I don't know what my problem is. All summer I did a pretty good job of taking lots of pictures of basic summer stuff. Then when the mecca of summer comes, vacation, I do horrible at snapping pictures. I would just like to chalk it up to the fact I was having to much fun to wrangle with the camera. So take my word for it we had a good time.
The kids actually did really great on the drive to Kansas City and the only electronic device they had to keep them occupied was Caden's D.S. Otherwise they colored, read books, etc.
The vacation was a combined vacation with Grandma, Grandpa, Adam, and Sara (who had been there for 3 days), Tony, Heather, and Charlotte (who drove down this us), and the Schrage's (we stayed an extra two days longer).
The first night we got to our hotel - the girls enjoying some pre-food paper football games.
Aunt Sara and Quinn watching the Bumper Cars - one of Ava & Caden's favorite rides
Our first full day in Kansas City was spent at Worlds of Fun. We did have a "world of fun" but it was hard with an older boy who didn't want to ride roller coasters but was too big for the baby rides, a middle sister who liked the baby rides, and a baby who just wants OUT OF THE STROLLER! Plus it gets a little hard when you have over ten people trying to navigate an amusement park. It worked out the best when we would just split up and everyone could do their own things.
Ava and Snoopy
They had a new "area" this year that was based mainly for the younger kids which was perfect for our brood. Even though it looked exactly the same the last time we were there 4 years ago....
Caden and Snoopy. He was way too cool and wouldn't stand by him for a picture so Snoopy took it upon himself to sit his furry ass down and take a picture no matter what. You kill me Snoop.
And just to bring a little nostalgia to the table here is Caden with Lucy in 2007. What an adorable 5 1/2 year old.
Quinnie actually LOVED the rides she could go on. If she was big enough she would ride it. This was not the same story for her sister when she was this age who we tried putting on this exact same ride and balled her eyes out.
She even had the wave and cheesy grin down. Go Quinnie!
Don't amusement parks have some of the weirdest decorations sometimes?
Another random tidbit: We stopped and watched one of the corny shows they put on and I thought to myself, "I wonder if those people think this totally blows that my life has resulted in singing t.v. theme show songs at an amusement park."
But when I was younger I used to think, "Man, that would be saweet if someday I could sing show tunes at Adventureland!!!"
And just to bring a little Baby Ava in, here she is when she was a 1 1/2 and deathly afraid of rides at Worlds of Fun. (and when our stroller looked like it didn't come out of a dumpster)
Riding the Carousel
To get a good deal on tickets to the parks we stayed at a Cabin right on the Worlds of Fun grounds. Yes all twelve of us in one cabin. It was actually really nice and worked out great to be able to go back and relax and hit the parks again.
The next day we went to Oceans of Fun which I thought worked out a lot better for our family. We had a central spot where everyone could meet and relax. Caden would go on every slide, and there was still plenty of things for the adults and kids to do. Typical me and didn't take pictures the entire day, not a single one.
Are we having fun yet?
On Friday everyone else headed back to North Iowa and we headed to downtown to check out Crowne Center, which is a nice sized shopping and entertaining area. Because of my careful planning (cheap assness) this day everything we did was free besides our food. First we stopped at a rain forest exhibit that the kids had fun checking out.
Yahoo I get to be free and FINALLY run around!
Our next stop was to the Hallmark Visitors Center which was actually pretty cool. It took you on a neat little tour of all things Hallmark. The older two had to stamp their "passport" as they went through at various stations.
After that we checked out Kaleidoscope, which is a "projects" girls dream. You had a set time that you went in for around an hour and they had tons of different stations that you could make flags, puzzles, posters, glasses, you name it with crayons, markers, stickers, glue, glow in the dark paint, etc. It might have been a little young for Caden but by the end of it we were dragging him out of there.
What could be in there?
Even Quinn created a flag with a giant Q (with help from Mommy) and a home made puzzle. Of course everything Caden made had somewhere written on it, "Star Wars #1"
For lunch we went to Fritz Railroad Cafe which the kids loved. Caden got to order our food through the telephone at each table, and actually got everything right! Then your food comes to you above your table on a train car that is hooked to the kitchen.
And surprisingly the food was really good and cheap!
And everything we did this day was withing walking distance, plus we got our parking for free for going to Kaledescope. Total win! ( I should be a vacation planner). That night we just hung out at our hotel room and ordered pizza to hold us over until the next day when we ventured to the state fair (more to come on that in a later post)
Overall we had a great time and realized sometimes the best times are when the five of us are just hanging out and exploring together.
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