hello kansas city!

at the end of september the kids and i headed to kansas city to visit the taylors. we hadn't ever been to visit them in kansas and it was only a 9 hour drive, so it was time we finally went. the kids all did great. i wasn't too worried about logan or emma, they had movies to watch and plenty of snacks so i knew they would be fine. i was crossing my fingers connor would do as well on this drive as he did on the drive to idaho (especially since i was alone this time). and once again he was a rockstar! i fed him before we left and then fed him when we stopped for lunch and right when we got to kansas. otherwise he slept the whole drive. it was a huge blessing. the first 2 days i was there i watched my 5 nieces and nephews while my sister and brother-in-law were out of town at a job interview. so i got to experience being a single mom of 8! ha! i got a little taste of making sure music practicing happened, homework was done, running back and forth between soccer practices and getting kids down to bed. at the end of both days i was tired! we had so much fun playing while we were there and i totally fell in love with overland park (where my sister lives). there was lots of dressing up (emma and kate were pretty much always dressed up. kate is the master of layering her dress up items!), going on walks, visiting a cider mill, playing in the basement, riding bikes, playing in the backyard and going to the cutest farmstead (which i still can't get over that it was free! it was amazing!).

this is one of my favorite pictures! these girls were so cute together!

emma was obsessed with the dress-up dress on the right

this was my van at full capacity (8 people) on the way to soccer practice. let's just say it was loud ;)

 

the taylors have a great backyard! and since neither them or their neighbors have fences, it is one huge area to play with lots of kids always around. 

 

 

logan slept on their huge beanbag chair and he thought it was the greatest! this picture perfectly sums up how he likes to sleep: surrounded by stuffed animals, books and toys. 

i had to try some genuine kc barbecue while i was there. my father-in-law, who travels to kc on business recommended oklahoma joe's bar-b-que. ironically, i texted him to find out what he likes there and he texted me back that he was standing in line at oklahoma joe's at that very minute (a different location than i was going for takeout)! my sister's friend raved about the z-man sandwich and it was so tasty (and totally something dave would have loved). 

i don't know what caused this super pout, but i'm glad i caught it on camera. talk about ripping your heart out! i think his pout can rival emma's, which is saying something because emma has quite the pout! when i posted this on instagram my friend commented, "whatever he wants, give it to him!" 

connor was my little bed buddy on the trip. i am usually opposed to co-sleeping, but it seemed like on this trip he usually ended up in bed with me at some point during the trip! 

such a fun trip that went way to fast!