Flash Floods are so much fun.

I know I've been absent this summer. Now that none of my kids take naps during the day anymore I don't find a whole lot of down time for blog writing as I used to. (I'm hoping that will change when school starts.) I found a few minutes tonight and thought I'd share some fun pics that are about a month old. 

During June SW Kansas had about 11 inches of rain which was delightful! One such storm brought 3 inches alone! And there is nothing quite as fun as playing in the flooded street after a storm...especially when you know all that glorious water will be gone by the next day. All that rain has literally transformed Kansas into a green carpet that, honestly, confuses me! I was driving down a back road just the other day that I barely recognized because it was so green!

Anyway, when it rains we take full advantage of the flash floods to play in the streets!! 

Kansas...August...GREEN AND WET!!! Who knew THAT could happen???

So we're on the second day of September and being that it's a holiday I had some time to go through some photos of August. I have to say that this August was definitely the greenest I've ever seen Kansas! Some friends of mine who have lived here all their lives even told me that it's the greenest August they've seen too. We had quite a bit of rain the first couple weeks in August and it was greatly enjoyed by my kids. 

I think this rain came about the 11th or 12th. It was fast and quick but it flooded the street intersection next to our house. 

Every time we see it rain, I kick my kids outside to play. It's been so rare that we see this much water that I want my kids to enjoy it. I remember my childhood where there were always mud and puddles certain times of the year that we could play in and even as an adult I kind of miss it. 

Just look at my GRASS! I've had to mow more this summer than the last three summers combined! 

I even went through some old Kansas photos to compare the landscape. 

May 2011

Sept. 2011

August 2011

June 2012

Plenty of brown grass in the last few years. All this rain has been wonderful for my garden too. 

I've had a bumper carrot crop! 

My garden has done pretty well this year, other than the blight that hit and killed half my tomatoes. Blight is like fighting a losing battle! No fun at all. 

The first half of August came with plenty of rain but we finished out the last half of the month with 100+ degree days and no rain in sight. The rain gave us a little cushion but we could sure use some more. Harvest is starting later than normal, maybe in a couple more weeks and the harvest (according to my husband) is going to be better than expected and of course better than the last few years. Maybe, just maybe we're slowly coming out of this super severe drought we've lived in for the last 3 years. I'd like to think so but until my daily prayers include asking for rain. 

Snowed in...or getting ready to be.

"Snow! Woo Hoo!! No school for two days!", my children were cheering as they galloped off to bed this evening. I was cheering too, it was a lot of fun to have them home all day today! 

That's right, no school today and they've already cancelled school for tomorrow. 

Wanna know why? Because, as I have heard, we are in for one of the biggest storms Kansas has had for quite a while. The entire state of Kansas is already in a state of emergency due to the snow, rain, and ice we've gotten today and are preparing to get tonight. Today wasn't so bad....as long as you weren't driving. I guess we maybe received an inch of snow but we had a snow/rain/ice mix for most of the day. But I guess the big stuff will be hitting us overnight and all day tomorrow. 

This is a weather shot I just took. The purple dot is family. Hi family!! So happy to see that you are safely tucked away in Indiana trees!! I wish I had trees to block the wind. And hills, yes, those tiny Indiana hills would sure come in handy today too! 

The red dot is me in the flat land; without trees and hills. We are tucked in warm in our house though with plenty of food, movies, games, art projects and library books to keep us busy and comfortable for quite a while. Right now I'm snuggling on the couch with.....nobody. That's right, except for the kids, I'm all alone. 

See the green dot? That's Hays, KS. It might not look too far away but it's a few hours from here and that's where DR is right now, hopefully, warm and snug in a hotel. He had a business trip he left for Monday night and was supposed to get back this evening. No can do. The roads are treacherous (salt people!!) and he opted to hole up in a hotel for another night or two. 

 The big yellow sort of oval shape is the storm that is supposed to hit us over night. And when I say hit, I mean HIT! I've heard that in the next 24 hours we could possibly receive over a foot of snow....and I just read on one weather site that the worst of it is supposed to pass right between the red dot and the green dot. Right between my husband and I. 

...great...

I should have known something bad was going to happen while he was away. Last year when he took this trip I only had three kids throwing up all over my carpet in the middle of the night. If it weren't for all the welcome moisture this storm is bringing I'd almost wish to have sick kids than be separated from DR for who knows how long. No telling when I'll see my husband again! As long as he's safe though he can stay at hotels and eat at restaurants every night and I promise I won't hold a grudge!! 

Would you mind saying a quick prayer for us though? I don't mind being home alone. I don't even mind being snowed in the house. I am a little worried about losing power though. We have a generator and plenty of space heaters and a gas stove so I'm sure we'll be just fine in case it does go out but I'd rather not have to battle a power failure. So far so good though. The only battle I've fought today was with the stubborn dog who refused to go in the garage to spend the night warm and dry. I couldn't even drag her in!! 

I'm expecting to have plenty of down time for the next day or two so hopefully I can share our Kansas storm with you all. (And to give grandmothers peace of mind that we are all fine!!) Hopefully I'll be posting tomorrow!  

Kansas readers! (or anyone in the path of this storm) if you wouldn't mind comment and let me know what the storm is bringing you! 

Crying Petals

I completed a new painting. It's large 26 inches square but it went relatively quickly. 

I had some leftover black matte board scraps laying around that I cut into various pieces, painted and then hot glued together in layers for a 3D effect. 

I enjoyed creating textures on some of the pieces. I had forgotten how well acrylic, good acrylic, paint can be built up. 

I had a hard time capturing the real colors but you get the idea. 

I've mentioned before how I don't like to title my paintings so I asked advice from friends on FaceBook and one of my cousins suggested Crying Petals. I thought it rather fitting. Overall I think this painting could speak for the Kansas summer that flowers have had to put up with. 

August Storm - *WARNING* Pic Heavy

Friday night I was at a Pampered Chef party and when I stepped outside about 8:00 pm the sky was gorgeous with a coming summer storm. I rushed home grabbed my camera and the truck, because I can climb up on the cab of the truck and get a much better view, I rushed off on the dirt roads. 

Warning!! This post has about 21 pictures. They've been edited only slightly and are true to color. This really was how bright the colors were that night! 

I rather think the tail light one is my favorite. 

Or maybe these sunflowers are my favorite! 

I've never been out in a sky before like this one. It was magnificent and I stayed out in it until I was soaked. This, the sky so vast and powerful, is what I love about Kansas.