SBL: The Soda Shop

I'm getting the feeling that the KC Streetcar doesn't hold the magic it once did. It's so 2016.

Nevertheless...it's a pretty free way of getting down to the City Market where there is a soda shop that carries all the weird flavors. 

And I mean weird.

We wanted weird, but I wasn't interested in actually vomiting. So we made our selections:

And then we had a tasting party! Mari brought over the leftovers from her picks as well...she opted for the 'herby' varieties. 

For a group of kids that are hard pressed to stray from white bread and chicken nuggets, they were impressively up for the challenge!

Garden is a poppin

 There is so much to be happy about in the garden today!!

The beans are giving me a side dish every other day and the strawberries are big enough to not feel shamed by their grocery store counterparts. I'm so proud of their efforts! And can I take this opportunity to humbly thank the birds for leaving them alone for the last couple weeks? You don't know what it means to me to eat a strawberry that hasn't already been stabbed by a beak. Pure luxury!

I planted a pure patch of zinnias this year, instead of the mix. It's awesome and it feels so organized. 

The tassels have appeared! Now we wait for the cobs and silk to appear. And then I will set a reminder in my phone to pick them 20 days later. Because last year's gross corn shall not be repeated! 

No it shall not.

Hello, purple peppers! Aren't you fun??

And finally...how fun is nature? Just adding that lovely pink ruffle around the rhubarb leaf just because. It's hard to tell from the picture, but that leave is massive. It's majestic. It's a rain-gathering master of the universe. 

I am in love with the garden!!

If you need me, you know where to find me....

High Adventure Meg

 Hi. 

It's me. 

Mom.

From whence this blog cometh. 

Little confession here....I'm from the future. 

It's 2024 me and I'm writing about 2021 Megan. 

That's hard. And I don't remember the details. I'm definitely trying, but pretty much I'm writing what anyone can surmise by simply looking at these photos. 

Megan when to Johnson Shut-Ins and she went with the young women and they also hiked around at Elephant Rocks!

She jumped!! High adventure, indeed!

Long Distance Adult

 I'm not diggin this college birthday situation. 

I don't get to be there when he opens his package and I don't get to make him a cake and celebrate the fact that this boy is EIGHTEEN!!!

College birthdays are a no. 

But he sure is cute and I miss him like crazy. 

Happy Eighteen, my Maf. 

P. S. You birthday haircut is very cute. 

Father's Day, BB Guns and Rocket Retrieval

Happy days for a dad with a missionary. It's his turn to get that Father's Day phone call. 

And a bacon lover's breakfast complete with honorary bib!

Meal of choice: Chick Parm!! 

A gift from Mathew! 

And looked what showed up just in time for Father's Day??  2 BB guns and a bucket of BBs! It's Dad Magic. 

Last night we did our Rockets and Shakes night. Our favorite rocket got caught in a tree, so we decided we would take a walk with our trusty Christmas light pole. 

Isn't Kansas pretty?

Success!

Backyard Glow

 It took us all day and it was SOOO worth it! 

The backyard lights are up!

Winter Girl

What does everyone kid with a winter birthday want? 

An outdoor party in the sunshine! 

It's been 6 months and 1 week and we've loaded up the minivan with friends and we're off to The Deanna Rose Farmstead. 

That's one happy nine and half year old. 

Typically, when we go to the Farmstead, we try not to ruin the "freeness" of it by buying treats or paying for the fancy stuff. A fishing pole and a bottle of milk for the baby goats will do for us. 

But this is a day of "YES!"

Can we go on a hayride?   Yes!

Can we have a scoop of ice cream from the old timey store?   Yes!

Happy Summer Birthday, my January Girl!

 

Fantastic Beasts

 Let us pray the beast stage never ends. 

Animated

 There a new app out. 

It will transform a selfie into a cartoon.

It's fun and silly and sometimes a little depressing. 

Here is what we would look like if we were a Disney movie:

Pretty fun! 

Blast from the past

 We busted out the older super sprinkler today!!

And hose water is just as cold as it's ever been

Pizza De Resistance

This is the best pizza dough recipe in all the land!

I cannot rest until there is a copy in the recipe box, online and printed in the blogbook. 

It's a treasure.

Frogs, bogs, dogs and logs

 Today was Stake Conference. We watched from home and it glitched out after about an hour...so we spent the rest of the day kicking around the house and intensely resting from our labors. 

But too much of a good thing is, well...too much. 

So we consulted our handy dandy summer bucket list and headed out to "Climb the Tree".

We found this beauty at the Olathe Community Center when we were attending her final band concert of the year, a la Covid style....outdoors and in competition with the sounds of the fountains and playground nearby. There will be some things I don't miss. 

I digress.

Check out THE TREE!

Turns out the kids weren't especially excited about climbing it. There were a few nervous feelings about falling out of the gorgeous tree and snapping their bones. Weird.

Still...we got our money's worth.

Far more interesting were the frogs in the nearby pond...it was packed with leaves and bright green algae...

The girls name this one Charlie.  Charlie is no dummy. He'll stay safely under the ledge, thank you very much. 

We filled the rest of our day with lots of dog sitting. Laney is earning money to save up for a Switch or a crested gecko...and that depends on if one of the hamsters leaves a timely vacancy in one of the tanks...time will tell.

Even Mark likes having Maybe around....