Woke up well rested after a night in the outdoors (ish). We didn’t rush to get a move on, but the tire store was super quick. We were in and out in 20 minutes with 2 new tires and one new rim. Today we hit the Tall Grass Prairie National Preserve. I am so glad we had more time today than being rushed yesterday. We did a 2 mile walk (they call it a hike, but Deon takes offense at…
So, it’s Sunday. We are all set, having researched a meeting time and place, eaten a nice breakfast, and put on our “Sunday best.” 9am, shiny faced we walk to the chapel to find…locked. Weird. Make some phone calls, and due to a scheduled priesthood meeting, they have postponed church until 11, and then only for one hour, foregoing classes. Weird. After church we stopped at a novel idea of a fast food restauraunt: it had an outdoor playground with…
Today the plan was to drive from Kansas City, MO to Manhattan, KS. A new state! In the morning we stopped by the Harry Truman home to get the kids their junior ranger badges. We met a very nice (and informative) ranger that was able to give some valuable advice to my oldest as to what degree path she might like to take. Another nice ranger pointed us in the direction of another national historic site, brown vs board of…
I have decided that history is really my favorite thing. And English (because it involves reading). Today we went to the Harry s Truman museum. It was so cool. There is so much I didn’t know about this president. He really made some decisions that changed the course of our history (dropping the atomic bombs, beginning integration in the military and White House, recognizing Israel as a country). This Torah was given Truman by the president of Israel in gratitude….
So, today was really just a driving day, from Saint Louis to Kansas City. Not much to report. So here is a beautiful sunset pic from today. If you want to just stick to the sunshine and smiles, stop reading now. Enjoy your day. Decided to keep reading? I’m warning you. I’m going to use this post to talk a little about the “other side” of the trip. The not-so-pleasant. Here goes. The number one thing that has gone…
I thought this was true in Wisconsin dells, but this place really beats all. City museum, Saint Louis, Missouri. Sounds like another boring museum, right? No way! This is a 12 story indoor and outdoor playspace. It has tunnels, slides (10 stories!), indoor tree houses, school buses hanging off the roof, a rooftop Ferris wheel, and so much more. We could have stayed for days. If we lived here, I would. They make a point of saying it’s ok to…
Today we had to say goodbye to Kim and Eric. Their plane left at 5pm, so we did get to spend a chunk of the day at a hotel pool, arranged by their hotel staff, since the original pool was still closed. After a nice afternoon of swimming, we headed over to the arch, with the goal of going to the top. We made it! So cool! The pod ride up was a little claustrophobic, but worth it. 😉…
For those who know me, I stay busy. It’s not unusual for me to line up a multitude of back-to-back activities in one day (followed by a similar schedule the next day, and the next, and…) This was a Monday like that. I think we were just trying to fit it all in with Kim. Deon, knowing me well, decided to bow out today. We started off the day at grants farm. It is owned by anheiser Busch, so they…
Who knew Missouri would be so fun! We started our day at church, cause that’s what we do on Sundays! It was a very small branch. I stayed in nursery because their leader was away, and my kids made up half the kids. They were practicing primary program, so my kids watched videos, and Aunica doubled their entire young women. And men. To say it was small would be an understatement. But it did the job. Then we had the…
Still in Springfield, today we decided to visit the Lincoln home national historic site. We lucked out! They were celebrating national park service’s 100th birthday, so there were activities all day long. We caught a neighborhood tour, a talk by Mary Todd Lincoln, and a meet Mr Lincoln. Plus tables with giveaways and info. Then we drove Route 66, which doesn’t look anything like it does in AZ. We found an original cobblestone section, which was cool. On our…