Play House

Thank you to our realtor, Janet, for not only helping us find a new home, but also a temporary one. She has put us up in one of her townhomes which was vacant while awaiting the return of a graduate student and his family in August.

Sophia, Meredith, Jacob and I moved in and melted into it. I felt so good to have our own space at last! Generous friends and family have lent us linens and cookware. Grandma sent over a tv. We went to the video store and stocked up on movies, hit the grocery store for hamburger helper and laundry detergent. A three-bedroom condo never felt like such a palace to me!

To Sophia and Meredith, it seems like an enormous playhouse! They like to pretend that they are the adult tenants here, so they do a lot of dish washing and laundry-folding just because that's what grown-ups do when they live in a house. They especially enjoy putting the groceries away. And I am NOT COMPLAINING!! I let them decide where everything goes. So they just tell me how I can help.

With the least possible delay we invited some of the girls' friends over. Here we had returned to Lawrence and all their old friends, and we had hardly had the opportunity to see them! Rachel and Renae came over for some water balloon games at the park, a late night watching movies, and some dancing in the living room the next day:

Aidan is 3

(This is a revision of an earlier post.)

In the middle of the house hunting portion of our summer, Aidan turned three (on June 20). Who can believe it? We celebrated at Grandma's house in Topeka (you'll remember that that's Doug and Jacob's home base for the summer).



When Aidan went to blow out his candles, someone suggested that he make a wish. So he shouted vigorously and sincerely, "I wish . . . to fight bad guys!" And with that blew out his candles with gusto.

Yesterday was Jacob's 13th birthday (that post will follow later), and Aidan picked up a few more goodies that weren't ready in time for his actual birthday. Aidan also enjoyed cheesecake and raspberry sauce again since that was Jacob's choice for a birthday cake as well. Our family had gathered once again for this celebration in Topeka with Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandma, and also cousins Haley and Megan.

Aidan said another funny thing at Jacob's party. At first, the only one to notice what he said was Jacob, who was sitting next to him. Jacob asked him, incredulously, to repeat what he had just said. And then again, just to be sure, Jake had him repeat his exclamation one more time. By now, we all heard clearly what he said, though none of us could believe it. Do you know what Aidan said, rather matter-of-factly? Here is what he said: "Damnit." He explained that his "strawberries" (actually raspberries) had fallen off his spoon, so he said, "damnit." After we all whooped and hollered with laughter, the most obvious question was, Where had this three-year-old learned this word? Doug and I certainly don't say it! Grandma also vigorously denied responsibility! So did Jacob! When queried, Aidan responded earnestly that he had made up the word himself. I don't think so.

He repeated the word again today when he dropped a ball he was playing with. The girls and I explained to him that this is a bad word, but he insisted innocently that it is a good word. I guess he finds it to be a very useful way of expressing his internal state in the face of certain minor mishaps.

We will continue to make efforts to reprogram this habit. We hope we have success by the time preschool starts next month.

Here's some shots of Aidan's second haul:

House Hunt

After our marvelous Key Largo vacation, Doug and I went our separate ways--me back to Richmond, and Doug to Topeka to start his new job. He's loving it and very excited for the challenge!

The kids and I visited with Aunt Annie, Uncle Jeff, and Ashtyn for a couple more days and then drove back to Kansas to begin househunting--here are some grassy shots taken in a mall parking lot, of all places. Kids can have fun anywhere!



Back in Kansas, we landed at Shannon W.'s as our home base while I began scouting out the Lawrence home market. Our spectacular realtor, Janet G., who sold our home last summer, took me in hand. I think we saw every home on the market in Lawrence two or three times! She was a total trooper! There are no pictures to show of that process, and that is because I was utterly focused on the mission at hand, which was to get my family into a house before school starts. Luckily, Janet was focused on the same mission, "like a bull terrier grabbing a hold of something and refusing to let go," as she put it. Three weeks into the search, still without a house we all felt great about and my panic level rising--Janet scoped out a home new to the market that she thought was perfect. The phone calls flew and we had snapped it up by the end of the day! Yay! We are so happy with it and grateful to the owners for making arrangements to be out quickly so we could be in well before school! I will be there for the inspection tomorrow and can hardly wait. We close on July 27th. Pictures will follow soon!

