Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Britney Visit Wrap Up, Part I

OK.

I'm going to share dozens of photos in two posts. Ready? Here we go.

First big day out.....Tuesday.....a trip to Crown Center. Kansas is the land of Hallmark, so there are symbols of it everywhere. Even in the fabulous Halls Department Store. Didn't know such existed until we moved here. Britney and I visited the children's section......spent about $3K each (in our heads, husbands) and left responsibly without purchasing a thing. Cute stuff.

The Crayola Cafe and Megastore. Tons to see.



My nerdy self was instantly drawn to the simulated crayon making machine. To see how it all works! Awesome.

Crayola trivia.....on each of these circles.

An example:

Trysten and Jack try out an exhibit.

Blake helps the boys experiment with the color wheel. Love when he gets in on the nerdy stuff that he knows I like to share with them!

Lainey and Maci. No idea what's going on here. Likely, bossy Laine is chanting, "No, baby!" at her.

Off to Kaleidoscope. This "kidscape" is fantastic. Another Kansas City area free destination, definitely worth visiting. Around since the 1960's......Hallmark has provided this ultra-creative space for children to play and color and paint.

It's definitely sensory overload inside. Kids running everywhere. Parents running behind them. Lots of chaos.

Baby girls stopped for a break. How cute is this bench for a photo op?

Lainey is enjoying one of the exhibits here built just for her size.....peaking in this wood wall....a series of mirrors.

Everything is drenched in funky design.....even the marker props.

"How much marker can I get on me before mama notices and pulls out the baby wipes?"

Painting!



Kid size chairs and art desks......everything at their level.

Blake was most excited about the old school sinks like we had in elementary school. Our kids were very confused.

Out in the mall.....silly boys.

Walked down to The Art Of The Brick Lego display. Not quite as exciting as I had hoped.

It was all very cool, but we had just left Kaleidoscope, so it was a tough follow.

An early dinner at Fritz's next. I'm sure you can imagine the excitement for Jack.

Trains to sit on. Trains to look at. Trains driving the perimeter of the restaurant to deliver your food. Only heaven could be this good.

Carter fawned all over Maci the entire trip. This kid LOVES babies. Stops people on the street to look at their babies. Constantly comments on how cute peoples' babies are. Part of his interest, I believe, is that he genuinely likes them. Another part is that he likes people and wants to make them feel good about their babies. Sweetness.

He's still talking about how cute Maci is. Look at those baby blues!

Outside The Crown Center.....looking across the street at the fountains. Looks like fun, huh? We went today. Total disaster.

Tired yet?

Union Station was next! Can't wait to finally buy our membership here. Not until August or September......waiting until after vacation. Saving every dime!

World War I Museum, across the street. A future visit is in store for us for sure.

Inside Union Station. Gorgeous architecture and design.



A Narnia exhibit is there now and we hope to make it before it moves on.

Love the room to run for kiddos.

Punkin Jack in his element.



Outside on the bridge to see the trains. Nothing thrills Jack more. Carter and Trysten were sweet and acted enthusiastic, too.





We ended the day with Maci in Blake's arms......Jack and Lainey in bed......Britney and me with the big boys at the movies to see Up. A very sweet movie.

OK. Get a good night's sleep. More tomorrow!

8 comments:

Shannon said...

This is kind of what I always thought your ideal weekend w/the kids would be like. Fun area.

Also, when I saw this blog title come up, I thought it was about Britney Spears.

starnes family said...

Same spelling....different Britney! Didn't mean to get you too excited.

It is a great area. Thought about you at Kaleidoscope after your recommendation. Thanks! So much more to learn about KC. You must know I'm giddy at the thought of new stuff to do!

The Jones Family said...

Britney is spelled the same but trust me, I'm older and WAY cooler!

Allyson and Dave said...

I amazed at all the fun places that you find!!

donatelli98 said...

Looks like fun - I have been to KC once for business - Hallmark was a client of mine so I stayed down there and got to tour around a little. Would love to take the girls to the Crayola store and Kaleidoscope.

Cate O'Malley said...

Looks like everyone had a fantastic time! Those Crayola pictures are totally making me want to visit the Crayola Factory again soon.

Monica said...

I'm always so jealous of all the fun things you do!

Live.Love.Eat said...

I didn't know Kansas was all about Hallmark. Great places there!!!!!