Weekend In Independence

I have wanted to take the girls to the Truman Presidential Library for several years now. I finally talked them all into going, and since we stayed in Independence, it was very convenient. We accidentally went to the Independence Courthouse first. Ben just drove straight to it, and it took us a minute to figure out we were not in the correct area. The girls had fun looking around anyway. Kara found a Yugi-Oh card that really made her day. I still don't quite understand why, as she doesn't have any other cards, and no one she knows has them for trading/playing. But she is keeping it in her cell phone case with her other prized items. 
Can they even stand normally for a picture? 

The answer is no. I rarely take a picture where they are all just standing normally. 

Once we made it to the museum, we were all ready for some fun. Poor Ben tried to slide down one of those handrails by the stairs and ended up on his back in the grass. I was concerned, and the girls were entertained. 

The eternal flame. 

Grave site. 

The mock oval office was fun to see. A lot of green. Who knew Truman loved green? We saw green couches, green clothing, green statues, green plates, green everything. 

There were plenty of interesting things to learn. There was a scavenger hunt for kids which Kiersten took rather seriously. 

They knew a lot less about the 1940s-1950s than I thought they would. There was a book for everyone to record their opinion about dropping the A bombs at the end of WWII. It was interesting to see how they each felt about it. They all wrote very different things. 

They made their own campaign pins. They did a cute job. 

We spent a longer time there than I thought we would, and then we went to Minsky's for some lunch. 

The cherry tree was on the verge of blooming on Friday before we left, so I had the girls stand for a picture before we left so I could see how much it changed over the weekend. 

It really came into full bloom by the time we came home. I look forward to this all year!

I liked the after pictures more than the before pictures. It looks much fuller. 

I also like the girls' outfits better. ;)

Draft Day

We don't usually spend a lot of time in Kansas City in the Spring, but we decided to go over there for a draft party at Arrowhead. 

The girls always want to find as many cheerleaders as they can. 

It feels good when we are back in the stadium again. Lunch was included, so that was nice that the kids could eat as much as they wanted. I was not pleased to find hamburgers and hotdogs in backpacks once we were home, though. 

Crab walk competition!

Ben ran off to get autographs, and almost didn't make it back before we made it to the front of the locker room line. 

Kiersten was nervous that we were going where we weren't allowed to be. 

We all signed the wall outside the locker room. 

By the time we got in there, no players were hanging around. It was not too exciting, to me at least. 

We got lots of pictures in case Ben decides to make a replica locker in the basement. 

Some of the lockers were set up with items inside, but you can tell they are not "in use". 

It was a fun day, and an event I'd attend again in the future. 

Long Meadow Rescue Ranch

I went with Evie's class on their field trip to Long Meadow Rescue Ranch. I didn't realize it was so far away, so that was slightly annoying. But once I actually got there, it was a nice place to be. I was assigned to follow around these 2 goofy goobers. 

They were excited to see this little colt running around. 

Sheep.

They got to play on the outdoor obstacle course that the horses exercise on. 

We were one of the last groups to go on the hayride. We went right before lunch.

IT was a bouncy, fun ride. 

The kiddos were more than ready for a lunch break. 

While they were finishing up their lunches, Twister the horse made his big appearance. 

He created a painting in front of the kids. They sure enjoyed watching that.

He did a pretty good job. 

Such a silly group of kids.