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Thursday, September 29, 2011

Kansas Weather

You never can tell in advance what the weather will do in Kansas.  We headed to Garden City on August 27 for the Hot Air Balloon Classic.  Well, we arrived, had lunch with friends, visited the zoo, and discovered the Hot Air Balloon Classic was cancelled.   The official reason it was cancelled was due to extremely hot weather and high winds.  There was really no wind while we were at the zoo, but maybe there had been a gale force the day before.

So, we revised our plans and headed north.  Well, on Sunday, August 28, we were planning to see Monument Rocks, but could see a storm brewing around Colby.  We listened to the weather forecast on the radio and headed for home.  The weather never said there was a tornado, but we think we saw a couple small ones.  Well, we made the right decision to head home, because we missed the storm.  However, it was headed straight down Hwy 83 toward the Monument Rock area.  Guess we'll just have to try to see them another time.

135. Lee Richardson Zoo

 

We have been to a lot of zoos in our lives.  The Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City is Angel's favorite free zoo.  So, it was a must see on our trip to Garden City, August 27.  One very cool thing about this zoo is the information tour you can take as you walk around the zoo.  You can call on your cell phone and plug in certain numbers at the exhibits to get more information about the animals.  It definitely helps you feel more connected to the animals. 
Look at the nest in the Aviary
The otters are Angel's favorite
Aren't the monkeys fun!!!
We're missing International Red Panda Day in September
Could this be Emperor Kuzco?
Finney County Historical Museum
The museum is on the zoo grounds, so of course we decided to check it out.  Who wouldn't want to see the giant hairball??!!  :)  And, in honor of Kansas' 150th birthday, the kiddos got to work in the Celebrate Kansas room with Lego's and put their creations on display in the museum.
We need seating like this in our movie room
Check out the wildlife you can find running loose in the zoo!!

Sand Dunes



On August 27, we headed out to the Sandsage Bison Range and Wildlife Area.  Well, we found it closed, so there could be no official tour today.  We decided to drive around the area we could and see what we could see anyway.  We did not find any buffalo.  However, we did drive a little bit on the sand dunes.  Angel was a bit nervous, but Eric said that's what 4 wheel drive is for and besides, there was a road.  Guess we'll have to keep looking for buffalo.

134. Potwin Watermelon Festival




We headed to Potwin to see Prairie Pride, a local cheese factory.  Well, we arrived to find the gentleman who ran had passed away a few years previous and the cheese factory was no longer open.  However, we were excited to discover that we accidentally stumbled upon the local Watermelon Festival.  So, we joined the fun and enjoyed the day.  Our daughter decided she likes accidental adventures best of all.


Getting to practice lassoing once again.
There were all kinds of fun activities for the kiddos--booths, games, a petting zoo, and face painting.  They had a great time and even got to ride an inflatable, mechanical bull.  Unfortunately, we did not get a picture of our son because the camera batteries were dead and he did not stay on long enough for us to change them. 
One of the kiddos favorite parts of the day was picking up coins in the street while being drenched by a fire hose.  Good thing the weather is HOT!!!  Good thing we had a change of clothes in the car for the ride home.  I think all the kiddos liked "dancing in the rain" even better than looking for coins.  It was sure fun to watch them all get wet.  Angel asked where a safe, dry spot would be before the fun began.  It's not always fun to get a wheelchair drenched.  :)

Starlite Drive-In Theater Part II


August 19, we also took in the Starlite Drive-In Theater for the second time.  Our car was on the very back row, so the kiddos got to use their new KU and KSU sweatshirt blankets and sit on the roof of the van.  They tell me this is the coolest way to see the movie.  We got to see Spy Kids 4D and see just how well the 4D aspect worked.  We were all given scratch and sniff cards and were told to scratch certain numbers at different times in the movie.  I don't know if it was just our cards, or what, but the smells didn't really match up.  In fact, we didn't smell much of anything.  There were time I think that was OK and I wouldn't have wanted to smell what we were supposed to.  We love the Starlite Drive-In Theater because you not only get to watch one movie, but you could stay for up to two more (if you can stay awake).  After movie 1, the kiddos got back in the van and they and Angel were asleep before the end of movie 2.  We didn't even attempt to see movie 3--It was midnight after all.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Exploration Place Part II

Exploration Place is not somewhere you can visit just once.  Especially not when their travelling exhibit keeps changing.  And, especially not when your daughter is into spying and the traveling exhibit is about CSI.  The girls worked on solving a case together and the boys explored the rest of the museum.  Too much fun!!  Next time we'll have to plan even longer.