What do we need with dessert?

The farm has corn. Caroline had her first ear and was a natural. She loved it - almost as much as Grandpa's bacon. She also had her first ride on the 4-wheeler with Grandpa.

Caroline had a great time exploring the farm. And with all the neat stuff around, it was a while before she noticed the garden hose. She had a great time with that, though. Yup, there's nothing much better than a garden hose for a 17mo - oh - except for rocks. Rocks to sit down on and explore, rocks to push through the grill of Grandpa's truck, rocks to throw into the creek ('crick'), rocks to bring into Allen's Main Street Grill for lunch, rocks to put in your mouth... Too bad rocks are so hard to come by.

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

Here are some more shots of our time in Kansas. Caroline had a great time at the farm, especially petting the plethora of kittens available. The Cousins are very good at catching them! We weren't able to find the goats, though.

More from KS

Caroline had a great time at Googels of Fun in Lawrence pushing over Grandma's stacks of blocks. I have no idea why this kid gets such joy out of knocking over other people's stuff. She's been doing since the first time I stacked a couple of blocks in front of her, but she never once has actually stacked something herself. Yeah - that's what I'm going to tell the Kindergarten Teacher.

Here are some shots of Caroline's first milk bubbles at Paisano's in Lawrence and visiting Great Grandma Caroline in Topeka.

Gage Park

We got the chance to visit Gage Park, 'Topeka's Jewel', a couple of times while in KS. It's actually a pretty neat place with a Zoo, Train, Carousel, Pool/Water Park, Rose Garden and Picnic Playground. It's complete with free pony rides on Saturday mornings courtesy of one of the six existing Optimists Club Charters in Topeka . I chuckle just imagining how mobbed this place would be in Queens.

Caroline had her first pony ride, led around in a circle by a man who was distinctly unoptimistic. She had a good time, though, and even squealed for the Carousel before she almost fell asleep on it.

Back in Town

Caroline, Lion, Monkey, Piglet & I made a triumphant return to NYC yesterday afternoon with 2 new dinosaur friends in tow. Good thing there was an extra empty seat next to us on the plane. Luckily, my wallet made the trip as well - thanks to the Kansas City police department & the Midwest Airlines staff. Apparently anything I can lose in 5 minutes, they can find in 45.

Our trip to Kansas was full of excitement and firsts, lots of sick-free car rides (thanks Pat!), exactly one funnel cloud and a minimal amount of slumber. We spent a lot of time in Topeka this time around, visiting G. Grandma Caroline & 'The Cousins' (a phrase coined by Grandpa Earl).

Here are some shots of our time in Lawrence: spending time with Grandma, admiring Grandma's garden, tasting yummy crayons at First Watch (Caroline & the KU basketball team's favorite brunch spot), the sky over Highway 10 & Wakarusa right before our 4th of July funnel cloud & the beautiful sunset after.

Random Sightings II

Some shots of Caroline & Co. in Central Park with the Pegs on Saturday. Clay & I also had dinner with the Pegs afterwards at Carmine's on the Upper West Side (UWS). Caroline spent most of the meal under a dinner napkin.

Yesterday, Caroline, Lion, Monkey, Piglet & I headed out to Kansas City. Unfortunately, Clay & Gorilla weren't able to make the trip. The packed flight was fun, especially the running up and down the aisle and playing with the other babies on board. Thank goodness for Midwest Airlines' wide seats and chocolate chip cookies. I think it was 10:30pm EDT before Caroline finally zonked out.