Kansas City continued

We visited more than the church history sites.  Pictures and notes...



THE TITANIC AT UNION STATION

Notes on the Titanic exhibit at Union Station:


David's first grade class is obsessed with the Titanic.  It all started with a book his teacher happens to have in the classroom library about it.  David's best friend became fascinated with the ocean liner and its demise.  The fascination was contagious, spreading among the six-year-olds faster than a rotovirus.  The kids expanded their search for Titanic books to other libraries, and they silently swap those books during reading time.  Or they not-so-silently huddle together on the beanbags pouring over the books' diagrams and photographs, with someone reading the captions aloud for the benefit of all.  One kid (David's best friend) did his science fair project on how and why the Titanic sunk.  Another boy started a Titanic club.  These kids are pretty obsessed.  (It all started with a forgotten, overlooked book on the shelf.  The power of a book!)

So when I saw there was an exhibition on the Titanic in town, the Nice Mom part of me nagged relentlessly,"You have to take him! You have to take him!"  Nice Mom finally won out over I Don't Want to Be Bothered Mom.  That's when David and I headed downtown to Union Station, leaving Daddy and Mary behind to swim at the hotel.

The best way to describe the exhibit is "overpriced."  Way overpriced.  ($19.12--aren't they clever.)  I know that it's amazing that someone can go down to the Titanic wreckage at the bottom of the ocean at 6,000 psi and recover a boot that's been there for a hundred years.  But it's still just a boot under some glass at a museum.  It's hard for a six-year-old (or 34 a-year-old) to get really excited about it.  Also, I expected more diagrams and displays on the mechanics of the sinking--and I think David did too.  BUT there was a marvelous scale model of the Titanic (that impressed upon me how big this thing was), and there over sized stunning illuminated photographs, and we enjoyed the information about the different classes.  (It cost over $100,000 in today's money to travel first class on the Titanic; second class was so nice that those passengers thought they had mistakenly been given first class accommodations; David would have chosen third class because they got bunk beds.)  Also, we got "boarding passes" of specific individuals that make for a nice souvenirs that can be passed around the beanbags in David's classroom.

Best of all, I got to spend the evening out on the town with my little sweetheart.  He enjoyed doing something special--without his adoring/annoying little sister.  And I enjoyed the one-on-one time.  My heart went pitter-patter when we rode the Union Station escalators holding hands and when we discussed lifeboat designs over pizza and spaghetti.




NATIONAL WORLD WAR I MUSEUM

 

Notes on the World War I Museum:


In case you're wondering why the NATIONAL World War I Museum is in Kansas City:  Right after the war, the citizens of Kansas City set about building a memorial.  So it was a Kansas City thing.  Decades later, a museum was built underneath the memorial, and Congress passed legislation making it the National World War I Museum.  It does indeed seem like it should be in Washington D.C.  But it's nice that it's not.

I loved this museum!  It is well-designed.  Informative and accurate and engaging. Not too big, and not too small. It's an adult museum, but it's interesting for kids--without being gimicky.  There are a few life-size replicas of the trenches.  (What misery.)  The two short films are well-done.  The displays are easy to follow.  And there is a big interactive computer screened table top with activities and information that the kids loved.  Also, the volunteers were friendly, helpful, and plentiful.

I know I may be a little biased because of this strange fascination I have with World War I.  (What a strange time of transition--the tanks had wooden wheels for heaven's sake.  How was it not the end of the world?  The whole world completely turned upside-down and fell apart and then everyone died of the flu.  And yet it was really just the beginning.)  But I definitely recommend this museum.  So, you Mormons on your pilgrimages to Independence and Liberty, take a morning to drive downtown and visit this place.






BASS PRO SHOP OUTDOOR WORLD

Notes on Outdoor World:


Early on David found a brochure in the hotel lobby for Bass Pro Shop's Outdoor World.  He became obsessed, pouring over the brochure at every spare moment.  Since it was on our way home from the World War I Museum, we stopped there after lunch, thereby making David's dreams come true.

The dads took the kids inside to shoot guns, admire large fish, and climb in boats.  (Us moms went to Hobby Lobby to look at material.)  I'm not sure how anyone else felt, but David thought it was the best experience of his life.  He told me, "I love that place.  It was a dream come true."

I don't even know what to say.

As Uncle B pointed out to Greg, "I think you may have a gun enthusiast on your hands."

I don't even know what to say.

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Then it was an afternoon of swimming, breakfast for dinner, and finally off to the temple.

Pictures and notes from Kansas City

Last summer on our way home from Texas we stopped in Missouri to visit some of the Mormon historical sites.    We also drove by the Kansas City Temple, which was still under construction.  Mary begged to go inside, and when we explained that it wasn't even finished yet, she suggested, "Let's come back when it's finished so we can go inside."

So we did.

To make it even better, Uncle B and Aunt Le and Little Cousin N and Cousin J trekked across the plains to join us in Missouri.  Family and the temple.  It was a good combination.  

And now I will show you some pictures of what we did.  

[We all know it is actually easier to show a lot of pictures than a few. Keep that in mind. Also, I'm determined that my kids have a million pictures to scroll through.  I know they are young: but I hope they will carry with them a glimmer of memory of this trip.  Family and the temple.  A good combination to remember.]

