Trip to Kansas

The kids continue to be amazing travelers.  We left super early in the morning and they were so excited that they didn't even mind.

On our flight from Phoenix to Kansas City, we had to turn around and go back to the airport after being in the air for about 30 minutes.  It was the least fun flight I've been on, but the kids handled it like champs.  After waiting for another plane and doing the whole thing over again, we were finally at  grandma and grandpa's!  Aunt Beth and the cousins were waiting for us and it took all of 3 seconds for them to be playing with the doll house.

Everyone warned us that Charlie does not like anyone other than Beth.  They lived with my parents for a couple of months this summer and my mom said that even then, he wouldn't go to anyone else.  Well, Ben broke the mold and won him over simply by laying on the floor and playing with a stuffed dog.  After that, they were best friends.

The next morning, it snowed!

I was just a little excited.

That afternoon, my dad and I took the kids to Laugh Out Loud.  Clearly we were not ready for snow, but we had fun.

That evening, Ben and I went on a date.  We ate dinner downtown and then walked around in the snow.  It felt like we were in a movie.  We stopped in one of Ben's favorite stores:

The kids had a little date with grandma and grandpa and played in the snow (they also bought them coats).

Making snow balls:

Ben and I were able to go on quite a few runs, even in freezing conditions.  My legs were thankful to be frozen when running all these hills!

It's been years since we've worn these running clothes.

My mom took the 3 oldest grandkids shopping.  I wish she would have taken a video, because I'm sure that was entertaining.  My grandma used to make my sister, cousin and I matching sweatshirts for Christmas each year...carrying on the tradition in a better way:



I love that Alison got time with her cousins.  It's good to be with people who get you and know what it's like to be the tall girl.



Beth and I took all the kids to the Lawrence Aquatic Center one day.  Going swimming when it was 30* sounded crazy to me, but the place was packed, so I guess it's not.  Beth even took the girls to get ice cream afterwards...I did not...all I wanted was something HOT.

If you need some sweetness in your life, you just need some Rosie.



We celebrated Maggie's 9th birthday :)
She wanted a unicorn cake, but we weren't able to find one, so I picked up some unicorn decorations and Alison and Rose set up the party.  They also raided grandma's storage closet and made some more of their own decorations.








One of my most favorite parts of the trip was getting an evening with these girls.



I am so blessed to have friends who have known me pretty much my whole life and who can pick up right where we left off after years apart.  It was so refreshing to talk with these friends.


Colin helped grandpa clean up the dishes.




Eli and I played a game of classic Life.




Grandpa told the kids that he would pay them $5 for every Bible verse they memorized and had a stack of them ready.  Alison diligently learned the whole stack!

Listening to Alison say all her verses

Eli felt intimidated at first but he did learn one.

Alison, Katherine, Maggie, Eli, Jonathan, Colin, Rose, Charlie

We had a great week of family, movies, running, a few dates, seeing old friends, playing and some quality relaxing.  It was just what we needed before another move.

We had another delay flying home, but were able to take advantage of the Admirals Club.  Free drinks, food and WiFi made the 5 hours not so bad.  Being a military family while traveling has it's perks :)