Summer time

Since we have been back from vacation it has been really busy.  All three kids have taken and passed their swim lessons.  Jonathan did a week long basketball camp which he really enjoyed despite the high temps.  Andrew started his summer speech therapy and is working hard.  Madison has just finished a week of OPPTAG (Office of Precollegate Programs for Talented and Gifted) at Iowa State.  She took two classes this year.  One was a math course dealing with advanced problem solving and the other was a chemistry class about mixtures and solutions.  During the time she was on campus the boys and I spent lots of time watching for trains and playing at the park.  Now that July has started things are starting to slow down for us so we can enjoy the summer and get ready for harvest time in the garden.

Kansas City Day 5

This was our last day of vacation.  When we broke camp early in the morning it was already miserable out so we were grateful we were heading home.  On our way home we stopped at Far West and Adam-Ondi-Ahman.  The kids really did well stopping at all the church history sites on this trip.

Kansas City Day 4

This was our last full day on vacation.  We spent the morning hiking at Watkins Mill State Park where we were staying.  They have a great paved trail around the lake and through the woods.  Part of the trail goes past a little waterfall.  We hiked to see it.  It wasn't really that long or hard of a hike so it was great as the weather was starting to get warm.

 After hiking we went to Tryst Falls park.  We passed this park several times on our way to places.  We finally stopped to show the kids the waterfall.

After spending the morning at the parks and enjoying nature.  We went to Liberty to see the jail.

Kansas City Day 3

On Wednesday we went to Union Station.  They have a really great science center called Science City.  We spent the day exploring the wonderful world of science. They had a space station where they could pretend to land the space shuttle.  Then we went to the train lookout and they Mystery Inn where there were 20illusions  

After spending the morning at Science City we went to the Hallmark Center for find some lunch.  We had been told about Fritz's restaurant by someone at Science City.  We decided to check it out.  The prices were right so we decided to eat there.  The special thing about Fritz's is that the food is delivered by a train.  The kids really enjoyed this special treat for lunch.  The trains ran overhead and there was a lever that came down that pushed your bucket onto a platform that lowered to your table.  It was fun to do something different for them one day.

After lunch we went back to Union Station to go through the model railroad display and the KC Rail Experience.  They kids really enjoyed seeing the trains and learning all about the role rail traffic has played in Kansas City.  The kids really enjoyed the train simulator they had.

After the rail experience we went back to Science City to finish out the day.  The kids enjoyed digging for dinosaur bones, exploring the sewer system, and just having fun.

We had a great day, but we were all tired when it was time to go back to camp.