Jodi and I went to Kansas this past week to visit my family. We found a good deal on airfare and haven’t been out to see them this year so we decided it was a good opportunity to take a few days off and go see the fam. It was good to go home for a few days and spend some time with my siblings and parents. My sister even came out as well from Provo so we had everyone out there. My two younger brothers still live at my parents’. They were in school or working, so was my dad, so most of the time it was my mom, sister, Jodi and me hanging out together. My mom took a few days off work so that she could spend more time with all of us.

We went to the Sedgwick County Zoo on Friday morning. It is a pretty big zoo with a lot of animals, it hasn’t changed too much since I have been there a few years ago, but they do have a couple of new exhibits. They have a new penguin and chimpanzee exhibit that are pretty nice.

On Saturday my mom, Jodi and I went to Yoder, Kansas for their annual Heritage Day. Yoder is a Amish and Mennonite community. We only were able to spend a couple of hours out there but we saw the parade which consisted of several horses, horse drawn carriages, tractors, trucks, and old cars. After the parade we walked around town a little bit (not much town to walk around in) and ate some lunch, We had some excellent grilled corn on the cob and some good nachos. We also checked out a craft shop and a candle shop where we bought a couple of candles.

After we got back from Yoder the whole family went to Exploration Place near downtown Wichita. It is a place to explore science related things that relate to Kansas. They also had a Da Vinci exhibit while we were there. I have never been there so that was pretty interesting to see, but I don’t think it is a place that I could go to a lot unless they get some new exhibits. We also walked out by the new Keeper of the Plains thing they have, they recently built a new bridge and rock promontory for the statue that I haven’t seen before.

The rest of the time we spent hanging out with family, watching movies, and saw some extended family. Jodi and I also finally saw Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and Harry Potter 5! It was a good trip and nice to get away from home for a few days. We are glad to be back and glad that our very bumpy return flight is over!