Meet My Micro Manager

This morning I asked Teddy how he was doing. He was playing with Lego and watching Blippi. He told me I needed to go upstairs and make cookies. I never need an excuse to make cookies, so off I went. Uninterrupted baking time? Yes, please! As I was pulling the first batch out of the oven Teddy came upstairs. He asked what I was doing and my response that I was making cookies was returned with, “Good.” He then decided to observe and “help.” He pulled a chair up to the counter and proceeded to taste the dough and fill the cookie scoop. I reminded him that we needed to wait to put the dough on the tray as it was quite hot. He chided me, “I know That.”

              He continued to remark on my progress and then told me I was doing a good job. Thanks, buddy. He was content to do quality control while I cleaned up. He then took his cookie to his office, (aka downstairs) I guess I’m on break now.

Trains!

 For Labor Day we decided to ride the trains at Frank Vaydik Park. We called Grandpa and he was kind enough to join us. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time.

There is a bell and a whistle to play with too. The bell gets really loud! The kids loved it.

School Days

 Gearing up for school means several meet-the-teacher nights. Devon got to go to a day with all the new 6th graders a week before school started. 

And then they were off!

Now Devon is playing French horn so the boys get to practice together.

Girls Day

 Denise, Molly, and Grace were free for the day so they came out to play. Heather joined Lizzy, Emily, and I as we set out to Cardboard Cafe for some fun! Their menu is waffles. Lizzy got a key lime pie wafftle.

    Emily made a custom one with Nutella and ice cream and a side of bacon. I had their pulled pork waffle. Molly and Denise had the taco waffle. They were delicious. Lizzy's got soggy though so she didn't finish her's. Grace declared she could eat it along with her waffle, but in the end it was too much for her.

We played 2 games: Coup, and King of Tokyo. I really liked the second one.

    After eating and playing we pursued their store and I got Lizzy some D&D dice. She's been playing for a bit now with some church friends. I figured it was time for her own dice. Then we headed to a Lego store next door to make some minifigs.

This caught my eye: this is a scene from one of my favorite books: Dragon's of Spring Dawning.

    It's so detailed, I admit to tearing up a bit seeing it in glorious Lego form. We headed home for a quick spa session and played more games. I made dinner and we chatted and had a great time. The Blacks had to go, but I convinced Heather to stay for ice cream. It was a great day!

Kaleidoscope

    We had to get in one more fun day before school started back up. We headed to Kaleidoscope! From their website: Kaleidoscope is a free art-making space for kids and their accompanying adults. Located in Crown Center in downtown Kansas City, Kaleidoscope is Hallmark’s gift to kids and families.

    During each 50-minute studio session, kids are invited to explore and create in an open-ended way. Using materials leftover from Hallmark’s manufacturing processes (all sorts of paper, stickers, ribbon, and more), Crayola supplies (crayons, markers, paint), and their own vivid imaginations, kids are empowered to have their own creative experiences. There’s no expected outcome, and all ideas and interpretations are welcome. The possibilities are endless." 

    It is hard to describe so I had to reassure the kids several times that they would love this place once they got in. I had to practically drag them out. It was difficult to find from the parking garage though. They have several elevators and we took a few wrong ones before finally getting the right one. So we were a tad late for our appointment. Next time I will know better what to do.

        Next door is the Hallmark Museum. We heading there to check it out. There was a bow-making machine that the kids adored. Teddy made about four bows before I stopped him. They have a wall entirely made up of crayons.

It was a fun visit.

Summer Fun

 We went swimming at Ocean's of Fun. 

    The Church had a day at the Royal's. "Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles threw out the first pitch on his 69th birthday and 150 Latter-day Saint missionaries sang the national anthem before Tuesday’s Major League Baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and Boston Red Sox in Kansas City, Missouri." Quote and pic from Deseret News. Most of the stake went along with our 3 oldest. They were not very impressed, but I am glad they had the opportunity.

We had a fun day at World's of Fun. Daniel was able to join us after work.

 

My crazy crew was in fine form.

We saw the show at Moulin Rouge. It was a musical journey through the ages.

The boys were more excited by the giant disco ball right above us. I loved the music.

Playing At The Zoo

 The weather finally got down to the mid-70s while Lizzy was at girl's camp, so I took the kids to the zoo. We took the tram, boat, carousel, and sky tram. We got ice cream and the kids decided they were happy they were forced to come after all.

This bird flew right over my head!

Saying Hi to a fellow PNW native.