If you are a Kansas native, think really hard back to "the day" of the Aaaah...Aaaah, Kansas TV and radio jingle! Happy Kansas Day!
God must have known to remind me of Kansas today. I vowed to write a Happy Kansas Day blog, but forgot until driving home from home school co-op. I was driving west on I-12 and the wind was blowing as hard as I've experienced it blow since I've moved here. I almost felt "at home," save for the green grass in the median and 70-degree weather!
I'll always be a Kansan and K-State Wildcat at heart. Kansas is OZsome!
I found the following list of 50 interesting Kansas facts. The grain elevator referenced to in fact #2 is Travis's "home" elevator, where he trained and then came back to work as a superintendent. I swam in the swimming pool fact number #17 mentions. We lived in Hutchinson, the "salty" little Kansas town mentioned in #25. We lived on the largest natural gas field in the United States twice (see #30)!
Kansas Facts and Trivia
1. A ball of twine in Cawker City measures over 38' in circumference and weighs more than 16,750 pounds and is still growing.
2. A grain elevator in Hutchinson is 1/2 mile long and holds 46 million bushels in its 1,000 bins.
3. South of Ashland the Rock Island Bridge is the longest railroad bridge of its kind. It measures 1,200 feet long and is 100 feet above the Cimarron River.
4. At Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine waterbeds for horses are used in surgery.
5. Kansas won the award for most beautiful license plate for the wheat plate design issued in 1981.
6. Dodge City is the windiest city in the United States.
7. At one time it was against the law to serve ice cream on cherry pie in Kansas.
8. The first woman mayor in the United States was Susan Madora Salter. She was elected to office in Argonia in 1887.
9. The first black woman to win an Academy Award was Kansan Hattie McDaniel. She won the award for her role in "Gone with the Wind."
10. Kansas inventors include Almon Stowger of El Dorado who invented the dial telephone in 1889; William Purvis and Charles Wilson of Goodland who invented the helicopter in 1909; and Omar Knedlik of Coffeyville who invented the first frozen carbonated drink machine in 1961.
11. Smith County is the geographical center of the 48 contiguous states.
12. Amelia Earhart, first woman granted a pilot's license by the National Aeronautics Associate and first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean was from Atchison.
13. Dwight D. Eisenhower from Abilene was the 34th President of the United States.
14. Silent comedian Buster Keaton, of early film success, was from Piqua, Kansas.
15. The three largest herds of buffalo (correctly called bison) in Kansas are located on public lands at the Maxwell Game Preserve (McPherson), Big Basin (Ashland), and Buffalo Game Preserve (Garden City).
16. Fort Riley, between Junction City and Manhattan, was the cradle of the United States Cavalry for 83 years. George Custer formed the famed 7th Cavalry there in 1866. Ten years later, at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, the 7th was virtually wiped out. The only Cavalry survivor was a horse named Comanche.
17. Wyatt Earp, James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok and William B. "Bat" Masterson were three of the legendary lawmen who kept the peace in rowdy frontier towns like Abilene, Dodge City, Ellsworth, Hays, and Wichita.
18. The public swimming pool at the Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City occupies half a city block and holds 2 1/2 million gallons of water.
19. Cedar Crest is the name of the governor's mansion in Topeka, the state capital.
20. Barton County is the only Kansas County that is named for a woman; the famous volunteer Civil War nurse Clara Barton.
21. The Arkansas River may be the only river whose pronunciation changes as it crosses state lines. In Kansas, it is called the Arkansas (ahr-KAN-zuhs). On both sides of Kansas (Colorado and Oklahoma), it is called the Arkansaw.
22. Civil War veteran S.P. Dinsmoor used over 100 tons of concrete to build the Garden of Eden in Lucas. Even the flag above the mausoleum is made of concrete.
23. Handel's Messiah has been presented in Lindsborgeach at Easter since 1889.
24. A monument to the first Christian martyr on United States Territory stands along Highway 56 near Lyons. Father Juan de Padilla came to the region with the explorer Coronado in 1541.
25. Hutchinson is nicknamed the Salt City because it was built above some of the richest salt deposits in the world. Salt is still actively mined, processed and shipped from Hutchinson.
