Going to Kansas City, Kansas City here we come!

Jim and I had been "itchin'" to take a mini vacay for a few days with the boys. We decided to head north to Kansas City! Pat and Stacy said we could stay with them for a couple of nights. So GAME ON! Sunday we hit the road!

Our first stop was for lunch at Fritz's Restaurant in Crown Center. Since Christian LOVES trains, I thought this would be the perfect place. The restaurant is set up like you are on a train and they have actual trains on tracks along the wall that bring the food to your table. How cool is that??!! When Christian saw it, he said, "MOM, I WANT TO LIVE HERE!" Haha!

Christian wearing his conductor hat!

You order your phone by picking up the phone at your table. Then the train delivers it!

There was a window next to each table that you could watch a train go by!

Andrew "in awe" of all the trains going by!


Here is a short video I took of our food being delivered by train! The boys LOVED it!

After lunch, we headed to Union Station where they had a model train exhibit! Perfect for my little train lovin' boys!

Christian next to a replica of an old steam locomotive, his favorite!

The Model Train Experience!

They even had the Island of Sodor! For you Thomas the Train fans, this is a big deal. Thomas, Percy and Henry were doing their jobs!

There were at least 10 different model train displays with really neat scenery and some of the trains had conductors that talked! Christian enjoyed the model train exhibit so much! He spent almost 2 hours in there!

After the trains, we went to Science City, also located in Union Station. It is a science museum for kids!

The music center had fun and different ways to make sounds...like hitting pipes with a flip flop?

Andrew liked it!


The place had so much to do! Three levels of interactive fun for the boys!

Lots of fun buttons to push!



Union Station is still a fully functioning train station. Amtrak runs a line to the station and we watched a few people loading and unloading.

Smoke machine!

An interactive water display that shows you how dams work!

Helicopter silmulator! Cool!

Jim had as much fun as the boys at Science City!

At the end of day one, we headed to Pat and Stacy's house and ordered Chinese food for dinner. It was yummy and the company was great! ;)

Monday, we headed to Crown Center for some shopping and fun activities for the boys!

They have a huge Crayola store!

Andrew liked the toy store and playing with silly hats!

We went to Kaleidoscope, an interactive art center sponsored by Crayola and the Hallmark Center. And it was FREE!


Christian made a rocket ship and painted it with water colors.

Then he put it through a big machine that dries the paint so you can take it with you right away!

Then he drew a picture of a train and put it through this machine and cuts it into puzzle pieces for a puzzle! Cool!

Andrew and Jim enjoyed just watching all the crazy activity!

After a busy morning, it was time for lunch. Christian REALLY wanted to go to Fritz's again so we did! Good and cheap burgers and the trains kept the boys entertained! WIN WIN!

After lunch, Andrew needed some running around time, so we went to the Clifford the Big Red Dog exhibit and play area (also FREE!) and Andrew had a blast while Christian played train conductor.




As soon as we got in the car, Andrew fell asleep for his nap, so we drove to the Legends at Village West, a big outdoor shopping/dining area. But we looked at the temperature gauge and it read 102 degrees, we decided to not get out in the heat and walk around.
So we headed to the big Oak Park Mall in Overland Park.

They had a big double carousel that Christian wanted to ride!


And the boys got some play time too!

We went back to Pat and Stacy's house and got the boys cleaned up before dinner and ordered in pizza.

Tuesday, we packed up to head back home. We really enjoyed our visit with Pat and Stacy. Their new home in Overland Park is beautiful!

A quick "family of four" pic!

Before heading home, we made one last stop by Union Station so Christian could check out the model train exhibit one last time...

but I think Andrew likes them almost as much as his big brother! ;)

We had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory on the Plaza before hitting the road home!

Strawberry cheesecake! YUM!

The boys were out before we even left the city limits. ;)

The first Hopkins Household "family of four" mini vacation was a success! Yeah for KC!