Watermelon Day 2018

This year, we had beautiful weather for Watermelon Day.  We drove down in the morning, making it just in time for the parade.  A big surprise this year was when Jenny walked up as the parade was about to start with Greg--he was making another surprise visit from Seattle.  The girls and I had fun hanging out with him throughout the day, playing ring toss/duck pond, playing Bingo (and winning blackout in my first game!), getting faces painted, going on rides, and eating watermelon.

We (well mostly me) worked the 1-3 shift of the pop toss, which stayed pretty busy since it was so nice out.  Abby also enjoyed helping Lori work her shift at the food stand collecting money.

At the end of the day, Abby was chosen to draw the names for the raffle.  Unfortunately, she didn't have lucky fingers and we didn't recognize any of the names drawn.  We still enjoyed a fun day with family, though!

Adventureland!

We enjoyed our annual trip to Adventureland with Miriam, Mara, Sarah, Keith, Gavin, and Caleb.  This year, Dave had to work, so couldn't join us.  We rode with Miriam, Sarah, and the kids down in the morning, and enjoyed several rides before lunch (including two new fun ones in the new kiddie barn playground area--a fun horse ride and Norah's new favorite, "Shakin' Bacon").

For lunch, we ate at the magic show like we usually do.  Abby was selected to help with a magic trick.

After a few more rides, we spent the rest of the afternoon at the water park.  Norah loved the fast double waterslides!

We stayed at the park until around 7, then went to eat together at Culver's.  We parted ways, and Miriam and the girls and I headed back to her house for the night.  It was a fun day!

Swimming lessons

The girls had a great time at swimming lessons this year.  It was so much fun to do them again with our friends--it made the time pass quickly having fun people to talk to!  Both had great instructors and passed level 1 (Norah) and level 4 (Abby).  Norah is even interested in continuing to take lessons during the school year.

We enjoyed getting together with our swimming friends outside of class, too--we played at the park with the Pakiz family one day, spent the afternoon at Tiffany's family pool another day, and ended our time with lunch at Dairy Queen on the last day.

Little House trip 2018

Tiffany and I took the kids on our longest-ever Little House road trip this year--this time to Independence, Kansas and Mansfield, Missouri.  We left on Thursday afternoon after swimming lessons and lunch, and made it to southern Iowa before stopping to eat at Maid-Rite.  From there, it was just a couple more hours to our hotel near Kansas City.

In the morning, we drove another few hours to Independence.  It was HOT, but we had fun picnicking and checking out the Little House on the Prairie site--there was a school, post office, log cabin, farm animals, and a little shop.  The kids LOVED the donkeys!

After our visit, we still had some time to spend in Independence, so we drove to a free zoo/park that we had read about.  On our way, the kids noticed an aquatic center that looked amazing for such a hot day.  After letting the kids play and checking out the small zoo a little bit, Tiffany and I decided that $4 apiece for the aquatic center sounded like a great way to spend the afternoon.  The kids were thrilled, and we all had a blast!

From there, it was another couple of hours to Springfield, MO, where we stayed for the night.  We enjoyed eating at a Steak 'n Shake and swimming in the hotel pool before bed.

In the morning, we drove to Mansfield, MO, where we visited the Laura Ingalls museum and toured her adulthood home and the Rock House that her daughter Rose had built for her.  We also visited the graves of Rose, Laura, and Almanzo and picnicked at a local park.

We had about a 6-hour drive to Mara's house in Iowa that afternoon/evening.  We hit some rain and traffic in Kansas City, but enjoyed a meal and play area at Chick-fil-a just outside of Kansas City.  We made it to Mara's around 9 that night.

In the morning, Mara spoiled us with egg bake and donuts, and also treated the kids to making bath bombs and a water balloon fight.  We then spent the afternoon at Living History Farms before heading back home.  We were able to see the Christian Carlson farmhouse and barn, and the kids enjoyed the little town.  I think they would have enjoyed it even more if the weather had been a little cooler!

So after 4 days of travel, we can now say that we've visited all of the "Laura" sites--it has been so much fun checking these out with Tiffany and her family!