26. There are 27 Walnut Creeks in the state.
27. There are more than 600 incorporated towns in the state.
28. Morton County sells the most trout fishing stamps of all the Kansas counties.
29. Fire Station No. 4 in Lawrence, originally a stone barn constructed in 1858, was a station site on the Underground Railroad.
30. The Hugoton Gas Field is the largest natural gas field in the United States. It underlies all or parts of 10 southwestern Kansas counties as well as parts of Oklahoma and Texas. The gas field underlies almost 8,500 square miles, an area nearly 5 times as large as the state of Rhode Island.
31. The Kansas Speleological Society has catalogued at least 528 caves in 37 Kansas counties. Commanche County has at least 128 caves and Barber County has at least 117 caves.
32. Kansas has the largest population of wild grouse in North America. The grouse is commonly called the prairie chicken.
33. Milford Reservoir with over 16,000 acres of water is the state's largest lake. The reservoir is located northwest of Junction City.
34. The Geodetic Center of North America is about 40 miles south of Lebanon at Meade's Ranch. It is the beginning point of reference for land surveying in North America. When a surveyor checks a property line, he or she is checking the position of property in relation to Meade's Ranch in northwest Kansas.
35. In Italy the city of Milan is 300 miles northwest of Rome. In Kansas, Milan is less than 25 miles northwest of Rome, in Sumner County.
36. Between 1854 and 1866, 34 steamboats paddled up the Kaw River (Kansas River). One made it as far west as Fort Riley.
37. In 1990 Kansas wheat farmers produced enough wheat to make 33 billion loaves of bread, or enough to provide each person on earth with 6 loaves.
38. Holy Cross Shrine in Pfeifer, was known as the 2 Cent Church because the building was built using a 2 cent donation on each bushel of wheat sold by members of the church.
39. Kansas produced a record 492.2 million bushels of wheat in 1997, enough to make 35.9 billion loaves of bread.
40. The American Institute of Baking is located in Manhattan.
41. A 30 foot tall statue of Johnny Kaw stands in Manhattan. The statue represents the importance of the Kansas wheat farmer.
42. The graham cracker was named after the Reverend Sylvester Graham (1794-1851). He was a Presbyterian minister who strongly believed in eating whole wheat flour products.
43. The rocks at Rock City are huge sandstone concretions. In an area about the size of two football fields, 200 rocks, some as large as houses, dot the landscape. There is no other place in the world where there are so many concretions of such giant size.
44. George Washington Carver, the famous botanical scientist who discovered more than 300 products made from the peanut, graduated from high school in Minneapolis in 1885.
45. The First United Methodist Church in Hutchinson was built in 1874 during the time of the grasshopper plagues. The grasshoppers came during the construction of the churches foundation but the pastor continued with the work. As a result, thousands of grasshoppers are mixed into the mortar of the original building's foundation.
46. A hailstone weighing more than one and a half pounds once fell on Coffeyville.
47. The Oregon Trail passed thru six states, including Kansas. There were no Indian attacks reported on the Oregon Trail as the travelers passed through the state.
48. Russell Springs located in Logan County is known as the Cow Chip Capital of Kansas.
49. The world famous fast-food chain of Pizza Hut restaurants opened its first store in Wichita.
50. Sumner County is known as The Wheat Capital of the World.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
A tender heart, and one confused Jillian!
Jillian was exhibiting some odd behavior after getting up from her nap this afternoon.
I was in the kitchen working on supper. She kept walking accross the hallway and from room-to-room, carrying a dolly and blanket. She would cry inconsolably, then smile and giggle, and on and on back and forth between those extremes.
Jillian then got stuck in crying mode. She cried and walked around, shaking her head "no" when I offered to pick her up and comfort her. She would quiet for a minute, look at her dolly, then hug the dolly and cry and cry.
I was puzzled. I finally couldn't stand the constant crying and went and picked her up. I heard something. "Aha!" I thought to myself. She was holding a doll late great-grandma Phyllis Justis had given to Madalynn. The doll cries when you squeeze it!
She kept hugging the baby, trying to comfort her, not realizing that the hug activated the cry. That's a bit confusing, don't you think? Jillian was probably thinking. "What is going on? A hug is supposed to make her quiet, not upset her!" I giggled.
