Staying with Aunt Barbara & Uncle Perry

We had so much fun with Aunt Barbara and Uncle Perry. They live on a couple acres that used to be part of my Grandpa Leonard and Grandma Ocean's 100 acre farm. Aunt Barbara drove us all over to show us where the old farmhouse, pond where my dad would swim, and the old barn were. She took us to the cemetary where G & G Dick were buried and Uncle Bob. I loved seeing all of the family stuff and hearing Aunt Barbara's stories of my dad's family.

Uncle Perry and Aunt Barbara were such great hosts. We just liked hanging out with them. The kids especially loved it and collecting hundreds of acorns. They came home with way too many.

Independence Visitor's Center and Liberty Jail

The house that stood above the Liberty Jail where Dad and Aunt Barbara went to church.
Maggie Cooper and Allie posing in front of Joseph Smith while incarcerated in the jail.

Our Family in the Independence Visitor's Center Maggie studying the replica of the Gold Plates
Yee Haw!

After we left Elynn and the Kids, we stayed in Independence and went to the Church History sites. We first went to the Visitor's Center. The tour was great and it was very interactive for the kids. You could sure feel the spirit there.

We met Aunt Barbara at the Liberty Jail after we toured the Visitor's Center. The Spirit was also very stong there. It was a wonderful presentation and our family enjoyed it immensely.

I think Aunt Barbara should volunteer to be a tour guide there because that is where she and dad went to church when they first joined the church. She explained where she would play the piano in the old house that was above the jail and they would also have dances at the old house that would shake it when they danced. She was only 14 when she was the pianist for the Liberty Branch. Dad was the first missionary to leave from the Liberty Branch that met above the Liberty Jail. Pretty cool.

Grand Slam!!

While we were at the game, Robbie happened to be in the right place at the right time and caught Wilson Betemet's first ever grand slam ball!!! The funny thing about it was, Elynn was going to call Mark to tell him about it, but Mark called her and said he had just seen Rob catch the Grand Slam ball. Rob was a super star.

After Rob caught his lucky ball, I saw Maddie diving for a foul ball. She was a scrapper and fought for that ball. Before the game started, Rob also got a practice ball and then gave it to Cooper. So in total, we came away with 3 MLB balls and we got them all signed by Wilson Betemet...and Maggie's hat too.

Royals vs. A's

We were able to go to a Royals game while in Kansas city. It was pouring down rain and we weren't sure if they would be playing. Oh, by the way, we also got our tickets for $1.74 on Stub Hub. It was also $1 night--hot dogs, drinks, peanuts, and Twinkies were all $1. Our cheap night was also an exciting one. The crowd was very thin and so the kids had the run of the stadium. They were everywhere and having a ball.

T-Rex and Steamboat Arabia

On Wednesday morning, we headed 3 hours northeast from Elynn's and went to Kansas City. First we went to Kansas City, Kansas. We ate at a them restaurant called T-Rex. It was a little pricey--but you pay for the fun atmosphere. The kids had fun exploring and getting eaten by the herbivores and not the carnivores.

After T-Rex, we went to Steamboat Arabia in Kansas City, Missouri. It is a wonderful museum of "new" stuff. Treasure hunters found a steamboat in the middle of a farmer's corn field from 1858 and preserved all of the new items. They called it the Wal-mart of 1858. It was a fascinating museum--but I didn't get any great pictures to post. :(

Leapin' Lemurs at Tanjanyka

The kids were told to stay on the sidewalk and were trying to coax the kangaroo over.

They did have success and were able to pet it except Cooper.

On Tuesday, Sept. 14th, Elynn took us to Tanjanyka, an interactive zoo. It was incredible. The kids had sooo much fun with the animals there. They were able to feed cranberries to the ring-tailed lemurs, pet kangaroos, feed lots of tortoises and rabbits, pet escapee kids--the goat kind, feed giraffes--again, nuzzle with lorakeets, peek at the baby joey in his mommy's pouch, watch the white siberian tiger perch on his tree stump, see the albino alligator--only 40 exist. This is the only zoo that lets you interact with lemurs.