Our advice for experiencing KC|OP is to do as the locals do.

Meet Cassie, an Overland Park-based creative and former touring musician turned mama and multimedia storyteller. Her Instagram, @Extraontop, is a peek into her family life and artistic journey.

We are so grateful to live in a wonderful city with tons of kid-friendly restaurants and activities. Here is a list of (nearly) foolproof activities for your posse to enjoy, from our family to yours.

- Much Love, The Harens (Cassie, Chuck and Woods)

We started off our Overland Park adventure with breakfast at The Shack. My son loves this spot because he can draw on the walls!

We headed to Johnson County Arts and Heritage Museum. Here kiddos can immerse themselves in an array of hands-on pretend play, ranging from dinosaurs to doctors. From there we headed to Ceramic Café where my son picked out a snake mug to paint. The turnaround time for finished projects is approximately one week for them to fire it in the kiln, but they can ship it to you for $10 anywhere in the Midwest.

We stopped next at McLain’s Market to pick up lunch. We picked out a delicious salad and salmon toast and some of their delicious cupcakes for a picnic in the park. We spent the afternoon swinging, climbing and sliding at Roe Park playground and splash pad with our kid and puppy.

After an afternoon nap, we headed to Brew Lab in Downtown Overland Park. Their selection of beers is always unique and is perfect for the tap hunter enthusiast. They also have board games you can play at your table as a family.

Every third Friday is Local Life in Downtown Overland Park. The shops are open later and there is music and art along Santa Fe Drive. We watched street performers as we walked to Elsa’s Ethiopian for dinner. Elsa’s has authentic ethnic food served with injera (a spongy bread) that is meant to be used with hands and is perfect for little fingers.

After dinner we did some shopping at one of my favorite boutiques in the Kansas City area, Ensemble. Right next door to Ensemble is my happy place: The Upper Crust pie bakery. Our selection was Nutella pie and the timeless classic—cherry pie served a la mode, of course!