Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead

We finally made it to Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead. We have heard a lot about it and how cool it was but, hadn't been able to go. The cool part is if you go Monday through Thursday, it's free. You only have to pay on Weekends. So, the kids got home from school one day and we went right over to the Farmstead before they closed at 5 p.m.

We set off with maps in hand and the first thing we came to was GEORGIA'S HEN HOUSE! Abbie was SO excited since she is named after Grandma Georgia (she used to call her grandma Georgeous when she was little, too cute!). Abbie wanted her picture taken with the Hen House. 

The next part we visited was the old one-room school house. They have a lady dressed-up as a "period" school teacher that would have taught back in those days. The kids couldn't believe that all the kids from all the grades were in the same room. 

Abbie and Kaden tried out the "big" kid desk area. 

Isaac got to try out the old Dunce corner. He thought it was pretty funny that they had to wear that hat. 

The school teacher even rang the bell when we left so we could get the full school experience that school was over! 

Then we went and learned about mining. We got a bag of sand with precious rocks and minerals in it. We got to learn how people use water to mine with. 

The kids used a screen to sift through their sand to reveal their minerals and rocks. 

Brooklyn just played in the water! 

Each of the kids got a turn to mine for minerals and rocks. 

The milking barn was next where we watched a cow be milked. 

They had a few baby cows in the barn and Reed said these were the "Cleanest cows I've ever seen!" They looked like they were ready to be at the fair because they were some well groomed cows. 

Then we went to the Indian Area. We got to go in a thatched indian home and a tee-pee. 

The last activity of the day is the running of the Goats. They get to run down this little trail before they run to their home where they stay for the night. We anxiously awaited the running of the Goats. The goats were so excited at the starting gate that they looked like billy goats climbing on top of each other. 

The goats were SO fast! It all happened in no more than a few seconds! It was fun to watch though! 

As we rounded the last part of the Farmstead, we took a quarter and fed the ducks although the fish would come up and steal the food from the ducks. It was pretty fun to watch who was going to get the piece of food.

We all had a great time at Deanna Rose! Can't wait to go back again!

Reed's Phone Pictures from Summer

Sometimes when we go places, we don't have our camera with us and Reed caught some fun pictures this summer and I wanted to make sure they got on the blog. This one is from the 4th of July Picnic. Our friend Kenny put one of the cones that Brooklyn had been playing with and kept putting on her head but, it would fall off. So, Kenny pulled her pig tails through the holes on the cone. Too cute! It was a fun 4th of July breakfast with tug-o-wars, games and good food. 

When we went back to a family reunion this summer, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Tenney's home before we headed back to Kansas. We took the rubberbands out of her hair the next morning and had to take a pic of her lovely hair-do. Love you Baby Brooklyn! 

Isaac participated in the Raingutter Regada. He had a great time building his boat with his Dad. They painted it blue and Isaac even made a guy out of paper(so it wouldn't weigh down the boat) to sit and drive the boat. It was awesome! 

Isaac catching his fish at Mirror Lake at our Millet Family Reunion this summer! Isaac caught his fish first, then Abbie and Kaden was the last to catch his fish that afternoon! They were SO excited to each catch a fish! 

Brooklyn ready to go fishing! 

My dad brought his canoe and he took all of the grandkids for rides. Abbie took her fishing pole with us on the ride and she caught a fish while canoeing! She was so excited and Grandpa Millett helped her use the net to get her fish in the boat. So fun! 

Brooklyn going for her first canoe ride! 

Abbie had quite the technique for fishing! It was a little like dancing! She loves fishing and even has a pink shirt that says, "I may be a girl but, I fish better than a boy!" She loves fishing! The kids got big kid fishing poles for Christmas last year and this was their first time using them. Reed loves this since, he spent a ton less time untangling lines and the kids really caught fish. 

Isaac with his fish dangling on the line! 

Kaden with his Rainbow Trout!

A nice passerby asked if he could take our picture as a family. The kids proudly showed off their fish. Abbie caught a Brook Trout and she loved that because she loves Brookie so much! She kept saying, "look Brook....I caught a Brookie Trout!" 

The kids baiting their hooks with Dad. The kids love fishing with their dad! 

Brooklyn loved walking on the boardwalk. We were fishing right off of it and she loved that the strem went under the bridge right here and made a hollow sound when she walked. She loved running back and forth on the boardwalk. What a funny little smile today!

The kids 3 fish that they caught. Isaac and Kaden caught Rainbow Trout and Abbie caught a BrookTrout. 

Just a few weeks ago, Reed took the boys with him to help with an Eagle Scout Service Project. It was up north by Kansas City in an old cemetery that had headstones that had fallen over. So, they helped restack headstones and put everything up right. The boys even had a deer walk right close to them and Reed took a fun video of the boys with the deer walking by. The boys loved helping with the Eagle Scout Service Project.

We've Got Sand!

Our sandbox under the playset is filled with sand and the kids are thrilled! It would have been too hot this summer to go play in the sand but this cooler weather is wonderful and the kids are loving playing outside! 

Brooklyn loved the sandbox before there was sand in it and would dig in the dirt with her couple of sand toys. She loves putting objects into other things (quite the phase!) and putting sand in a bucket is TONS of fun for her! 

She spends over an hour everytime she goes to the sandbox. She loves the sand. We found this summertime toy set on the clearance aisle at WalMart (probably last one til next year) and picked it up for cheap. Perfect addition to our new sandbox!

Brooklyn loves playing in the sand! 

Whenever we would play in the sandbox at Tomahawk (the local swimming pool with sandbox). Kaden and Abbie would use sifters to find "pearl's" (as they called it which are the little tiny rocks in the sand) and would use their pearls to play with. They love to sift the sand. 

And now our ENTIRE sandbox has been sifted and any little "pearl" has been squirreled away in one of their buckets. Soft sand became super fine sand....alright by me! 

The kids love the sandbox and we are loving having them outdoors more now that the apparently "atypically super hot" summer is behind us. 

Happy Sandboxing Playing Kids!