Wonderscope Children's Museum

We took my Dad to Wonderscope Children's Museum while he was here. I knew he the boys would have a great time with him and I was right! In fact, our first time at Wonderscope I thought to myself, "my Dad would be a great person to take here because he is awesome at building and constructing things."

Happy to be here!

Grandpa shows Coen how to let go of the ball sideways and not straight down so it spins around the funnel.

Experimenting with a whole bucket of balls at one time.

Racing the balls.

Doh! The ball got stuck.

Marshall put on a short little puppet show in which the owl and chicken attacked each other. Of course, what else would they do?

Coen had a blast loading the conveyor belt and turning the handle for the blocks to go into the silo.

And filling a cart with produce from the "garden."

Coen has been smiling whenever I point the camera his way, making it hard to get candids.

The water room is always a favorite!

And of course we had to stop and play with Coen's friend, "Tommy."

Marshall's favorite part- the blue foam "sword" fight area. Grandpa turned it into the ultimate build-and-knock-down area!

But of course there was a lot of sword-action too!

The builders.

Making it as tall as he can.

Ready to knock down this tower with a sword.

Champion.

Whoa!

Marshall was excited to knock this one over!

Then they requested a fort to be built.

Charging out into battle!

Defending their fort from those who wish to destroy it.

Over to the air tunnels, where they lie in wait to catch the scarves as they blow out.

Coen caught it!!

Of course my brick masters had to stop and build a Lego creation.

Coen played captain of the submarine. Love his expression in this one.

Aaaaand, back to the giant blocks for "just one more, pleeease?" Of course Grandpa Kirk acquiesced and built his Grandsons the Grand Daddy of knock over towers.

Ta-Da! This one was inches from the ceiling. I think every kid in there was jealous of my boys and their cool Grandpa.

With this fierce warrior around, the Grand Daddy didn't last too long.

And thus concludes our trip to Wonderscope. I think we all left exhausted and I was glad I remembered to bring snacks for the trip home.

Kansas City Zoo

Wednesday was a nice, sunny November day, so we decided to show Grandpa the zoo!

Watching the polar bear as he uses the glass to push himself into a back stroke

Marshall and Coen enjoyed their carousel ride

Leopard

We never did figure out what this animal was

Cheetah

The otters are usually asleep when we visit, but this time they were swimming underwater and one even used the rock slide they have in the habitat.

The gorilla, chillaxin'

Thanksgiving 2011

The weather report was great for Thanksgiving Day, so we planned a walk around Smithville Lake while the turkey roasted. It was beautiful and sunny out, about 65 degrees!

John captured both of these turtle pictures and I took creative liberties in Photoshop.

Marshall wanted to go down near the lake to feel how cold the water was. The boys skipped rocks and ran along the water's edge for a few minutes.

Coen making his way along the trail. He and Grandpa took turns being troopers, Coen for walking some of the way, and Grandpa for carrying him on his shoulders more of the way.

Marshall found a curious plant that had fallen off a tree and wanted to investigate it. Grandpa tried smashing it and discovered it was a walnut! We gathered more to take home and eat. They were very rich and flavorful! Makes me want to buy a nutcracker.

Marshall samples his discovery.

Isn't this pretty? My Dad gathered various plants and made me a little bouquet. I brought it home and put it on the table as a centerpiece for dinner.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner with my Dad here! We used our delicious turkey recipe from last year and made a 20 pounder for the leftovers. We had green bean casserole, rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry fluff salad, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and of course pumpkin pie! At my Dad's request we also had sauerkraut, apparently a Marshall family tradition.