Summer Catch Up

These photos are from our June or July trip to Kansas.  (So long ago that I can't even remember when.)  One of the little girls from Conleigh's orphanage is only a few hours away.  I love that we can see her and her family.  Last summer, they had a trip planned that took them north so they came to our house to visit.  This year, we made plans to go there.  Even though it was a hot trip with temps well over 100, it was a very nice, low key day with lunch and the kids playing and the grown ups visiting.  The kids especially had a grand time.  They just played so well together.  From there we headed to a hotel for the night.  I was thrilled to eat at a diner that happened to have gooseberry pie.  (My granny had gooseberry bushes in her backyard which I loved to pick with her.  She also made pie with those berries and she loved to take turns asking the grandkids and great grandkids what kind of pie she should bring to the next family gathering.  Gooseberry was always high on my list.)   We decided we'd tour the Rolling Hills Zoo and Museum near Salina the next day.    It was a great zoo for our family.  The actual zoo is very spread out with beautiful lakes and walking paths.  It's not as big as the Henry Doorly in Omaha but it still has a fair amount of animals including many different primates, giraffes, and rhinos.  Right next to the zoo is a fully animated museum.  The robotic displays featured different eco systems/time periods.  The kids were a little spooked by the robots.  (Insert sad face...)  Even with the kids uncertainty, it was still fun be very close to gigantic stuffed polar bears, a life size elephant, and some very hairy buffalo.