The other day after quiet time, (I make Kennedy sit quietly in her room and read for an hour every day.  It gives both of us a much needed break from each other.) Kennedy came into my bedroom very excitedly, and her shirt was all bloody.  She smiled and one of her upper front teeth was turned sideways and bleeding.  I told her to leave it alone because it obviously wasn’t ready to come out.  K. is her mother’s daughter (stubborn) and kept working with it.  She said, “I have to get it out before tomorrow!”  We were headed to Seminole to the children’s museum the next day.

Finally, she decided to tie dental floss to the tooth and a door and then slam the door to get the tooth out.  I helped her tie it on, and she was about ready to cry right then.  I stepped out of the bathroom, and K. slammed the door and the tooth came out.  She was thrilled!  She smiled into the mirror and said, “I look like a jack-o-lantern!”  It made me a little sad because once the permanent teeth come in on the top, kids don’t look so little any more.

Kennedy went to Girl Scout Day Camp for the first time this year.  She had a great time, but it was SO HOT!!!  Some of the girls complained A LOT, but the leader said K. seemed to be in her element, singing, crafting and helping out.  The theme was “Raindrop Round-up,” which is a little ironic because there is not a bit of water for the girls to cool down in on the whole farm.

The place hadn’t changed a bit since I was there; the rules were exactly the same:  sleeved shirts, hats, long socks no open toe shoes and no aerosol mosquito repellant.  The most notable difference was that the girls carried a chair instead of the requisite sit-upon, carpet-sample thing we wore back in my day.  (The chairs make much more sense.)  Kennedy picked out her hat and by the end of the week, she had tons of “swaps” affixed to it.

Kennedy said her favorite part was the monkey bridge, a rope bridge, and they even incorporated that into their roll call ever morning and while they were hiking.  One girl would yell, “What are we?”  And the other girls (after doing a quick head count of the people with them that had crossed the monkey bridge) would yell back, “10 true monkeys!!!” Ten little girls, no wonder the leader was tired by the end.

The parents took turns staying a day at camp and I went Wednesday.  It was fun to watch the girls work so hard, but still have such a good time.  I did notice that Kennedy’s troop was a lot less whiny and argumentative than any other troop we encountered.  They hiked all the way across camp to the singing tree and while other troops complained the whole time, our girls sang.
Wednesday was the longest day because it was Family Night.  The girls cooked dinner in their campsite (squaw corn) and afterward was the Bridging Ceremony, where Kennedy officially became a Brownie.  She was so excited and so was everyone else.  One mom (who attended Greenfield Farms as a child) cried when her daughter bridged.  I thought the ceremony was nice, but I didn’t go that far.  We got home about 9 that night, and since I’m not really an outdoorsy type of person, I’m just glad I made it the whole day without dying.

That same week K. had two Tball games to finish up the season.  Needless to say, by Saturday, Kennedy was worn out, and since then she has been sleeping until at least 7 every day.  Whoo-hoo!!!

Saturday, Kennedy’s cousin Hope celebrated her 7th birthday at the waterpark at a place called LETRA (Lake Elmer Thomas Recreation Area, I think.)  It’s on Ft. Sill, and it has water slides and a swimming beach, all for the low price of $6 a car.  It has covered picnic areas, and the adults sat around and visited, while the kids ran their heads off.  It’s a neat place.  After, we toured Jason and Crystal’s new home site.  It had just been framed, and it was exciting to see. I can’t wait to get started on our own.

That night, Walt’s cousin Cody married his sweetheart Heather in a ceremony at the Shull farm.  The colors were a beautiful deep purple and an orangish-pinkish color.  The flowers were stunning and the bride’s dress was beautiful (and giant as the kids kept saying.)   Thunderstorms threatened after the ceremony, so the festivities were moved to the American Legion.  Walt, Nick and I moved the very tall and very expensive looking cakes for them.  It was a little nerve-wracking.  Kennedy and Zoe ran around the entire time.  We made it home around 11:30.

Sunday, the day of Kennedy’s birthday and actual party, we headed to church at St. Monica’s and by Wal-mart for some last minute supplies.  Anna, Myra, and Hannah were the first guests to arrive (they stayed the night) and the girls got right into the pool.  Everyone else showed up a short time after, and we turned on the slip n slide and let the girls (and Jackson) do water balloons.  I don’t think Walt had a very good time blowing them up, but the kids liked throwing them.
We had to move the tables under the carport when it began to sprinkle a bit, but it didn’t last very long, and I don’t think the kids even got out of the pool.  Walt manned the grill, cooking hot dogs and hamburgers.  Kennedy wanted to get him an apron that said, “King of the Grill,” but we couldn’t find one.  Later, she confessed that Papa was really the king of the grill, and her dad just must be a prince or something.

Since the “theme” this year was a cookout, I decided to make a cake shaped like a hamburger.  Actually, I tried to chicken out, but Kennedy said, “I already told my friends that you are making it.”  So, I forged ahead, and it wasn’t too difficult at all.  I used yellow cake for the bun.   The bottom was cooked in a regular cake pan and the top bun in a glass bowl.  The “meat” was a round brownie.  I tinted regular icing tan for the bun.  Then I used fondant for all of the condiments.  I rolled out cheese and lettuce.  Then I cut out pickles, complete with seeds, and tomatoes, with sections cut out of the slices.  Kennedy wanted ketchup, so I squirted red icing around to cover imperfections and complete the look.

