If we had to put a letter grade on our trip to Kansas City over the weekend, we would give it an A-. We had a great time seeing and catching-up with old friends. We hit a couple of my favorite eateries, although again with the kids present, I can’t go quite as nuts as I used to. And, obviously, the big, unexpected thrill was being about to watch a couple basketball games with people I used to spend a lot of time watching hoops with. That worked out well.
The girls had a few personal highlights. On the drive over, we had maps for them to color in based on the license plates we saw. They collected 35 on the way to KC, including the very rare Alaska. M. was pretty pumped up about that.1 They though the indoor pool at our hotel was great. And they loved playing with all their KC friends.
But without a doubt their favorite moment was our visit to the American Girl Doll store on Sunday. M. and C. got their dolls’ ears pierced and each girl got a new outfit. It was a little like Christmas morning, although there was no shrieking since strangers were present.
There were a few meltdowns, and the drive home Monday was a little more contentious that the first drive was. It was a fine trip, all things considered.
Thanks to all of you who hosted us or took time to come visit with us. It was great to see everyone. Hopefully it won’t be another two years before the entire family visits again.
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- They were less diligent on the ride home, but filled in at least four of those missing states. ↩