The Sunflower State

I was born and raised in Missouri, the Show Me State but shortly after high school I crossed the state line to Kansas, the Sunflower State and I've been a resident now for more than 16 years.

I won't lie, I not as up to speed on Kansas history as I am on the Show Me State's history--it's what I learned in school. Hell, the boys could school me when it comes to the State of Kansas. They know that the Western Meadowlark is the state bird and that Honeybee is the state insect. That the Cottonwood is the state tree. I know that the Dogwood is Missouri's state tree and that the Bluebird is the state bird.

But back to Kansas. One of the best things about Kansas is the state flower, the Sunflower. The rolling hills of sunflowers this gorgeous state has to offer. And thanks to a local farm, who plants acres after acres of sunflowers, we get to experience first hand. And for about 2 weeks--depending on weather--they are one of the most magnificent sites you'll see. This little farm use to be a quiet little secret but thanks to social media it blew up this year. I had been watching, along with everyone else, for Farmer Ted's wife to give the thumbs up, letting us know the sunflowers had bloomed. Once word was given, I planned our adventure. Justin's Mom and Craig joined us too, neither having seen them either. We would head out on Sunday morning while church was in session and hope that we miss the rush. It was busy but thankfully we found parking right off the bat and we made our way to the fields.

I figured the boys would be too scared to truck through the field since honeybees were all over but they surprised me. They finally figured out that the honeybees wanted nothing to do with them and everything to do with the sunflowers. 

And although the crowd seemed to be fairly light, there were still people everywhere and it was super hard to get images without someone photobombing. We stayed for about 20 minutes and then loaded back up into the car. We decided that since we were already in Lawrence, why not eat there too. So we headed back to Mass Street, had lunch and then finished it up with the best milkshakes EVER at the Burger Stand. Frozen Oreo crushed up for the win.

Fun little Sunday exploring our great state and got to check something else off the bucket list. A big thank you to Grinter Farms for opening their farmland up to so many people. It sure brought joy to our family.