Pre Dawn Babbler

Edward had a tough night sleeping. He finally ended up in our bed. He tossed and turned for a while then decided around 4:30 am that it was time to talk. We were awake for about an hour. He was just chattering away, including telling some stories that he made up. It was cute but tiring for us needless to say. Daddy wasn't feeling well so he went to sleep on the couch. Edward shortly there after asked to go back to sleep in his bed. I put him in his bed, stretched out in ours but guess what that didn't last that long. Edward was back and after about 15 more minutes of chattering, tossing and turning he finally went back to sleep. THANKFULLY!!! LOL!!!

Ouch, my poor baby!!!

Today Edward broke his right thumb at bowling league. Here's how it happened. He was doing so well, he was doing really well bowling without me being right by his side. I was sitting up at the table watching him. He took about 2 to 3 steps over the line about before I could anything, he raised his bowling ball to throw it and went sailing backwards, ball still in his hand. He was very upset needless to say. We (myself, his coach and the head of the youth bowling league) all checked out his hand the best that we could (he wasn't to keen on us looking at it), we couldn't see any swelling and he seemed to be able to move his hand easily. He just wanted to go home, so we forfeited the 2nd game and left. I went by Starbucks to grab a iced coffee for myself and a frap for Kirk. I stopped by Kirk's work to have him see if Edward would let him look at it and to see what Kirk thought. By the time we got to Kirk's work the fat palm part under his thumb was about 3 times as large as his left hands. We both agreed he needed to be taken to the ER. So I rushed Edward to the Newton ER. They took x-rays and found that he had a non displaced fracture of the thumb. He has to wear a splint for the next 6 to 7 days. He isn't allowed to go bowling for about 2 weeks. He has to go back to his pediatrician in 10 days and get follow up x-rays to ensure that it has healed correctly.

Summer Bowling League Fun

Above are pictures of Edward and his favorite Bowling Coach, Karina. She has been his coach since we started bowling. Edward just loves her. However since this year we switched to the Homeschool Bowling League through the Bowling Alley, she isn't his coach because she herself is in public school at the time our league plays. He really misses her. The other picture is of Edward and his team mate (this is the first session that Edward has had a team mate since we begun bowling league with him), William. The bowling ball that they are holding, is Edwards own personal ball. Edward and William called their team the Speedy Rollers. LOL! They did awesome. Edwards game has improved so much. We are so proud of him.

Edward and Cake

I have to share this. Edward is so funny when it comes to cake or cupcakes.....he will eat all the frosting off of the cake or cupcake but refuses to eat the actual cake part of the dessert. Instead he gives it to the dogs. I can't get him to eat it for anything. What a silly kid.

