How Do Giraffes Sleep? (And Other Google-worthy Questions)

"Why do fish like worms?"

"How do giraffes sleep?"

 "Why does rain fall from the clouds?"

Inquiring minds want to know. At least, 4-year-old minds do.

I kept Google at the ready last week when Kinley and Brooke visited the farm for a few days. Brooke is talking more all the time, but I'm not getting rapid-fire interrogations from her - at least at this point.

Her sister more than makes up for it.

When I was noticeably pregnant with Jill at the Kansas State Fair many, many moons ago, an encyclopedia salesman who was angling for a sale asked me how I'd be able to answer my child's questions.

"How will you answer, 'Why is the sky blue?' " the intrepid salesman queried.

Who would have thought I'd be able to type a nonsensical question into my phone and come up with an answer in seconds. Not me.

Kinley's interests evolve as quickly as the questions, it seems. Because she's currently interested in space, we included a trip to the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson. 

She says she wants to be an astronaut and a Mommy.  Maybe there will be a sister team in space, who knows?

On second thought, that rocket looked really, REALLY big, Kinley decided.

Maybe Grandpa could visit Kinley on the International Space Station. He might help out with the scary parts.

Astronauts have to be in good physical shape.

Kinley got in a workout at the Hutchinson Zoo's spider web, besides checking out the animals.

Or maybe we'll have a veterinarian in the family. Both she and Brooke liked the baby kittens. (Thankfully, Grandpa found the newest litter of kittens just the day before the girls arrived.)

But they liked the bigger cats, too. Brooke appeared to be figuring out the proper ratio of feed. Kinley liked getting reacquainted with her favorite cat, Cozy.

Zoos (like Rolling Hills Zoo near Salina) need veterinarians, too.

Little sister seemed more interested in the transportation field. She wanted to push the stroller - not ride in it.

In the meantime, Kinley watched a little family make their way across a pond. "Oh! They're so cute," was quickly followed by, "Where are they going? Why? Can those babies swim that far?"

I thought of the age-old "Why did the chicken cross the road?" But I did my best to answer.

Or maybe we'll have a chef or two ... or at least a couple of good cooks.

During this trip, we also visited the Hutchinson Public Library. I read a couple of Berenstein Bear books and two Amelia Bedelia tales multiple times. We also checked out a book on space and several others, too. Grandma is ALWAYS willing to read.

We made potholders for Mommy's Mother's Day gift and we decorated foam door hangers. We also decorated frames and included photos from the girls' trip to see Grandma and Grandpa.

The girls and I watched the guys round up some more mama cows and their babies, and Kinley helped deliver them to the pasture.

Little sister wouldn't get in the photo.

We took the short drive to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. We gave wide berth to the wildlife there - a snake on the trail! And we also tried to keep away from the bird droppings.

We visited the Stafford Mercantile for ice cream after fishing. We played in the Stafford City Park, which is across the street from where the girls' great-great-grandparents lived when Randy was growing up.

You'll just have to take my word for it. I didn't get photos of everything. (Hard to believe, right?!) 

While the Parade Passes By

re·un·ion

rēˈyo͞onyən/

noun

noun: reunion; plural noun: reunions; noun: re-union; plural noun: re-unions

1. an instance of two or more people coming together again after a period of separation.

   "she had a tearful reunion with her parents"

   • a social gathering attended by members of a certain group of people who have not seen each other for some time.

     "a school reunion"
   • the act or process of being brought together again as a unified whole.

     "the reunion of East and West Germany"

Stafford's Oktoberfest is not quite so dramatic as the reunion of East and West Germany, but, for 25 years, it has gathered people back to our little town. It began as a fall festival, but it didn't take long for Stafford High School classes to move from their traditional Memorial Day alumni banquet to Oktoberfest weekend. Now the first weekend in October has become a time of reunions, with school classes and families coming home.

Under the Friday night lights of the Lou Brock Field at SHS, the Trojan class of 1974 gathered around their spirit flag. Classmate Marcia Vasey Bauerle made the flag as a high school senior. Gemma Austin, who still lives in Stafford, has become the official keeper of the flag, and, for the past 40 years, it's flown as Trojans have left in motorcades to state track meets and other events when some extra school spirit was warranted.

On Friday night, there was no mistake: The Class of '74 was back and cheering every touchdown with a wave of the red and white and a shake of pom pons (also furnished by Gemma, ever the cheerleader).

I didn't graduate from Stafford High. But after 33 years of reunions and with two children who are also SHS alumni, I feel like an honorary member of the group. 

Our small town loves a parade, so the next morning, the Class of  1974 waved to their friends and families as they bounced down the brick streets.

"Lordy, lordy! We've hit 40" pretty much says it all, doesn't it? (Of course, I wouldn't know ... until next year, anyway.

We had two little parade goers watching for Grandpa. Well, one was watching. The other one seemed unimpressed with the small-town festivities.

