Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore

Our crazy trip to Kansas City (both MO and KS) and back

15 hours in the car with Elizabeth, Kevin and Wyatt

         Stop in Nashville for t-shirt

         Stop in Metropolis to sleep

         Stop in St. Louis for t-shirt

         Arrive in Kansas City

Zoe and Karen arrive from Utah

BigDog arrives from Atlanta

Trip to the Kansas City Zoo

Dinner at Gates

Visit with Great Grandma Baker

Trip to Lee's Summit to see Lorna and her kids

Great Wolf Lodge

Kevin and BigDog to watch the TBones (minor league baseball)

         Kevin flies home to Greenville

More visits with Great Grandma Baker 

Arthur Bryants (by far the best BBQ....don't let anyone tell you otherwise)

More water park fun

         Move to a new hotel near Crown Center

Sushi for lunch 

Crown Center

Dino Exhibit

         Josh flies in from El Paso

         Earl flies in from Atlanta

         Karen and  Gerald fly home to Atlanta

         Kirsten flies from Shanghai to Chicago and gets stuck

Arthur Bryant's for dinner (did I mention you can just buy meat by the pound)

         Kirsten flies from Chicago to Manhattan, KS where her knight in shining armor picks her up

Back to Great Wolf Lodge

Out for a steak dinner with the boys (my dad, Josh, and Wyatt...and of course me)

          Josh flies back to El Paso

         My parents, my kids and I make the long drive home (from Kansas City to Greenville with a pit stop in Atlanta to drop them off).  

            From Kansas City to St. Louis for lunch/breakfast...the sketchier the diner, the better the food

            St. Louis to Nashville to sleep

           Nashville to Atlanta to drop off my parents

            Atlanta to Home.....

I slept well

 Hard Rock Nashville.  Our first real stop at the beginning of our 15 hour road trip.  With Kevin and I driving, Wyatt watched Snow White while we made our way to Kansas City.  We planned to stop in Nashville for dinner the first night and St. Louis for lunch the second day to collect our t-shirts. 

Most of you know I have been to Nashville a few times, but the rule is that we both must go to the Hard Rock together and eat something in order to add a t-shirt to our collection.

So our super awesome plan of stopping in Padukah, KY for the night was derailed.  No hotel rooms available.  So we drove on.  Getting off at the exit for Metropolis because we thought of Superman and laughed.  After checking into our hotel, we found out that indeed there was a statue of Superman in this town.

Metropolis, IL:  Yes, that is a 15 foot tall Superman statue (with my two supermen in the foreground).  You should totally stop if you are driving through. 

Hard Rock St. Louis.  We have nine shirts now, so I can complete one wall in the guest room.  I will put pictures of the room up when I get the last shirts up.  

 Almost done with our drive.  Wyatt was being a trooper, so he free roamed through our little area. 

Zoe giving Great Grandma Baker a hug.

Kevin and I started talking in April about planning a trip out to Kansas City to see Great Grandma Baker this summer.  Somehow the trip morphed into ten days involving most of Kevin's family and most of my family as well.  The kids had two visits with Great Grandma Baker.  Kevin got to spend several mornings with his grandma.  We also enjoyed two separate trips to Great Wolf Lodge...one with Kevin's parents and one with my parents and my brother.

The Polar Bear at the Kansas City Zoo.  I was so excited.  Not only did they take our Greenville Zoo passes so we could get 50% off, they gave everyone in our group the 50% off rate even though it is just our family of four on the membership.  

 We got to see all sorts of animals in Kansas City Zoo.  They had polar bears, rhinos, and hippos.  The kids love the zoo.

The polar bear according to Zoe, "He used his paws to push off the wall and swim swim.  Let's go back tomorrow."  Umm...mommy thinks 15 hours one way is a long drive to visit the polar bears at the zoo. 

It is now on our must stop list for visiting Kansas City.

Had a good visit with my friend Lorna and her kids.  Zoe and Wyatt were amazed by all of the toys.  Their newly refinished basement was amazing.  It was nice to be able to spend time with friends while I was in town.

 With all the kids moving around I didn't get any good pictures of all six kids together. 

Wyatt at Arthur Bryants. 

 Half of my beef brisket sandwich....so amazing.  I ate there more than once.

Zoe at Story Time at Great Wolf.  They read How Does a Dinosaur Say Goodnight.  One of our favorite books.

Violet the wolf.  Zoe loved her (not so much the other costumed characters).   Zoe:  "Violet has purple shoes and I have pink shoes"

BigDog, Wyatt, Zoe, and Great Grandma Baker.

Zoe reflects on this picture.  "That is my Grandma Baker and my Papa and they love each other."

Zoe digging for dinosaur bones.  Miss Safety has on her vest and safety goggles.

Crown Center had a dinosaur exhibit on loan from the Minnesota Children's Museum.  It was fabulous.  It had a pit to "dig" for dinosaur bones, a bridge that represented a bog (uneven and squishy).

Just so you don't think I am making up what Zoe says..."Mommy, my ears look beautiful in this picture"  At least I have raised a girl with some confidence, even if it shows in random ways.

Wyatt opted for glasses only.  

 Both kids went back to this exhibit several times. 

Why just dig up bones when you can sit on a dinosaur?

Fritz's Restaurant at Crown Center.  The kids thought it was the coolest with the engineer hats, the trains on display and the train that delivered our food.  (Josh and I thought it was pretty cool too.)

 The food was good.  I don't think the UrbanSpoon reviews were fair.  It was greasy, but the onion rings were totally worth it.

The KC Rail Experience at Union Station.  Maybe I forgot to mention it, but Wyatt LOVES trains.  And this exhibit is awesome.

We enjoyed the fabulous architecture (well the adults did).  











My mom flew into Kansas City to surprise us.  Unfortunately, it took longer than planned (delays, no plane, missed connections, and lost luggage), but she eventually arrived.  Josh and I had been telling Zoe that a special friend was coming to see her.  So we chilled at McDonalds while my dad drove her in from the airport.  Zoe was in the play area and she turned around to see my mom.  She covered her mouth with two hands, shocked and surprised.  "It's you, Grandma.  You are my surprise."  She was so happy.  It was amazing.  (for any pictures after my mom arrived, you would need to pester Josh or my mom on Facebook...I have none).


We treated mom to a massage and a few well deserved naps.

Josh playing with the kids at a train table.

Josh and the Lego statue. 
Legoland will have to wait for another trip.  Wyatt is happy to wait until it is more fun for him.













Zoe went on the slides at Great Wolf Lodge.  "It went faster and faster." (while twirling her hands around)

 "What else happened?"

"I went again.  It only got water on my bathing suit.  I can't ride on the blue slide it was too scary, because I wanted to ride on the yellow slide, I think.  It started off really fast...the blue slide was too faster.  We were going up the stairs before we are going wwwweeeeewooooo.  I was very very busy.  I was taking care of my mom and my uncle joshie on the slide. (Kevin and I start to giggle)  Don't laugh at me."

"How many stairs did you climb up?" - Kevin

Zoe:
"2

It takes me a long a bit a time to get up the stairs."

"Who carried you up the stairs?" - Elizabeth

"You did.  And Josh.  But I am big enough to climb up. 

All the peoples have to get up in front of us.

I still like the big ole slides but I don't like the buckets of water....just the little buckets.

And I play in the baby pools when I was standing up and then I swim swimmed in the big pool to my mommy and then up up the stairs."


The End of the Longest Post Ever!