Kansas City Adventure -- The "American Girl" Hotel

We opted not to stay at the Great Wolf Lodge for our third night in Kansas City. We moved to a cheaper hotel that also happened to have an American Girl Doll package. The package included a doll bed for each girl, cookies and milk for the girls and their dolls at night, and a breakfast buffet, complete with a seat for each doll. It was marketing at its best, and it worked on us!

The children had a great time. Our rooms all opened out into a sitting area near the pool, so we were able to visit lots with our friends. Mark even got in a game of cards with the dads. Everyone was very tired, but very happy. Our Kansas City Adventure was a success!

Kansas City Adventure-- The American Girl Store

Posing with "The Doll of the Year"

Bailey and her good friend Mary Anna

The girls were very excited to visit an American Girl store for the first time (The dads and boys headed to Toys R Us instead). Bailey has been collecting catalogs for a long time, and she has most of them memorized. She was excited to get to see the dolls and their "stuff" in person.

The girls spent the month of January doing jobs around the house to earn money to buy a new outfit for their doll. We went on a Saturday afternoon, which happens to be a very crowded time to visit! The store has a salon where you can pay to have your doll's hair styled, for the low price of $10-$25, but our girls opted to spend their money on doll clothes instead. They made their purchases and spent lots of time looking around. They are already making plans to visit the American Girl store in Denver when we visit Uncle Wes and Aunt Rebecca later this year. I am glad we do not have a store near us, so that it stays a rare treat!

Kansas City Adventure-- The T-Rex Cafe

After we checked out of the Great Wolf Lodge, we headed to the T-Rex Cafe for desert (we ate lunch in our room). It was a fun place, with LOTS to look at. Most of us shared Hot Lava Cakes-- they were big enough for at least four people. The food was good, and the atmosphere was great! I highly recommend it!

Kansas City Adventure-- the Water Park

I was very impressed with the water park at the Great Wolf Lodge. I had been a bit apprehensive about keeping up with all five of them (especially Eli) around all of the water, but it ended up being a great experience. The life guards were wonderful, and there were a lot of them. They were very focused on their job, to the point that they would hardly talk to anyone so they would not be distracted. We still kept a close eye on the children (especially the littles), but we had lots of help.

There was a shallow area with small water slides for Anna Grace and Eli, which kept them happy for long stretches of time. There was also an activity pool, a lazy river, a tree house with lots of opportunities to get wet, and several big water slides. Isaac was initially very hesitant about going down the big slides, but before too long, he had joined Bailey and their friends in trying them all out. A bell rang every five minutes to announce that a giant bucket on top of the tree house was about to drop a whole bunch of water. The bell brought the adventurous children running to the bucket, and the more timid children running quickly away from the bucket!

It was really nice to have the hotel right there so that I could take the little ones back to the room when they were tired. I don't know if I ever want to go to an outdoor water park now -- I'm spoiled! I highly recommend it!

Kansas City Adventure

Several weeks ago, we embarked on an adventure to Kansas City. Mark and the children had never been to the great state of Kansas, so we packed our bags and headed that way. We went with four other families for a long weekend of fun.

Our first stop was a visit with Mark's cousin Nancy and her precious family. Having the wisdom that comes with being a grandparent of small children, she suggested that we meet at a fine dining establishment -- Chuck E. Cheese. We had a great time visiting with them and earning tickets and eating pizza at the same time.

Afterwards, we joined our friends at the Great Wolf Lodge to stay for two nights. I had never heard of the Lodge before, but it was quite a joint! It is a combination hotel and water park, and there are twelve of them around the country. The Sunday after our visit, it was on the television show "Undercover Boss", so apparently it is quite a popular place. It is typically an expensive place to visit, but we were able to get a good deal because one of our nights was during the week, and there was a special going on. It was still more than we usually pay for a hotel, but the price also included the whole day at the water park. We took breakfasts and lunches to eat in the room to try to add a bit of frugality to the trip.

The Lodge also had a pajama story time for the children, which our littles enjoyed. There was lots of "lodgey" kind of things to look at, which gave us some good photo opportunities.

To Be Continued...

Anna Grace's New Friend

"Why is there a doll in my suitcase?"
Anna Grace meets her new friend.

A few years ago, I made the rule that the girls in our house had to be seven years old to get an American Girl Doll. That is how old Bailey was, and it seemed to work well. I wanted them to be old enough to take good care of them. Last year, I broke my rule and gave Olivia one for her sixth birthday. She has taken very good care of her. In fact, sometimes I have to encourage her to play with her because she is afraid of messing her up!

