Field Trips

I finished up my super crazy semester of grad school last week. It’s summer break! Woo hoo! This means nothing to my kiddos, of course {especially the part about sleeping in}, but I really want to capitalize this no-outside-obligation time with my kiddos and do some super fun things around town! 

Sometimes our stay-at-home-life can get mundane {like tomorrows morning errands to the post office and DMV}. There are several things I’ve said to myself, “Oh, I want to do that with the kids!” or “Jackson would really enjoy that!” but never actually gotten around to making it happen.

So, I am determined to make it happen. I made a list.

The idea is to do one of these activities each week-ish. Some might happen more together and others might be more spread apart, but ideally, I’d like one day a week to be set aside for specifically kid “field trip.”

• Baseball game
• Belton Train Ride
• Berry Patch
• Bowling
• Dinosaur exhibit at Crown Center
• Fire Station
• Kaleidoscope
• Kansas City Zoo
• Outdoor live music show
• Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens
• Pirate Playground in Lee’s Summit
• Worlds of Fun

This isn’t a list of “top things to do in Kansas City” but more of a personalized list that I made to capitalize on Jackson’s current interests and the things we really enjoy as a family. Most of the activities are super low cost {or FREE!} too!  And of course there are several other things that we will be up to this summer— visits to the pool, summer reading programs, trips to the park, a visit from Julie!!!—but this list is more of a “big ticket item” list.

I will be sharing about our field trips as I am sure I will have a bazillion pictures. Plus, maybe you’re family will enjoy a few of these places/events too!

Notice I have one marked off the list already?! As I began typing this post at naptime today, I got the bright idea to get started on our list! I messaged Derek and we made plans to visit the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens! I have had some friends mention it and I’ve read about in the Kansas City parent magazines. We had fun—it was nice to take a walk/mild hike with different scenery than our neighborhood!

We walked a couple of the mulched paths. Strollers on mulch isn’t super easy, but it wasn’t impossible. It just made for a great workout!

Jackson was kicked out the stroller enjoyed walking some of the trail too! We saw some really cool areas that would be super fun to picnic or to enjoy a snack and there were places to walk down by the creek too!

As we were walking, I spotted a deer just four or five feet off the path. I got too excited when I pointed it out to Derek, but the deer didn’t go too far. We all enjoyed watching it for a few minutes! {It’s the upper left corner}

After we walked the trails, we checked out some of the gardens. We let Belle get out and stretch her legs after sitting in the stroller while we walked! Fellow patrons stopped in their path to watch her squeal in delight looking at all of the pretty flowers! She’s just too cute.

We loved it and can’t wait to go back.

Destination: Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens
Location: Overland Park, KS
Cost: Free
Pros: Outdoor fun, great exercise, kid friendly {pets too}, paved areas
Cons: Small kids might not want to walk longer trails, strollers can be used but it can be a challenge on rugged parts of trail
Time: We walked for about an hour, but we blazed rather fast. You could easily enjoy two-three hours of fun.
Bring with you: BUG SPRAY!, water bottle, picnic lunch, camera