We had our kids vote on whether they would like individual Christmas gifts from their Springer grandparents or money for us to take a mini-vacation like we've done other years. The unanimous vote was for a short vacation!
This year we decided to stay at a nice hotel that is attached to the Crowne Center in Kansas City, because there are so many fun activities nearby. Brynlie had recently read the book "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever," so she was excited when I realized the play was showing at The Union Station in KC. On the morning of Wednesday, the 28th, we packed our overnight bags and all went to see the play. I was so excited when the script was exactly the same as the play I'd been in when I was 12! We all really enjoyed the play, and the girls were excited to meet "Imogine" when it was over.
We took some pictures of our family inside the beautiful Union Station. I was doped up on strong pain meds, but was still in so much back pain.
I had to hold on to Ryan in order to stand up by this point. My back did not appreciate sitting in the theater seats for a couple hours. I was walking hunched over and was excited to go check in to the hotel so I could relax again.
The kids were excited to swim in this outdoor heated pool that was on the roof of the hotel. Who would have thought they would be swimming outside in December? We went to lunch at an incredible Mexican restaurant that was in a Latin area of town. I absolutely loved being around all the Latin people, and trying to understand their Spanish conversations. I wish I could move our family to a Latin country for a while so my kids could learn to love the people as much as I do!
For dinner we walked through the mall to Fritz's, which is the kid's favorite downtown restaurant because the food is delivered on trains. Logan was in heaven!
After seeing many of the fun displays in the mall, we headed across the street so Ryan could take the kids ice skating. I was so sad to have to miss out, but I was barely able to move, even though I'd laid down for many hours before we headed over. After standing in line for a while, Ryan came back and said it was too crowded so he would bring the kids back on the weekend to do the ice skating. The day he took them (New Years Eve) was 66 degrees! How's that for some awesome outdoor ice skating in December? This warm winter has been great, but I have to admit I'm ready for a good snowstorm now.
We took the kids to a play area by the ice skating rink where the kids played hide-and-seek and ran around together until they were worn out.
Brynlie had just hurt her head and was angry I made her pose for a picture. I'm such a mean mom to not comfort her first! Haha!
After a good night's rest, we took the kids to a free play area in the mall. The three youngest had a great time climbing and sliding on all the life-size crayons . . .
. . .but Brevan was more excited about listening to music with his new noise-cancelling headphones. It's so funny to have kids in such different stages, because it's very difficult to find activities they all enjoy.
Next we drove to an entertainment center called PowerPlay, where the kids played to their hearts content for many hours. It was the activity the kids were most excited about doing with Grandma and Grandpa's Christmas money!
We are big fans of "mini-vacations" because we get to spend uninterrupted time as a family, and we feel like we've been gone longer than just a couple days. Thanks for the fun present, Mom and Dad!
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