Kansas City's Kaleidoscope

Steven had an interview in Kansas City this past Monday so we packed the family up and headed off once again for a long weekend with the cousins, which resulted in another great visit. On Friday evening Steven and I headed out with Wendy and Brian to enjoy our first taste of The Cheesecake Factory. It was absolutely delicious.

Saturday was spent at the park in a very competitive game of family kick ball. We all had a fantastic time, although the following day my body was telling me otherwise. I guess I haven't played that competitive in a very long time! I can't believe how many muscles can be sore in one body all at the same time.

Sunday we enjoyed a day of rest and visiting with one another. When Monday arrived the kids and I dropped Steven off for his interview and crossed the street to Crown Center in downtown KC. It was amazing. We had a great day there and spent the entire six hours busily enjoying the mall and Kaleidoscope area. It was filled with art and craft projects of every kind for the kids to make and enjoy. We also had fun touring the Hallmark facility. We got to make bows, learn how they emboss cards, and go on a stamp scavenger hunt that was rewarded with free singing cards for each child. It really was a fantastic adventure.

Fun Run '10

The City of Manhattan held their annual "Fun Run" last Saturday morning. The kids had a great time and did very well in their individual runs. Kadyn and Thatch attempted the half mile while Ryley took on a mile. I believe I had more fun than anyone though. Since I run before the kids wake up I rarely have the opportunity to see them in action. They will frequently go on "pre runs" with Dad before he heads out for a jog, but, until now I had never had the opportunity to see what they are capable of. It was so much fun to watch. It was also a great way to get our morning started with a kick. I'm sure the donuts afterwards helped too!

Thatch was so cute. He was running his little heart out (above) and stopped right before the finish line to watch the clock (below). It was awesome!

Pumpkin Patch '10

Steven has begun the task of interviewing for various fellowships throughout the month of October and thus I was left with an open Friday to entertain as "one". With Fall upon us, and living in a new area, we were excited to venture out in hopes of finding a local pumpkin patch. We didn't have to go far and were pleasantly surprised when we not only found pumpkins, but a large farm with additional kid friendly activities to enhance the experience.

We started in their main market where you get to watch their bees make honey that gets sold fresh from the hive. After walking around back we found a bounce house, petting zoo, and multiple make shift slides. A tractor soon pulled up and took us on a hayride around the farm, then dropped us off in front of a corn maze. We could choose between their easy or very difficult maze. I have four words for you. "Alone with four kids". We of course took the easy route, however, I did preference that if they really wanted to try the difficult path then Dad could come back with them another day. Wasn't that nice of me? After making our way through the maze each kiddo got to pick a pumpkin and the tractor then took us back to the main market. It was a lot of fun, and with the exception of missing Dad, a great day for all.

Terrific Two

Haley Julianna turned the big two this past Friday. To celebrate we barbecued one of her favorite foods (hot dogs), played games, opened presents, and enjoyed cake and ice cream. If I wanted to highlight Haley's true love I should have made a Barney cake, however, I was uncertain of my abilities to pull off a giant purple dinosaur. I resorted to Blue's Clues Cake and was pleased that she seemed really excited to eat a giant blue dog. Really, eating her favorite dinosaur might have been too traumatic, but Blue's place in her heart has not yet been solidified enough to cause her any true anxiety.

Haley J has brought an immeasurable amount of joy to our family. She has a million dollar smile and is our sweetest "trouble maker" yet. Fortunately for her, the million dollar smile frequently pardons her increasingly frequent indiscretions.

Fun With Gelato

We had a fantastic visit to Kansas City last weekend. Friday evening we headed out on a group date to Jack Stack BBQ- Memphis got a run for it's money. We spent Saturday playing every game imaginable, riding horses, and experienced our first taste of gelato. Which was AWESOME! Since Steven was set to teach Sunday we headed for Manhattan that morning. We are so grateful to Wendy, Brian, and their family for having us in their home. We had a great time and were reminded once again how absolutely wonderful it is to have family nearby.

Insects And Ice Cream

Kansas State has a fantastic Insect Zoo and Botanical Garden. It's filled with more creepy, crawly things than I would prefer to meet in my life time, but Steven and the kids loved it. We spent a Saturday afternoon there recently and completed the outing by visiting K-States nearby creamery. With over forty flavors to choose from you might guess what our kiddos picked, that's right...vanilla. I was just happy the menu didn't resemble the one hanging in the zoo.

The walking sticks were pretty amazing

Haley J

Happy Monday morning!

(You'll have to mute the music to the right)