Lincoln is a big cat originally from the mean streets of Chicago now living in the idyllic burbs of Iowa. He blogs about life in general - focusing on the little ankle biters who generally leave him alone and don't pull his tail or whiskers.
We had a busy Memorial Day week! Lots of guests and fun! Last Monday evening, Aunt Becky and Uncle Caleb came to visit on their way out to California. We had a great time with them and Alex especially enjoyed seeing Motor and Pumpkin, their two cats! Thanks to Allegiant Air, we hope to be able to come out to San Diego and visit once they are settled and ready!
Alex and Dad prepared for our other guests by mowing the yard...
Then Saturday, Grandma G, Grandpa Jay and Aunt Shelly arrived for the weekend. Alex got to put on a show as "bucketman" with some of the toys Grandma got him.
On Sunday, Dad and Grandpa built Alex a brand-new sandbox! Alex spent the next two days playing in it as much as possible!
Monday morning, I got up and played some more... We had to say goodbye to Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Shelly. Later on, we went over to see Grandpa Lars and Grandma Dianne. I also got to see Uncle Josh and Aunt Jenelle, and my little buddy, cousin Barrett. We just laughed and laughed at each other!
We spent this past weekend in Kansas City, which is a fantastic town! We really enjoyed it, as it's a nice size city and offers a bit more fun and variety than Des Moines does. Anyway...
Friday night, after a four hour drive through severe thunderstorms and construction on I-35, we made it to our hotel. We stayed at the Hotel Phillips, which is a cool, art deco style hotel downtown that was renovated a few years back. Matt had a business-related function that evening, so Alex and I just stayed in and enjoyed room service and Kung-Fu Panda. Alex was excited about having his cheeseburger on his very own tray. Here he is kicking up his feet and enjoying his spread:
Saturday, we had breakfast with Matt's group and everyone went their separate ways. We decided to head on over to the Crown Plaza and see Kaleidoscope, which is a fun, (FREE!) interactive kids place sponsored by Hallmark and Crayola. Kids can basically run amok and create stuff with paper, ribbon, markers (washable), paints (also washable), and then take home their creations. Alex really enjoyed it and got to play for a bit. After that, we headed on over to the Liberty Memorial, which is in a really beautiful location, with a panoramic view of the city. Alex was starting to doze off in his stroller, so it was the perfect time for Dad to get to do something HE wanted to do - which was to tour the adjacent national World War I museum. We both really enjoyed it, Matt being a military buff, and I a history geek. We brushed up on our understanding of the dynamics of early nineteenth-century European politics and the influence of the military industrial complex for the afternoon. Should have been a poly-sci major, no?
Oh, and we saw this at one of the exhibits. We thought Grandpa Jay might be interested in a pair of pants like these:
After that, we went back to the hotel for a few hours before going out to dinner. Dinner was a big decision, as we had a few goals, #1 - try some of the famous KC BBQ, #2 - do it in a kid-friendly environment, and #3 - we wanted to go to a nicer, sit-down restaurant.
Thanks to the best invention ever made (iPhone) I used Yelp to find some local reviews. We ended up at Jack Stack, one of the better-known KC BBQ places. We got a perfect table outdoors on the patio, with heater lamps. Even better, we were right across from Union Station and we had a perfect view of the freight trains as they went by. When you have a 2 1/2 year old who loves Thomas the Tank Engine, it's like you hit the jackpot. So, nice dining, perfect kid-friendly location with built-in entertainment, and fab BBQ. We did really well. We went across the bridge and checked out Union Station, which is a beautifully restored building and saw some more model trains. By then, Alex was dragging, and we made one more stop at Paleteria Tropicana, a Mexican ice cream shop for dessert. Sunday morning, we got up and checked out of the hotel, then headed on over to the Kansas City Zoo. We had a fantastic time and really enjoyed it. It's a great walking zoo, and they have lots of activities going on. Alex loved it and did take a little nap while we were finishing up.
Some photos from the zoo -
Talk about an intimidating stare...
Naughty little monkey that kept the kids entertained -
Video of Alex riding the carousel at the zoo:
Watching the inappropriate little monkey at the zoo:
Riding the safari jeep:
We decided to hit one more place in KC for lunch before leaving, and we went to Gates BBQ. Again, the food was fantastic. By then, it was close to 3 pm, and we needed to hit the road home. We really enjoyed our trip and we have lots of other photos and videos up if you want to see them.
Matt did such a great job of "training" Alex to surprise me by handing me flowers and a card for Mother's Day that we decided to use his new skills to an advantage. He "delivered" flowers to both my mom and grandmother yesterday for Mother's Day. He did a great job! Waiting with flowers in hand for Great Grandma... Still waiting...maybe I should pull my shirt down. Hmm...door seems to be locked. Cool, I think she's coming! Hey - no sweat!
Alex has been receiving Bob the Builder toys from his Grandma G in Chicago. He loves to get them, and has started to figure out what the surprises in the boxes are!
I got my Mother's Day present early... It's even cooler than I thought it would be. I took this photo with the camera.
And of course I downloaded a bunch of apps (here's just a few) - Shotgun - Level - Compass - Food/exercise log - Wall Street Journal digital edition - Dog whistle - Switchblade - Bubble wrap game - Blackjack
Alex's new favorite song - he demands to listen to the "Hawks Song" when we are in the car. This is what happens when you shuffle through your iPod and have a CD of Chicago-based songs on it. It's also got "Bear Down, Chicago Bears" and really bad White Sox and Bulls songs from the early 90's. You have to love the retro-swing feel of this song. Anyway, it looks like our kid is becoming a Blackhawks fan, and we're glad to see them tied up 1-1 in the playoffs. Here's hoping they get to face off against those silly flying wheelies, the Red Wings!
