Farewell - trip home to Kansas

Too soon it was time for us to say good-bye to our daughter and family.

 Take good care of Oreo, Claire!

Today, Claire called to tell me that Oreo accidently got thrown in the washing machine with the bedding!  And he came out with curly hair!  

At least he is clean!

The family came out for silly waves (our family tradition)

We choked back the tears off and on all day.  

As we drove along, I began to notice the different barns.  It seemed like most of the barns in Wisconsin were red.  Know why barns are traditionally painted red?  Here's what I found:

"Rust was plentiful on farms and because it killed fungi and mosses that might grow on barns, and it was very effective as a sealant. It turned the mixture red in color. When paint became more available, many people chose red paint for their barns in honor of tradition."

 Is this a hotel or conference center?  Not sure.

Then there was this white barn

...and this blue one!  Yay for Culvers!  Ever eaten at a Culvers?!  Oh yum!  Perhaps these folks who own this bar supply milk for their frozen yogurts and beef for the hamburgers and cheese too?

Leaving Wisconsin

 At one point, we realized we were VERY near to empty!  We hadn't been paying attention.  We bit our nails for awhile until we finally pulled into a gas station!

 KANSAS!!

 Love  Flint Hill country!

 We got home just as the sun was setting.  We could tell immediately that something had changed in our neighborhood while we were gone.  The next morning we went to check it out.  All the trees in our field south of us had been pulled out.  Our kite-flying field was being renovated!

I guess it is a matter of time until there will be new homes and a pond.  Something to watch and keep our attention as we miss our Wisconsin grandkids.