Return to Kansas, but first: Key Largo

Oh my blog-reading friends! How patiently you have waited for my return to blogland. The good news is that we have also returned to Kansas, found a home, and even found a temporary home to stay at while we wait for our closing date.

But many things have happened in between, and I would like to update you and show you some of the sites along the way. I'm sure it will take a few posts to bring things up-to-date.

I believe I last posted about the trip to Virginia Beach that we took while the younger kids and I were visiting my sister and her family in Richmond, Virginia.

While we were there, Aunt Annie gamely agreed to watch my kids for four days while I took a vacation. Meanwhile, back in Kansas, Grandma and Grandpa were willing to keep an eye on big brother Jacob so Doug could meet me. This made it possible for us to celebrate our 15th anniversary--a few months late.

We met in Miami and, after a quick stop at a Cuban restaurant--one of Doug's favorite cuisines--we drove to Key Largo. We had booked a room at a small resort that got great online reviews, and boy, did it turn out to be spectacular! The owners of Kona Kai Resort and Gallery have created a spectacular but cozy oasis, personally choosing all of the magnificent plantings on the grounds and creating a beach-like feel on the Florida Bay in the Gulf of Mexico. They were also incredibly helpful in suggesting restaurants and activities.

We read and relaxed, ate, kayaked, snorkled, ate, read some more, relaxed some more, enjoyed a eco-tour to explore the mandrake keys and to spot ocean creatures, enjoyed the inn's gallery and orchid gardens, then read and relaxed some more. It was just what we needed and we can't wait to go back!

Doug and I ate fish caught locally for every meal (except for breakfast, of course). Doug's favorite, mahi-mahi, is abundant in local waters, but so is grouper and yellowtail snapper. We also had Conch Chowder, a local specialty, and of course Key Lime Pie. My favorite dish of the trip was jerked yellowtail, which I followed with some more Key Lime Pie.

The trip was just what we needed. I'm sure we'll find our way back to the Florida Keys again soon.

Enjoy the pics--just click on the arrow to begin a slideshow of our trip. You can pause the slideshow, too, or advance and reverse at your own pace. Or, double-click and you will be taken to a larger version of the photos.

Virginia Beach

Today we hit the beach! It was the kids first trip to the beach--that they remember. Toward the end of the day, it was a little cloudy and overcast, but that didn't stop us from having a moment of fun.

Besides splashing in the waves, we admired mole crabs, searched for shells, buried each other in the sand, and did lots of digging.

After shaking the sand out of our suits in the parking lot, we headed to Norfolk--Aunt Annie's old stomping grounds--for some ice cream. The littlest cousins, Ashtyn and Aidan, were fast asleep long before we arrived. They had their ice cream much later--after a good dinner at home.

Check out the pics:

2007-05 Virginia Beach

Aunt Annie's house!

We are having so much fun in Virginia with Aunt Annie, Uncle Jeff, and cousin Ashtyn.

Check it out:

2007-05 Vacation in Virginia

So now what?

School was out on May 11--over two weeks ago. What have we been up to since then?

First, we packed up our belongings and moved out of our house. We had some friends who had seriously looked at our home when it was on the market last summer, before we bought it, and they wanted to purchase it from us. We were delighted, since with 700 folks losing their jobs at O'Sullivan, we worried that the market may be a bit sluggish. So that was a great blessing--both to sell our house without putting it on the market, and also to turn it over to good friends.

This is how we ended up moving out of our home before we had a new job or a new house! Again, we are blessed that Doug's parents were very willing to take us in for a few weeks . . . or months . . . as needed. Doug remained working in Lamar, staying with generous friends from the ward, while the kids and I headed north to make his folks' home in Topeka our home base for the summer. At least.

