Missouri in Photos: Days 1-3

Our Missouri trip started out with a full day of travel, with a flight out of John Wayne Airport and a short layover in Denver. We landed in Kansas City around 8pm. I'm sure most of you could take a guess at where the family went first. Yup. Cracker Barrel. We sat in Cracker Barrel and ordered what we could of what they had left. They were out of meatloaf, roast beef, pot roast, hash brown casserole, and a few other items. Never the less, I ordered the "wholesome" breakfast meal, although I wasn't so sure it how "wholesome" it really was! We ate and watched the most amazing lightning storm I had ever seen. Day two was a nice day of relaxing and swimming in Terry and Jan's pool. In the evening, we headed over to Liberty, Missouri's old town and ate Mexican Food. It wasn't bad for Mexican food in Missouri. On Day three, I woke up to the news that Robyn's water broke. We were so bummed that miss Ivy was deciding to come early, when all the family was away!!!! With Robyn heading to the hospital in California, we headed to Kansas City for a day out. I got my first look at the Missouri river. Very muddy and murky. We went to Union Station and walked around. Word has it that there was a shoot out there to free a mob criminal that was being transported to a prison. The mob guy was killed on accident during the shoot out. Bummer. Next, we headed over to the Hallmark Center and walked around there. (This is when we found out that Ivy was born!) Jackson and Madelyn got to play in a Clifford exhibit they had there. We finished off the day with BBQ that was just okay and a walk around the shops in the heart of Kansas City. Stay tuned for the next few days in Missouri...

Jackson, our little traveler! This was his 5 time flying and he did great! He even carried his own luggage!

Firsts: Madelyn's first Cracker Barrel buttermilk biscuit and her first time in a bathing suit!

Liberty, Missouri....the bank where Jesse James and his gang robbed a bank in broad daylight for the first time.

Our sweet set-up in Terry and Jan's basement, complete with beds for our family of four!

Union Station, Kansas City, MO (Where's Jackson?)

The clock @ Union Station

Jackson's interview w/ Daddy.

The fam @ Union Station

Clifford, The Big Red Dog, with Big Jackson and Little Madelyn

Jackson's first "Build-a-Dino"...he named him "Roar." :)

Madelyn sporting Build-a-Bear sunglasses, which fit her perfectly.


Kansas City, AKA, the City of Fountains

Dinner and Shopping...



Me and my guy. :)

St. George/Zion Trip: Day 2

I have to start out by saying that this is only the third National Park I've been too (I think) and I liked this one the best so far. Zion National Park is absolutely breathtaking! I would love to see what it looks like in the Summer, Spring, and Fall. The snow really accented the depth and detail of the rocks. So, without any further ado, here are the photos from the day:

The entrance to the park.Jackson's first time in the snow. I forgot his mittens in the hotel room, so says he didn't like the snow because it was too cold. Sigh.The family in Zion.Icicles. Gorgeous.
Nolan entertains Madelyn.
Nolan, Troy, Madelyn, and Jackson take a rest in the lodge.More family in Zion!Madelyn with Uncle David. (David is practicing!)Troy and Jackson in a very majestic setting.
Just Troy and I! I love this man! :)The river in Zion National Park.Somehow we ended up at Nelson's Frozen Custard shop again! This time, we got a chocolate malt. Mmmm!A great way to end the day!

St. George/Zion Trip: Day 1

For New Years "Weekend," our family headed to the South-West corner of Utah. We left the day before the rest of the family left because we wanted to have more time to look around St. George, the town in Utah where we were staying. We got in around 1am, so the next morning, we slept in and got out of the hotel room before noon to explore the town. The first place we headed was a chain that we don't have here in California (and OH how I wish we did!) called Jimmy John's. This was a sandwich shop that makes their own bread and has makes their sandwiches with all-natural ingredients. It was SO delicious. It blew Subway out of the water, although that isn't very hard to do. The next stop was the super Wal-Mart. If there is a Wal-Mart where we are vacationing, we always go there because they always have local stuff and souvenirs. Jackson was alseep when we got there, so we layed a pallet of blankets down in the cart and set up in there. The setup worked because he slept over an hour in the cart! Troy shopped around Wal-Mart while I got my haircut in the salon there. It was the best haircut I've ever gotten for the price...15 bucks! I really needed the haircut, too!
From there we drove around town and stopped at a frozen custard shop. One word: AMAZING! Okay...I can actually provide you with a few more words on this subject: smooth, rich, frozen glory. The best thing about this stuff was that somehow it is less fat than ice cream!After the yummy custard, we went by the Mormon temple in St. George. Legend has it that when it was finished, Brigham Young came to see (and bless) the temple. It had taken a lot of people and work to finish it, but he wanted the steeple to be higher. The builders decided to let it be because tearing it down would be too much work. Soon after, lightning struck the steeple and broke it to the ground. They took it as a sign from God to build a taller steeple. I'm not sure that's what the "sign" meant, though!From there, we met the rest of the family that just arrived in St. George at the Cracker Barrel there. This was the reason why most of the family came to St. George. That's right. The Cracker Barrel! I had a mediocre meatloaf dinner there. That is my favorite thing to get there and I was disappointed. They got to do more than that to win me over! We finished the day up at Cracker Barrel and returned to our hotel room for the adventure awaiting us the next day!

Seattle Trip (Part 2)

This really only covers the last day and a half of our trip, but we did a lot in that time! We went to the Experience the Music Museum, which, in my opinion was awesome! It was a great place to go with kids because it was so interactive. There was a whole section of the museum devoted for hands-on experience with different instruments and musical/vocal equipment. We all had tons of fun there. There was also a Jim Henson exhibit there, which Jackson really enjoyed, especially the part when his daddy became a muppet...Jackson's favorite instrument to play at the museum was the drums. He does have great rhythm!
Jackson was amazed at the muppets. He quickly figured out that his daddy was one of them.Next, we went up the Space Needle. It was a beautiful view from up there, but it wasn't as high as I expected. I suppose I would have been more impressed if I hadn't already been up to the top of the Eiffel Tower! Never the less, it was a good experience!

This is the view from the Space Needle, facing Mt. Rainier. It was a gorgeous, sunny day!The crew @ the Music Museum, with the Space Needle in the background.
Just before we left to catch our flight back to California, we stopped at a tea house. It was the cutest place, and best of all, it was peaceful and had good food! The boy cousins even posed in front of it (Jackson, Nolan, and Preston).I love how Jackson is actually smiling in this picture!(L-R) Nolan, Angie, Me, Jackson, Troy, Preston, Ryan, Jennifer. This is what I ate for lunch: a scone (with yummy lemon curd and raspberry jam), Bacon Asparagus Swiss Quiche, and frosty cranberry salad. Delicious! Of course, I had some English Breakfast Tea with it. The tea was very tasty because it was loose leaf tea.Angie, Me, and Jennifer in front of the tea house.Troy, Jackson and I in our last family photo before the flight home! Hope you enjoyed out photos from the trip!