Thursday, June 28, 2012

KC Mini Vacation

(6/8-6/10/12) On the spur of the moment, we decided to head to Kansas City for a mini vacation away.  And I mean last minute....I made reservations the day we left.  That is nothing like me...but hey, gotta live life, right!!

We originally wanted to go to see the new SeaLife Aquarium at Crown Center but found other things to do as well.  We picked up Chase early from preschool and were on our way to KC.  It was a pretty good ride, Chase slept for an hour or so but we still heard "are we there yet" about 15 times.  I hate to see what happens when we drive to Florida or something!!

We got to the hotel at Country Club Plaza around 3:30 and quickly changed into our swim stuff to hit the pool.  It was an indoor pool so it was a little chilly and Chase just decided he would swim in the hot tub....only my child!!  We cleaned up after the pool and decided to head down to CCP to have dinner and walk around.  We rode a shuttle down and honestly, that had to almost be the highlight of Chase's trip....he got to ride next to us and with no seatbelt.  He thought it was pretty cool.  So cool that everytime we went somewhere the rest of the weekend, he kept asking if we could have the shuttle come and pick us up!  We had dinner at Winstead's, a little old school dinner.  Good comfort food!  Then headed over to the Plaza to walk around and take some pictures of the fountains.  We had to stop for ice cream of course too!  Called the shuttle and headed back to the hotel.

The next morning, we all slept til 8am...that never happens.  Got up and got ready and headed to SeaLife Aquarium.  Our review.....neat, but way too short of a tour for the $60 we paid.  I swear we went through it in 45 minutes tops!  Big disappointment there.  I expected to spend 1/2 the day there....oh well....onto something else.  Went to Crown Center where they had a fun dinosaur exhibit.....I think Chase enjoyed that more than the aquarium and it was free!!!  Then to Fritz's for lunch.  We had to show Famous what it was like since we had been there with Gavin and Beth last year. 

So...what to do next....I begin googling "what to do with kids in KC" and found the Lakeside Nature Center....free....good!  Headed there and it was kind of like the Runge Center in JC.  One hour down...now what???  Googled again...KC Children's Museum...NOT free....oh well!  Headed that way...the drive took about 20 minutes thankfully!!  It was a really neat place...they had lots of interactive and roleplaying rooms...reminded me a lot of the PAT school in JC too.  Chase had lots of fun there.  So finally....it was getting around 3PM and we decided to head back and get a little nap in hopefully...it was tough but we finally all fell asleep!  

Wake up again and we are heading to the TRex Cafe!!!  He was so excited....all while potty training we bribed Chase with going to the TRex Cafe when he didn't have to wear diapers or pullups anymore and we finally got there!  What a neat place!!  Oh...it wasn't free either :).  Dinner was really good though and of course, we had to make a stop at the gift shop and pick up a couple trex tshirts, dinosaur hunting light and a Dino chomper!  

Back to the hotel for a good nights rest and headed home on Sunday.  Stopped at Bob Evans for breakfast and made it home finally around 12:30.  We were all pooped but had a blast.  Chase loved it all and wants to know when we are going back...he asked Famous what we could do when we went back and he told Chase they had a zoo and Worlds of Fun....hmmm, wonder how long before we are back!
 
SeaLife Aquarium

Love this picture...the look of amazement!

Huge green eel!!




Dinosaur exhibit at Crown Center

Lakeside Nature Center
KC Children's Museum
 

Gathering eggs...doesn't that dog look real??

Pretending to be a vet

Aquarium next to our table


TRex greeted us at the door

Huge aquarium and bar

 

Kidsfest - Downtown JC

We went to Kidsfest again this year the first week of June...Chase always has a good time.  They have emergency vehicles to climb around in, bounce houses (which he doesn't like again), sports stuff, petting zoo and games to play.  This year he got to try out some hockey and tennis...he was pretty good at hockey.  We got to see some animals...goats, pigs, a huge turtle and a llama.  He got to pet a snake (and actually wanted to!) at the Conservation tent and got a tattoo.  But the best part of the day.....playing video games at the bar (which he told several people!!).  Make us sound like great parents, huh??  We actually went to JPfennys for lunch and I think Famous called it a bar and Chase ran with it.:)






Chase in his spiderman pajammies as he calls them!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Superheros and Memorial Day

What a title, huh?  The first is a super cute picture of Chase I have to share.  He is very into the Avengers and superheroes in general right now.  Gammaw got a pair of Green Lantern googles from a McD's happy meal and Chase was in love! He of course had to have a cape too...so we got him all fixed up...love when he pretend plays!!

Memorial Day was a lazy weekend too.  We stayed around town and didn't have a whole lot to do. On Saturday, we finally had family pictures taken...it had almost been two years since the last time...so it was long over due.  Famous' family came down from Columbia and came over on Sunday to have some yummy BBQ.  And we had to play some frisbee in the front yard too. Monday, Chase and I headed to the park for picnic and some fun.  He got some new tennis shoes from Nana and he swears they make him super fast!!  Later on to Gammaw and Papaw's for dinner.

Love the lazy days!!









Mother's Day

Mother's Day was a nice and relaxing weekend spent mostly at home.  Chase and Famous got me sweet cards and a Joann's gift card and Chase made me some fun stuff at school.  On Mother's Day, Chase and Famous headed out to Nana's and gave me a little "me" time...boy was it nice.  Just some time to do nothing...but that never happens!! I think I worked on some etsy orders and did some decorating stuff...if I recall. Then dinner at Gammaw and Papaw's.  We played outside and enjoyed a delicious dinner as always!


A few pics from the day..........