Kaleidoscope

Yes, we went to Kansas City again! I think we should have just moved to Kansas City and let Rich commute back and forth to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas! We spend more time in the city than on post! But, we enjoy it so much!

We started the day off at Hallmark Kaleidoscope. It is truly awesome and FREE!! When you walk in the doors, the place is so kid friendly, colorful, warm and decorated top to bottom. We walked right in and started the process. It is stations upon stations of arts and crafts. You can chose to make glasses, paint with watercolors, make necklaces, play with magnets, make music, create your own books or splash paint! Can you believe they have a station set up to splash paint to include splashing it on yourself, clothes and shoes? It even glows in the dark! Your own body art! They thought of everything in this place! :)

Lillian was right at home! She loves arts and crafts and she managed to make it to every station creating some type of craft. She even made these funny glasses and Lydia just had to have some once she saw her big sister! Plus, mommy joined in on the fun too! :) Lydia enjoyed painting with water colors and then putting her art through the magic dryer! She was so excited to see it come out on the other end. It is the small things that excite her these days!

We then left and played in the Big Red Dog exhibit AGAIN! We were back at Crown Center for the second time this week and both girls had a blast in this exhibit. Lillian pretended to me a mailman and deliver the mail and Lydia loved driving this boat. It is funny how they both wanted to go back to this area again.

We then caught a puppet show. This was a bonus for us because we didn't know it was taking place today. But, it was a cute kid show and the puppets were so detailed. Each sang a song and danced to the music according to their outfit. The girls sat quietly for the whole show and that is a big deal to keep Lydia sitting on her little bottom. She usually is the one all over the place, but she really enjoyed the show. We even got to meet one puppet after the show...he was running away to join the circus later in the day! :)

Next, we had lunch at Crayola Cafe. Another plus for the day! It is colorful and definitely for the kiddos. You got to color your place mat, keep the crayon cup and get a balloon. Plus, surprisingly, the food is really good. Not what I expected from this type of place at all! The girls enjoyed it and enjoyed the Crayola Store after lunch. We bought a few goodies to bring home with us! I was a little disappointed because I thought you could make your own box of crayons, but that is only for the PA store. Bummers!

We changed our clothes and headed to the fountains. It is a huge splash area filled with shooting fountains. It is actually really pretty, but it is full of kiddos playing in the water. We change our clothes and walked across the street. Only to discover some kiddo pooped on one of the fountain sprayers and it was closed for at least two hours! What? Can you believe this is the third time since we have moved here that we attempted a new pool and it has been closed due to poop? What are kids eating here that keeps them so darn regular compared to TX? The girls were disappointed, but nothing the Chocolate Factory couldn't handle! :)

So, another day down and a couple of things left to do on my agenda. But, I will say one fun filled summer almost coming to an end. Lillian starts school on August 10th and things will be different. No running around all day long...she will need her rest to keep up with her school schedule. :)

Hope everyone is having one terrific summer! Love you all!

Julie

Another Day in Kansas City

Okay, I know I know...we are doing way too much in this city and spending way too much money. But, boy is it fun to see all these new places! Karyn, Dave, Emily and Zach all came with us to visit the Children's Museum in Kansas City. It was a cute place and it was converted into the museum from an old school. And best of all...it is free to the military! YIPEEEE!!!!

I thought the place was adorable and just the right size for about two hours of roaming around and doing activities. They had a water room, toddler room, lego room, art room and more rooms to roam. All the kiddos enjoyed themselves! Lydia loved the ball room the most. The room had different stations set up to roll balls down tracks to test different theories of science- gravity, velocity, etc. And no, she didn't grasp those concepts quite yet, but loved rolling the balls! :) She is a little Einstein to me! :)

Lillian's favorite rooms were the Art Room and Doctor Room. Of course, for those of you who know Lillian, you wouldn't be surprised by that statement! :) She had a great time running around with Emily from room to room and kept surprising me with face paint. All the children were entertained and didn't want to leave, but it was after 1:00pm and we were all ready for lunch.

