Go, Go, GO! A Visit from the Girls

This photo could be labeled,"The calm before the storm." Brooke and Kinley are safely ensconced in the double stroller. It was a nice, cool day at the Hutchinson Zoo.

Then, Grandma made a rookie mistake. She let the cat out of the bag. She left the barn door open. Use whatever analogy you'd like. But what it boils down to is this: Grandma let Brooke out of the stroller.

And this photo is Brooke in a nutshell:  Climbing to new heights - or new fences. And that's Kinley, too: The first-born rule follower watching in disbelief at her little sister's antics.

Brooke lives life kind of like this photo ... on her tiptoes, ready to go, go, GO!

She toddled toward open water. Grandma had to take photos of Kinley and Grandpa feeding the fish one-handed to keep Brooke out of the pond.

She would rather push the stroller than be in the stroller. Grandma and Grandpa got a workout.

But it sure was fun to watch both girls discover the animals at the Hutchinson Zoo. It was just the right size for young zoo-goers and their grandparents (who were sure glad they were wearing tennis shoes)!

I'm sure Brooke would have gladly tried to climb this spider web rope. But Grandma vetoed that idea.

We all enjoyed the break at the Prairie Thunder Railroad.

Brooke even fell asleep with the rocking motion of the train during naptime.

We got to keep the girls while their parents went to a wedding. Kinley's request for the weekend was to go fishing. Grandpa gladly complied.

He took her to a small pond by Zenith because he knew it's teeming with small fish that would be quick and easy to catch. It didn't take long before Kinley was reeling in the catch of the day.

She was so proud, and Mommy says she's still talking about it! Grandma's job again was keeping Brooke from falling into the water and documenting the occasion so no one would claim an outrageous fish tale.

After Sunday School and church, we met Jill and Eric at the Kansas State Fair. Next year, Jill wants to take a vacation day and go to the fair on a weekday. But we had fun despite the crowds. 

Kinley loved the slide slide, and she campaigned for another slide down to take Brooke, too. But Mommy decided that Brooke would have to wait until next year.

The girls' also liked seeing all the animals. I guess it was an animal-themed weekend!

The alpacas were awfully cute!

Before leaving the fairgrounds, Kinley took a ride on a mighty steed. Well, OK, a pony.

It was the perfect ending to her Wild West week at preschool. Ride 'em, cowgirl!

The weekend came full circle. We started our weekend with Freddy's ice cream. Wait ... we started with Freddy's lunch first. Really, Mommy!

 

And we ended up at a milking demonstration at the Kansas State Fair, where Kinley learned about the milk that got turned into her ice cream.

It was an educational weekend for all - the girls and the grandparents! We can't wait to do it again now that we've recuperated, and Grandma has edited the 100-plus photos she took. It's an occupational hazard.