Stop #3, Kansas City!

I was really looking forward to KC so I could snuggle Josh & Natalie's sweet kiddos!  ...And, visit them and Mimi & Grampy of course! ;-) We were welcomed to the Milne residence with this cute sign.  Love it! Thanks for having our crazy crew over.  So wish we lived closer to you all!

 We hauled this jumping zebra toy out to Beckett.  It was one of our boys' favorites & I just knew we needed to pass it on!  I think he liked it! :-)

Brinley got a Cinderella doll.  I love having someone to buy girly things for!  We thought this doll looked just like Brin, too. She's so pretty!

 Beckett loved Carter's Crocs.  He has a thing for shoes, just like his Daddy.

 Brinley & Davis were buddies.

 The infamous Milne rabbit ears.

 High five, buddy!

 Cousin love.

 Time to break for dinner. That Beckett can really put it away!  I think he ate about three times what my boys did.  Wow!

 Josh & Natalie really know how to do Summer in the Midwest.  A little pool action in the back yard to cool off on a hot day.  Fun!

 Mimi giving Beckett a hand out of the "little kid" pool.

 Cousins in the "big kid" pool. 

 Mimi & Grampy had a good time watching the grandkids splash around.

 Love this little guy!

Did I Mention We Had FUN?!

When we go on a 2-week road trip we are not messing around, people!  We pack in as much fun and excitement as we possibly can!  Josh & Natalie were awesome with the kids' activities and took us to a great splash pool.  

 The boys chillin' on the "beach" before we went to the pool.

 Josh & Brinley checking out the slides.

 Beckett staying cool in the shade.  Is he adorable or what?!

(The following are two random fun pics in no particular order...)

 Davis helping Grampy set the squirrel trap.  (Never thought I'd be saying that...)

 Eating at the kids' table at Josh & Natalie's house.

 And then, it was family photo time!  We had a patriotic theme.

 Instant classic.

 Happier times.

 Love this one!

 Enough pics already.  Let's eat!

So in love with this little guy!

 Cute!

After a long day, Mimi knows just how to get these guys how to settle down for bed.

Brinley & BBQ

We left Colorado without a charger for our camera, so I have no pics of the boys meeting our sweet niece, Brinley, for the first time.  Luckily, we were able to see her twice during our three days in KC!!  After buying a replacement charger, we were able to get some photos of Brin at the Smokehouse for a family dinner.  

She loves Aunt Christy!

Josh with his sweet girl and Uncle Sean.   

 

Aunt Christy and Grampy

 The whole gang, sans Josh.  We love Kansas City BBQ!

Davis was very concerned when Brinley would cry.  BTW, she was the best-behaved of all three grand kids during our family photo shoot before dinner.  Go figure!

My wonderful mother & me.  Sure wish we lived closer!

Some of my faves from our family photos.  Brinley is such a sweet baby!  I am so happy for Josh & Natalie, and what amazing parents they are to this little girl!  Can't wait to hold her again...

Baby Brinley!

If you are friends with me on Facebook, then you already know I am SO EXCITED to announce the arrival of my baby niece!  My brother, Josh & his wife, Natalie welcomed Brinley Virginia last night and she is just perfect.  Look at that sweet face!  

Here are some pics of her that I stole from the interweb, so that everyone could admire her.  We love you already, Brinley!  Welcome to our crazy family, sweet girl!

Josh and Brinley with Josh's nieces.  They look so happy to meet their new cousin!

KC, sans Mommy. Day 1: Legoland

That's right, even though I am the one from Kansas City, I was not along for this recent trip in which Sean loaded up the boys, drove 12 hours from Denver to KC (it took longer because 4 1/2 hours were with the windshield wipers on full blast since a torrential downpour followed him all the way to Topeka!).  Instead, I stayed home to work (start pity party now) while Sean went to the Beilman Family reunion and stayed with the boys at Mimi & Grampy's house.

.

Hugging my boys goodbye.  It was hard to let go!

Now to the fun part: Legoland Discovery Center at Crown Center

Uncle Josh, Grampy and Mimi went with Sean and the boys!  

 Sean said that each Legoland has a miniature replica of the city where it's located, all made of Legos of course.  Here you can get some scale of how small everything was:

 Kauffman Stadium (where the Royals play, folks).  

 Downtown KC

The Emerald City (above) from the Wizard of Oz.  Let me just clarify that Kansas City (at least the cool parts) are in MISSOURI.  The fact that the Wizard of Oz is represented here is a bit confusing, since the movie takes place in Kansas.  However, the city does straddle the state line and there is an industrial, boring side of Kansas City that lies in Kansas.  *It is probably my biggest pet peeve when I tell people I am from Kansas City and they say "Oh, you're from Kansas?".  Okay, I'll move on...

 Dorothy's house, in black-and-white...

 ...transitions to Munchkin Land, in full color!

 The Country Club Plaza, complete with working fountain!

 Sean took this photo to show me that the bright green tees I packed for him to dress the boys, in an effort for them to stand out in a crowd, backfired since there was a huge group (there were about 50 more kids, not pictured) of summer camp kids at Legoland...all dressed in, you guessed it, BRIGHT GREEN SHIRTS!

 Taking in a 4-D Lego Movie with Grampy

 Riding the flying wizard ride with Daddy.

 Sorry for all the photos, but I loved the progression of the next series:

 How many Beilmans can fit on a Lego cycle?

 Mimi's in charge!

 After a full day at Crown Center, everyone met for dinner.  Including, Aunt Natalie (who is due to have our baby niece next month!!) and Sean's parents who had just arrived for the reunion.  What a day!