Summer 2017 Bucket List

Just because our summer is starting off a little lot different than usual, that doesn't mean that we can't have a lot of fun.  David and I are hoping to pack a lot of fun into July and August and maybe even a little in June.  

Science city

Zoo

Worlds of Fun 

Sheridans

Saturday morning donuts 

Spinning park

Swimming 
Visit new parks and splash pads

Sprinkler 

Zip line park

Paddle boats at SM park

Picnic at the park

Deanna Rose

Fire pits 

Smores

Sleep overs at Grandma and Grandpa's

Farmers Market at the City Market

Pajama parties

Hopefully, we'll be able to mark most of these off our list by the time school starts for David and Kaitlyn.

Kansas Sunflowers

There's a not so secret place (Grinter Farms) about 11 miles northeast of Lawrence, KS (or 50 miles from our house) that is full of sunflowers.  I first heard of Grinter Farms last year when sunflowers blew up my Facebook news feed.  I remember looking at all of the pictures and wishing that I could take the girls to see it.  The sunflowers made the perfect backdrop and I wanted to get some pictures of the girls surrounded by them.  It never worked out for us last year, so I made it a priority this year.

On Sunday, we decided to go to Nebraska Furniture Mart to look at new light fixtures for the kitchen.  (More about our kitchen remodel in a later post.)  I thought this would be the perfect time to go see the sunflowers since we would be almost halfway there.  Apparently, everyone else between Kansas City and Lawrence had the same idea.  It was packed!  Traffic was backed up for miles and there were a couple times that I thought that we would have to miss seeing it this year too.  It was definitely worth the wait.  Well, it was for me and the girls.  David, not so much.  Once we got close, all we could see was a sea of yellow with mixes of green.  It was unlike anything I have ever seen.  However, I do not feel the need to visit it every year.
Like many, I had high hopes of capturing the perfect picture of our little family.  There were even a couple ladies out there offering to take you picture.  I did manage to get a couple good pictures of the girls and the fields, despite the fact Madi refused to look at the camera.  However, the pictures of the four of us were not good.
If you have the chance, you really should check it out.  Just go early, like 8am, or be prepared to be stuck in traffic.

Summer Recp

How can summer be over already?  Wasn't it just last week that school let out?  Like every year, summer has come and gone much too fast.  Even though we weren't able to check everything off of our summer bucket list, like going to the beach or back to Silver Dollar City or just getting out of town for a week, we still managed to pack a lot fun into those few precious weeks of summer.  This was the best summer since becoming a parent.  This was the first summer where both girls were old enough to enjoy everything.  I loved every almost every minute of this summer and am sad to see it end.  It was awesome to see how excited they got over everything we did.  It just proves that we don't have to go on expensive trips (even though we'd like to) to have a great summer.  I hope the summer of 2017 is just as amazing as this one.  Here is a recap of all of the fun (and memories) we had.

- Backyard firepits                                         
-  Playing on our waterslide
-Kaitlyn first dance recital                                
- 2 birthday parties
- Nana and Papa Ted's visit                            
- Watched 2 movies in 3D  (Finding Dory and The Secret Life of Pets)
- Playing with cousins and meeting Gracie and Ava  
- Trips to Frtiz's and Sheridans                       
-  KC Zoo
- Italian Festival 
- Worlds of Fun (twice)
- Trip to Great Grandma Bogle's                     
- The Springs Aquatic Park
- Deanna Rose Farmstead                               
- Legoland
- Lots of trips to different parks                      
- 4th of July celebrations
- Swimming
- Eating out
- Family walks