Now we have big news. As of yesterday, Doug has accepted a new position at a new company! He has been actively engaged in a job search for nearly six months and has considered many interesting and varied positions throughout the land. But the one that captured his heart is at . . . Payless Shoe Source! Many of our readers know that this is in Topeka, Kansas, and therefore we will be moving right back to the place from which we exited last summer: Lawrence, Kansas. Originally, when Doug first started talking to a recruiter about the opportunity and decided it sounded quite promising, he didn't know what company had posted the job nor where they were located. He was floored when it was disclosed that it was Payless! We have had so many friends who worked there through the years! Is that not wild?

Doug is very pleased with his new position. He feels it is the best opportunity of all those that he was offered during his long search. He will be starting up the IT group for an international expansion. This is a high-profile position that will give him more exposure to international work and will be great experience.

We are all relieved, and as you might imagine the kids are just thrilled to be moving back "home." We are sorry to leave our friends in Lamar. We really liked it there and had hoped to stay much longer. We are pleased, however, that it is only a short drive to visit.

Now I must reveal that with Doug's company closing and all the accompanying uncertainty, we have been through a rough time in our family. We have been cognizant of all our blessings and grateful for tons of family support, but nevertheless, the last few months have been difficult and stressful in many ways. We have leaned on friends and family and have been bolstered by prayers offered on our behalf. Thank you to everyone.

I just need to thank two people in particular for their help in Lamar. The first is Carla S. Oh. My. Goodness. While we were packing, she watched kids day and night, made sure they were fed, got us through two hospitalizations, and even showed up to deep clean my kitchen once all the goods had been socked away in storage. All the while providing a listening and sympathetic ear. You have no idea. This saintly woman got us through the last two weeks.

Also, my friend Michelle B. took mercy on me when I was stymied by the massive job of packing our belongings (for the second time in a year). She kindly provided the impetus to get me going, wrapped up most of my dishes and glassware in newsprint, and perhaps more importantly, offered many wise words of counsel. This is more amazing if you know that her family is the one moving into our house! So she was packing up my kitchen only to turn around and unpack hers into the very same cupboards a couple of weeks later. Imagine.

That kind of sounds like the academy awards, but there is nothing so touching when you are in need as to have friends set aside their own deadlines and concerns just to take on yours. It is just hard to adequately express how grateful we are.

Now we have one big decision left to make: we must find a new house. Doug is working in Lamar for a few days more, and meanwhile I have made my way to Virginia with the younger kids (Jacob is staying at Grandma's so he can attend summer basketball and soccer activities) to visit my sister. We're all a bit shell-shocked. But after a couple of weeks of R&R, we'll get on with becoming the Lawrence Von Feldts once again.

Family on the Move

We have been a family on the move, and we have much to catch you up on.

First, school's out! With a very sudden decision by the powers that be, the requirement for snow days was waived, and the kids got out three days early! Their last day was May 11.

It was a misty morning--here are Sophia and Meredith in the park across the street:


Buddy--still in his pj's--walked to the bus stop with them.

The last wait at the Wheeler Farm bus stop . . . forever:

Lucy takes off after the bus, as usual:

Lamar Recital

Sophia and Meredith performed in the Chase Dance Academy recital last weekend, which they have been preparing for for months. We have a beautiful, big auditorium here in Lamar--Thiebaud Auditorium--which made a nice venue.

They did splendidly! We are grateful to Carla Scott and the Solums for coming to catch the performance! We are also grateful to Kelly Kellenberger, Rhonda, and Rebecca for being such great teachers all year long!

Here's Meredith, a girl in a white dress with a blue (not satin) sash:


Here's Sophia:


Both girls wore full stage makeup with false eyelashes! I must say that part of the fun was the afternoon getting we spent getting ready. We got out all my makeup from my ballroom dance days, and I enjoyed slicking back their hair, applying their lashes, and finding just the right color of lipstick.


Click here for more pics:

2007-04 Recital

Jacob's Team Wins Top Points!

Jacob recently competed in a state-wide challenge for gifted classrooms called Extempore. I got to go up to Kansas City on the school bus with him for the competition.