I was pretty pleased at how well it turned out, and I have to say that I was the least stressed I have ever been before, during and after one of K.’s birthday parties.  I had fun doing all of it, including the cake, and look forward to doing it again next year.  Kennedy and Walt both did so much to help out this year.  K. did a lot on the cake and iced all the cupcakes and Walt did everything from the yard to helping with the food.
I asked Ken how I would ever top that cake (she was pretty impressed, too) and her idea was simple, “Make a really bad cake next year, and then the year after any cake you make will be awesome!”  I love my different little girl!  Thanks for 7 great years, Sugar Bear!

Every year, our high school coaches and players put on a 3-day camp as a fundraiser.  Kennedy was old enough to attend this year.  She talked her friend Rylee into coming along, and they sweated and ran together.  Kennedy even told jokes to the coaches during “Joke Time.”  (They were amazed that she even talked at all.)  The last day, every camper got a certificate for participating, but K. got a second one for making the “All-Camp Team.”  Neither she nor I had a clue what that was.  I later asked a coach who said it meant that she was one of the top 5 campers; she worked hard and had fun.  (I noticed that he didn’t say it was because she was good, but that she tried hard.)

Rylee, on the other hand, didn’t have such a good camp experience.  Her parents bribed her with a toy to get her to complete the 3 days.  Last I saw of Rylee that week, she was patting Kennedy on the shoulder saying, “Sorry, you don’t get a present for coming to basketball camp.”  Kennedy said, “I don’t care.  I like it.”  I have no idea how Rylee will make the week-long Girl Scout Camp next week.

Sarah called the other day and asked to speak to Kennedy.  I handed the phone to Kennedy and Sarah asked her what she wanted for her birthday.  They talked a bit and then Sarah said, “Tell your mom I’m getting you a taco for your birthday.”  (Taco is a stray dog at her house that they are trying to find a home for.  He looks like the Taco Bell dog.)

Sarah was cracking up, but she didn’t think that Kennedy really understood what she was trying to say.  However, after K. hung up, she said, “Sarah isn’t going to buy me a present, she’s going to buy me dinner,”  I said, a little absently, “Okay, that’s nice.”  Kennedy said, “She’s going to buy me a taco!”  Immediately, I knew what she was talking about and called Sarah back to tell her that I was on to her little ruse.  Sarah couldn’t quit laughing.  She kept saying, “I can’t believe she knew what I was talking about!”  I laughed, too, but finally said, “Sarah, she’s not a 4-year-old!”  A little credit for my daughter, please!

Kennedy and the pitcher’s face mask collided last week at a double header.  It was late, and the second game, so I just figured she was overly tired, not too hurt.  However, we let her sit out the rest of the game.  The next day it didn’t look too bad, a little puffy, but 2 days later, it was sure pretty!  Walt thought it looked really black this morning, almost 5 days later.  Of course, I took a picture, which thrilled her to death.  I keep calling her Bruiser, but she prefers Browser for some reason.
Game again tonight at Luther, and then for the next 3 days, K. will attend a basketball mini-camp put on by our high school coaches and their players.  We’re both looking forward to that; I should be able to get my yearbook finished!

I’ve told Kennedy every year that I wish her birthday were a week later than it is.  Then I’d be able to plan better because we’d be out of school.  This year, she wants to have a cookout with a couple of friends/cousins over to play in the water and “fry” wieners.  So, save June 7th around 4 o’clock if you want to celebrate with us. 

From roughly late February to mid-May every year, a fascinating ritual plays out on the rolling prairies of Northwestern Oklahoma. About an hour before sunrise each morning during this period, male Lesser Prairie Chickens gather at the same “Gobbling Grounds” they and their ancestors have frequented for hundreds of years, prepared to engage in an epic battle. As the sun rises, the cocks raucously primp and prime themselves for an elaborate ballet… strutting, gobbling, stomping, and “flutter jumping”. They chase and even attack each other in a bid for prime territory. It’s not a fight to the death, though. It’s a fight to impress the ladies. Those who best defend their territory are rewarded with the best breeding grounds. In this “Survival of the fittest” battle, the winners apparently get all the chicks!

It is said that before Statehood, before we of the human species stepped in and plowed up the native shortgrasses that provided an ideal habitat for these plentiful birds, their numbers were strong. In fact, legend tells us that many Native American ceremonial dances were an homage to the mysterious mating rituals of the Lesser Prairie Chicken, as observed by the indigenous populations. Sadly, there are less than 2,000 of these birds left in Oklahoma today. You can watch the Chickens perform this ritual on Discover Oklahoma May 16th. I’ve also added a gallery of pictures here.

Kennedy and I watched the movie Hotel for Dogs tonight (Walt is out of town), and she teared up a number of times.  I’ve never seen her cry at movies before.  It was a new experience to watch her have such empathy for characters so unlike herself, and yet she still felt very sad at their situation.  At the end, she said she did like the movie, but, “It wasn’t one of my favorites.”  Even though it ended on a happy note, it wasn’t enough to make K. love the movie.  We’re sending this one straight back to Netflix.