thanksgiving.

mini vacation

We made a little spur of the moment trip to Kansas City a few weekends ago. Like... we told the kids an hour before we were leaving! 

Nothing fabulous... I was doing a Norwex party for a friend, so Corey and the kids went out to eat, swam at the hotel and hung out til I was done. Then we ate supper, visited a pet store, swam again and hit a couple fun places on our way home. 

Hermit crabs. Lots and lots of hermit crabs.

And mice and hamsters and bunnies.

Corey was talking about armadillos at one point while we were driving. Gretchen pipes up from the backseat, "What's a Farmer Dillo?" =)

Someone small was getting tiiiired.

World's tallest waterslide. Look on youtube. It's crazy. You would never catch me on this thing.

We stopped at a HUGE shopping center with anything and everything imaginable. This little miss was still pretty tired, this momma was pretty tired, too (she slept with me the night before. Or didn't sleep with me.) And this momma had a pretty good headache going on. So the two of us camped out at Panera for awhile. (A bagel with lots of cream cheese and a Dr. Pepper can cure even the worst headache!) Corey took the other two shopping all over. Pretty sure I got the better end of the deal. =)

She made a few videos on my phone ("How do clowns go to the bathroom?? What would happen if a cat got stuck in a grape soda can??") and drew me a picture of a monkey. Her drawings make me smile. =)

 We met up with Corey and the other two at the Under Armour store. Gretchen was fascinated by mannequins all day. She kept holding their hands. (Weirdo.)

I sent this picture to my friend, Meagan, and told her I had found her Christmas gift. She's scared of fish. I'm a good friend. =)

Waiting for the boys at Cabelas...

Still waiting... (but we found a comfy couch this time!)

This was Gretchen on our way home. She stayed like this for over 2 hours. Plus the time we stopped for supper. (Well, Corey and the big kids stopped for supper. Gretchen and I stayed in the van. She woke up for a minute when the car alarm next to us went off, but she went right back to sleep.)

It wasn't a perfect trip, but I think our good memories outweighed the bad.
Sometimes that's all you can ask for. =)