Teams are given requirements in advance around which to build a skit, then at the last minute must incorporate a handful of additions extemporaneously. The competition also involves brainy problem-solving challenges. Jacob's team competed against 38 other teams from across the state and earned the most points!

Here is the winning team with their teacher, Barb Nichols:

Here is Jacob in action. I believe he was a "nerd" having a bad audition because he needed to relieve himself. The second shot depicts him as an extreme character--a gangster. The last shot shows other team members acting out their parts.

Aidan Ails

The next weekend was a bit of a downer. Aidan got a case of pneumonia that landed him (and me) in the hospital for a couple of days. (He pulled out of it just fine, though).

Here's Aidan ailing:


But here he is starting to feel better, sitting up and playing with some stretchy bugs that our friend Carla gave him:


He was visited by all his Lamar friends--Carla, Sophia, Trainer, Meredith, and Haley:


Aidan kept saying, "Can I go home now?" Especially when he had to take oral meds, which as it turns out he is adamantly against. But Meredith wished she could have been a patient! She stayed for an extended snuggle and some tv-watching:


** For those interested, please note that I have added one piece of artwork to the post below!

Meredith's art

Meredith made this picture of Abraham Lincoln's birthplace. Pretzels for the logs. It made it into the art gallery at home:


She also created this terrific 3-D map of Missouri:

Big happenins in Lamar

The tallest horse in the world came to the Orshelin's in Lamar early this month. His name is Radar, and here he is:

Radar stands 19 Hands 3 1/2 Inches (6' 7 1/2" at the withers) and weighs over 2,400 lbs. He eats 18 lbs. of grain, 40 lbs. of hay, and drinks 20 gallons of water each day. A gelding, he was born in 1998 in Iowa. Doug took the kids over to eyeball him.

Okay, well, that's all I really have to say about that.

New Haircuts

Sophia has new stylin' glasses and a new haircut:


I got a new haircut at the same time, but something happened to it overnight.

Gargantuan catfish

Cute furry animals were not the only ones we encountered on our spring break. Slimey, scaley ones made for the most excitement.

You all know that we have a little pond across the street, and it is stocked with fish. In nice weather, folks often stop by for a little fishin.' Some friends of Jacob's came to the park, and Jacob ended up fishing much of his spring break. Up until this point, he'd never caught much over there but tiny minnows, and certainly didn't expect anything other than smallish fish.

To his utter surprise, while Jacob was after some minnows, the line he'd left dangling in the water was taken and his entire fishing pole was suddenly pulled into the water! When it floated up to the surface, a fisherman nearby used his pole to pull it back to the shore. As Jacob reeled in the line, it broke and his fish nearly got free. So Jacob jumped in the water, grabbed the fish in his arms, and hurled it onto the shore! The fisherman grabbed it in a net.

It was a 20" catfish!




We called Doug and he drove the 4 miles home from work to see the big catch. He noticed that its belly was swollen with eggs, so the decision was made to toss it back in.


One of Jacob's friends caught another big one later in the day! The next weekend, the boys were back at it. Their plans to sleep in a tent at the park were foiled when Doug and I suggested that 1) this was probably illegal, and 2) it was going to rain cats and dogs anyway. They still fished in the rain! But they came inside to sleep. Five wet, fishy, muddy boys in our basement. Hmm. (It was not as bad as you might think.)

Animals for the weekend

Several weekends ago was spring break, and I'm just now getting the shots up. Unlike Easter weekend, we had george-ous weather for the long weekend that comprised spring break here.

Abbra, one of the young women from our branch, got to stay with us while the rest of her family went to the temple (she had to stay home to work). Why I didn't get a shot of her I don't know, but there was hairdos, manicures, and an elaborate fort she and the kids built in the basement. It involved sheets hanging from the ceiling fan, every spare blanket in the house, and the complete rearranging of all the basement furniture. Abbra was an excellent sport and slept in the fort with the girls that night. It was big for a fort, but rather smallish for three sleepers! She also took us to her home to help her feed the rabbits, and the kids got to hold them and pet them.



