Everyday Magic on The County Line

 

Kinley is knee-deep in the Harry Potter series right now. She's in Book 5 of the seven-book series. She even reads during her sister's exciting soccer games. And she read during a visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house on the County Line. 

Since we jam-packed the girls' visit with activities, she didn't have too much time to read. But we were glad to host Kinley and Brooke to begin their summer vacation. They had their final day of the 2021 school year on Wednesday, May 28, and we met them for supper in Salina that evening.

Probably a more accurate reflection of time on a Kansas farm could be derived from the Little House on the Prairie books. Kinley also read several from that series before becoming distracted by the magic and wizardry of Harry Potter. (I have fond memories of my mom reading the Little House books to my sisters and me before I read them again on my own. Uncle Brent shared his Harry Potter collection with Kinley. Reading is all in the family, for sure!)

Thankfully, the visit got off to a good start when we got the suitcases and paraphernalia - and, of course, books - transferred before a deluge of rain in Salina. But, by the time we neared home, we were out of the rain and had enough daylight left to capture some photos at the largest cottonwood in Reno County.  

The next day, we went to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, a few miles from our house. And our young fisherman tried their luck at the kids' fishing pond.

 We didn't have much luck with fish. Both Kinley and Brooke caught turtles, though Brooke's escaped before we could get a photo.

 

 

 Grandpa caught a branch.

We didn't have any better luck with the fishing at the Ninnescah Pasture.

 

But we had fun and enjoyed a nice, spring day.

The girls probably liked rides on the 4-wheelers the best.

I sent these daredevil photos to their parents. They must not have believed me. I didn't even get a response!

And here's the rest of the story: Grandpa and I were actually the drivers. (And, as Grandpa says, we didn't even get out of second gear with our precious cargo.)

We also went to the Brit Spaugh Zoo in Great Bend.

 

You've got to watch out for those ferocious lions!

We will have to go back to the zoo when the butterfly house has butterflies. But it was too chilly to stock it so far.

For the one below, I captured Kinley in mid-air as she was jumping up from behind the sign!

 We liked seeing the goslings, but we tried to avoid their temperamental parents.

One of our favorite stops was watching as zookeepers cleaned oil off a hawk in the raptor center.

Grandpa needed a closer look at the train in the park near the zoo.

Arts and crafts were also on the agenda. Each girl painted and decorated her initial.

 

Brooke painted some hearts. And they also painted birdhouses. Since they already have birdhouses at their house, they opted to leave them with Grandpa. 

The girls also liked putting grape jelly in our homemade feeder and watching for the Baltimore orioles.

We had some other "wildlife," too - a baby kitty.

We took a trip to see Great Grandma and Grandpa Moore. Because of Covid, the girls hadn't seen them since Christmas 2019.

 The girls went home, but our family time wasn't over. On Sunday after church, we did the annual cemetery tour. This time, all my siblings were there.

 

 This was taken at the graves of my dad's dad and brother at the Iuka Cemetery. 

Randy and I made a stop at the Stafford Cemetery to decorate his family's graves as we returned home. 

 Grandma was tired.

The end.