Why We Choose To Homeschool Edward

I have been having some difficulties with people not understanding why we are choosing to homeschool our son. There are so many reasons and I find it hard to verbalize the reasons to them correctly, so I thought that maybe if I wrote about it it would help me to be able to get the reasons across correctly. Of course there is the freedom of being able to worship and learn about God. Teaching Edward the TRUE reasons why this country was founded. School is in no way like it was when I was in the education system (not saying it was the greatest then either) and it defiantly is nothing like it was back when our parents and grandparents went to school. School has become an institutional setting. It is a proven fact that children who are homeschooled are more socialized than those who attend a public (and sometimes Private) school setting. Children are made to act like as the teacher thinks all children should act, there is no room for individualized personalities....you risk your child being slapped with a label if they don't conform to the way their teacher(s) feel that a child should be. Children in public school are required to sit still for hours on end at desks, they are not allowed to move, talk or do the things that come natural to a child. I know that schools have lots of great programs for advanced learns and if the teacher is really on top of things they might catch one or two who are struggling in reading or writing. But there are those students who might be so great at math but wonderfully smart at science. This student is usually overlooked, instead of working on the child's strengths and helping them with their struggles they are just shuffled into the mix. Yes there are some good school districts but you have to realize that ME ME ME is the structure of ALL public school systems. A child's individual interests are not used as a way to help make learning more interesting and fun for them because so many children are shoved together into one classroom that it is hard to individualize their learning behaviors let alone their interests. Homeschool tends to be more hands on, individualized to each child. Yes even if there is more than one or two children being taught by one person (even when they are of different ages. I wont even go into the fact that public school is dangerous to our children in so many ways. God didn't make children, let alone people, to all fit into one "cookie cutter mold". We are all different and unique, we all learn in different matters and to make school the best for our children their learning situations need to be individualized for each child. Homeschooling allows us to do that. My son does not lack for socialization, he is able to socialized daily with everyone from the elderly to babies. He is able to learn according to his unique learning behaviors (some people learn by sight, others by doing, others by repetition and so forth) that God has given to him, he is able to incorporate his interests into his learning situations so that it makes learning more interesting to him. He is able to go to locations and see things (daily if we choose) that teach him how things work, are made and so forth. He is able to learn history right were it happened, if we want to take him to those locations. We are able to educate him during the time of the day that is best for him, when he is alert and able to grasp concepts. We are able to go at his pace not a pace that is made to accommodate the average child in the room (therefore those ahead of the average learn are forced to lag behind in their learning experiences unless they are able to meet the requirements for advanced learning classes. Those who struggle and are unable to grasp a certain concept of the subject being taught them are forced to struggle and usually lag behind the rest of those in their class...which causes them to stand out to the other children and they are usually ridiculed by their peers for being slow or having less than average grades. Yes there are special education classes for the slowest of learners but once again you have to meet the requirements for those classes that have been set forth by the public school system. So those that don't quite meet these requirements for advanced classes or special ed classes are forced to learn at the pace of the average learner in their class(es).) I will force myself not to get on my soapbox about recesses being shortened in lots of public school and in some place done away with all together, no more music and art classes, PE being done away with in some schools, and my favorite of all right now.....free constructive play time being taken away from Kindergartners when it is one of the most important aspects of their education at that age. Kindergartners are now forced to sit for long periods at desks and learn like the older children. In case you were unaware Kindergarten is now being considered the new FIRST GRADE. SAD is all I will say about all these topics, sad for our children, sad for our society. I wouldn't doubt that if in a few years if Preschool was considered the new FIRST GRADE and 3 & 4 yrs olds were required to sit for hours on end doing paper work and being drilled with facts. Our government through our public school systems are slowly taking away our children's only chance at CHILDHOOD. So Preschoolers will be required to do hours of homework after they come home from a long day at school, cutting out all chances for playing. SAD SAD SAD!!!!! I hope that this has given some insight as to why we have chosen to educate our son at home and not through the public school system. Please note that I do realize that for some the public school system is the only option, but please be your child(ren)s advocate.....stand up for what you want your child(ren)s learning experience(s) to be. You know your child(ren) better than any teacher ever could, you know their learning behaviors, where they excel and where they struggle. Be their voice when educators choose not to listen. This is not to say that there aren't awesome educators out there but you have to remember sometimes their hands too are tied by the government and the public school system.
I have a personal quote that I think says it best: As Homeschoolers, we are not limited by where and what books might teach us, or what a building can provide for learning experiences and materials. The World is our teaching resource....our learning palette, we learn from it by seeing, hearing, touching, and hands on experiencing it personally.~Desiree Thompson 9/6/07

Edward's Terminology

I don't think I have shared this but I think it is cute. Edward loves to sleep in footie pj's. He absolutely loves them. He calls them Zip em up, foot holders. I am not sure as to where he came up with this but he has been calling them this since he was 3.

This Is The Day That The Lord Hath Made

Edward has a Veggie Tales Toddler CD that he loves to listen to on his portable DVD player, we recently bought him earphones so that we don't have to listen to his DVD movies while we are watching TV or listening to our CDs on the CD Player. Anyway, on the CD is the song "This is the Day that the Lord Hath Made" He will start belting this song out, not all the words come through clearly when he is singing it. This is especially funny to hear when he has his earphones on because you don't hear the song or the music, just Edward belting out the song. At the end of the song, he literally scream sings the end. To Funny. I need to get this on video some day.

Edwards Funny This Morning

LOL!!! Edward came up to me this morning and said to me: "Mommy, I still love you!" What a crack up. He is so funny sometimes. I don't know where this came from or even why he said it, but it was funny probably because it was so out of the blue.