We couldn't just stop anywhere for lunch. We wanted to take the kiddos to Fritz's Railroad Station. It is located in Crown Center in Downtown Kansas City. It is adorable and it features old fashioned signature burgers. You pick up the phone on your table and call your order in to the back of the restaurant. Then, the food is delivered by electrical trains scooting down the railroad tracks overhead. It was too cute and I might have loved it more than the children! :) And that is the first time Lydia has actually stayed at the table the whole time waiting for food and it took a little while for it to arrive. You know she is always on the go, but she stayed right at that table watching all the trains....okay, you got me. Food was involved too! Lydia wanted Zach's Oreo milkshake and it was too funny watching her scoot closer and closer to him! He wouldn't give her even a slurp and who could blame him! hee hee

We also explored Crown Center a little more and ran into Clifford The Big Red Dog exhibit. The children played and explored in the play area all featuring things from Clifford and the series. It was geared to a younger age, but all the kiddos found something to entertain them. And we also went upstairs to The Chocolate Factory. There was a person demonstrating how to make fudge and we got to watch his little show for a little while. It was neat watching him work the fudge and he threw some tricks in to for the kiddos to keep them watching the show. He threw some chocolate so high it hit the ceiling! And yes we had to get some chocolate too which was out of this world!

So, wrapped up another day in Kansas City and more to come on Saturday. Who knows what lies ahead for the Martin Clan! But, today was a great day with friends! Love you all!

Julie

Visit From Texas...

Can you imagine how fantastic it was to see my friends from Texas today? I can only say YIPPEEE!! Cecilu, Jade and her mother-in-law were driving from Texas to Minnesota and guess where they stopped for the night? YES, Kansas City! So, we definitely met them for dinner.

It was awesome seeing their faces! Lillian was thrilled to see Jade and went running to her in the T-Rex Cafe. And that was the icing on top of a great afternoon...both girls got to go to T-Rex Cafe. It was Jade and Lydia's first visit and Lillian hasn't been since she was 2 1/2 years old. So, it was brand new to her too! All the girls loved it and had a ball digging for dinosaurs, playing dinosaur computer games and just enjoying the scenery.

T-Rex is awesome and the restaurant is amazing! Each dining area is a different theme and all the dinosaurs come to life every 30 minutes. Lydia just kept saying, "Mama Mama!" and pointing to everything moving back and forth. She loved it! The girls had a blast having dinner together and we all got a good laugh at Lydia enjoying her mac-n-cheese. She smeared it all over the booth, all down her dress, all over her face and in general everywhere she could touch! :) One hot mess!

We left the restaurant and headed right to Coldstone Creamery for yummy ice cream. The girls enjoyed every bite and you know who was the messiest again...Lydia! All over her face and down her dress again. I thought I was going to have to buy her another dress to wear home! She was so excited after dinner that she walked out the door jumping up and down and just tripped and smacked her head into the pavement. Poor thing! She went to bed with a nice bump on her forehead. She needs a helmet!

We headed to the fountain for some water fun. It is a fountain that shoots water up and down and the kiddos normally play in the water and throw coins in the water too. Jade was soaked and loved every minute! Lillian and Jade were grabbing the pennies back out of the water and throwing them back in for some more fun. They all ran around and then Lydia ran right into a chair! She whacked her head again! She needs a helmet! Did I say that already?

Then, it was time to say good bye. Man! Didn't they just get here? Seeing Cecilu tonight was awesome and I was thrilled she took the time to stop in Kansas City. I hope to see them on their way home from Minnesota. Thanks Cecilu for thinking of us and see you soon! You know what? It made me miss TX more and all my dear friends we left behind!!!! I love my friends!!!

Julie

Schlitterbaun Kansas City, Kansas

What a fabulous day in Kansas! I was so worried about our trip to Schlitterbaun this morning due to the forecast calling for a 30 percent chance of rain. But, we decided to head that way anyway and ride it out!

