It's been really hot here.

Like, the heat index has been around 115 degrees, and today was more of the same.

Mike announced that we were going to have a family golf day today.

Like, the heat index has been around 115 degrees.

So like a good wife and mom, I told the kids that today was a family golf day, and Breanna replied: "I don't do family golf days." 

Me: (in a hushed tone) "Well, I don't either, but Dad wants to."

Breanna: (in a hushed tone) "Since when do we do what Dad wants?"

Me: (blank stare…then, in a hushed tone) "Well I don't know, but we should go."

Breanna: (louder) "You know it's gonna be like 115 degrees outside."

Mike: "EVERYONE READY TO GO?? THIS IS GONNA BE GREAT!!"

Breanna, Sabrina, Sophie, and Me: (blank stare)

Breanna ended up heading to the pool instead, but the other girls and I toughed it out and headed to a public golf course with Mike…

This is us, having the time of our lives…

Sabrina thought Mike announced that we'd be having Family Text Day…

 

 

Sophie got this buffalo club cover for her dad for Christmas one year. It's the one on the right…

Here are the girls, excitedly watching their father and waiting their turn…

Mike, giddy with Family Golf Day, demonstrates how to flex your forearms when you're swinging…

 

Sabrina demonstrates how to peeve your father by behaving like a non-golfing heathen…

 

But then she takes the game more seriously…

 

And then there's me, demonstrating why über-caucasians, such as myself, should not wear white-and-khaki clothing…

Here's Joonbug's put…

 

(That motorcycle burn from the day at the horse races is healing nicely.)

And here she is, teeing off on the last hole…

 

By the way, the last hole for Family Golf Day was the 2nd hole on the course. Yes, folks, we lasted for 2 whole holes.

This made Mike very sad, and he announced things like, "You guys aren't as hot as you think!" and "I golfed 6 straight days in Florida, and it was TWICE as hot as this!" and "It's gorgeous outside! What a day for golf!" (I don't think he noticed that we were the only ones on the course.)

So we loaded up in the golf carts and headed back to the car.

It's now about 10 pm, and the heat index is still, like, 115 degrees outside.

Maybe tomorrow we can have Family Obstacle Course Day.

We just returned home from a laborious week in Kansas, dealing with the many tasks involved in putting a house on the market. As many of you know, Mike's parents passed away recently, and the having to sort through their belongings was a painful process indeed.

With the help of Frieda and Jimmy's good friends – all like family – we got through quite a bit of it. There were many shared memories, tears, and lots of laughs when someone would bring up something funny that one of them would say, particularly Jimmy's "You been smokin' funny stuff?" or "You been sniffin' glue?" Either of those questions – asked in his Texas drawl – was always accompanied with his trademark look of suspicion, and followed by his soft chuckle.

I have a feeling that Jimmy would ask one of those questions – minus the chuckle – to the owner of this house, if he had lived next door to him:

 

Yes, that is someone's home. Like, in a neighborhood. The houses on either side – both looking perfectly mellow and normal – must be owned very patient people. Apparently, this homeowner turned his house and yard into a Hawaiian-style dessert oasis…

There was music playing over a loudspeaker, fake palm trees, lots of ocean-themed toys for children to play on, and an alligator on the roof. (Are there alligators in Hawaii?)

There was even a funny-looking tiki man…

(Pardon the grainy photos… I was using my little purse camera, and the sun was going down quickly!)

 

About twenty minutes later, we moved to the front of the line and placed our orders:

Mike: "I'll have a Green Hawaii, please!" (blue raspberry, pineapple, and strawberry)

Sophie: "Ummm… I'll tryyyy… ummmm….. a Pink Cotton Candy, please!" (cotton candy and vanilla)

Me: "I'll take a Banana Colada, please!" (banana and coconut)

When we were handed our 3 shaved ices, Mike decided to take a big slurp of mine before handing it to me bc he was so excited to try them all… A little tidbit about me: if something tastes or smells odd, please wait until after I've finished that something before you let me have your review of it.

This is what Mike said, after taking a big slurp of my Banana Colada shaved ice: "Ew. This tastes like suntan oil." (He proceeded to hand it to me with a pickled look on his face.)

At that point, I was ready to smoke some funny stuff. But I ate my Suntan Oil shaved ice anyway, and loved every bite.

