Kansas City Vacation

For our vacation this year we decided on Kansas City so Ares could go to LEGOLAND. We told him that his trip was a late birthday present so he was allowed to bring one friend, and he chose his cousin Camden. We went with my best friends Kyle Ann and her husband Kyle (yes I have a lot of Kyles in my life), and stayed at Kyle Ann's Dad's time share that he has near the Plaza. It was so generous for them to let us stay with them, especially since they didn't join us on anything that we did. They are such amazing friends!

We left on Friday, and first drove to Emporia where Kyle Ann, Kyle, Ares, and I use to live and attend college. I took Ares to see our old house and our old apartment. Then we met up with Kyle Ann and Kyle for dinner at Bobby D's. They have delicious barbeque, and it is definitely worth a stop if you find yourself driving through Emporia. Since Ares and Camden were giggle boxes throughout dinner we decided it would be a good idea if we took them to our favorite park, Peter Pan Park. Ares, Camden, and Jude had a lot of fun, and so did all of the adults :)

After they worked out their wiggles and giggles we drove the rest of the way to Kansas City, and slept in the condo. The next day we took the boys out for doughnuts, and then we went to Crown Center. Since our time for LEGOLAND wasn't until 11am we went exploring, and found a place called Kaleidoscope. It is a free art center for kids, and it was so much fun! We made our own puzzles, crowns, and glow in the dark paintings.

After this it was time for us to go to LEGOLAND!!! Ares, Camden, and Kyle (my husband, not to be confused with the other two Kyle's lol) had the most fun there. I loved watching all three of them! There were two different rides, a play zone, lots of lego building areas, a race car set up, a 4D theatre, a ton of lego creations including the Kansas City skyline, Wizard of Oz, and Arrowhead Stadium, and there was even a karaoke section, though my family was no fun and didn't want to do this even though I begged.

After LEGOLAND we had some time to kill before heading to dinner so we explored the Crown Center, and then Union Station. The boys really loved the miniature train exhibits. I didn't edit any of those pictures so if anyone wants to see those pictures just let me know and I'll add them.

Finally it was time for dinner at the T-Rex Restaurant! The boys LOVED it! They dug up dinosaur bones and were able to explore giant geodes while we waited for a table. Then once we were seated I let Kyle take the boys around to explore while we waited for our food. Since I considered this Ares' birthday dinner I let him and Camden have light up glasses, and the waiters came and sang happy birthday to them, and gave them both cupcakes! The only downside to the restraint though was that the prices had definitely gone up so Kyle and I ended up splitting an entrée to save a little money, and it was more than enough food for us.

The next day we had brunch, and then headed to our final destination, CoCo Key Water Resort.
Camden, Ares, Kyle, and I had a blast! I even went down two water slides, granted they were the smaller water slides, but they totally count! Ares, Camden, and Kyle all went on the giant water slides so I was told that they were more awesome than me.
My water slide:

The boys' water slide, inside and out:

We all enjoyed this waterpark so much, and I highly recommend it. There were plenty of waterslides, a lazy river, a toddler area, and a fun water playground that I showed earlier with the smaller water slides.

Before we left for home we ate lunch at the Cheesecake factory. I love their food, and of course their cheesecake! It was so delicious, Camden had this new Oreo cheesecake, Ares had the 30th anniversary cheesecake, Kyle had the apple strudel, and I had chocolate coconut cheesecake. The boys only took a couple bites a piece so Dianna got Camden's left overs, and the twins got Ares' left overs. Yummy! This was such a great vacation. :)