The thing is, she didn't want me to take the dolly and put her away. She was apparently so concerned for the crying dolly's well-being, that putting her away would be an insensitive thing to do.
So...for another hour we all watched Jillian and her screaming love for her dolly.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Justis' Lemonade Stand Plans Becoming a Reality!
Our little architect and planner Justis has seen his lemonade stand plans begin to take shape into the REAL deal today!
Travis chose to use the Home Depot gift card he received from ADM for Christmas to buy materials to make the lemonade stand drawn in the plans Justis handed to Travis several months ago.
We all went to Home Depot and the kids rode on the materials cart while Travis got the wood he needed to build the lemonade stand. Travis redrew Justis' design, putting in measurements. He kept it looking exactly like the one in Justis's plan, though!
Travis began last night and got the frame up and then he and the kids worked on it all day today since Travis had the day off for Martin Luther King Day.
We all pitched in and worked. Travis did the measuring, cutting and screwing together of the stand. I drew and cut a few fancy edges with the skill saw Travis got me for my birthday a couple of years ago. Justis was like the general contractor of the project, frequently checking on progress and asking questions about what was happening and how Daddy planned on doing it. Madalynn, Justis and Dawson all started painting it this evening.
Some more painting is all Travis and the kids have to do before the job is done! The project has been fun for all of us.
Justis can hardly wait to see lemonade stand finished. He woke up this morning and, still in his boxer-briefs, went straight to the back door and looked out at the lemonade stand frame. He then heard Travis running on the treadmill.
"Good. Daddy hasn't started painting it yet!" He said. "I'm going to go get my clothes on so I can go out with Daddy to finish it as soon as he's ready!"
Saturday, January 19, 2008
A Game of Dress-Up Gone Wrong!
Travis's Uncle Brad and Aunt Rhonda stopped in to visit and stayed with us overnight last night on their way back to Kansas from Florida. Our kids and their kids had a great time playing with each other! Lauren is 8, Camryn is almost six, Blaine is 3 and they have a two-month-old, Danica, whom stayed back in Kansas with Travis's grandma Phyllis. The kids are in close proximity in age and really got down to business playing.
We were ready to put breakfast on the table, so Travis went to Madalynn's room to announce "breakfast time" to the kids. He was in there for a while before Travis, Justis and all of the kids came out.
All of the kids were laughing, except Justis, who's dignity had been seriously compromised. The three older girls had dressed him as a girl in an old flower girl dress and black, curly wig!
Travis said he almost didn't let Justis come out of the closet dressed like that, but they somehow convinced Travis to let him model his new look for the rest of us.
Everyone in the living room busted out laughing at the sight of Justis as a girl, and Justis cried. He thought we were making fun of him and didn't enjoy being the heel of the joke!
I convinced him to be still for a second while I caught a picture. I turned the camera and showed Justis what he looked like and he, too, burst out laughing!
Madalynn's Math Blocks=Jillian's Toys
Jillian was up from her nap before Madalynn finished her math several days ago. I allowed Jillian to roam quietly and play while Maddie finished, while I read with Justis in the other room.
I came around the corner when Justis was done and Jillian was up in a booster seat at the table with Madalynn. Madalynn was busy concentrating on her +8 facts, while Jillian was jabbering and happily playing with the Madalynn's math manipulatives.
I asked if she had been bothering Madalynn.
Madalynn replied, "No. She was just watching me do my math and I thought she might like to play with the blocks, so I put her up in the chair beside me. She likes it, I think!"
I snapped a couple of pictures and the two remained quiet and busy until Madalynn was done with math and it was time to put the manipulatives away.
Bed Bugs
We are blessed with children that sleep through the night in their own beds. Inviting them to our bed for an occasional snooze, then, is a treat for both us and them!
I snapped a couple of pictures of the kids in the middle of our bed.
Jillian slept in the bed with us one night when she was sick with a cold.
Dawson, on the other hand, just likes to be loved on, so he came and put his arms up to Travis one night. Travis pulled him up into bed with us.
The other picture is Dawson, whom I found asleep on his bedroom floor one night. He really stalled on going to bed that night and finally fell asleep (we guess) lying on his floor playing with toys!
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