Adventure Part 1

Today Dorian and I didn't have anything specific to do and I know that spending a day cooped up in the house with a toddler is sort of like pulling your hair out one strand at a time, so I googled, "cool, free things to do in Kansas City with kids." The first place we found was:



The Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead is so cool! Let me just start by saying I thought it was going to be smallish and fairly quiet. Boy, I could not have been more wrong! The place is huge, hopping and full of activities for kids! It is free, although we did spend money on snacks for goats, ducks, and ourselves, and we made a donation on our way out the door. Still $10 for hours of animal fun, not too shabby!

When we first got there, Dor didn't know where to look! There were so many kids and animals and farm equipment!

Look Mama!



Chickens!



There were some crazy aggressive goats waiting to be fed, but we like the looks of this short and squatty one, so we fed him.

Adventure Part 2

The best part of the farmstead was definitely the petting zoos. There were 3 petting stations set up throughout, all with goats that you could feed and pet. Dorian completely loved this! He didn't really pet the goats, but he chased them and waved hi to them.



Adorable.



Look Mama!



Piggies!



This turkey was very pretty and fat!

Adventure Part 3

The bunny at the center might be consorting with the devil in the woods at night. What with those red eyes and all. Hee.



Ducks!



They had a bunch of antique farm equipment painted up in fun colors! We liked this one.



The sign for the Kansas Trail.



Cool windmill in the mining section. You can buy a bag of mining rough, and put it in the trough water to clean away all the sand and dirt and you will get some gemstones. We didn't try that this time, but when we go back, I would like to get a bag.

Adventure Part 4

You know what this blog needs? More cowbell.



The walls of the dairy are insulated with corn cobs. Super cool.



This sign explains how I feel about milk. Yum.



Pippi - the dairy cow! Dorian was very into Pippi. She was lovely and huge! They milk her at 9:30 and 4:30, but we missed the morning milking by about 15 minutes, darn it!



Kids! Of the goat variety! So cute. We did give baby, baby goats some milk. Unfortunately, they are fairly aggressive in the pursuit of the milk, and Dorian was a little disgruntled by it, so I didn't get a chance to take pictures. Next time we'll take Daddy and have more hands to photograph.

Adventure Part 5

In the dairy barn there is a little snack stand, so I bought Dorian and I something to eat and we went out to the patio.

Here is Dorian trying to eat. Hmmmm . . . what seems to be bugging you, little Dude?



Oh! Cows! Well, we like cows! "MOOOOOOOOO." *Insert hysterical baby crying noises.* Apparently, we only like silent cows. Sigh.



We did manage to get a little P.B. & J. in us before the cows sent us packing.



After our snack, we headed far away from the mooing cows toward the Indian encampment. There was a cool teepee and lots of information about the plains Indians and their relationship with the buffalo.

Adventure Part 6

I was really impressed with the butterfly garden. It was really beautiful and there were lots o' fabulous plants! We didn't see any butterflies, but it sure was pretty!







Then there was a whole group of animals - a bobcat, mountain lion, bald eagle, redtail hawk, and an owl! Dorian didn't really see them, because they were all pretty still, but I enjoyed looking at them. The bobcat was especially cool. You can sort of making him out in this picture.



Leaving the farmstead! We'll definitely be back!