I think these pictures speak for themselves. I don't have any pics of Mom and Dad's fishies. We also didn't get a photo of Trevor's.....he is on video though.
Kelsey and friend 
It's bigger than a coke can!
winner of the biggest fish competition.
I forgot to mention the obligatory visit to the MALL OF AMERICA!
Coca Cola! It's not just for breakfast!
We've been home a week now but that's hard to believe. We had lot's of fun in Minnesota. We started out in Minneapolis. It was different this time. I've been there many times but never with a baby. Poor Matthew. He had a sore bottom. I don't know if it was the long car ride or what but he was not happy. Here is a picture of him after our visit to urgent care to get him some help for his poor sore bottom (not sore lor).
Owwwwwieeee
I'll spare you the gory details though. Other than that, and the fact that Greg and I spent the better part of the first night there out in the van with him screeeeeeeaming, Minneapolis as always was very............ARTSY. The Walker sculpture Garden is excellent. Check it out. Walker Art Center But watch out for the pollsters at the entrance accosting innocent bystanders with their Bush bashing. More tomorrow!
Kelsey and I participated in the midnight bikeride this year. The city of Lenexa does it every year around The Fourth. We did the 12.5 mile ride which took us down into some caves. These kind of caves are all around KC. They are manmade caves with businesses inside. I used to make deliveries to one when I worked. Anyway, I think they are limestone or something. They are pretty cool. They remind me of the Star Trek TOS episode with the silicon based life form. I didn't see anything like that though. The picture is taken in downtown Lenexa. I know I look like a dork but I don't have a light on my bike so I borrowed the boys caving lights. Hey, I wasn't the only one....
Kels and me on the midnight bike rideee
For our fourth of July festivities we went to Worlds of Fun on Monday. A few years ago we went ON the fourth and Trevor and I watched the fireworks from atop the Orient Express, before that first drop. Remember that drop? Well sadly we weren't able to repeat the experiance because the Orient has gone to the great amusement park in the sky. Along with the Xtream roller and the shishboomer. The Zambizi is still living somewhere in Columbia, South America. I kid you not. Anyway. Remember our first trip to Worlds of Fun when Sammy was about 2 years old. I'm thinking of the picture of her asleep on Mom's shoulder. Well it's still a good time just not as good as it was with the Orient Express, my personal favorite roller coaster. It is replaced with a pretty fun ride called Spinning Dragons. It looks like a roller coaster but your car spins on the track. It's fun but it's no OE. Sigh.
Kelsey wants to make it known that she rode both the Boomerang AND the Mamba!
This is before they flipped them upside down on the Thunder Hawk.
Funnel Cakes mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
What happens when he doesn't get his piece of the funnelcake.
Matthew wasn't sure what to make of Snoopy, and vice versa.
I Don't know if Dad ever looks at this but if you do, Have some cake. Happy B-day!
Happy birthday to you
what's a blueberry?
Today we went to "The Berry Patch to pick blueberries. Yummy. I am freezing them right now. We didn't get a lot because they were smaller this year so I might have to go back. We eat them like candy in the summer. Matthew wasn't sure what to make of it at first but he got into it quickly. A nice lady offered to take our picture but Matthew wouldn't take his head out of the blueberry bucket without screaming, so we just left it in.
mmmmmmmmmmmmm blueberries!
This is Jeremy's gross burned off wart that looks like a blueberry!
I have been searching around on the web for Gaines family history. I found this site hereRootsWeb's WorldConnect Project: Cassady Family with a lot of info. This link should take you to a page on Stephen O and you can follow it all the way to our great ancestor Dafyyd Gam and beyond. Gretchen Benson's research is on this Roots Web too. Let me look and I'll paste a link in.
Hang on....
Here it is RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project: GLBenson's Family This is Gretchens "Gaines" page. She has stuff on Grandma (the Crinks) too. Plus a ton of other stuff.
On another subject. By the way Happy Father's Day Jeff, Jerry, Pat, Clint and of course Dad. We spent Father's Day at H. Roe Bartle Scout Camp because it was Family Day. Jeremy and Trevor have been there since last Monday and will finally come home this Wednesday. We always have fun visiting scout camp. I have posted a two pictures. One so you can see how awesomely cool the campgrounds are. Missouri is actually a pretty scenic state. I know it's hard to believe when you are from, say, Colorado, New Mexico or Washington state. But it's true I tell you.
This is The Point. It's a lot farther up than it looks.
Anyway, the second picture is Iconium, Missouri's version of the chipmunk picture. See if you can find the animal in the photo and what it is.
I'm sure the feeders are a dead giveaway.