Nathan was off to St. Louis with work again this week, so we decided to spend a little time with family in KC. The girls were so excited to go to Mimi's that they didn't even worry about Nathan not coming with us. Everyone slept decently Sunday night (much better then in a hotel), so I was hopeful for happy kids Monday morning. After all we had things planned!
We started with a trip to another zoo! That's right, now we got to visit the Kansas City Zoo. Luckily my sister had a pass, so we all got in free! That was a nice start to the day. The first thing Nadia wanted to know was if we would see elephants; guess she hadn't forgotten about missing them in St. Louis. We started off at the polar bear. All the kids enjoyed watching him swim. It was funny how he would follow the same path most of the time.
We went onto the tiger trail. The girls weren't to enthused about anything there, but the we rode the train, something they always ask to do. Bria giggled most of the ride. Eli was fascinated by the holes in the seats.
We toured Australia after that. Eli was especially fond of the sheep (they seemed to like him too).
We saw some cute little monkeys and played in the treehouse (Bria was scared to come down the slide) before lunch.
Lunch was certainly entertaining. The girls made ballerinas out of carrots and cucumbers, and Eli made friends with the geese.
After lunch we got to ride the carousel (Bria was tall enough to go on her own). Nadia chose a giraffe, and Bria just wanted a horse.As we were getting ready to move on, a zoo employee came and asked if the girls wanted to feed the lorikeets. They both freaked out when the birds landed on them, so I ended up holding the nectar while they watched the birds.
The next stop was the sea lion show. Bria especially liked watching them jump through hoops. We even got to see one paint!
Then the big moment, the elephants! Nadia was happy to look at the and move onto the rest of Africa. Eli was already napping, so he missed out on most of Africa. We almost made it all the way through before the girls started fussing; luckily, we just had to get back to the parking lot at that point.
We did stop at the gift shop where Nadia chose a monkey, Bria chose a meerkat, and both girls got a tiny giraffe and even tinier baby giraffe. Eli "chose" a snake because he kept sticking his tongue out at it. He then decided the entire snake was a good chew toy.
All three of them fell asleep in the car. The favorites for the day were meerkats and sea lions for Bria, giraffes for Nadia, and I would say polar bear for Eli.
We went onto the tiger trail. The girls weren't to enthused about anything there, but the we rode the train, something they always ask to do. Bria giggled most of the ride. Eli was fascinated by the holes in the seats.
We toured Australia after that. Eli was especially fond of the sheep (they seemed to like him too).
We saw some cute little monkeys and played in the treehouse (Bria was scared to come down the slide) before lunch.
Lunch was certainly entertaining. The girls made ballerinas out of carrots and cucumbers, and Eli made friends with the geese.
After lunch we got to ride the carousel (Bria was tall enough to go on her own). Nadia chose a giraffe, and Bria just wanted a horse.As we were getting ready to move on, a zoo employee came and asked if the girls wanted to feed the lorikeets. They both freaked out when the birds landed on them, so I ended up holding the nectar while they watched the birds.
The next stop was the sea lion show. Bria especially liked watching them jump through hoops. We even got to see one paint!
Then the big moment, the elephants! Nadia was happy to look at the and move onto the rest of Africa. Eli was already napping, so he missed out on most of Africa. We almost made it all the way through before the girls started fussing; luckily, we just had to get back to the parking lot at that point.
We did stop at the gift shop where Nadia chose a monkey, Bria chose a meerkat, and both girls got a tiny giraffe and even tinier baby giraffe. Eli "chose" a snake because he kept sticking his tongue out at it. He then decided the entire snake was a good chew toy.
All three of them fell asleep in the car. The favorites for the day were meerkats and sea lions for Bria, giraffes for Nadia, and I would say polar bear for Eli.
Tuesday my Mom, Abby, and all of us headed to Crown Center and the new aquarium. We window shopped until I was tired of hearing all the things the girls wanted and until Eli was hungry, then we had lunch. Abby (and Eli) had never been to Fritz's. I can't speak for Abby, but Eli loved it! He would just watch every time he heard a train headed down the track.
He seemed pretty distracted a lot of lunch, but got his fill. Bria kept yelling, "zinga, zinga, zinga," at the train that travels through the windows. We never figured out what it meant.
Then it was off to the aquarium. It was time for a very tired Eli to nap, but there was no way he was sleeping through the aquarium. The zoo, sure, but not the aquarium. He LOVES fish! He got so excited about them that he really wasn't even fussy! The girls favorite part, well, I am pretty sure it was the fake treasure chest. As always, I liked the sting rays and the jellyfish.
We finished up and headed back to crown center for some ice cream and a visit to their current kids exhibit (not sure of the name, but it was about animals).
The girls had a good time playing there. They could travel by camel or lion, swing like a monkey, slide like a penguin, and a lot more! Eli liked the bald eagle nest; I don't think he really wanted to come out, but he was also a fan of the bear den where their was a big, stuffed bear to love. Nadia said she was a good penguin when she slid down the slide on her tummy. I think Bria's favorite was jumping on the mini trampoline like a kangaroo.
When they seemed to be wearing down a bit we headed for my Mom's, got everything packed up and got on the road again. It was a quick trip, but at least it kept me busy, and the kids enjoyed themselves!
He seemed pretty distracted a lot of lunch, but got his fill. Bria kept yelling, "zinga, zinga, zinga," at the train that travels through the windows. We never figured out what it meant.
Then it was off to the aquarium. It was time for a very tired Eli to nap, but there was no way he was sleeping through the aquarium. The zoo, sure, but not the aquarium. He LOVES fish! He got so excited about them that he really wasn't even fussy! The girls favorite part, well, I am pretty sure it was the fake treasure chest. As always, I liked the sting rays and the jellyfish.
We finished up and headed back to crown center for some ice cream and a visit to their current kids exhibit (not sure of the name, but it was about animals).
The girls had a good time playing there. They could travel by camel or lion, swing like a monkey, slide like a penguin, and a lot more! Eli liked the bald eagle nest; I don't think he really wanted to come out, but he was also a fan of the bear den where their was a big, stuffed bear to love. Nadia said she was a good penguin when she slid down the slide on her tummy. I think Bria's favorite was jumping on the mini trampoline like a kangaroo.
When they seemed to be wearing down a bit we headed for my Mom's, got everything packed up and got on the road again. It was a quick trip, but at least it kept me busy, and the kids enjoyed themselves!
