Linda's Sunflower

It's been a busy week as usual... Kaitlin called me on Monday. She's off work on Saturday and wanted momma to come visit. So I rented a car and I'm set for a visit with the kids on Saturday. Corby is going to stay home, because of course he has to prepare Easter dinner. He doesn't want or need my help, so I'll leave him to his cooking! We will have ham, turkey breast, potato salad, brown beans and carrot cake for dinner on Easter. Melody will bring strawberries and/or fruit, and who knows what everyone else will bring. As long as we're all together that's all that's important. I got mom's summer clothes out and ready for her tonight. We'll be grocery shopping tomorrow night and then I will visit mom on Friday at lunch since I'll be out of town on Saturday. HAPPY SPRING TO ALL!

This morning's sunrise... oh what a gorgeous day!

I had quite the dream last night - it was an all-nighter! For some reason I dreamed that I was at a weekend high school class reunion. I woke up a few times during the night (to let the dog out, use the restroom, etc.) and each time I went back to sleep the dream continued. Facebook has allowed me to get in touch with a lot of former high school classmates, some that I barely remember. But we are all catching up on each other's lives, and I wonder if that's why I dreamed about them. It was a good dream, and brought back mostly good memories. I wasn't the popular kid in high school, but I wasn't a geek either. I had several great friends, and I'm still friends with them today. Some of us have lost touch a couple of times through the years, but when we see each other we seem to pick up where we left off the last time we were together. Bishop Carroll 1974 Golden Eagles all the way! Yesterday's loss by Kansas State was a disappointment, but I am still very proud ...

in double overtime.... what a game! Now it's on to the Elite 8. They play Butler late Saturday afternoon. I haven't been this excited about basketball in a long time. I've always enjoyed KU's runs in the NCAA tournament, but it's even more exciting for K-State since it's been such a long time since they've made it this far. And it makes a difference having 3 kids at K-State too! I received this "book" in the mail yesterday. My niece, Lenore, told me about Library Thing, a website where you can enter some information, and sign up to receive books to review. This is the second book I've received. It's not really in a reader-friendly format, but I will be reading it and reviewing it soon.

Yesterday was an interesting day in Kansas. We started the day off with some snow - thank goodness we didn't get the 4 to 8 inches they predicted. I would guess that we got about 2 inches at our house. Corby had to work, so the twins and I headed out around 10am. We visited mom and then stocked the kids up with goodies from Sam's. By the time we got home with that load, Corby was home, so he went grocery shopping to Leeker's with us. We picked up a few more groceries for the kids, and then came home and prepared for NCAA basketball. Who would have thought that the KU Jayhawks would lose to Northern Iowa, a Missouri Valley team? Corby was upset, but resigned to the fact by the end of the game. They just didn't play well enough to win. We then settled in for the K-State Wildcats game! Jacob Pullen played an amazing game scoring 34 points, and they beat BYU! On to the SWEET 16!!! Photos from the last few days: Kaleb rubbing Cinnamon's tummy, which she loves! Abb...

Tomorrow is the first day of spring... and it's sleeting?

Caught a good picture of Kaleb yesterday...needless to say it's my "pic of the day".

Brandon opted to take off work just part of spring break week so he could work part of it too! I am proud that he thought that way, but it was still hard telling him goodbye late this morning. We've had a great time with the kids home this week, and the twins won't head back until Sunday. Plus, it's back to work for me tomorrow. The good thing is - I ONLY HAVE TO WORK 2 DAYS THIS WEEK!  

We've had a busy and FUN spring break so far. So fun that I asked for another day of vacation, and now will go back on Thursday instead of Wednesday!!! Sunday we had a family gathering to celebrate birthdays: my brother-in-law Mark's from January, the twins (March 15) and my sister-in-law Sandy's (March 17-yes St. Patty's Day). We met at On The Border and had a wonderful time: We then celebrated the twin's birthday at PF Chang's on Monday night (their actual 19th birthday) Kaleb with his birthday "cake" Kaitlin with her birthday "cake" Later that evening with their actual cake This was all after having their birthday breakfast at The Beacon. Aren't they cute? We took Brandon's car in for service yesterday morning. I drove it on Saturday and the steering wheel was shaking terribly. He ended up needing a front end alignment and four new tires. YES - more money! It's always something around here. He ...

