I love Kansas City. I have loved the times I have gone to a church convention here. I love the downtown – the fountains, the shops. I have enjoyed the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum.
But mostly, I love that my cousins live there. Since high school, I have flown out frequently to stay with my cousin, Kristin, and her husband, Matthew. And while she was a cousin I looked up to, loved the hand-me-downs from, and watched from a distance, she was not the one I hung out with as a kid. She is older by enough years that it didn’t really make sense in elementary school and junior high to play as much together. Although she did help me paint/puffy paint a cute shirt as a moving to Ohio gift in 1989. But when I started going out on my own, we started to get to know each other. I played with her kids as they grew up, helped cook in the kitchen with her and Matthew, listened to music, talked, laughed, and hung out on the screened in porch. That, over the years, has bonded us as friends, and I love going to see her. My kids love her, too.
And don’t forget about Matthew. He is the best addition to her. They work in ways that I aspire to see my marriage morph into. They appreciate one another, compliment one another aloud, and work to make each other better. No, they aren’t perfect, and sometimes you see the rub, too. But that’s what I like – the reality of it all. That said, I was so glad that he would be there for a least a day of our time there. (He travels for work, and so he is not always around.)
We pulled into their driveway at 5ish. I hauled myself up their steep driveway, opened the door like it was my home, and gave a holler. I was promptly given the best and tightest hug in the world. I love her!
As we brought our things in, we talked about our evening plans – a Kansas City Royals vs Cincinnati Reds baseball game. Jeremy’s bucket list includes getting to visit all the MLB stadiums, so this would check one more off his dwindling list. Matthew was working on tickets/parking; Jeremy jumped to help navigate all the stuff. We carried in our stuff. Kristin has a spread for a “light” supper – veggies, pulled pork sliders, chips, cookies!
We left for the game, planning to meet up with their kids (Emily and Josh) and their significant others (Kevin and Alexia) at the game.
We had great seats near 3rd base. The weather was the perfect baseball weather – 60s, light breeze, setting sun.
We settled in for a bit before loading up on drinks and peanuts first, followed by pizza, and finally by dippin’ dots, and funnel cakes. The game was good and close. So close in fact that we went into 10 innings. We left at the bottom of the 10th and headed home, rolling into beds by about 11pm (midnight to our eastern time bodies!).
The next day, we were treated to a delicious breakfast as we eased into the morning. The girls lounging in their bedroom (Emily’s old room); they loved this space!
We left mid-morning to go downtown. Matthew though it would be fun to use the electric cable car to get around.
So, we parked at Union Station and hopped on to our first stop the main branch of the Kansas City Library. I had seen some pictures and wanted to see it. They had painted their parking garage to look like spines of books. It did not disappoint.
The inside was just as much fun! We even enrolled in their summer reading program – earning a free bag and a book just for signing up! (We said we were from out of state, but they said it didn’t matter.) We explored the library – the rooftop garden area, the various sections, the old bank vault that was converted to a family film night area; it was all very cool.
From there, we had lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant. It was new to us food, and I love that the girls were willing to try it. Fresh spring rolls, Bahn Mi (sandwich), and some delicious noodle bowls I don’t remember the name of. We all enjoyed what we had!
We had a relatively quiet night with just Kristin and a supper of shredded beef tacos. Lola was still around. While she is a friendly cat to her owners, she does not love guests. All my interactions with her have involved evil eyes and hissing or growling. No attacks, just wants to make her presence and dominance known.
The next morning, Kris and I went on a walk – also a favorite activity to do with her… although she walks FAST with long strides, so I fight to keep up. It allows time for good conversation though. After vanilla scones, the girls worked on a new painting with Kristin’s guidance. This is a favorite thing they have been able to do when seeing her. Kris is a good teacher, providing help, but not painting it for them. This time, they each choose a picture they wanted to do, had two different canvas shapes, and worked pretty independently. It was neat to see their growth and confidence in creating. Ellie made a rolling hills sunset scene with a road sign post that she is going to add the names of all the stops from our trip. Madison chose to make a floral scene with these beautiful purple, puff flowers with kinda a hazy background.
We walked down to the community pool which is only about two blocks from their house. I think the water was a bit cold, but the girls had fun for the hour or so we were there. It is a big pool with a splash pad, a slide, and two diving boards. Kristin treated them to bomb pops from the concession stand at some point. The adults sat and talked with books in our laps like we were going to actually read; it didn’t happen.
At some point, Josh took off for life. So we took a farewell picture.
In the evening, my cousins (Kristin’s brothers, Mark and John) and their kids came over for sloppy joes. The kids played really well together – Ethan (10), Everly (4), and Kate (19).
Emily and Kevin joined us, too. We just sat, talked, told stories, and caught up. It was good to reconnect.
We got up and headed out the next morning by 8am. We had a long drive before us and wanted to get on the road.
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