 

If you ever drive through Junction city, be sure to visit Pelican Pete's! It's worth the wait. Amazing stuff, and everyone is happy! (Except for the neighbors, I'm sure.)(Come to think of it, I imagine they get a good discount.)

In the middle of all the sorting at the Stewarts' house, Pete's was a nice break. And I have to share this photo of Sophie with you… the following night we stopped in a Mexican place called Senor Tequila's to eat. Sophie had spent the entire day in the 106-degree heat, manning the garage sale with Mike and I. She worked very hard, answering questions and making change, and by 9:00 that night – when we finally got dinner – she was exhausted…

Yesterday was our last day there, and we went to Frieda's favorite flower market before heading out to the Kansas Veterans Cemetery. There was exactly one bouquet left, and it was beautiful. When we got to the graves, Mike was unsure as to which side to put the flowers on – his mother's or his father's. (In a military cemetery, there is one headstone shared by the soldier and his/her spouse. Jimmy's inscription is on the front of the headstone, while Frieda's is on the back.) We both decided at the same time that Jimmy would certainly say, "Put them on your mother's side – she deserves to have pretty flowers." So Mike did just that.

And because Frieda always shared everything with Jimmy, we did what she would have wanted us to do, and pulled a few flowers from her bouquet for him…

We love and miss you both so much, Jimmy and Frieda. 

Thank you to those of you who checked in on us to find out what we've been up to. And thank you especially to each of our friends who helped us with all that needed to be done. You are, as I said, like family.

And thank you to Pete, for not living next door to me.

Yesterday Mike took Soph and I to Horseman's Park, bc it was the last day of the races here in Omaha. Despite the heat – and a nasty burn – we had a lot of fun.

Here's Mike, explaining to Sophie how the racing and betting program works…

(Instead of a new hat for the event, Sophie bought some new stick-on nails and applied those. Who doesn't wear black polish and skulls to the races?)

Of course, Mike and Sophie both decided that this was the horse to beat:

The bugle sounds, and soon they're off!

Woohoo, come on, Flashy Mike!

Flashy Mike?

Where in the hay is Flashy Mike?

Look! There he is!

Come on, boy, you can do it! You only have one more lap to catch up!

Okay, Flashy Mike sort of got left behind, but that's okay. He was fun to watch. 🙂

After that crushing defeat, Mike and Sophie decided it was time to eat…

 

…And they picnicked on the back of a fire truck.

Soon Sophie was back to studying the numbers in the program…

In the next race, Sophie chose a horse named No Matter What to win, and he did! Sophie was suddenly $18 richer, and decided to finish out her day at the races by jumping in the bounce houses and getting her face painted… Only in the Land of Opportunity can a 10-year-old bet horses and have her face painted on the same day.

(While Sophie was waiting in the hour-long line, Mike brought her a red snow cone.)

I don't recall the Avatars having red lips and teeth, but that's okay. 🙂

Mike walked over to speak with one of his former co-workers, Officer Cardinas, and Sophie was pleased to meet him.

Remember when I mentioned that there was a "nasty burn" during the day? If you've ever accidentally touched your leg to a motorcycle muffler, you know exactly what I mean…

None of us realized how badly it hurt her, bc all she allowed herself to say was "Ouch!" So we carried on…

 

Something in her expression, however, told me that she wasn't feeling as lighthearted as she was moments ago, and as soon as she was off of the motorcycle, she walked away from the group and started to cry. 🙁

Her poor leg blistered up in the back, so the officers gave her some ice water from their cooler, and Mike tried comforting her, explaining that he didn't realize she was so close to the muffler. (Btw, the cops weren't at the races to show the public their motorcycles and let kids sit on them… we were just visiting them bc Mike knew who they were, and Soph thought it would be fun to sit on a motorcycle.)

To make her feel better, we went to Sophie's favorite restaurant: Olive Garden.

Her Avatar makeup had a few tear-streaks in it, but eventually she cheered up.

 

Her dad has that effect on her. I guess that means Flashy Mike's a winner after all. 😉

Sabrina and I headed out today to scout out some places to take her senior photos. We had a lot of fun and took about 220 practice shots… and it’s a good thing they were just for practice, bc I realized in almost all of them, she was chewing gum!

I did manage to find one image that didn’t give away the gum…

It was a fun day with my little middle girl.