Kansas Wildlifer

A few weeks ago, Daniel and Brian attended a hunting and fishing expo at the mall. They had a blast and came home excited about the Kansas Wildlifer program. This program challenges kids to complete at least 15 tasks, all of which involve getting outside and getting into nature. Some of the tasks are things such as hike a trail, wet a line, or plant a tree. Daniel is well on his way to getting his 15 challenges completed. We managed to do several of them this weekend when we went fishing and cooked supper over a bonfire up on the hill. Here are some photos!

The beloved toad

Daniel has played with this toad nonstop for several days. I am sure the toad has gotten more human affection than he ever wanted. We make Daniel release the toad in the rock garden every night, but he manages to find it again every day. They are quite the pair!

Roller Skating

Our AWANA group hosted a skate party this afternoon, so we took Daniel roller skating for the very first time. He really enjoyed it! Getting used to being on skates took some work, but he improved so much during the short time we were there. He also liked playing the video games and picking out a few prizes at the end. It was a fun afternoon!

To the circus!

We took Daniel to his first trip to the circus recently. Neither Brian or I had been since we were young children, so in a way, it was a new experience for us all! One of the first acts was the trapeze artists. Daniel was being very quiet, so I leaned over to him and asked, "What do you think, Daniel? Isn't it neat how they fly through the air?" Daniel responded, "Yes, very impressive." Throughout the rest of the performance, whenever they did an amazing trick, Daniel would say, "Impressive!" It certainly was!
Daniel was very happy about getting cotton candy and a new light saber, but he didn't want his picture taken with a clown and he wasn't interested in riding the elephants. I think Brian and I both secretly wanted to ride the elephants, but maybe another year!


Daniel's favorite acts where the tigers, elephants, and seeing Mater come out and "talk."

Duck hunting

This pop gun was a present from Daniel's Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Nicole. Daniel has used it on many exciting ventures: hunting duck (see photo), hunting our cat, scaring his mama. That thing is loud, especially when fired behind you when you have no idea anyone is around!

It's a boy!

Finally...snow!

We have had an unusually mild winter here in the Midwest. So mild, in fact, that Daniel had not gotten to use the sled he received for Christmas even once. Finally, it snowed a few inches last night. It was not much, but we made the most of it. Daniel and I bundled up and went outside, determined to build a snowman. As we worked, my parents stopped by and got in on the action too. Daniel even got a little ride on that new sled. Thanks, Poppy!

Faster, Poppy, faster!

Grammy working diligently to make Mr. Snowman's head.