Newflash from the Thompson Household

I am in the middle of cleaning the house so the maids can come in and do a deep clean, so we can start off the year in a spic and span environment. He and his daddy are going to have a boys weekend this weekend, so I can get the main parts of the house clean without Edwards "help". He tends to go behind me and re-mess up what I have already cleaned. I have our upstairs all done. Going to do the Entryway, Kitchen and downs stairs bath today.
Still working on catching up the laundry from when I was sick in July. Now my brand new washer is coding on me that its having issues with draining, so I will have to have a service repairman come out next week and fix it for me. It is frustrating. I can get a load or two done then it starts to act up on me. So that is making it even harder for me to catch up on the laundry.
Next week, on Monday, I have an exterminator coming in to do a spray, he'll come every 3 months and do it. Then on Wednesday, the Maids are coming in to do a deep clean. Plus I hope to get the repair man in to fix the washer next week. Kirk is going out of state next Friday for the 3 day weekend with his dad in Las Vegas. Then things get really exciting for me. Edward will start school either the Tuesday after Labor Day or the following Monday. However Friday the 31st, we will be attending our first Homeschooling Co-op class. He is going to be taking a Storytime & Music Movement Class for 4 to 7 yr olds. I have volunteered to do a P.E. class for Preschoolers and Pre-Kindergarteners.We will also be doing Kindermusik again this year, however the classes will be on Tuesday Mornings. We will be joining the Homeschooling Bowling League on Thursdays this year, instead of participating in the bowling league on Friday and Saturdays. This is the first year that he can join the HBL at the bowling alley. We will be joining the Homeschooling Monart class on Fridays too, a lot of the children from the Co-op participate in this class. Edward will learn to draw using all types of mediums. He will be learning about famous artist this session, like Van Gogh and Gloria O'Keefe. If you would like to learn more about Monart or what see what types of things Edward will be learning you can go to www.Monart.com . He will be learning actual drawing techniques. I am pretty excited about this class for him. I plan to do homeschooling Monday through Friday from 9:30 to about 12:30/1:30. But that is just a general time for now, because with the new Horizon's Preschool Curriculum that we bought through Alpha Omega, I am not sure how long each section will take, I used their time line but after a couple of weeks I should have a better idea of how school will take us. I want to allow Edward time to be a child too and have free time to enjoy too. So as you can imagine our lives are about to get extremely busy and exciting. I will scan Edwards first Monart Picture that he brings home, to share with you all.
Well that is us in a nutshell.

Wanted to Cry

Today, I went to buy Edward some new Underwear and Socks. I about broke down in the store, I had to go to the boys section, not the baby/toddler section to get my "baby" these new items. He now wheres a 6 in underwear and a medium in boys socks. He even can wear a XS shirt from that area now. He wears a 5T or a 5 now in shirts and a 4T (which he seems to be quickly growing out of) in pants. Granted he still needs the adjustable waist bands. Before I know it he will be in the BIG BOYS section.....boooooo hoooooooo. :0( Time just flies by way to fast.

What I have been busy doing

Finally got a Dynamo Labeler and let me tell you, I have been going hog wild with the thing. I have labeled all Edwards toy bins and buckets in the playroom, not to mention various containers that hold things for Homeschooling in the schoolroom. Speaking of Homeschooling, I bought a Laminator to do laminating when needed. I laminated over 80 Curriculum flashcards, that came with the new Curriculum that we are using this year. This laminater will laminate items up to 9 x 11.5. Which is great, I came make Wipeable Letters that Edward can trace over and over again. Still working on getting the house back in order after being sick much of last month. I have the maids coming in at the end of the month to do a deep clean, so that we can start the school year off in a spic and span house. That will be nice. Still need a few things for Edwards new Curriculum but slowing collecting what is needed. I thought for sure there wouldn't be anything else I could need for him but when I got the new Curriculum there were things in there that I hadn't even thought about. Edward is getting excited about school but most of all I think he is excited about going to his Grandma Bev's House for Thanksgiving. We watch Noggin and when it asks where you want to go on a vacation, he has been answering GRANDMA'S!!!! After the house is back together, Edward has begun homeschooling, then it will be time to start working on these neat projects that I have bought to make for Christmas this year. I need to get them done by the end of November, so as you can imagine, I am giong to be one busy girl. I like staying busy or at least keeping my mind and hands busy. I plan to conquer the attic and the craft room this winter too, when it is much cooler to work in them, as there is no air conditioning in them. The attic more likely will be late fall before it gets to cold. I want to get everything organized so I can get to our holiday decorations and go through all of Edwards old play things, see what I truly want to keep for any possible future child(ren) or grandchild(ren) and what I want to sell a garage sale next year. I need to get my craftroom cleaned so that when I am done working on my Christmas projects, I can get my scrapbooking going towards caught up and maybe get out a cross-stitch project to do. I am itching so bad to do some crafting. Plus there are things in there that can be used in Homeschool Arts and Craft Projects. Well I think I have rambled on enough for now.