The boys both came home last night for spring break -- Kaleb, via Lawrence, where he picked a friend up at KU. She lives near us here in Park City, and she's without a car right now, so he did the noble thing and gave her a ride home. Brandon -- via Junction City, where he dropped one of their roommates off so he could catch a bus to Minnesota where he lives. Kaitlin will be home tomorrow around noon because she had to work today. We watched the K-State / Baylor game when they got home. Here are the guys watching the game: Today was spent running around...went to visit mom, stopped at Verizon so Brandon could buy a new phone; Corby ran to Bed, Bath & Beyond while we were in Verizon to buy part of Kaitlin's birthday present, stopped at Michael's, Target and then Dillons. We were all tired of shopping by the time we got home. The boy's friend Brady came over tonight to watch the KU / K-State basketball game. KU ended up winning the Big 12 Championship game. Congr...

Yeah Wildcats! They beat Oklahoma State tonight to advance in the Big 12 tournament. Oh, KU won too! (Big deal!) Corby - while watching the Wildcats. Do you like his Cubs blankie? Yes, he only roots for the Wildcats when they AREN'T playing the Jayhawks. If it comes down to those two for the tournament final, I'll be rooting for the Wildcats and he will be rooting for the Jayhawks. BUT, the kids will be home for spring break, so he will be OUTNUMBERED! And the latest cute Abby/Muffin picture:

Five more days and my kids are coming home for Spring Break! The boys are coming home Friday afternoon after classes. Kaitlin has to work on Saturday, so won't be home until Sunday morning. The twins will be here for a week, while Brandon only took 5 days off work, so he'll go back Tuesday evening the 16th or Wednesday morning the 17th. Either way, all my ducklings will be home for a while! Brandon will be 21 in May, and will be a senior at K-State in the fall. He's really matured over the last few years, and has pretty much "cut the ties" with mom and dad. He still loves to come home, just not as often. He still loves for us to visit him in Manhattan, but you can tell he's anxious to get on with the rest of his life. And I'm happy for him! That's why you raise your children with good values and common sense. I have to admit that I hope he gets a job in Wichita when he graduates. But I'm not holding my breath. At this point, I just want him to g...

Abby wanted to play w/Cinnamon today. Cinnamon just looked at her. Don't you love Abby's psycho kitty eyes? And Abby and Muffin were fighting over Corby's recliner lap.  

Okay, here's the story on my Elton John/Billy Joel Face 2 Face tour tix... I was home sick on Monday (a rarity) and happened to check out Facebook. One of my FB friends posted that she had 2 tickets to sell, and was selling them at half price. Several FB messages later, the deal was made. Now first of all, I very RARELY miss work due to illness, and very RARELY check out Facebook at work. So it was in the stars for me to miss work, check Facebook at the right time, and get tickets to the biggest concert Wichita has seen in years! I was not a big NEW arena fan, and in fact, voted AGAINST the new arena. But I have to admit, Sir Elton and Billy would NOT have come to Wichita with the Face 2 Face tour without the new arena. So....I have to eat my words. I can't count the number of concerts I've attended in my life. The first one was in 1969 at Henry Levitt Arena when I saw the Osmond Brothers. I've seen so many entertainers that I can't even remember all of them. Bu...

Elton John and Billy Joel Awesome! Pictures and full story to come... too tired tonight (picture above from Kansas.com)

I read 6 books in February: 1) Bad Move - Linwood Barclay 2) Bad Guys - Linwood Barclay 3) Lone Wolf - Linwood Barclay 4) Stone Rain - Linwood Barclay (can you tell I was on a LB kick?) 5) Poor Little Bitch Girl - Jackie Collins...one of my favorite "trashy book" authors 6) Winter Garden - Kristin Hannah...a beautiful book. She continues to be one of my favorite authors. I've been spending way too much money on books lately, and my TBR pile is up to about 50 or 60 books. Gotta stop buying and start reading more!