I made a quick trip to KC in between snow storms for some Easter and birthday fun. Lincoln and Jamie were in St Louis, so it was just the girls.
We went to an Easter parade in downtown Lee's Summit where families walked behind this antique fire truck. Kids brought their own baskets to collect treats from merchants as they walked along the route (Janet and I didn't stay for that part). The parade ended up a block at the Amtrak station where the Easter bunny was hanging out.
Unfortunately, later that day, I had my own little fire truck excitement when the laundry room at the Best Western in Hays caught on fire. We didn't get any treats from the firemen, but I got a bottle of water from the front desk clerk. When they let us back in, the first floor of the hotel smelled terrible, but luckily I was on the 3rd floor. By morning, when I went down for my complimentary biscuits and gravy, the smell was almost gone.
On my way to KC, I passed a Russell Stover's warehouse in Abilene, so I stopped in. I'd never been to one before, so I was pleasantly freaked out to find the back room full of "close-outs" on off-season candy. I grabbed a basket and filled it up. Who cares if your eating chocolate Valentines or Christmas trees at Easter? Chocolate is chocolate, in my opinion.
Janet gave me some Dr Pepper Peeps for Easter along with some Cadbury eggs and a giant chocolate bunny. I'm going to have to spend several hours on my bike to burn off all that sugar.
Hazel's birthday was just a couple days before I arrived. I got her a robot dragon set. The robot itself was a little underwhelming. Hazel immediately figured out how to program it with the "magic wand" (all Melissa's kids are extremely intuitive - even Goldie figured out how to make it move, though she was just pushing random buttons).
The more exciting part of the kit was the catapult that came with the castle. I had loaded some mini-marshmallows in the dragon's trunk, and could they fly across the room. Goldie served as our catcher, though most of the marshmallows hit her in the head.
Janet took Teresa and I out for lunch to Culvers for our birthdays. Since it was Good Friday, we had fried shrimp, fish, and chips. One of the waitresses came around giving out tiny samples of their ice cream. I wasn't that impressed, so we went over to Andy's for hot fudge jackhammers. Yum!
On my way home, I stopped at the St Fidelis Basilica in Victoria. I always see its tall towers and the billboard advertising the Cathedral of the Plains when I drive to KC. It was very impressive inside, especially since they were getting ready for Easter mass. It just seems a little weird to have such a nice church stuck out in the middle of Kansas.