Oooopppppssss!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday after returning from Wal-Mart, I went to put some frozen goods in our freeze in the garage. To my horror I found that it had been left ajar from the previous night when Edward had gone out to get Ice Cream for him and Daddy. Everything in the freeze was ruined. I ended up throwing 5 36 gallon bags of dethawed food(they were about 1/3 of the way full...or else I couldn't have picked them up and lifted them into the trash), there was no way I was going to be able to cook it all to save it. Kirk is out of town for the weekend. I saved a few things to cook and re-freeze but the majority of it went to the trash. Unfortuantly, our trash was just picked on Thursday and it is hot here. Talk about STINKY by next Thursday. YUCK!!!! I had to laugh wondering what the neighbors might be thinking when I was hefting this large black trash bags into the trash. I wonder what they will be thinking once it starts stinking and Kirk is no where to be seen. Thankfully he will be back Sunday Evening. Accidents happen, I am proud to say I never yelled once at Edward about this situation. Its not the first time it has happened to us. Regan left it open when we lived in Edmond. Yes, it is an expensive mistake but it can happen to anyone....including us adults.

Trying Hard

I have been trying super hard to clean up my "potty" mouth. I probably can out swear a sailor at times (BLUSHING). My new "swear words" are quite imaginative to say the least. They are: Cheese and Crackers, Oh Pickles, Frickle, Ding Dong Dang. I am trying very hard to be conscious of what I am saying before I say, but I must admit at times those other bad words slip out but no where as much as they use to.

Cats and Dogs!

Regan (one of the girls I use to nanny for), who is now 12 yrs old, wanted to come and stay with us some this summer. She was suppose to come the first 2 weeks of July but because I was down with Walking Pneumonia. I went and got her on Friday the 13th and she stayed until Wednesday the 25th. Let me tell you, a 4 yr old and 12 yr old do not always get along, they mostly fight, nag at each other, bicker, and antagonize one another. I thought with the huge age difference there wouldn't be so much of that.....boy was I wrong.....LOL!!! All in all though we did have a great time. One bad thing is that Edward ended being treated too for Walking Pneumonia just as a precaution as he ended up with a horrible cough. The first Saturday we had Regan we took her to Yoder, a Amish community that is about 30 minutes Southwest of us. Sunday we didn't go to church because of Edward's cough....I have a pet peeve about spreading germs intentionally. We also ended up skipping Edwards Bowling League, Swimming Lessons and 1st Vacation Bible School at our Church. So from Sunday to Thursday, we kinda just hung out at the house and kept a low profile. Bless Regan's heart. Thursday we walked around town, ran some errands and just had a little fun. Friday we headed out of town. We started off in Salina. We stayed at the Days Inn with the 145 ft water slide. Saturday mid-morning we headed off to Kansas City, Missouri. On the way we stopped by Wamego, KS and went through the Wizard of OZ museum there. There is even a Mexican resturant there called Toto's Tacoz. LOL! Except they don't sell taco's called Toto's Taco. Kirk was kinda disappointed about that. Cute little town though. Kinda uses the Wizard of OZ theme to their advantage. We checked into our Jr. Suite at the hotel around 3pmish. Went to diner shortly there after. We stayed in the room the rest of the night, we watched Meet the Robinson's. Sunday we went to the Legends in Kansas City, KS. It is a shopping Mall. They have a T-Rex Cafe there. Anomatronic Dinosaurs and the only Build A Dino Shop by Build A Bear are in this resturant. The kids did a dino dig, airbrushed off a dinosaur and meandered through some caves. there were other things to do to but off course just about everthing cost money now days. We also went to Dave and Busters for lunch, chose not to go to lunch as the T-Rex Cafe because there was over an hour and a half wait for a table. The kids loved Dave and Busters because they have a game area. Went back the hotel in the evening and hung out in the room. Monday took us to Worlds of Fun Amusement Park. We came home Tuesday evening, and took Regan home to OK (Edward and I, that is) on Wednesday. We had a great time all in all, minus the fighting that is.

So Excited!!!

