Kansas, Pratt - Thursday, May 26, 2016 - Kansas Storms

I need to catch up on good wishes to family members since I haven’t posted for a while:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO GRANDSON KYLE

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO DAUGHTER DESIRA AND DAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JACK “PAP” CROSLEY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (coming up) TO GRANDSON JACKSON AND GRANDDAUGHTER BRAELYNN

We’ve been able to enjoy walking in Lemon Park which is just outside of downtown Pratt.  There is a one mile marked walking track that is well kept and winds in and out of several beautiful areas.

This shade garden is one of my favorite spots.

One feature they have added this year for kids is “read while you walk”.  Pages of a storybook are scattered along the trail so that by the end of the mile you have finished the storybook.  I think they change the book every week, we’ve seen two books so far.  This is a great idea but we haven’t taken time to stop to see what the books are about, we have been trying to better our time for a mile from 22 minutes down to 20 minutes – I know, we aren’t going to win any races at that rate but it does get our heart rates up by the time we have completed our two miles.

This Ivory Silk Japanese Tree Lilac smells wonderful.  I only know what it is because of the marker that told me.  They have 60 different varieties of trees throughout the park that are all marked with some very nice plaques.

We’ve spent some great time with David and the kids.  Cheyanne talked me into getting one of the adult coloring books that are supposed to relax you by coloring in some pretty complex design pages – we have enjoyed talking while we completed our pictures (I’ve even colored some without her, those things are addictive).

We are so proud of Wyatt for the commitment he has made to his karate lessons.  He spent last Saturday testing to move to a purple belt.  The day started out with a six mile run and continued on with a full day of strenuous physical trials.  He didn’t want anyone to come watch him so I had promised him I wouldn’t.  However, David and I had been together all day doing a variety of things – we started out volunteering to pass out water to runners in a fun run and we ended up having time to see the last half hour of Wyatt’s testing.  I hid behind a large column so he wouldn’t see me until after he was done.  I got tired just watching what he was going through while I peeked around the corner.  I think if they had had one more sit up or push up he might not have made it, he was tired.  As it was he made it through and got his purple belt and certificate – glad I was there to see it.

Tuesday evening we were in the worst storm I think we have weathered in the motor coach.  There were tornadoes all around the area but none exactly where we are.  Winds here were reported between 60 and 70 miles per hour for what seemed like forever.  Thankfully with the way we are parked the wind hit the back of the coach rather than hitting us in the side – we still rocked.  The worst part though was the hail, it sounded horrendous even though it was relatively small but there doesn’t appear to be any damage done.  Unfortunately, the weather forecast is for a worse night tonight.

I was able to get a rare picture of the three of them – Wyatt was reluctant but I played the “pleading Grandma” card.  The storm is brewing in the background.

Kash had to get in on the action too.

We did find out Tuesday evening that if there is a tornado in the area we don’t have to worry about hearing the sirens from a town.  The TV came on with a loud alert at the same time our weather radio started blaring and both of our phones sent out loud alerts – all that noise scared us as bad as the weather.

Greg has been able to get in some maintenance chores while we are here where he can take advantage of David’s shop and tools.  He rebuilt a hydraulic cylinder on the motorcycle lift, changed the oil in the motor coach and replaced a filter in the coach.  He wouldn’t have been able to do the replacement on the filter this time last year, since he has lost weight he could squeeze into the area above the motor to get it accomplished.  I still stood outside where he was working just in case he got into trouble.

We’ll be here in our special barnyard spot until Friday, June 3 when we will head to Branson, MO for a bit before heading on to Indiana for the summer.