We're not in Kansas anymore

Twenty six glorious days in Kansas.
Soooo different from Niamey in every way.
Two extremely opposite worlds.
In every way.

We were refreshed by the cool air.  It was snowing when we landed!  Unbelievable.
We feasted our eyes on green:  the green grass and green wheat fields.
I'm beginning to think that green is my favorite color.
The perennials in our farmhouse yard all began to bloom:  irises, peonies and daisies.

We packed a lot into those 26 days.
The first event was Erika's pinning and graduation from Hesston College with a nursing degree.

We are so proud of her.  A week later she passed her state boards, so she's officially an RN.

Erika's biggest surprise on the eve of her graduation was in opening the car trunk to find her big brother inside!  You did it, Andrew.  She had no clue that you were coming.  (It was easier to get in than to get out!)

Kyle (Erika's boyfriend) took Tom for a plane ride and I, very willingly,  stood in our yard
and took pictures as they buzzed overhead.
 Maybe next time I'll be braver, Kyle. 

We celebrated Lindsay's birthday.
We also got to spend a few hours in her classroom  answering questions from her French students.

We did so many things that I don't have pictures of:

road tripped to western Kansas to see Tom's mom
had lovely evenings with friends and family
missed having Melissa with us
road tripped to Minnesota to see Andrew and dear friends
saw the dentist and the doctors
planted grass and a few native oak trees
took walks
did a bit of shopping
surprised a dear friend on her 50th birthday
had a sister day, which made us miss Donna so much
played croquet--why does Tom ALWAYS have to win!
mowed lawn and pulled weeds.

We packed as much in those 26 days as possible and enjoyed every minute of it.  Now we are back in Niamey.  Our second home on the other side of the world.   Another kind of beauty here.