Missouri Vacation Day 2

Let me start out with saying that vacations with a 2-year old are hard! Especially when your husband is not with you to help out. This two-year old still needs a nap and was not able to get one at her regular time and because of that, meltdowns ensued each day. It made it seem like Kylie is this unruly child that I can't control, which was frustrating to me as she has some outbursts at home, but not as often as they happened out in Missouri.

We never had a set time to start each day, but my dad came and picked us up around 10am each day. I am not really a morning person (even more so with a baby), so it was nice to get up and not feel rushed. Thursday was the day we all hung out downtown at Crown Center and Hallmark. We all gathered in the van (everyone fit because Roberta was working and Aaron wasn't in town yet) and headed down there. We first stopped by Hallmark where my dad works. We walked through the building and he showed everyone where his office is. I remember visiting him a couple of times when I was younger on 'take your daughter to work day'. Since he works at Hallmark, he gets a nice discount on merchandise, so we headed to the store to look around and pick out some ornaments for Christmas. I was also able to get a baby book for Jordan. Kylie picked out the genie from Aladdin as her ornament and I didn't like what they had for a boy's first Christmas, so I waited on Jordan's.

After shopping, we headed to Crown Center for some lunch! We ate at Fritz's restaurant. It's a train-themed restaurant where a small train comes and delivers your food. A new feature is that you order what you'd like from picking up a phone at the table (at least I think. I can't remember phones there when I was younger). Then you wait and watch for the train above your head to come around and drop your food off on a small platform which then lowers down to your table. I remember going there a couple of times while growing up and it is a fun atmosphere with not too bad of food either.

A little hard to see the train, but you can see the platform hanging down where your food rests.

After lunch, we walked through Crown Center and to Kaleidoscope. It is a free arts and crafts place, but you do have to get tickets and the next time to go in wasn't for another 45 minutes. Luckily, the weather wasn't horrible and we walked around outside. The ice skating rink was open and we contemplated on doing that as an activity, but it can get costly and I don't know how I could do it with a baby.  I didn't take my double stroller anywhere we went. It was large and there wasn't much space in the van with everyone in there. My dad had a small umbrella stroller that we brought and then I just carried Jordan. Sometimes it was hard for Kylie as she just wanted to explore, but we needed to keep up with everyone, so I had to keep pushing her along. The times she resisted were times that she was put in the stroller, so we could keep up. She hated it and was not a happy camper. While waiting outside, I decided to keep her in the stroller so she wouldn't run away (she's fast!) and/or play in the fountain. I let her out when we went to Kaleidoscope and hoped that she would have a good time. She had fun, but wasn't very interested in the arts and crafts aspect. There were small areas that were tunnel-like with buttons inside that made noise. That is what she loved the most. I convinced (okay, forced) her to color on a paper that would become a puzzle. There were so many fun things that she loves to do at home, but anytime I tried to show her, she resisted and threw a fit. It was way past her nap time and she didn't get a good sleep, but it was tiring trying to deal with her. I remember going on field trips to Kaleidoscope when I was younger and it was the coolest place ever! Anything you made, you could take home with you. I love that this place is free and I wish there was something like it out in Utah. If I lived close to Kaleidoscope, I would probably go there once a week.

Decorating the Christmas tree!

Sharlynne was wonderful with Kylie the whole week. Kylie has fun with her.

She would not hold still for a good picture at Kaleidoscope, so this is the best I got.

After Kaleidoscope, it was time to head home. Kylie fell asleep in the car on the way there and when we got to dad's house, I put her in his room to sleep. We just hung around the house the rest of the evening (from what I can remember. Maybe there was some playing in the backyard?). Roberta cooked some delicious meals while we were out there and the house was not short on food either. The cookie jar was always stocked with cookies and there was always something to snack on. I can't remember what we had for dinner this night, but I know it was good. We spent almost every evening playing games while the kids played or watched a movie. Kylie was constantly asking dad to put a movie on for her. When it was time, we headed over to the other house and headed to bed.