Tours

Let's see...Kaleidoscope for art, Crown Center and Hallmark Visitor's Center to get our passports stamped, lunch at Crayola Cafe, the skywalk over to Union Station for trains (big and small), some American Girl fun, little shopping, dinner, and Rango!  Busy day, and we are T-i-R-E-D!

As we went into Kaleidoscope.

This is the door-it's a big cutout, and the doorway is the same shape-cool!

Jenifer helping Mary Claire make cards!

The rectangles on the table are magnets!  The paint lids made big art sculptures!

I loved all these cute little art-making stations.  This one was cardstock, bugs, puzzle pieces, markers, and tape.

I think this was a menu-making station. There were cardstock covers with thinner paper inserts, and they were already pre-punched and creased for folding!

I loved this table-all the marker holders were cute wood replicas: peanut butter, Ketchup, Cheese Balls, etc.  There was also this big umbrella over the cart with hanging lights and bugs-adorable!

Check out this Cute Couch!

In the dark room with black lights, and wax-painting!  It was melted crayons at the perfect heat-melty, but not hot enough to burn your skin.

I did love this couch!

Thanks, Jen, for coming with us-it was awesome!!

Clay is using the phone..

Check out this frog-tacular idea for a donated book drop!

And then we went to the Hallmark Vistor's Center to take the tour.  Here, you could push a button, it would make you a bow, put a sticky back on it, and deposit it at the bottom!

I loved these!  I won't show you aLL of them, but had employees decorate ceramic crowns for their 100th birthday last year-they were SO creative! : )

Ethan's favorite was the rocket crown-it's upside down as the stand!

And he liked the gingerbread one too!

and this is their 100th birthday cake made of 100 cards-10 from each decade over the years.

Then we had lunch at the Crayola Cafe.  I DO love color!  And everything was color-related: the menu, the placemats and napkins, the cups, everything!

Clay was ducking the picture, but I got him!

I'm so thankful she'll still let me get a picture!  Our waiter asked us who had diabetes, and he did too!  We talked all about her pump, and he wants one-used to weigh 300 lbs, and can get one after one more year of keeping the weight off!  He's excited.

Thrilled Mary Claire traded cups with him-he *loves* green!

and a sentimental (for me) picture with the kids at the Crayola store next to the colors.

Then..across the skybridge to Union STation!

I'm a sucker for architecture.

Guess what was going on?  A science fair!  These kids did some great projects-we actually stopped by lots of them to learn!

More Experiments..

A huge model train!

..then we found the huge section of model trains-and they all loved them!

Sweet kids.

They had James!

Jenifer did the best rubbings, and made the kids some to take home.

And the kids played with legos.

And then..he got to see a REAL train!

This is the Cathedral in KC-but it was closed. : (  I'd really wanted to see the picture of Mary with the swirly tummy!

American Girl!

She and Megan shopped and shopped...

I took extra pictures of the things she loved...Christmas isn't that far away!

She wanted the $85 bed, but I'm just sure I can make it. : )

And yes, Ches did okay.  He looks the same, but his head has some blood and scars.  He has to put on medicated gauze 2x day, use a copper-spray every 30 minutes (all of these medications have been used with burn victims and speed wound healing), take some steroids, and can wash his hair on Friday.  I haven't taken any pictures, and I don't plan to.  There are some things you don't want to remember.  (I distinctly remember not taking pictures of Mary Claire in the hospital when she was diagnosed.  Same thing.)  I had meant to, but no.  He's okay, can't do anything strenuous for a week (that would include riding his bike to work!) and needs to wear button-down shirts to avoid friction on his head.

Prayers would be appreciated for his healing.  The good news is that he's fine (and was under budget by $5000).  The bad news is that they didn't transfer as many follicles as they were supposed to-only about 2200.  He'll have to go back in at around six months to a year to finish.  He was okay with it-he was tired, and it took until 3pm (and he left at 6:30 this morning-it was two blocks away!).  Long enough.  Bless his heart-it was a lot to take, and I couldn't have done it.  I'm praying for him to be satisfied with it and to heal quickly.  Praying for your loved ones to be safe and healthy also. : )