I am just so excited. My lost sister (in New Jersey), one of my Best Friends and one of Edward's God Mother's had her miracle baby on Tuesday the 24th of July. Beautiful Baby Girl, Gracie Noelle weighed in at 8lbs and 2 ounces. Welcome to the World Gracie Noelle!!!!! We love you already Sweet Angel! You'll ALWAYS be in our prayers (as are your brothers and sister). Jennifer has PCOS like me and after 13 yrs of marriage and no success a pregnancy even with fertility meds, she and her husband had adopted 3 children and felt that the was the way God wanted their family to be created. Little did they know that God had an extra special miracle in store for them, for listening to Him and His calling in their family and lives.....a pregnancy. It was a difficult pregnancy needless to say but well worth it all in the end for this terrificly wonderful family. Gracie is a miracle in the fact that she was concieved but also in the fact that she was born alive. Mommy had to stay in the hospital for a week, the doctors decided to do a emergancy c-section at 36 weeks into the pregnancy. They tried to do a amnio but they couldn't get a big enough pocket of fluid to do the tests to make sure that baby Gracie's lungs were well developed. So they did a Sonogram. The Sonogramed showed something very life threatening to baby Gracie (her heart rate had become irractic during the last day), her umbical cord was tied in 2 knots, cutting off all blood, air and food supplies from mother to baby. PTL! She is healthy, lungs were fully developed and no low blood sugar levels (mom is diabetic also).

Another Book Completed

This book had a great story line however I will warn you if you are uncomfortable reading about sexual situations, there are 2 very intense ones described towards the end this book. This is not a Christian book but I couldn't put it down. Not sure where I got it but it was a great read. Right now, I am at the beginning of a Novella (four stories in one book). This is a Christian Novella and I am excited about it. When I am finished I will let you know what I think of it.

Down for the count

Sorry I haven't been keeping up with this the past 2 weeks but I have been extremely sick. It started 2 Thursday's ago when I woke up with a sore throat. I thought it was just allergies so I didn't pay much attention to it. By night fall, I was running a temp of about 103 and had the chills bad. Saturday found me running over a 105 temp, so off to the ER we went. They said I was extremely dehydrated and needed to have an IV of fluids. I was told I had a Urinary Tract Infection and a Sinus Infection. I was sent home with antibiotics, thinking okay I will be great in a few days. Wrong, by Wednesday I was in to see my own Family Physician. They took chest x-rays. When she showed them to me I could see that my lungs were full of fluids and I am just a layman at this stuff. Diagnosis, Walking Pneumonia. Trust me I would never wish this or any form of Pneumonia on my worst enemy. It is awful. So I was prescribed a 2nd antibiotics, still had to take the first ones because they were for the UTI and the new ones wouldn't help with that. The timing for this sucked, I was suppose to go get Regan the first Friday that I was sick but of course not wanting to get her sick postponed that. So now I will get her this Friday but she will only be able to stay for 1 1/2 weeks and not 2 now. I feel so bad. At least I am starting to feel better. Praying for no relapses, trying to take it easy but get the house back in order before I go get her Friday.

Can You Spell Pitiful??

Well it is official, Edward has his very first ear infection. He has been so pitiful all day, bless his heart. We had to skip his swimming lessons this morning, I was so afraid that he had gotten Swimmers Ear and that is why he had woken up this morning crying that his ear hurt. I of course took him to his doctor as soon as they could get us in, which ended up being at the same time as his swimming lessons would have been this morning. She told me it wasn't do to Swimmers Ear, that it was an actual infection of the ear itself. Poor thing, I feel so bad for him. Hopefully this is the only one he will have to endure. She put him on Pain Ear Drops, Amoxicillin and Motrin. I bought some ear pillows for him to use next week during swimming lessons, too keep the water out of his ears....so as not to make the issue worse for him.

Another one down.

Guess what? I finished another book. I loved it, it was Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgins Clark. I was delightfully suprised by this book. I had never read a book by Mary Higgins Clark. I tend to stay with books by Christian Authors. I would suggest this book to everyone. It kept you hanging in there until the end, guessing and never knowing the answer. It was a easy ready and hard to put down.

What was in the bag??