The weather was so fabulous that I ventured further on my walks than before. I discovered the most beautiful Missouri farm not too far away:


After an evening fireside, we stopped by to visit the goats and llamas that live on this farm. Here's Aidan and Sophia trying to entice the goats with a carrot:





The goats would have no part of our carrots. However, we did have some excitement when one of them did get stuck in the fence:


Doug and Meredith rescued him, Sophia doing her part by offering a silent prayer. (He was saved).


Llama pajamas:



What is this face? I think this is such a funny picture:


He's just so dang good-lookin':

O'Sullivan to close Lamar plant

This is the headline of the Joplin Globe today.

If you remember, Doug works for O'Sullivan in Lamar. So it seems that we have big changes in the near future. Of course, we have known this was coming, and we have been making preparations. We feel at peace and are confident that Doug will be able to find employment elsewhere. We have received many blessings and have no reason to worry. Our hearts go out to the 700 other employees whose roots go deep in this area and may have a more difficult time finding a new job. They are in our prayers.

Moon shinin' o'er Lamar

The 12-year-old in our family has been up to no good. I was enjoying a peaceful Sunday conference morning when some commotion and hilarity broke out in the front room. Meredith came running in to tell me that she and Sophia were being mooned by the boys! Pretty soon Aidan was sportin' a smiley face on his bum. Here's Jacob and his protege:


It was all in good fun, but I do worry about what would happen if Aidan were to bring this game to preschool with him. I had a talk with Jacob about that!

Easter in Topeka

For Easter this year, the Lamar Von Feldts travelled up to Topeka to be with Grandma and Grandpa and also the Olathe VonFeldts. We all stayed overnight at Grandma and Grandpa's house. As always, it was soooo fun!

Grandma was not quite as concerned about bedtime as the moms usually are. No surprise there. Little girls were dying eggs at 9:00 pm, and aftwerward Haley and Jacob and Grandma went shopping for Haley's birthday present (an iPod)! But no harm done. The girls were still up at 3:00 am the next morning, excited to see what the Easter Bunny had brought.

The cousins enjoyed an Easter egg hunt together on Easter morning. This was the first year that the Easter Bunny did not visit Jacob, presumably because he has gotten too big. Instead, Jacob's job was to help his little brother Aidan battle the crowds and get to some of the eggs. Actually, all of the siblings and cousins made sure the littlest one got to enjoy the wonder and fun of discovering eggs throughout Grandma and Grandpa's back yard.

The major obstacle was the cold. It was 20 degrees outside Sunday morning! Brrrrr. Teeth chattered. Fingers froze. But it was nice and warm inside, where everyone dumped out their eggs, took inventory, and bargained and traded.


Later, we had a spectacular Kansas Easter dinner. Here is Grandma with all the food:



For more shots of the fun and the food, click below:

2007-04 Easter

Meredith's Baptism

Meredith was baptized on Sunday, March 18--not quite two weeks ago. It was a wonderful day! Grandmommy and Granddaddy Skabelund came from Albuquerque for the special event, and Aunt Cindy and Haley and Megan came down from Olathe as well.

With my girls, I have enjoyed the special time in the dressing room before and after their baptisms. I found it a good opportunity to talk with them about their big day and to gift them small, symbolic gifts. Like with Sophia, I gave Meredith some special white and crystal jewelry to commemorate the day, and a white towel on which I sewed some lace to make it special:


Here is Meredith and her dad just after the baptism.


Aidan wanted to see the water in the font from the backside:


As we towel-dried Meredith's hair in the dressing room, she said to me: "I feel clean and pure!"

Here she is, still clean and pure, in her baptism dress on our front porch:


Among other things, for refreshments, we had cream puffs, BYU-catering-style ham-and-cheese sandwiches, Camie's fruit dip, and Skittles (a remnant from the days when Joe Baird lived near!)

For more shots, including fun at the reception and outside play with cousins, please click on this web album:

2007-03 Meredith's Baptism