Our April 2026

 Phoebe had all three dogs' attention one day and got them each to obey several commands using eggs as rewards.

On Easter Sunday we missed having Sarah with us that morning in our family pictures and at church with us. Later in the afternoon we all met at my cousin Josh's house/barn for our annual Hastings Easter get-together, Easter egg hunt, and Wiffleball game.

Below, Wiffleball players this year, front row - left to right - Trisha, Jim, Will, Lindsee, and Stacee. Back rows, left to right - Jordan, Phoebe, Sarah, Owen, Silas, Eric, Natasha, Josh, Zach, Dale, Preston, and Hayley.

Silas is our one and only kid who has chosen to give track a try. He has been successful so far in his events. His main two events this season are the mile and the half mile. They are also required to give another event a "try", so he has been running the 200 M Hurdles at a few meets. He even got in on a couple of relays one day when a teammate wasn't able to run his usual spots, Silas filled in and did alright. I have been impressed with Silas's ability to adapt this season to different events and stay focused on his two main events. Just like in cross country last fall, he sets goals for himself and has been achieving PR's and beating some of his rivals from other schools in our league.

Phoebe got this 1,000 piece Central Park puzzle last November for her birthday. She started putting it together around Christmas time and finished it recently.

The youth from our church participated in a Progressive Dinner one Sunday afternoon and evening.

We have a big Cottonwood Tree by the front of our house and driveway. There has been a large branch that needed to come down for a year or so. Eric made a plan one afternoon and executed it perfectly by himself with only the assistance of our van. I'm not even kidding. I came out of our house and saw a rope attached to the big branch and our van hitch... and Eric was on a ladder chain sawing away... The next thing I know, the branch was falling perfectly into the spot that Eric had planned for it to fall and Eric was cheering for himself as the van started to roll. No worries the van stopped as the slack came out of the rope between the branch and hitch, also just like Eric had planned.

We had a snake emergency at our house one afternoon. Phoebe got home from school and heard some little squeaks. Upon further investigation she and I found a bunny nest under our side porch. Unfortunately, a snake had also found the bunny nest and was squeezing the life out of some babies. Phoebe and I jumped into action by grabbing the garden hose, turning it on, and spraying the snake with a drowning shot of water. It released the baby bunnies and they started hopping away. Phoebe scooped up the three babies as I eyeballed the stupid snake. Now what to do???? No Problem! I called in my favorite "Snake Wrangler", my Dad. He seriously LOVES snakes! (He use to go on Rattlesnake hunts in Oklahoma.) Dad came right over and he and I got to work getting the snake out from under the porch. Once we got it out far enough for him to grab, he grabbed the tail then got a hold of its head and then he couldn't quit smiling. Did I mention he LOVES snakes?!? He even exclaimed, "I haven't held a snake in a long time." He loved looking at it, showing it to the kids, and helping us that afternoon. Thanks Dad!

My little Lilac bush bloomed and looked beautiful this Spring.

We attended K-State Open House with Sarah and Owen on 4/18/26.

Eric and I had the kids take our picture in a large lecture hall in Bluemont Hall. He and I had one class together during our years at K-State and it was in this room/hall. The class was called "Social Problems". He would tell you the class was easy. I say it wasn't so easy... It was a very large class, probably 300 students. The room was always filled. I usually sat towards the back and he usually sat towards the front...the funny part of the story was that we didn't even know we had this class together until the last day, we walked in and saw each other there preparing to take the final. (This was before we started dating and really were just acquaintances, but it still is a funny story to us about this class and our memories of our time in Manhattan.)

The kids tried a new game called "Crokinole". It is popular in Canada. Owen and Sarah liked it so much that they added it to their wedding gift registry.

Silas enjoyed the "money grab", battle bots, building a little wooden box, and touring the vet med buildings.

We have some beautiful Iris blooming in our yard this year. My Mom loved the Iris every Spring that bloomed in her and Dad's yard. They even took a couple trips to an Iris farm near Topeka with their friends Ron and Betsy to get new colors of Iris to add to their yard. When they bloom now, it makes me smile and think of her. I love how they look and smell.

Phoebe's love and knowledge of crochet amazes me. She is way more than a beginner. All self-taught. Simply amazing. She decided a month or so ago that she was going to crochet herself a summer shirt. She found a picture online, picked her colors, and started making granny squares. She worked hard for a couple of weeks and the final project was nothing short of fantastic! It fit her perfectly and looks so good on her.

Silas choir, the Silverbacks, took a trip to Oklahoma City for the annual Music Festival contest. They received all 1 ratings (1 is the best score they can get), won the sweepstakes award, and the tenor and bass sections were recognized and awarded medals for their excellence and musicality.

On the same day that Silas's choir took their trip to OKC to sing for the Music Festival, Hutton had their annual family Block Party. This year it was held at the Sedgwick County Zoo. We all got matching shirts, a delicious lunch, and free entry into the zoo. The baby elephants were the highlight of the day. Hutton is building the new Elephant barn so we all got an up close look and tour of the new facility.

My sister, Lindsee, threw Sarah and Owen a great Wedding Shower on 4/26/26. We had ice cream sundaes with ALL the toppings, fresh fruit, and brownies to eat. We played a couple of games and they opened their gifts from their guests.

Silas participated in our church's "Fifth Wednesday sing" on 4/29. Silas chose to sing the song "Rattle". He did amazing! Big THANKS to our friend, Ryan, who is so encouraging to Silas and is always willing to play for him and help him practice and get better.