Kinley was also watching for her Mommy, who was celebrating her 10-year reunion.

And we waved at Great Aunt Kathy, too, who didn't see us from her perch on the Class of '84 wagon.

I thought Kinley would be excited about gathering candy thrown from the floats and vehicles.We had her sack ready.

But her parents have obviously trained her well. She wasn't too excited about leaving the sidewalk to venture into the street.

She got a few pieces of loot and then enjoyed the parade as it passed by.

From patriotism ...

... to a small, but mighty marching band ...

... and some pretty snazzy vehicles.

Main and Broadway was the place to be.

It's good to be with family - whether it's blood that connects you ...

... or people who share your graduation date ...

... or just ties that bind in a small Kansas town.

The Zoo Diary by Kinley Marie

The Zoo Diary

By Kinley Marie

Hello, folks! It's been awhile since Grandma let me take over on Kim's County Line. A lot has happened to me since I last wrote. Most importantly, I'm a big sister. It's quite a responsibility to show my sister, Brooke, all about this big old world we live in.

Since Grandma and Grandpa Fritzemeier were in town, I thought I'd entertain all of them with a trip to the Topeka Zoo. The grandparents just can't seem to get enough of that place. So far, I can't get Brooke to talk, no matter how much I talk to her, so I don't really know how she feels about zoos.

 

But, she must like animals. She wore her giraffe outfit, so I thought we'd start by visiting them. (Actually, it was my giraffe outfit from back when I was a baby. Aren't I good at sharing?) 

 

Mommy said that we needed to see the baby tigers next. They are usually only out in the mornings. There are actually three baby tigers. But Grandma said that photographing baby tigers is a little like trying to take pictures of toddlers. I'm not sure what she means by that! But it looks like she only got a picture of one of them. He was playing with his Mama's tail. It looked like he was having fun while his siblings lazed around on a rock ledge. I know the feeling! My sibling was lazing around, too. 

Temba and Sumba, the elephants, are some of my favorites, and they were just down the path from the tigers.

Grandma helped me take a picture of Grandpa and turtles. I guess we should have told him to smile. One of the turtles kind of looked like he was smiling at us. Or maybe he was just happy to be eating his salad. I like veggies with ranch dressing. The zoo workers didn't let the turtle have any ranch. Too bad!

We also saw the flamingos. They are dressed in one of my favorite colors - PINK!

We watched the orangutans for a long time. They were busy playing. It looked like fun. I kept saying, "What are they doing?"

 

I was even brave enough to feed some goats with Grandpa.

We always have a good time at the zoo. Before lunch, we had time for playing across the street in Gage Park.

My favorite thing to do at a park is swing. My Mommy says I'm about to outgrow these swings, but I love them. I can go so high!

My Grandma and Grandpa wanted to ride the Gage Park train, but I politely declined. Its whistle is just too loud. I decided I would just pretend instead.

I guess the whistle didn't bother Brooke. She was still asleep.

(For some reason, my Mommy was glad that Brooke slept through pretty much the whole zoo. I just can't figure it out! She missed everything!)

But, maybe it's OK. It'll just give me a chance to go to the zoo again. 

Until then,
Kinley Marie

Secret Mission Accomplished!

Kinley is taking a step up to a new job. She's going to be a Big Sister.

She's smiling about it now. We'll see if she's still smiling on or about September 3 when the new baby arrives.

I say she has no idea how it's going to change her world. Being a Big Sister is sometimes a slippery slope.

But, as the oldest sister myself, I can give plenty of advice. (Let's not ask my two younger sisters and my little brother about my worthiness to give pointers, OK?)

Randy and I found out a few weeks ago when we met Jill, Eric and Kinley in Wichita. At the restaurant, Jill casually took off Kinley's coat and revealed her new T-shirt. But the shirt went back in the drawer, and we were told to keep quiet about the news.

Keeping secrets is hard. When one of my friends revealed that the due date for her son and his wife was September 3, I could hardly wait to tell her.

Secret mission accomplished (though the temptations have been many)!

And it's not the only big news in our family. Brent is moving back to Manhattan. Since he graduated from K-State in December 2010, he's lived in South Carolina to get his master's degree at the University of South Carolina. Then, he took a job with Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky.

It's given us plenty of travel destinations. But we are so excited to have him move back "home" to Manhattan. Beginning March 17, he will be the Communications Coordinator for the College of Business Administration at Kansas State University.

Last weekend, Randy and I got to tag along as Brent did his own version of the HGTV show, House Hunters. It was deja vu sitting in Bramlage Coliseum with Brent and cheering on the 'Cats.

He's still looking for a house, but it's pretty exciting for Randy and me that he'll be only 3 hours away and not 15. And he'll only be 45 minutes away from Jill's family. Maybe they'll have another babysitter to add to the list. Well, we'll see about that.

I'm just glad to share my secrets, especially both of these!