Our Last Day in Kansas

We had one last day in Kansas and it was full of cousin time and family fun.  

First, playing with cousins and a tractor ride for Anne.

Ryan and Levi were two peas in a pod!

What a cool tree house!

She was so excited.

Then we all loaded into the Olson's "farm vehicle" and drove to their cattle operation.  This is a beautiful piece of land in the Flint Hills.  It has been in Kelli's family for generations.  Now it is home to their cow-calf operation. When we arrived, the men had to do some work on some solar piece of equipment, so Kelli and I took a walk with the kids.

Look closely, all 9 of us are buckled up!

Don't you want to run down this hill, a la "Little House on the Prairie?"

Looking at a cool plant.

Free range children.

Cactus, not just for the desert!

I will not be surprised in the least if Dr. Anne turns out to be a vet.

On the other hand, the cows wanted nothing to do with Ryan. Perhaps because he was shouting "here, cow!" at them?

The old stone barn that originally stood on the property.

After seeing the cows, we headed back to Ryan and Kelli's house for dinner.  But before we ate, I had to prove myself.  You see, Cousin Ryan had been giving me grief about cooking in the camper, and he insinuated I couldn't make a pie.  So I did, my first ever camper-pie.

Just call me Suzy Home-away-from-home-maker.

Voila! Camper pie!

Both Uncle Jack and Aunt Brenda were able to join us for a cook out for dinner.  It was a great night of catching up.  Rob, Ryan and the kids shot of rockets, followed by a fireworks show.

Shooting off rockets.

Nothing more fun than sparklers!

The last thing we did with the kids was a haunted barn tour.  Basically, the dads told the kids the barn was haunted and then took them into it to look for ghosts.  Meanwhile, Kelli and Ben threw things around inside the barn and threw gravel onto the roof to freak out the littles.  It worked!

Our time in Kansas was coming to a close and we learned something that would be a theme for this trip, none of our stops were long enough.  Although we were excited about our next stop, the kids would have been content to stay on the farm for the whole vacation.  

​Thanks for your hospitality, Olsons!