HANGING OUT AT THE HOTEL

Notes on hanging out at the hotel:

David initiated J into the world of Pokemon.  Mary and Little N hid Barbies around the room in lieu of Easter eggs.  There was also a lot of swimming in the pool.

FAR WEST TEMPLE SITE

Notes on the Far West temple site:

This is the site of the second temple the early Latter-day Saints hoped to build in Missouri.  Like the first, in Independence, they had to flee for their lives, leaving behind only the cornerstones.

It is simple.  And powerful in its simplicity.

This place speaks to Greg's soul.  I can tell it also speaks to David's soul. (I wonder what it is about Far West and these two men of mine.)

About this place, David told me, "It is fresh and quiet and far away.  It is a good place to pray.  And to play tag."

HAUN'S MILL

Notes on the site of the Haun's Mill Massacre:

We got there via GPS coordinates.  It's in the middle of nowhere.  Very rural.  Very.  I felt so far removed from civilization that it was making my chest tight.  I've been in the middle of nowhere before--plenty of times. But, I realized, there are usually mountains in sight.  Being in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the Midwest was kind of freaky.  I think I am a city girl.  Or a suburban girl.  Or a mountain girl. Not a rural Missouri girl.

I think the boys enjoyed driving their Subarus in the middle of nowhere.  And using longitude and latitude.

It is a mud puddle on the bank of the Shoal Creek.  Somewhere in the vicinity there is an old well where all the victims (seventeen, eighteen of them) were hastily interred.  No one knows exactly where it is now.

Everyone was quite muddy after our visit here.

BRECKENRIDGE PICNIC

Notes on a picnic in Breckenridge, Missouri:


Breckenridge is in the middle of nowhere.  You know how sometimes in your travels you end up way off the beaten path and you drive through little towns and you wonder that anyone lives there?  Well, this really had me wondering.  Another dying (dead) tiny rural town.

Its claim to fame is a millstone from Haun's Mill displayed in memory of the massacre.  There is a thoughtful marker nearby that speaks of the importance of tolerance. The mill stone is at the city park, which is beneath the water tower.  This is where we had a picnic.  The children had a ball.  All you need is a merry-go-round and some mud.  There was also a stray dog and--bonus!--a stray cat.

It was a delightful picnic.   Truly.  Sitting outside, eating bagels and cream cheese, talking, listening to your kids laugh in the distance.

(Location for the next H Family Reunion!  Underneath the water tower in Breckenridge, Missouri!  How about it, folks?)

ADAM-ONDI-AHMAN

Notes on Adam-ondi-Ahman:

I like this place.  It is what it is, except you're not really sure what it is.  But it's something.

And beautiful!

And fun with cousins!  Look at those adorable cousins.  Off the charts adorableness, I'm telling you.

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That evening B and Le took their kids to Independence and Liberty Jail.  Meanwhile, Greg and Mary went swimming and walked to Chile's.  David and I drove downtown to see a Titanic exhibit.  More to come.

By the way, if you are a regular reader with a good memory, you might be having a bit of deja vu.  We visited these same places last summer.  Please read THIS POST if you'd like to read more about these sites and some of the historical context.  (Also, there are more cute pictures of my kids.)

Outing

We follow three academic calendars in our family.  Sometimes school breaks and holidays observed and parent-teacher conferences align, but often they do not.  For instance, last year we had three different spring breaks, David, Mary, and Greg each with their own.  This year, miraculously, all three of the students had the same week off for spring break.  

The first half of the week was spent working on a project in the backyard.  The kids excitedly followed their dad around for hours as he hammered, nailed, painted, mowed, dug, hauled, and took the inevitable thirteen trips to Home Depot.  The second half of the week was spent in Kansas City.

But there was one day when Greg needed to go to campus and focus on his research.  And our little friends were all out of town, so there were no play dates on the calendar.  So I had the kids to myself.  I stared at my kids for a few minutes, trying to remember.  There was something familiar about this situation: Me, my kids, and a whole day ahead of us.  What does a mom do with her kids on a day off of school? 

Then I remembered.  An outing.  You go on an outing!  (My, how life has changed. Back in the day before school and all that comes with it--like homework and after school activities and playing with friends--I do believe I took my kids on an outing almost every day.  For sanity.  Toddlerhood requires a full agenda if you and your kids are not homebodies.)

With such unseasonably warm weather the past few months, I thought we could visit Olbrich Botanical Gardens and looks for signs of spring.

We found them:

Green grass and blossoming magnolia trees.  (I love the scent of magnolia blossoms.  Heavenly.)

And emerging tulips.  (I love tulips.  Too bad they don't smell like anything.  But that's what the spring magnolias are for.)

We posed under the Thai pavilion.

And climbed on an elephant.

And skipped through the birches.

Then we tried out a new playground.

And inspected the shore of Lake Monona.

It's nice to get out.

***

I leave you with this picture from the botanical gardens.  Sometimes it's hard having a little sister.  There is little difference between adoring and annoying.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!

We spent most of the day in the car, returning from this with them.

It was awesome.  More than worth spending your Easter on the road for.



P.S.  Have a few minutes?  Don't forget this.  It's Easter (and bunnies are better than bells.)