We have been to the Schlitterbaun water parks in Texas (both of them) and were excited to try this one out too. It was just opened last summer and they are still adding attractions to the park. It was a nice park and there was plenty to do all day long. We managed to ride all the rides and even Lydia could ride every single ride except for one. I was shocked! We rode all the tube rides together, swam down the lazy river three times and played in the kiddie area. They did a great job with the children's area and it offered lots for Lydia. Lydia loved the froggie slide and went down that slide at least 25 times in a row before I told her I had to go to the bathroom! :)

Lillian loved all the water slides and rode them by herself! It was the first time she ever grabbed a tube on her own and went down all her herself. I was proud of her! And Lydia was just happy riding with me in the two man tube and kept saying, "Whee!"

The lazy river was anything but lazy! I think I almost drowned because I had Lydia in the tube and Lillian decided to get out of the tube to swim. It was really the Torrent River and had waves and rapids. So, I ended up helping Lillian jump the waves which made the waves slam into me and get water up my nose. I think I was soaked more from the lazy river than the water slides!

Our awesome friends came with us too and we loved having them! Karyn, Dave, Emily and Zach had a blast too and Lillian and Emily stuck together. It was nice having someone for Lillian to tag along with and they get along so well.

And amazing the rain held off until 4:00pm! So, we played 6 hours and then looked at the sky. Totally black and we knew it was coming! So, we packed up and hit the road. It literally poured all the way home and we could hardly see out the windows. We were going 20 miles an hour at some points and were excited to make it back to post. Now, dinner is cooking and we are all going to crash hard...especially Little Lydia who managed to play hard and keep up with the big kids all day long! She is amazing just like her older sis!

Love you all!

Julie

Weston Red Barn Farm

This morning was a gorgeous morning in KS. We decided to go visit a local farm in Weston. My awesome friend, Sherri, recommended the place to us for fall festivals. But, we decided to visit this morning. It was a warm morning and the temperature deceives you due to the humidity. I was pouring sweat by the end of the morning and the girls were soaked to the bone too with sweat! It is a different climate than TX for sure and it will be nice to cool off in the pool this afternoon.

Lillian is ready to hit the deep end again of the pool. Lillian was thrilled to pass her swim test at the pool this week. She had to swim from one side to the other side without help (Olympic size pool) in order to be able to go to the deep end and enjoy the water slide and diving board. She did and now loves the water slide and diving board! We were so proud of her!!!

We visited the local store and it offered cute crafts, pots, pans, toys, and other farm goodies. The jams looked delicious and we were able to buy some fresh nectarines too. We walked around the property and enjoyed showing the girls the chicken coop, goats, horses, turkeys, and sheep. Of course, Lydia was thrilled to quickly point out her favorite animal to her sister- cows. She was so excited to see them on the farm! The girls even had the opportunity to feed the goats.

Next, we hit the blackberry patch. It was fun to be able to take the girls to the actual farm and enjoy the fresh fruit. We picked two small baskets of blackberries. It was the first time either girls have had the opportunity to pick fresh fruit and I enjoyed it too. It reminded me of my grandparents house on the farm and my sisters and I would pick fresh grapes, apples, peaches, figs and everything else in the garden. Great times as a child!

We went on a hayride around the corn field and then it was time to head home. We were all hot and sweaty and ready for lunch. What a nice morning and another adventure for the Martin Family! Love you all!

