Easy Like Saturday Morning

"Oh my gah, I'm so excited...this is the first time in nearly three years we have a Saturday with no plans! No sports, music, social outings, obligatory workouts, etc.! Spontaneity for the family - let's do this! Summer bucket list here we come!" I practically shouted, my husband starting to look alarmed at the gleam in my eye that starts to sparkle when it comes to weekend planning when he has things like yard work, naps or football on the mind.

Given this gift of undesignated time, we consulted our summer bucket list and did a few site checks, only to find our wish to hit the local blueberry and strawberry patches were too late, the last of the fruits picked just days before. Plan two involved water and the air was a bit nippy for that kind of thing. And plan three? Too early for snocones. So a new event was added to the list, the car packed and off we went to:

Lawrence.

Feeling a bit like Claire on "Modern Family" when she forced her fan into mini golf fun, I gambled with the children's fatigue, playing with fire as they'd been at Parents Night Out and off their schedule the evening before. Not to mention the little one holding on to a low grade fever and battling five teeth coming in once. But hey, once a Jayhawk, always a Jayhawk, and campus was calling our name.

The weather was perfect, a light breeze aiding us in carrying two 30-give or take pounds across the green of the campus, the memories of our regular routine as undergrads straining the nostalgic strings of our hearts. We marveled at what a difference 12 years makes as we clutched the palms of our little ones, an experience so different than sprawling out on a blanket without a care in the world, waiting for one another after class.

Hitting all the hot spots and explaining the history of the Campanile, Chi-O fountain and various educational buildings, we trekked through campus, avoiding the significant construction and slightly wishing the Unions were open for some gear. The boys took in the marble steps and long sidewalks, the Big asking questions and checking out all there was to see. Soon the popcorn, movies and late bed times caught up with them from the night before, so we decided to attempt some eating downtown.

One trip to Free State, the Mass Street Candy Shop and for mommy, some cookie shop with the best red velvet treats one could dream of, and we got our second win, enjoying the sites and sounds of the unusually quiet college town awaiting the arrival of students next week.

As the light snores of the boys trailed us home, the beer bread settling in our stomachs, we sat quietly and wondered as we always do why we don't make the trek west just 20 minutes more often.

It was, perhaps, one of the best unscheduled weekend days we've had. Easy like Saturday morning...Lawrence style.

Add it to your summer bucket list today!