While I was in New York, my father-in-law emailed me information about the oven. He believed the heating element had died. When that happens, the oven is smart enough to notice and turn off the gas, which explains why neither was working. So I went to the Sears parts website (it feels like this is becoming one of my most used sites) and ordered the part. $70! How does such a small part cost $70? I also wanted to get it as soon as possible, so I paid $35 for the fastest shipping. I justified it in my mind by ...

We went for a ride on the Blue Trace Trail today. It's a bit out of the way for us, but we were eager to try a different trail. It's a gravel trail similar to the Katy Trail instead of the paved trails throughout the rest of the city. This also marked the first time we let Aspen ride on her own. She was a bit slow but she rode for about ¾ of a mile and then we put her back into the trailer and stashed the ...

What is it about New York? I turned to look out the window on the far side of the plane; strained to get a glimpse of America's largest city. I couldn't see. But what I did see was that many were doing the same. Passengers from every row leaned toward a window, rose in their seats, adjusted to see around others doing the same. I caught a glimpse of the skyline sans Twin Towers. A child behind me asked if they could see the Statue of Liberty. "Tomorrow," the father answered. What is it about New York?I was ...

Enid was cooking a meal tonight, but when she opened the oven, the temperature which had reached 400° when she put the meat loaf in had fallen to 150°. I tried several things, but the oven isn't working. I tried the broiler and it is working, so I took apart the bottom of the oven. The heating element wouldn't come on and there was no gas coming out. So, I called my father-in-law. I gave him the make and model and he said he would do some research.The worst part is that I leave tomorrow for New York ...

We had great fun tonight riding with my uncle and cousins. They took us out to the southern end of the Haller trail and we rode up to Shawnee Mission park. There are some tremendous hills on the route. They wouldn't be so bad expect that they are not gradual inclines but very steep which is hard with the trailer and kids behind me.We saw a lot of dear out beside the trail as well. At the end of the ride, Ora 5 and my cousin rode ahead. I think Ora 5 liked the opportunity to bike with ...

Only one week after leaving for Vegas, I was off again to Norman, Oklahoma. Norman is just a few miles south of Oklahoma City. My boss and I flew into Oklahoma City and then drove down I-35 to Norman. The drive was very familiar since it was the same route my family took when traveling to South Padre Island last year.We met with the client and the meeting went very quickly, so my boss and I headed up to Oklahoma City to kill some time before our flight. (I had called our travel department to find out if ...

I just returned from a business trip that took me to St. George, Utah and Las Vegas. My boss and I flew into Las Vegas and then drove a car north-east to reach St. George. We spent a day meeting with a client there and then drove back to Las Vegas.St. GeorgeSt. George is beautiful. We drove through an amazing canyon to get to it and the city itself is nestled in between red-rock mesas. It is also very near Bryce and Zion canyons. I walked around the city a bit looking for a tourist information place, ...

Today is the first day of the home schooling year. It seems a bit later than all the other schools that started mid-August, but we hate the idea of starting before Labor Day.The state requires that Ora 5 have 1,000 hours of school. 600 of those 1,000 hours must be in 6 core subjects and 400 hours of those 1,000 must be in our home. (There can obviously be some overlap of the 600 and 400 hours.)Enid is going to start Aspen on the Kindergarten curriculum and Ewan will have his own reading times as well.