fun at the farmstead

we are so lucky to have the deanna rose children's farmstead in our area. we visit it probably 5 times a year. we spent 4 hours there one day last week and i was so glad that i remembered to take my camera. **warning** this is a very long post! if you are planning to visit kansas city this summer, this farmstead should be on your list of things to do! the deanna rose children's farmstead, established in 1978, was designed to depict a turn of the century farm. this beautiful and diverse park provides a fun, safe and educational farm environment that cultivates an appreciation of farm life, wildlife, and kansas heritage.

it was a beautiful day to walk around the farmstead. we purchased a sack lunch upon arrival, found a shady picnic table and talked about what animals we wanted to see.

a small pond with goldfish and turtles was our first stop. there are food dispensers all over the farm to feed the fish, goats, ducks, ect. 25 cents per handful.

i love all the farm equipment that is placed around the farm. the gardens are just beautiful.

volunteers do all the plantings, and maintenance of the gardens.

so many nice paths to walk on. this was the first time we've been this year and even though we took the stroller, cooper wanted to walk with his big brother. and was always grabbing for his hand to hold....how cute is that?!

cooper spotted this kitty taking a drink of water out of a bucket.

this is the childrens garden. brick paths, vegetables, flowers and fun things to look at.

most of the flowers are marked, so it's also a wonderful learning environment.

large flowers to look through for funny photos.

fun paths to walk on...this one has the alphabet painted on stepping stones.

walking under a covered arbor.

goats of all sizes are at the farmstead. this is one of the large goats.

this goat was taking a rest. and cooper decided to stand back a few steps.

a space for petting goats. these goats are medium in size and maguire recognized that they had really grown since our visit to the farmstead last year.
i've always loved this little white house with it's manicured gardens.

this path is one of our favorites on a hot day. it's mostly shaded and it's also home to the butterfly garden. large wind chimes also hang in the trees and on a windy day, this is a beautiful place to walk, sit, enjoy.

these are the wash stands for hand washing. after feeding the goats and other animals it's nice to cool off and send the germs down the drain.

every year there is a new feature at the farmstead. last year a 5,000 square foot dairy barn was added. it is so beautiful and is home to several cows and a milking station. they also have a theatre in the barn and a place to buy snacks and drinks. maguire was checking out this map to see where we still needed to go.

a dock at grandpa bob's fishing pond. we filled our cups up with fish food and feed the fish and ducks. cooper loved watching the fish jump up to eat the food he had thrown in for them.

horse drawn wagon rides, pulled by draft horses, through the woods is a fun event.

the tractor attraction was added a couple of years ago. it's always a favorite and this year cooper was big enough to climb up on a tractor. i pushed him around the path while maguire tried to race us.

after getting hot riding the tractors, we stopped for a cool snack....huge popcycles!!

maguire loves to feed the baby goats. 1 buck for a bottle of milk. as soon as you walk into the pen they come running. chewing on your clothes and shoe laces is part of the experience.

there are so many other things to do and see at the farmstead. you'll have to visit it to see the rest. you can easily spend all day here. there is also a playground and a small water feature that we cool off in afterward. then we head home and can't wait for our next visit. the farmstead is also a great place for birthday parties and family gatherings. check out the farmstead website for all the details. oh and did i mention that admission to the farmstead is ....FREE! we always put $10 into the donation barn. there are lots of other donation and volunteer opportunities from buying bricks to line paths, benches and swings, or buying butterfly houses in the butterfly garden. such a great place and so amazing that it's put together by volunteers and donations. check out the farmstead for yourself, you won't be disappointed!

summer garden tour

thanks to tracey over at a cottage industry for hosting this summer garden tour! here are the photos of my front and back gardens. i really had planned on getting some more color and more flowering plants in, but that will have to wait for another time. i'm not really a gardner but consider myself extremely lucky when i plant something and it does well. if it doesn't do well, i move it and keep praying. i like "junk" in my garden...be it croquet sticks, iron pieces or weathered chairs that come compliments of someone chucking them to the curb. always a summer project around here is making stepping stones for new garden paths. we also enjoy painting rocks to add color and whimsy to our garden. so grab a cuppa something and enjoy touring my garden. i'd love for you to leave a comment so that i know you stopped by. it's nice to meet you!

homemade stepping stones that my kids love to hop on through the garden.

next garden project: train some ivy to grow up the fence in a diamond pattern. mental note, need to get small eye hooks and fishing line next trip to hardware store.