Julie

Worlds of Fun

So, we went off for another Martin Adventure in Kansas City! We hit the road this morning and took over the amusement park Worlds of Fun! And it lived up to its name! :)

We took Lillian there when she was 2 1/2 years old, but she doesn't remember a thing! A lot of people don't know about that little adventure, but it was wasn't fun! :) Lillian, Rich and I went there when he came home for R&R for his second deployment when we were stationed at Fort Riley, KS. We had just left Great Wolf Lodge for a couple of nights and then headed to Worlds of Fun. Well, I think Lillian was just way too tired for more adventure. We literally rode the pony ride that goes round and round and she wouldn't get off the ride. After riding it four times, then she threw a major tantrum and wouldn't ride anything else. We tried everything and ended up leaving the park and never going back! So, we spent tons of money for one ride. She doesn't believe the story, but it happened! So, Rich and I saved that ride for the end this time! :)

It was a warm day in KS and one of the warmest since we arrived. It was almost 100 degrees and we were literally sweating from the moment we arrived in the parking lot. But, sunscreen on and we hit the park! We got to our first ride and it was pretty calm, but it went up and down and was called Fjord FJarlane in the Scandinavia Area. Lydia and Lillian loved it and one we went to more exciting rides. Lillian rode it all and never missed a beat! She had her hands up on EVERY ride and was not scared a bit. I was floored at her! She rode so many big rides and I was also shocked about the rides Lydia could ride too!

One of the following rides, The Sea Dragon, turned out to be a bit much for Lydia. It was the big boat that swings back and forth and goes higher and higher. Lillian had those hands up and poor Lydia was shaking she was so scared. It was so pitiful and I could have kicked myself for letting her go on when I honestly thought it was going to be too much for her. She was fine until it kept getting higher and higher and then she wasn't crying, but she was shaking. It was so sad! I felt horrible for her, but proud she gave it a shot!

So, needless to say, we felt bad for her and went to Camp Snoopy to let her get on some rides for her size. They rode the train which was one of the rides Lillian did ride on her first visit. I think we rode the train first that time and then hit the pony thing. And what do you know...Lydia didn't want to get off the pony ride either and rode it twice! We were getting nervous and thought a tantrum was coming, but she let it go and moved on to all the other rides. There were so many rides today, that I couldn't try to remember them all. But, it was a fun day!

We left sweaty, filthy and very tired. I literally scratched my leg at one point and my nails had black stuff underneath them from the dirt on my legs! YUCK! Lillian's hair was so wet from all the sweat and water rides. We managed to play some games too and win some prizes. Rich even hit one of the big roller coasters too. It was a great time and we made it home about 8 hours after we left the house. It was time to all hit the showers! A long day and both girls are dreaming now and I am ready too! Love you all!

Julie

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Tonight was such a special time for our girls. Lillian finally got to see a real movie on a real movie screen. The best part was the movie was outside on Merritt Lake! It was a cool evening and a perfect night for an outdoor movie. We didn't know what to expect since we have never been to an outdoor movie, but we thought it was finally time Lillian had the chance and of course, Lydia had to go too! She doesn't go many places without her big sister!

We thought the movie started at 7:00pm, but only the festivities. The girls played a few games and bounced in a bounce house. We also walked down to the lake and fishing dock. The girls all now want to go fishing, so we need to find those fishing poles! :) Finally, it was time for the movie to start at 9:00pm. It was getting a little dark at this point and made it even better for the movie! Poor Lydia only made it until 9:30pm and she was exhausted. It is so hard for her to keep up with her sister and she gave it her best shot. But, I ended up taking her home and Rich and Lillian were left to watch the rest of "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs."

When I left tonight, the popcorn was eaten, the water was almost gone and they had moved on to a bag of chips and M&Ms. We also had some friends come with us to the movie, so luckily they will give the clan a ride home! :) I can't wait to hear all about the movie when they arrive in a few minutes. Lillian was so excited and I hope she enjoyed the whole movie. And you might ask why we waited so long for Lillian to watch a movie....you only need to know my hyper active daughter and you can answer that question for yourself!

Love you all!

Julie

C.W. Parker Carousel

Well, today we had a mini adventure...we went to an indoor carousel ride in downtown Leavenworth. It was produced in 1913 and was mainly used in Iowa. It held the record for the most rides in one day. It was a cute carousel and the best thing about the ride...it was faster than most carousels we have tried in the past. It was really spinning! :0 The girls had fun and rode it three times before we convinced them it was time to go. So, just one small adventure in KS!