Today was the birthday party that Edward was invited too. We bought a couple of things to give as a present for the little boy. I put them in a gift bag with some tissues and included the card that Edward picked out for him. While I was putting together the bag and stuffing it with tissue paper, Edward was eating a lunchable. Zoom ahead about 2 hours, we are the part of the party where the little boy is opening his present. He gets to Edwards and is basically just pulling the things out (he was overwhelmed) and not paying much attention to all the contents of the bag. The mom picked it up to see what else was in it, she reached in and took out a small block of cheese and 3 crackers....she said "I especially liked this part of the present." Everyone laughed. I was so embarrassed at first and began apologizing profusely. She smailed and said that there was nothing to be sorry about, it could have just as easily been her and both the other moms said the same thing. Too funny. I would have never thought that Edwards snack ended up in the gift bag.

Question for ya?

I am watching Wife Swap (it orginally aired on Nov 27, 2006). This particular episode has a family that is exteremly laid back with their 3 daughters, one has some serious issues with authority figures. The parents feel that the children have the right to have their own lives and to live them as they see fit. The second family, polices their 2 daughter...including going through all their things in their rooms, listening to them over an intercom system that has been installed in every room of the house, the big topper to is that the parents have a security system with video cameras installed in EVERY room of the house, to monitor them. These 2 girls aren't allowed to have any friends over, the parents feel that family is the only thing that is ever going to constantly be there for you, that friends come and go. Do you feel that this is a invasion of privacy? Do you feel that parents have a right to go through every personal item of a childs and to snope on them? Do you feel that there are certain bounds that shouldn't be crossed with teenagers to show that you trust them fully, unless they have given you just cause (which isn't the case in this show) not to trust them fully? Their 17 yr old daughter is not allowed to date, never been on one. She has to work for her parents around the house doing the things that her mother should be doing in the first place in order to pay them back for the car that they bought her (she has to pay the full cost of the car back).

The Next Camp Snoopy Idol

We went to see a kids show at Camp Snoopy and Edward got up on the stage and sang Dry Bones with Snoopy, it was so cute. He was acting light he was meant to be up there, he did great until a few other families walked in (we had been the only ones in there for a while)....then suddenly he became very shy. Once we get the pictures and video from Kirk's Cell Phone, I will upload them to this blog.

What there is participation in this???

We stopped in to see one of those shows at the Worlds of Fun Amusement Park. It was about 60's and some 70's music. After the first song, they were looking for people to dance with so one of the little gals asked Edward if he wanted to dance with her, he freaked out and started to cry. So she didn't force it. The show went on. As the show progressed they did some TV show tunes from that era. They were doing the dating show. They got down and went and found a woman in the audience, whom they called Lucy. Then all of a sudden a different little gal was standing in front of Kirk, say and here's our Ricky. They took Kirk on stage and sang the dating game theme song, then the Love Boat Theme song putting lei's on Kirk and the gal from the audience. Then they moved Kirk and the gal back, opening these doors on their background. On the front of these doors were Sonny and Cher with holes where the faces are suppose to be. Suddenly Kirk's face appeared in the Sonny's hole. They had Kirk and the gal from the Audience singing "I Got You Babe!". It was hilarious. I wish I would have brought my camcorder. I had left my camera in a locker at the Amusement park so it wouldn't get stolen. So I missed getting something that was probably once in a lifetime on tape or film. That will teach me.

Heart Break on the Red Barron

We were in the Camp Snoopy part of the Worlds of Fun Park, Edward asked to ride the Red Barron Ride. Well just before the ride was going to be start a little girl about a year or two older than Edward wanted to ride. She got into Edward's plane (note there were a few empty planes and others with just one child in them). The whole time the ride was, Edward kept turning around talking to the little girl and grinning. When the ride was over he waited to walk out with her, he wanted to go again. He thought the little girl had followed him for another ride. He turned around saying "Follow me, let's ride again." and she was gone.

Byway equals lost

On our way to Kansas City, we say a sign for a historic site for a Rock City. So we excited the freeway. The beginning of the Scenic tour byway was only a few miles from the freeway. We started the Scenic Tour Byway drive, it took us 17 miles from the start through winding roads. We ended the tour in Alta Vista, Kansas, a very small in the middle of no where town. We asked for directions back to I-70. We got lost 3 more times before we finally found the freeway. Kirk kept telling me that it was a byway that it would loop back around into itself. LOL!!! Yeah right, never going to listen to him about that one again. By the way the Rock City was just a bunch of rock walls and farm buildings (like barns) built of rocks. Neat but not worth the 17 mile byway tour to me.