an angel statue keeps a watchful eye on our garden.

ahhhhh .... the hammock that rarely gets used. one of these days though i'm taking a nap there!

love this sphere that i made out of rings from a whisky barrel (another trash find!) it's attached by a screw to a chopped off broom stick. the broom stick fits into the hole that was in the (what used to be) table base.

there is that hammock again, calling my name....!

weathered chair and table found curbside....who could throw that away??!!

the ferns by my front door are doing so well this year. i added some height to them by flipping over the bottom pot and then sitting the urn on top. presto....taller urns! and with the buckets just laying around the garage....a cheap project! gotta love that.

the bench that i love to sit on. it's usually black, but this year i painted it blue. thanks for coming by!

friday the 13th and happy birthday

it's friday...the 13th! this is your lucky day! and this sunday is my (gulp) 40th birthday!! so i thought it would be fun to have a SALE. i've added 5 celebration banners to my etsy store and because it's my birthday weekend i'll pay for the shipping on them! (just mention that you saw this on my blog) i'm also offering $5.00 off any tray that is in the shop! happy birthday to me....and happy day to you!! ***hurry, this sale ends sunday at midnight.

ahhhh...summer!

green grass and a sprinkler...sure signs that it's summer! the boys had a blast playing in the sprinker. maguire bent down to take a drink .... and cooper had to do the same. i hope to have more of these lazy days of just having fun!

Back Porch Sale

Last weekends Back Porch Sale was a huge success! Thanks to all who came and shopped. Below are just a sampling of the things we had to offer.

Outside we had garden furniture and accessories. It sold quickly!

Beautiful artwork by Lauri.

Inside on the backporch we had more fun things from local artists. As usual, I regret that I didn't take enough photos of everything.

Boxed lunches that I made for each artist. Inside I packed in homemade pasta salad, asiago cheese bread and a homemade cookie....yummy! A great couple of days with creative friends. i can hardly wait for next year!

seeing red: friday

the last of the cherries. these were beautiful and yummy when i bought them. i ate so many cheeries this week...they were so good! i hate to waste these but they are pretty ugly looking. and hey, there was no mention that "seeing red" had to be pretty! :)

seeing red: thursday

wood toys are my favorite. this red barn i found at a garage sale and it's a perfect home for the little wood animals we had. with it's sliding barn door, it has become a favorite with the boys.

seeing red: wednesday

i love the sadie olive website and thought

it would be fun to join in on her

seeing red photo event. a sure sign of summer....

a red and white stripe pool towel drying on the fence.

celebration banners

it was a late night (2am) but i finally got these finished. i made 5 of them to sell at the back porch tag sale. the sun really washed out the color in the photo so they don't look so great here. but they really are quite adorable and would make any event a special one. birthdays, father's day, 4th of july or even just because.

tag sale sneak peek

the back porch tag sale is this friday and saturday. set up is thursday night and like usual, i still have several things to finish up. i'm such a procrastinator. i've known about this sale for months and i've waited until the last minute to get my projects completed. i raided my mom's fabric bin a few months back and have been wanting to make some fabric celebration banners. i've got all the pieces cut out, i even finished one in time for maguire's may birthday. but the rest of them are still sitting on my sewing machine waiting to be assembled. it won't take long, but at this point, it will require me to be up late tonight to get them finished.

these photos are a sneak peek at some of the fun things i do have finished. repainted, and recovered chairs. tables, pillows, plants, and other treasures. my favorite has to be the dresser drawers that i painted black, added cool chunky handles and casters to. they are perfect to roll under a bed for extra storage, or under a coffee table, ect.

i have three of the storage drawers to sell. the two are just stacked on top of each other. a sampling of trays, and some porch pillows.

a garden trellis, garden box, more plants in cute pots. vintage picnic throws, white distressed side table.
vintage suitcases in bright red that would be great for a kids room. small decorative items.

a couple of cute green chairs and some croquet sticks that are just waiting for someone to buy and turn into a cool project. so a little bit of everything and hopefully some items that people just can't live without.

i've had so much fun collecting and working on these items. the back porch sale is such a fun sale and with 6 other creative girls participating, you're sure to find something! i better get going on those fabric celebration banners, finish up the trays and get a few more signs made. and i'll be making yummy huge cookies to sell too.....of course, they're homemade! hope to see you at the sale!