Memorial Day Weekend, Take 1

Tyler has been doing quite a few side jobs lately, and we had been keeping his schedule free & clear for Memorial Day weekend... we were in need of some good old-fashioned family time. We didn't really have a whole lot planned- we had enrolled for a family class at Botanica Saturday morning, and we were planning to play the rest by ear.

Well, Friday I received a phone call that our class at Botanica was being cancelled due to an unforeseen family emergency, and just like that, we were out of a plan.

I am rarely without a plan.

Saturday morning rolled around, and we found ourselves doing the same things we always do- the girls were cranky, Tyler was working in the garden, I was checking my email for the umpteenth time... and just like that, I had an idea.

Granted, it took Tyler an hour or so to get on board with me and my crazy plan. But, after some coaching on how spontaneity is good for the soul, along with Little A pathetically clinging to Tyler's leg for the ninth time in one morning as he tried to merely shift positions, he agreed that we needed to get outta here...

...So, we did.

We did a quick sweep of the house, throwing a few necessities into a bag and readying the car for a road trip adventure.

And, we were off to Kansas City... just like that.

We had a nice ride up there. Little A took her afternoon nap and Sassy watched movies and talking incessantly about "her surprise"... {I wouldn't tell her where we were going or what we would be doing once we got there}.



We drove straight to The Legends, where we've been looking forward to taking the girls to the T-Rex Cafe as a family. Sassy and I had been once before with Lynzee and the girls while I was pregnant with Little A. We arrived a T-Rex and the girls enjoyed looking at all the dinosaur bones and displays outside.



There are about a million cool displays inside- dinos, woolly mammoths, an ice cave, a shark tank, etc. I just couldn't get over the hilarity of this sign on the restroom door that Sassy and I came across, though... so, that's the decor I will share!



Have I ever told you guys that I am very easily amused?

We decided to get an appetizer sampler to munch on, and then we allowed the girls to choose a dessert from the menu. Little A chose the Tar Pit- a chocolate pudding and Oreo bowl with gummy dinos. Sassy chose Paint-A-Dino- a dinosaur shaped rice krispie treat complete with red and blue syrups for painting, a paintbrush, and mini M&M's. The girls were in sweet saber-tooth heaven.



After "lunch", the girls wanted to take some pictures with the triceratops. They were even getting along. Be still my heart.



It had been my dream for some time that we would take the girls to the T-Rex Cafe and allow them to choose a Build-A-Dino while we were there. So, one very kind & cooperative Daddy + $67 later, the girls were the proud owners of Alice and Blue, our newest dinosaur family members.



We let Sassy and Little A choose an outfit. Well, Sassy chose dino jammies for Miss Alice, and Little A chose dino panties and slippers (she has such a shoe fetish) for Blue. Well, at least the slippers went on Blue...



And, for a nominal fee, the kids are able to do a discovery dig. It was worth it, though. They had such a great time uncovering the fossils with the little paintbrushes and exploring the caves and mines.



Like the action shot of Sassy throwing sand at my camera lens? Nice.





After T-Rex, we decided to walk around and check out some shops. I made the ever-important stop into the Gymboree outlet and scored a few great deals. As we were heading to the center of Legends, we approached the fountain. I was shocked to see a bunch of kids in the fountain, on both levels. I never knew it was interactive! Sassy begged us to go check it out, and so we did. This was the weekend of spontaneity, remember?

Well, as we got closer, I realized that the fountain was not interactive, after all. There were warnings plastered all over to not walk on or in the fountain. Sassy was very sad, and I did a quick sweep of the area, where I noticed at least 2 security guards fully aware of the events taking place, and completely stoic.

So, here is my mother-of-the-year moment... I let Sassy dip her feet in. And, I had Tyler take Little A up there, too. I did not let them get too far, I did not let Sassy climb to the upper level like she wanted to, and I did not let Tyler let go of Little A the entire time. But, I did let the girls have an absolute blast!



Without question, the girls were soaked! Luckily, we had a quick change of clothes for the girls amidst the new stuff I had just purchased at Gymboree and Carter's. Never fear!

After we had our fill of Legends, we hopped on over to Overland Park to visit some friends. I can scarcely believe that the last time we saw Cory and Jami was at their November wedding. CRAZY! The best thing about old friends, though, is that no matter the length of time between visits, it's effortless to pick right up where you left off. We had a great time sitting in their backyard and enjoying an adult beverage or two, as Cory puts it.

The girls frolicked in the yard with Peyton, throwing the slobbery ball and picking and stomping on mulberries galore!



Little A spent some time looking adorable trying out Daddy's keys in their back door lock.



The girls are so very lucky to have Uncle Cory! Not only did he allow them to pull handfuls and gobs of his beautiful grass up without batting an eyelash, he also picked flowers from their flower pots and put them in the girls hair, and even made them bouquets of pansies. Sassy and Little A ♥ their Uncle Cory!



We had quite a few laughs at the fact that the girls were covered in purple from the mulberries they had rolled around in. The girls thought it was pretty funny, too!



We said our good-byes and our let's not make it so long between visits this times. Thanks, Cory and Jami, for being open to our extremely last minute visit!!

We had just enough time to rush to our hotel, check in, and throw our bathing suits on for a little swim before the pool closed for the evening. The girls were so excited! And, what better way to wash off the mulberry juice?



They splashed, kicked, swam, and sat in the hot tub for the very first time. No worries- we were in for about 3 minutes, tops! We returned to the room, got dressed, and ran over to Target to pick up some laundry detergent to make a sink soak for the mulberry stained clothing! We grabbed a quick bite at Chili's before heading back to the hotel for some much-needed rest before our busy day 2 in Kansas City!