a cover up is required. 

To help assimilate Tess into her new life as the fixer's sister, we meet Asher, Henry and Vivvie. Asher is a sarcastic, popular hottie whose wit is met with contempt from the 'I don't give a crap' Tess. He is unfazed throughout and keeps the comments coming. Henry is his best friend and is a no-nonsense hard ass. (Complete opposite of his bf, so this keeps it entertaining!) Vivvie is the first friend Tess meets at the school and is the daughter of the man who has just murdered the Chief Supreme Justice. See what I mean about the layers?

This is the first installment of a new series; the base of these characters promises to be a series worth following.

See the complete review at Books & What Not [DOT]com

Visit to Churchhill Downs, Louisville, KY

                    

YEAH to a Bucket Item crossed off for my StepMom! The Jedi Knights and I took my Dad and StepMom to Churchill Downs for a fun filled night of drinks, races and fun!

It was Twilight Thursday, so it was food truck night and $1 beers! You can't beat that! Obe Wan was the champ for the night walking away with money in his pocket.

It is a skill---gambling that is....and apparently the wise, cautious one is the one to take advice from. I lost money. A lot. A whole $20! WOW. Put me in Gamblers Anonymous asap!

There were nine races the night we went. It was fun to hear the pawing and racing of the hooves. It was like no other sound I have ever heard. It was crazy!

 I learned what a Perfecta, a Trifecta and a blah, blah, blah was! I learned to tip the bookie and wink at him! HA! 

I also enjoyed a Lily. I heard they were amazing drinks and for $10 they should be. I could have drank 10 of them, but all my money was going to the horses. When we went down for the food trucks and cheap beers we saw the horses. They parade before every race. We could see their colors--known as silks. I couldn't stop thinking of my RH friend Becky who would totally appreciate this. I didn't know what to do other than drink!!!

StepMom, Me and the Dad
WOW...I kinda look like him. 

A Day with Friends in Kansas

Well, I have concluded we have four family friends in RH we still miss every other day. (If I say everyday I sound like a loser.....) So, we went to KS last week and I kidnapped several kids to spend the day with us. We had a blast.

I had my two boys and Josh's boy bf with us at the start of the day. We went and picked up three more boys to round out a total of SIX boys with me! We went in to the big city of Wichita to Osage Water Park for a free water fountain park experience. It was lovely. The boys ran amok. They ganged up on these two pieces of poop. It was quite humorous to watch all the boys team up together. It made my heart feel so good after the cruelty J-Bird has experienced here.


Every child was told to pack a lunch so we could eat on the cheap. Traveling with a kid on dietary restrictions isn't fun, so I pretty much threw out the low sodium for the week. Both Gma's monitored the sodium more than I did! HA! Gotta love the grandmas....

After the packed lunch, we headed WAY across town to the Augusta Pool. We went swimming for a few hours.

 At the Augusta Pool we were joined by two other families. This rounded out the day of seeing ALL four families! The boys were in heaven. I was too as I hadn't been able to spend this much time talking with Kim & Sara since we moved. I was pretty stoked as I got to talk without kids interrupting me! 

After the pool, we headed BACK across town to watch 'Home' at the Pink Palace. It was a cute movie about being ostracized from your own kind. 

Sara and her two kids went from the pool to the movie with us. It was delightful. I'm not going to lie. It was the best day I have had in a LONG time. I miss these people. I miss them most days. 

Book Review: Interstellar Cinderella

Interstellar Cinderella by Deborah Underwood

A Cinderella story that does not have a pair of glass shoes? What? In this poetic tale of Cinderella, she has left behind her socket wrench! New York Times best seller, Deborah Underwood, has created a unique story of a Cinderella who has tools and sprockets instead of the normal brooms and dustpans. The four line poems are creative and allow the reader to understand a girl can be anything she desires! AND this Cinderella doesn't want to marry the Prince---she just wants to be his chief mechanic!

Interstellar Cinderella uses a Geom Graphic font, along with muted magenta, silvers and blue colors,  to help create the space-like setting. The life-like illustrations of space robots with the creative use of doodles support the overall interstellar viewpoint.  

See the entire review at Books & What Not

Fire Truck visits the Knob!

Another fire truck you may ask? Yep. I had ALL the windows open in the house and I kept hearing the siren. I looked out the window and saw a fire truck out on the Knob. I saw a girl walking towards a house from the truck with a bucket in her hand. It kinda reminded me of Dorothy from Oz. (I am reading a book right now dealing with the Wizard of Oz--review coming--and I had my mind on Oz....) Curiosity finally got the best of me and I headed outside. I am the local gossip and need to know all that is going on. I go into the front yard and sure enough there is a fire truck sitting in the cul-de-sac at the end of our street. A fire truck with volunteers was coming around the corner with people hopping in and out of collecting money for some cause. I don't even remember what, but we gave money. Since the windows were open I yelled at the boys to come out. They did. They were like "WHAT?!" I said it's a fire truck. Do you want to go see it. They ROLLED their eyes out me. "Uh, no Mom, we have seen them before at the Cub Scout field trip...." Yeah, whatever. So what if I am excited about this kind of stuff.

They suck the fun outta life....