A weekly list of things accomplished, enjoyed, learned, tried and remembered.
1.Kansas Kayaking. My Mom–who loves everything outdoors and adventurous–recently got her own kayak and has been paddling the section of the Arkansas (that’s pronounced Ar-KANSAS thank you very much) that flows through my home-town. She treated my sister, Super Rockstar, the boys and I to a 2 hour trek in rented kayaks on 4th of July weekend. It was AMAZING! We had a wonderful time. The river is low and slow–so there were a few times of needing to get out and drag the boat to deeper water, but otherwise it was a relaxing ride and we enjoyed a beautiful day. Arkanoe is who we booked our gear rental with–they include a ride to a drop off point, help getting the kayaks to the river, and then pick everything up when finished at the designated end point. I highly recommend them–they were great to work with. They also rent tubes–if that’s more your speed.
2.Kansas 4th of July. We love coming to my hometown for 4th of July for several reasons:
#1 We get to see my parents who spoil us with awesome food and staying in their wonderful home. This year my sister and brother-in-law, Todd and their new puppy, Annie joined us– as well as my niece, Amy and her fella, Zach and Amy’s dog, Ellie. Since it’s 4th of July, there’s homemade ice cream. My Mom has an amazing recipe (you can get that here), but it is the males of our family who are charged with the actual churning of the ice cream. They take turns showing off their vast strength and massive muscles, as we females swoon. Okay, maybe it’s not so much swooning as it is drooling. And it’s not so much drooling over their showing of strength as it is with anticipation on getting to eat homemade ice cream.
#2–There is a GREAT swimming pool in town that my boys absolutely love–they especially love going off the high dive over and over and over and over. Super Rockstar even gave it a go. I’m just happy to float in the ice cold water and bake in the hot Kansas sun.
And #3–Fireworks. In Kansas, you can shoot them off legally in the neighborhoods–so long as they are not the massive, big kaboom kind (although, not everyone seems to know about that particular rule). The highlight is always watching the guy’s plot, plan and execute great battle scenes with the tanks, smoke bombs and loud popping firecrackers. It gets more epic each year. I love watching it all with sparkler in hand as I “oooh” and “ahhhh”.
One new event Super Rockstar and I got to experience is the Hutchinson 4th of July Parade. We encountered it by chance as we ventured out to see if some of our favorite antique stores were open (they weren’t. bummer.). But, it was a pleasant surprise to see the parade and we even scored a couple of pieces of candy.
3. Water World. My boys have officially graduated to a larger water park adventure. We have gone to Pirates Cove up in Denver for years and years (and loved it), but we felt they were ready for a bit more thrill, so we decided it’s time to take them to Water World. It was a perfect, sunny over 90 degree day and we had an absolute blast.
I had a few critiques: First of all–it was very crowded–so the lines were long (be prepared to wait 30 minutes or more on the bigger slides). Also, I’m not a fan of having to haul a 6 person raft up –way up– the hill (conveyor belts would be nice). There was a lot of walking and hauling so we were pretty exhausted at the end of the day. The good news is that you are allowed to wear shoes everywhere, so your feet don’t get scorched. Most slides allowed you to either hold them on the ride down or offered a convenient place to leave them. We will most definitely go back, but I think it might be worth it to spend a little extra and rent a cabana or bungalow for a nice shady spot to rest and I think the tube valet pass would be money well spent as it allows you to jump ahead in the line AND you don’t have to haul the tubes as far. I didn’t take a single photo of any of us since it’s–you know–a water park and water is not very friendly to phones with camera’s. So, these are some I copied from their website.
4. Our Maiden Voyage with the Pop-Up. I mentioned last time that we traded in our–only used them once—tents for a new- to-us pop up camper. I haven’t completed all the cosmetic work yet (new cushion covers, etc), but we were anxious to try it out. One of our favorite camping places is Castle Lakes Campground & Cabins outside of Lake City, CO. It’s absolutely gorgeous, but since we booked so late we didn’t get our favorite spot. The fishing was good (Grayson caught one on the lake and Super Rockstar caught a beauty on the river nearby) and our camper was awesome (nice thick foam mattresses and a heater are considered basic necessities for this family). We can’t wait to take it out again–hopefully soon.
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6. My Favorite Memes of the Week.
As always, I would love to hear from you. I hope you have a great week!