We did walk to the Missouri River after the ride and enjoyed the view. It was a breezy afternoon and we enjoyed being near the river. It hasn't been too hot here this summer which has been nice, but KS does have a lot of humidity. It is a good thing I cut my hair short before we left TX or there would have been some crazy hair days here! hee hee

This morning some friends and myself walked around downtown KS. I couldn't believe how many little shops they had to offer and a lot of cute boutiques. I was honestly surprised we spent so much time just walking the streets and going in and out of stores. We had a nice lunch and then headed home for the afternoon.

So, off to more adventures in KS. We are still planning trips to Worlds of Fun, Schlitterbaun, and DeAnna Rose Farmstead. We need to keep exploring our new area! Love you all!

Julie

Happy July 4th!

Well, this is my first blog update since moving to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The girls and I arrived after a two day drive last Sunday. We arrived before Rich in order to pick out a house on post and have the movers meet me here at the new home. We wanted to do a door to door move and not have our things in storage. It was a long two days in the car especially since Lydia does not like the car at all! She still makes it hard going places locally much less a two day car ride. But, somehow, we pulled into Kansas on time.

We woke up Monday morning and went straight to the housing office. We were offered three sets of keys and then went on a search for a new home. The first home was occupied and had people living there, so that was not an option. Then, we looked at the second and third home. We decided quickly on the third home because it was so close to Lillian's school. I can literally walk her to school in minutes which is GREAT! Lydia will love this too considering how much she doesn't like the car! :)

So, back to housing to start all the paperwork. The movers were already waiting on me and I was going a 100 miles an hour with two kiddos. Not an easy job! We finally made it through all the paperwork and then took the keys to meet the movers at our front door. We arrived and discovered the housing office gave me the wrong keys. So, back to housing...and they couldn't find the keys. I was given the master key and the unloading of boxes began. It lasted all day long and they left at 10:00pm! The girls and I were exhausted, but happy to be in our new home.

We are enjoying the new home and trying to get used to all of our new surroundings. The house has a huge basement and garage! The basement looks empty..we thought we had a lot of extra stuff, but nothing compared to the capacity of this basement. The girls are enjoying their new room and have a HUGE bathroom. It is bigger than ours! How did that work out? But, the boxes are gone, the curtains are hung and the pictures are on the wall. What a relief!

We have enjoyed checking out things to do in Kansas City which is a 30 minute drive. It is hard moving to a new area especially when you love your old home and friends so dearly. Saying good bye to my friends was harder than I expected and I miss them dearly. You guys are so close to my heart and will always be no matter where I go in this world. But, I do miss TX! We will all settle in soon and Rich will start school too. Life will get back to normal.

The girls are doing well and Lillian too is missing her friends. She still talks about going back to TX and she tells me, "Texas is where we belong!" Too cute for a 5 year old and heart breaking too. I know this isn't easy on her and she still talks about going to TX for Veronica's birthday party in July. What a mess!

We did manage to head out to the celebration today at Leavenworth. The girls jumped in a few bounce houses, played at the park and watched a watermelon contest. Rich and Lillian also entered a water balloon toss game and won first place. Lillian won a water gun! She lost the first game, but stuck in there to try it again. It paid off!

It was raining off and on the whole time and then it just started pouring and we had to leave early. It has not stopped raining since we left at 6:00pm and it is disappointing to know Fort Leavenworth still had the fireworks tonight. So, we missed them this year because we assumed the show would be called off due to the weather. They still had them in the pouring down rain and thunder. Oh well, maybe next year! But, it was still a great day and we had a picnic dinner too. So, that is all from the Martin clan for now. I will keep you posted of our life in Kansas! Love you all and Happy July 4th!!

Love,

Julie