Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Coco In Kansas, Part 2

Part 2 of 2. Here we go.

On Saturday, we took the kids into the city again. This time, it was an adventure devoted entirely to them with lots of fun activities.

First stop, Crown Center. Loved the gingerbread village:




Planned to eat at Fritz's....a bit later in the day.....but noticed a line of 5 people formed before 11am. Hmm.....decided to go ahead and grab a table. A few minutes later, I walked out to take Jack to the bathroom and the line was winding through the lobby. Glad we stopped when we did!
As I've posted before, Fritz's is train-crazy and full of fun. Kids love it.




Lots of characters around to see. How cute is Bram here? Oh, and notice the KU jerseys......Carter convinced Coco to buy one for Bram the night before while at the Plaza. The electric blue ended up aiding in keeping track of at least 2 of the 5 kids we had with us!




Never can go to Crown Center without a visit to the Crayola Store. Coco got comfortable at the coloring table before dashing out for a 30 minute potty break. No worries. I just kept counting heads.






I totally lucked out mid-day with 2 out of my 3 kids down for the count. Nothing like an impromptu nap time. We took advantage and immediately sniffed out the first place selling wine. Score.




Mr. Stinky Feet kept the mega-crowd happy throughout the mall. It was overflowing with people. Which made pushing 2 monster jogging strollers through quite a task. Hence, the bewildered looks from strangers, as Coco mentioned in her previous post.




Next stop, Kaleidoscope. It's a Hallmark sponsored free venue for kids to create and play......super fun and filled with a ton to do.




Finally, we were out to Union Station, my favorite Kansas City attraction. It's beautiful and loaded with history.

The holiday season brings model trains galore. All the kids loved this......so much to see.

Walked outside to the Train Overlook. Jack could barely control himself. This looks safe, right?

There we are.......Coco and Casey.........in the same vicinity. Kansas City will never be the same.

Without intending on it, I captured what we saw most of the day. A blur of children.




And, this is what our car looked like for the trip. Except no one is crying here. Picture someone bawling her head off and you'll get a more accurate idea.




Home for a quick dinner and kids in bed. Coco cooked some fabulous appetizers....my favorite kind of meal.....stuff to munch on throughout the evening. Prosciutto wrapped artichoke hearts with Gorgonzola.......brie with preserves......and a yummy cheese and cracker platter. All fabulous compliments to our wine.

Then, Coco made us lychee martinis. Have you tried them? You should. They're funky and delicious.


Recipe here. Yes, she found them on The Real Housewives of NYC.

Ain't no shame in our game.

Fast forward to the dance routine.

Wait.

Rewind to my discovery of this talent.

Randomly, a couple of months ago, I called Coco for a chat and noticed she was out of breath. Why, you ask? Because she was memorizing Beyonce's "All the Single Ladies" video. I kid you not.

She graced us with a rendition and it was pretty darn fabulous. One glimpse from the impromptu show.....please disregard the wine spilled down her shirt. She's really a well put together girl most of the time.


I'll pause a moment so you can take all of that in.

Ok, day 4.

Batman was pretty well accustomed to the circus at this point and seemed to love the attention. What you can't see in this picture is a stream of goldfish crackers running down his back. 2 year old girls have quite the imagination. And, a sincere love for kitties. He got lots of hugs and kisses from Lainey and Tessie Mayes.




Blake hid in the basement for the first part of Sunday in preparation for his commitment that afternoon. Around 12:30, we left him with the 5 lunatics and headed straight to pick up Sass. Out to Parkville, Missouri for some shopping and lunch. Such a darling little town.

Sass, me and Coco at Spaghetti Western. Check out Sass's post.....cute pics.


After Parkville, we drove into Independence, Missouri for two Christmas themed historic home tours.

First, the Bingham-Waggoner Estate.

They had a Charles Dickens decor theme. Scrooge, Tiny Tim and other characters walked the house.

Loved this bird tree.







Upon leaving, it began to snow. Heavenly!


And, finally, the Vaile Mansion. Absolutely gorgeous.

It was decorated in a Victorian Wedding theme.


It's fantastic. And, haunted. Sass and Coco, check out this link for history/hauntings on Vaile, the Truman Home and the jail downtown. Awesome!

We ended the evening with a visit to the Taco Bueno drive through, one of Coco's favorites and one she doesn't have in her neck of the woods. I can always go for a burrito with onions and jalapenos. Don't have to ask me twice. Grabbed some grub for Blake, too.


The house looked fantastic upon our arrival. Most of the kids were in bed and everyone was happy. Blake looked a little dazed. Probably just a mild case of shock. He'll be all right. If I can convince him of it, he'll post about his 9 hour day with 5 children once he's had enough therapy and medication to make a full recovery.

Check Coco's blog for more details and some beautiful photography. Her camera puts mine to shame.

All in all, it was a wonderful visit. They are easy house guests and so much fun. We're busy planning a spring trip to the Texas Hill Country for another long weekend. This time, the husbands will be together. Which can only mean one thing: more craziness!

15 comments:

Carrie Darney said...

Yeah! Been waiting all morning...you have got to get Blake to post about his day...we are all dying to hear about it!

Also, I had to look up what a Lychee was and it said "Eat the grape-like fruit part that tastes like a juicy tropical flower. Do not bite into the seed, it's slightly poisonous." Tell me ya'll went a little crazy and bit some seed?!

Shannon said...

Ohhhh, Parkville is so cute. Adorable. You did most of my favorite KC things in ONE DAY. You exhaust me. Weston, Missouri, is another you'll need to try out. We actually haven't done the town, just the ski thingie.

Coco, I'm also a fan of the Single Ladies video. I jumped on stage in the Power and Light District once when the girl on stage wasn't doing it right. (Pic)

Heather said...

Oh my lands! I am dying at the Coco doing the Single Ladies! Love it! I am so enjoying her visit. What a cute pic of you two!

starnes family said...

Carrie - don't you love that..."slightly poisonous." Slightly?

Shannon - Caroline and I have visited Weston before and it's darling, too. Plan to ski there this winter as well.

Loving this area!

The Soladay Family said...

How much fun! I love that somehow WINE ends up in every post!

Oh, and by the way, Sass is a hottie!

Dee Stephens said...

I didn't know what a lychee was either!
I might have to make some of these even though I don't drink alcohol that much.
Again, I'm a wino.
as for the pictures.. AWESOME!
As for Coco's dance. I was SURE you would have video??? WTH?! haha!

Dee Stephens said...

and yes, cute pic of you two. Needs to be in a frame!

donatelli98 said...

Yes I want to see Coco's video? She should put out an instructional one so we can all learn! I can't wait to read Blake's post!

FROGGITY! said...

fabulous play by play!! you girls look like you had a lot of good times. that is quite a large group of kids- they look related with all that blonde hair!!! :)

Kim said...

So glad you had a nice visit and some girl time. Your hubby is a brave man, kudos to him!

SASS said...

Love Carter all squished in between the car seats. Poor kid.
I still can't stop laughing about Coco's scrubby wine-soaked get up. At least she's not a real single lady!
And Jack climbing the fence! Little maniac.

Tutus and Choo-Choos said...

As I read your post and laughed, it made me miss living in KC and all the fun things to do, especially around the holidays. It looks like you girls had a great time.

Monica said...

I so wish there was video of the Single Ladies dance!!!

Allyson and Dave said...

You guys have too much fun!!! I just started following Coco so I can keep up with all the fun!!

Malinda said...

You guys make me want to vacation in Kansas City. Looks like so much fun.

I'm just now starting to follow Coco's blog too so I can follow all of your trip.

You guys are such clever and funny writers.