Free of Charge

We are putting on an outdoor backyard concert series, as of late.

You don't even have to come outside....you can hear it all the way in your very own house whether you like it or not!

I'm pretty sure the neighbors love us. 

Fourth of July

This is a confusing holiday for the masses. On one hand, the news is reporting an increase in Covid-19 cases, Kansas is requiring mask-wearing for all public spaces and many of the firework shows were cancelled to discourage large groups of people from gathering together. 

Then again, Kansas is actually doing pretty well. Our numbers are holding pretty low. We planned a cookout with the Guenthers and Flynns. We have done everything with them for the last decade. We are going to keep doing so. We are on private property and it's 95 degrees out and 110% humidity. We plan on stuffing our faces and we will not be wearing masks. 

We like to follow the rules, but then we sometimes just don't because it seems so.....stupid. 

But hey, let's compromise. I promise to wear them in Walmart and gas stations and public bathrooms. I'll even wear them to church. I draw the line at the pool. 

Now.

Back to celebrating. 

We made burgers and dogs and lots of yummy side dishes. Then we sat around and talked until the kids had polished off the entire 9x13 of Chocolate Lasagna. 

Kate did some face paint on the girls

And Ryan listened to Megan play and showered her with praise. I love that he hasn't hit that stage where he's embarrassed to be kind and open. 

We drove back to our cul de sac to light off our little collections of pyrotechnics. Mari and Martin's neighbors have a reputation for calling police on suspect behavior.  Oh...did I mention that fireworks are illegal? Not sure how they would enforce those laws tonight...the entire city was lit up! People are cooped up and they're bored.

We did our handful and started burning through the 3 dozen sparklers I've had in the closet for the last few years....

We even had some of those fabulous snakes!

Our favorite was the Emoji!! It lit up like a jack-o-lantern!

And the roman candles. They make everyone feel like a wizard!

And then the neighbors want bananas! They were blowing up the big stuff! I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that we live right by the fire station! Hopefully the firefighters could enjoy them from their parking lot...lol.

We did drive out to Gardner to watch the fireworks over the lake. We were pretty late, but we still saw some beautiful ones.

We didn't stay too long...we were tired.

Grateful for our free country. I'm grateful we have the choice to choose and even argue with each other about what we think is right. I'm especially thankful for our dear friends and the fun traditions that we have built together year after year. Happy Fourth!

Getting something started

Through a strange series of events, I have been appointed the neighborhood social media coordinator.  At any other time, that would mean that I post reminders about neighborhood socials and moderate comments. 

Since everything has gone to heck in a hand basket...I find myself issuing chalk art challenges that go largely ignored. 

No worries...we Huffords will create Easter egg art at the park all by our lonesome....and it will be EPIC....just you wait.

It's starting to look like we will be needing facemasks to go shopping...so I thought I'd try to make a few.

I suppose it will do.

But I fell SO STUPID.

That's okay...at least my grass is growing.

Like a champ!

I finally understand how happy people must feel when they say "It's about as fun as watching grass grow"....SO HAPPY!

Advent Day 2....Neighborhood Hayrides

Sophie the Elf is dreaming of a white Christmas, it seems.

Today's Advent adventure is going on a hayride through the neighborhood to see the lights. It was cold! But it was beautiful and we had a fun laughing about the stinky horse farts.

Poor Ethan had to work (sad face)...I know he would have loved those big Belgian Draft horses.

This neighborhood really does a great job of lighting things up.

We came back to the house and watched the new video about Christ's birth that the church put out. It's so fantastic. I love the way they portray Mary and Joseph. It reminds me that they were a young couple and they got a brand new baby too, not "just" the savior...but a sweet little baby to care for.

Our favorite part is the wiseman. He does a wonderful job and the expression on his face when he meets little Jesus is unforgettable.

We watched and dipped pretzels in chocolate for our FHE treat.

Naturally, Megan's were neatly organized.

2018 Fourth of July Extravaganza

We did all the things today. We had a fun bbq potluck with the neighbors...we didn't know anyone there except for the actual neighbors we live by...that is due to our peculiar people status. But hey...we showed. We were neighborly.

Mathew discovered he can stick a speaker to his abs. That's because he is a young bean and he has muscles unencumbered by years of cookies.

Ethan went ALL OUT for the neighborhood bike parade. He loves America!

We had a get together with the Guenthers and Flynns that feature the American pastime of shooting stuff for fun....

Hanging about and chewing the fat.

Doing various feats of strength, agility and general one-up-manship in the name of entertaining ourselves.

Then ditching our sissy city boundaries for the wild child to the west, Gardner.  That whole city is lighting their money on fire and we are more than happy to sit back and watch the show!

Happy Fourth Everybody!! Yeehaw!

Dear Neighbors, it's okay to spit it out.

No procrastinating the sugar cookies this year! We need a treat to deliver to the neighbors(the advent calender said so), a treat for Family Home Evening and an activity....for Family Home Evening. Sugar cookies qualify for all three.

See how I'm getting smarter every year? I used to put multiple activities in each pocket. Now I make one activity satisfy multiple expectations.

The little girls and I did the cutting and baking early in the day. It's better this way. You know what they say about cooks in the kitchen. 

Later, everyone was able to decorate their allotted cookies. We've learned our lesson about an ounce of organization saving you from a pound of fights.

They turned out pretty cute! Simple and tasty. Or maybe just simple. After dropping them off to 6 or 7 of the families that we live by every day, we bit into our own cookies and I realized (with horror) that they were TERRIBLE. Possible the nastiest cookies I've ever had. And I've snarfed up my share of sub-par cookies in my life.

Maybe we should start a new tradition of ding dong ditching our neighbor gifts. Deniability is the key here.

Abundance

We've had so much rain this year. The conditions are ripe for froggies!

I love the dirty feet, the snarled hair, sun burned noses. I want them to run and fill up buckets with the hoses. I want them to spend the whole day in their swimsuits....making up games and building forts. 

Summer of the frogs!

Fourth of July 2015

Time for the neighborhood bike parade. 

Our bikes are decorated and we are in our most patriotic duds. Ethan went the extra mile and wore his clothes from the pioneer trek. Brave!

Laney lined up with the neighborhood, waiting for the fire truck to get moving.

Everly and Anna..those coffee filters really give it that extra something, don't you think?

I will never be as patriotic as this dog. Or this man.

We spent the evening with the Flynns and the Johns.

Making homemade rootbeer.

And shooting the breeze.

We stopped home for our pajamas and then drove over to watch the fireworks from the Guenther's parents house. The Guenthers weren't even with us, but gave us the go ahead to take advantage of the prime spot.

Happy Fourth!