Life and Fun: Church Events

Summer in the States can be loads of fun without spending lots of money. We didn't venture too far from my mom's home and found fun in the simplest of things. We fished, rode horses, went to a rodeo, rode in buggies, played in the parks, and splashed in the wading pool. One thing I've not posted about though were the summer events of the churches.
Vacation Bible School was always a hit, though we could only attend a few nights.
Ice-Cream Social at the park. Yum! Yum!
Small Carnival with Kansas City Chief's Casey.

Fishing Derby...we didn't catch any fish, but had a great time out at the pond. Funny moment: Jie Jie getting her bobber and throwing it out into the pond only minutes after arriving. I think she thought we were feeding them? 

Jie Jie loved fishing. We'd cast and she'd reel in.
I bet she sat there for over half an hour. Not sure
what she would have done had she gotten a bite.

Mei Mei still not a fan of standing in the
heat, but can you blame her? It was H.O.T. 

Life and Fun: Parks & Wading Pools

This summer was a laid back kind of summer. It was hot and dry in the mid-west, but that didn't hinder our fun at all.

A few mornings before the sun got too warm, we'd go to the small public park where the girls could get rid of some energy. 

Then after an afternoon rest, we'd get up and head out to the small wading pool that my mom bought for them to splash in. I love the fact that they are not too old for such simple pleasures as splashing in water. I spent the afternoons sitting beside the pool with a book. It was pretty close to heaven - 

We kept our schedule even during our
visit with my sister. We just had a new
splashing buddy to play with!

Life and Fun: Amish Town

I grew up in a very small town where everybody knew everyone. It is still pretty much like that. My children thought it was really cool that we could go into a store and people would really "know" me. They are growing up in a city of 3 million, so keep that in mind.

What really excited my kids, though, were the horse-drawn vehicles that pulled up at the 4-way stop and hitched behind the bank. These buggies are owned by the Amish people that live scattered around the small town.

The Amish are part of the community. Some are friends of my family. My father carried mail to them for years. He was also a welder, so it was not uncommon to have a large wooden wagon hitched to the telephone pole at the end of our driveway with a couple of barefoot children in their simple dresses and white summer bonnets or black pants with suspenders and a straw hat.

This summer my children wanted to ride in one of the buggies, and it was not hard to find a neighbor friend to give us all a ride. It happened to be the weekend that some my husband's family came to visit. Below are some of the pics that we were able to take of our time.

Found kittens near the barn.

Mei Mei would have loved to have brought
this little guy home with her.

Life and Fun: Fireworks-less 4th of July

A few of tasty items from the grill...

Wouldn't you know it would happen to us: back in the US and not able to shoot fireworks on the 4th of July. ( I know this was a month ago, but well wanted to get it ready for the newsletter coming out soon...)

It turned out to be one of the hottest summers that I can ever remember in the mid-west.

I'm not too upset by the banned fireworks. Living in Asia, we actually see some pretty cool ones quite often. The girls don't really care for them either...too loud. So, we spent time eating and talking around the kitchen table.

Feeling like I needed to do a few 4th of July things with the girls, I read Sweet Land of Liberty by Callista Gingrich. It is really cute picture book about the US. It has good information that is not overwhelming to young children on the history of the United States.

I also did a few crafts with the girls to celebrate...

Our fireworks...