All aboard!

One last ride on the zoo train! 

It's always a special treat when Daddy can join in the fun.

Take 2

 Since we only had a couple of hours the first time, we decided to take another look at the county fair last week.  We had to catch the model trains,

 bunnies,

 assorted goofy looking animals, 

 & the Swampmaster Alligator Show.  Oh, my.

It was all more fun because Uncle Fr. Jon could join us AND because we topped it off with a funnel cake.  The taste of summer.

Goin' to Kansas City

 Here we go...

 First time at a Chick-fil-A

Tasty food, huge walking cow, Christian music, AND a clean AND fun play area for the kids.  What a hit!

 After we checked in to our gigantic hotel, we headed over to Legoland!

 The miniature room was super cool with all kinds of displays.  They had the entire KC skyline, sports stadiums, & here they even had the spinning house, Munchkinland, & the Emerald City all from the Wizard of Oz.  Very impressive.

 Andrew was overwhelmed at the thought of having that many "Lego guys".

 We built this tower ourselves.  :)  There were tiny, medium, & big Legos EVERYWHERE to just build & build & build.  The most unique were cupcake Legos!

 Enjoyed the 3-D Lego movie complete with flashing lights, "snow", & "rain" on us while we watched to complete the experience.

 Andrew's favorite part was making vehicles to race down the ramps.

Rebecca just wanted a picture with everything cute!

 This ride at the end was pretty cool.  Rebecca was too scared to go, but that didn't stop Andrew

 or barely tall enough Teresa from enjoying it!

 For supper we went to Fritz's Railroad Cafe.

 The food was brought to the table by a model train that drove on a track around the restaurant dropping it's attached basket at the appropriate table.

 Then the tray lowered the food to the table to enjoy!  It was novel.

Before collapsing back at the hotel, we hit the free dinosaur exhibit. Pretty cool, especially for free!

 Rebecca's shirt was quite the mess!  Our room was on the 24th floor of the hotel.  After so much dry air-conditioned air & plummetting altitudes in the elevator, her nose was not happy.  She had 4 nosebleeds in 2 days!  Ah, the surprises are what makes it fun, right?

We enjoyed a little bit of Olympic soccer & then off to Dreamland.

Good night, Kansas City! 

Choo-choo wedding

My cousin Molly recently wed & I took the big kids to the reception. It was a little bit of a drive but we amazingly ended up there a little early. So, we took the opportunity to check out the model train show. They loved it! The intricacy put into building some of those sets is amazing.

It was great to see so many of my aunts, uncles, & cousins again. We just don't get together enough! Mom & Dad, Cara's family, & Fr. Jon all joined in the fun as well.

Happy Birthday choo choo

Last year Darren started a new tradition. For Andrew's birthday he decided that he wanted to do something special together, just the two of them. Andrew picked the SAC museum & they had a marvelous time. This year they decided to go see a steam engine together.
They drove to Marysville, Kansas EARLY in the morning to enjoy seeing the Union Pacific Challenger #3985.
It is the largest operating steam engine in the country! It's BIG & apparently a little scary with all the steam it lets off. Darren couldn't get any other pictures of Andrew standing with his back to the train. =] Afterwards they went out to breakfast... Andrew's favorite meal.

I knew they would have fun, but I was most impressed by the three hours in the car. Darren said he talked almost the whole time! I guess that's some serious bonding. :) When they got home, the girls & I had ventured out to Pioneers Park for some fun with Dave & Shannon & their kiddos. (Thanks for the great morning adventure!) So, they took a nap, played the Wii, & ate lunch at Runza. It sounds like it was a big hit!

I love this new tradition of a day out with Dad. (Do I get to do it on MY birthday?) What would you choose? What would your kids?