A couple of weeks ago, I broke my rule again and gave Anna Grace one for her fifth birthday. There were several reasons for this rule breakage. The girls are in their A.G. book club, and all of the girls have them (I know, I know, I gave into peer pressure.). Her favorite doll was being "retired" at the end of December (I know, I know, I also gave into marketing). Besides all of that, I really liked the doll too!

She had no idea that she was getting it. Her birthday was February 2, but we were heading to Kansas City the weekend before, and one of our destinations was the American Girl store there. I wanted to go ahead and give her the present before we left. I brought out suitcases for the girls to pack for the trip. When Anna Grace opened hers, there was an Elizabeth doll inside. At first, she was completely confused. She thought it was Bailey's doll. We finally convinced her that it was her very own. She was thrilled! It was worth every penny!

A Neat Video

This is a really neat story about showing grace to other people!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52AOPQvCTv4&feature=related

Something Is Missing!

I forgot to mention that Anna Grace lost her first tooth on February 1st, which was the day before her fifth birthday! It had been loose for a few days, and she was terrified! It turned out not to be nearly as painful as she had imagined. She lost her second one a few days ago. She is growing up way too fast!

A Sweet Surprise at Church!

Our minister, John Mark, had a very "sweet" object lesson in church yesterday. He was speaking about God's grace, and he had a smoothie up on stage with him. He asked if anyone in the audience would like it. Several teens volunteered, and he gave it away. He talked about how it would have been a painful act, but he knew there was more where that came from. He then gave a smoothie to everyone in the congregation. He went on to preach about how God's grace is like that. He has more than enough to meet our needs and we can trust Him. Whether it be our time, money, forgiveness, or whatever, his grace is sufficient for us. We can be generous with those in need, knowing that God is faithful to meet our needs. What a great lesson!

American Girl Book Club

The girls made rag dolls out of yarn and strips of fabric. They have been "begging" for extra scraps of fabric ever since!

What a smile!

Writing with a feather was not quite as easy as it looked!

Felicity learned the proper way to serve tea in one of the books. The girls learned about the tax that was placed on tea and how it helped lead to the Revolutionary War.

Anna Grace took her writing very seriously!

The girls are in an American Girl Doll book club that meets a couple of times a month. Each of the historical dolls has six books set in her time period. We just finished reading the Felicity series, which takes place in the Colonial Period. During our book club meetings, we do activities from the time period, as well as sample the foods that people in that time ate. We also try to talk about the major events that were taking place in American History at that time. The girls really love it. It is wonderful when fun and education come together!

Mark and his Princesses

Some wonderful ladies at our church organized a magical evening for Fathers and their Daughters earlier this month. All of the little girls had been buzzing with excitement about the upcoming night with their Daddy! The evening began with a Daddy/Daughter Dance for preschool girls and was followed by a Father/Daughter Ball for the older girls.

Mark and Anna Grace headed out on the town first. Each little princess was greeted at the door and handed a magic wand. A talented lady from our church took pictures of the girls with their daddies. Steven Curtis Chapman's "I Will Dance with Cinderella" was the first dance of the night, and it was followed by classics like "The Hokey Pokey" and "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes." The little girls ate lots of sugar and had a great time!

After the little girls finished up, I dropped Bailey and Olivia off at the church. They spent the evening dancing with their daddy and their friends. They were served dinner, and our minister John Mark gave a talk that challenged the daddies to bring up their daughters in the Lord. He also challenged the girls to honor their parents. The girls (and their daddies) were positively glowing when they got home! Apparently, Mark was quite a dancer. I got to hear all about it at church the next day! I am so thankful that Mark loves his children and is doing all he can to be a Godly dad. I am also thankful for our church. I am truly blessed!

Happy Birthday Anna Grace!

A Happy Day!

Her grandparents called with birthday wishes!

Our big five year old!


Anna Grace celebrated her 5th birthday last week (I am not sure how that is possible, it seems like just yesterday she was two!). She had been looking forward to her special day for a long time. She had six families over for lunch to help celebrate. She chose the menu (which seemed vaguely familiar -- it was the same as last year!). We had pizza, Sun Chips and orange soda, with cake and ice cream for dessert of course! She had a wonderful day! Happy Birthday Anna Grace!