Father-Son Trip to Visit Mema & Papa in KC!

I finally get a chance to do a guest blog post! Tracey always does a great job of capturing the experiences, but I thought I would try it out.  I have realized how quickly time passes between the experience and when you finally get a chance to blog about it.  Plus, I am stressing out about making it somewhat interesting for those that read it.  OK, enough of the introduction, let's get on to what a fun time Andrew and I had.

The initial plan was to take a family mini-vacation to KC to visit the 'rents, hang out by the pool and take it easy.  However, after we found out the wonderful news that Tracey was pregnant we had to make a slight adjustment since she was told to limit traveling for long distances.  So Andrew and I decided to make the trip on our own.  I took the day off on Friday and only worked a half-day on Thursday so we could make the most of the weekend.

Andrew's ready to go as long as he has his 'Blue Bear'!

A little known fact (perhaps) about Andrew; he can hold his bladder for an extremely long time and has been known to hold it for the entire trip to/from KC (~8 hours).  Regardless, we made a stop in St. Louis to grab something to eat and try to relieve some pressure.  Fortunately, it was a success so I was relieved that we wouldn't need to worry about it too much as we got closer.

We also made a quick stop in Columbia, MO to visit one of my friends from high school and his family.  It was unfortunate that we didn't take any pictures or I would have included some.  It was a fun start to our weekend as we visited a park they had picked out and enjoyed some Orange Leaf.  I am glad we both made an effort to hang out since it is harder to find the time.

Since we were a little late upon arriving we didn't do much beyond saying hi and getting settled.  Mema and Papa had some nice arrival gifts waiting for us on our bed to make us feel extra welcome.  The next morning we started off with one of the things that Andrew seems to always talk about when describing why he wants to visit - play with my old micro-machines.  

Micro-machine time! I wonder if he appreciates this time to himself more now that he has a younger brother!

Mema and Papa had a full agenda for us so after initially taking it easy in the morning and having breakfast we began our fun-packed weekend!  It was also nice to see our dog, Grace, who is now permanently residing in KC with the parents.  We still miss you Grace and think about you! (Yes, she understands English and reads this blog on a fairly regular basis)  

 

Enjoying breakfast with Papa and Mema!

Checking in with mommy

Grace is such a good dog! I am sure she is enjoying her expanded freedom.

Next we were off to the Burr Oaks Nature Park to learn about nature and walk the trails.

Gotta look cool for the nature park!

Yes, you can find naturally occurring xylophones!

After the nature park it was time to get to business on why we really came to visit - spend time in the pool!  Andrew took swim lessons earlier in the year so it was nice to get him out in the pool to continue to improve his comfort level in the water.  He did really well swimming on his own (with a little help from a life jacket), going down the slide and jumping off the diving board.

Uncle Matt surprised us by coming down from Iowa for a visit while we there.  I enjoyed seeing him and Andrew really had fun with him too!

Lego time with Uncle Matt!

Later that night it was off to a Royals game.  Andrew has been to our minor league stadium here in Indianapolis a few times already, but he finally got to experience the magnitude of a major league game.  I am sure few would care, but it was actually a really good game with a game-winning home run!  I think our good luck sauce from Indy rubbed off on the team because they have been on a hot streak since our visit.  Going to the game also reminded me of my childhood memories when we would have a family reunion out at the farm and go to a game one night.  Based on the view, I am pretty sure we were very close to seats we used to get.  We had a nice fireworks display after the game.

Supporting the team!

Papa sharing his wisdom and teaching the finer things of the game (like where all the pretty girls hang out).

Despite the heat still having fun!

The next day we planned on going to Legoland Discovery Center.  Andrew was really looking forward to it especially after watching The Lego Movie.  Unfortunately, when we got there we were told that it could be up to a 3 hour wait!  I guess we should have booked a reservation online, but how do you explain this to your soon to be disappointed 4 year old?  Well, we thought fast and decided to visit the Lego store instead to pick-up a kit to build and play with.  Letdown diverted!  It seemed as though he was just as excited, if not more, to find out that he would be able to pick out one.  From my perspective I felt like it was a better deal.

Happy as can be with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle kit!

Who's helping who?

Later that day we had some of the extended family over for some fun.  I am so glad that they were able to come over so that Andrew could meet and get to know more of his family. 

Family fun!

It seemed like before we knew it our trip had come to an end and it was time to go.  We had such a great time seeing the family.  Andrew was such a good boy the whole weekend and really hung tough since we were up late every night (afternoon naps were our saving grace).  

We love you!!!

I really hope I can go on more trips like this with Andrew, Lucas and baby-to-be.  Not sure if the last one will be a boy or girl, but I look forward to spending time with them.  First order of business will probably be a proper family trip.  I also hope that I can contribute to the blog again.  I have always appreciated the fact that Tracey did this because it will be a way for us and the kids to look back at our memories.  Now I have the utmost respect for her diligence to the blog; despite the fact that it is enjoyable it is certainly time-consuming!  Love you Tracey!

Love this guy too! 

P.S. We made it the whole way back without him needing to go to the bathroom!