Nebraska City, Kansas City

This past weekend, we took our last road trip of the summer (sniff, sniff).  Mike and I took the girls up (down to?) Nebraska City to stay at the Lied Lodge.  Ever since our five minute visit to NBC Suites (Embassy Suites) for a bathroom break a few weeks ago, the girls have been dying to stay at a fancy hotel, and this was it!  The big plan was to go down to Nebraska City, then pretend like we were driving home, but really drive to Kansas City and surprise Briana with a trip to Worlds Of Fun.  We were all in on the surprise, and we were all very excited about it.  Upon arrival in Nebraska City, we went to the Arbor Farm and went through this big nature hike. You pay to go on a hike, visit a playground, go on a tractor ride, and at the end, you get a free pine tree. It was fun!

The tractor ride took us through a lot of the farm, including the apple orchards, but the best part was going through a giant sunflower field. 

Isn't that pretty? 

After our tractor ride, we went to the greenhouse to get our free trees.  They are tiny pine trees that come in a little tube that you get out of a refrigerator. 

"Grab the best looking ones!" I instructed the girls as they rifled through the trees.

We had our trees in our hands and were ready to leave when Mike turned to me and said, "What are we going to do with these trees when we're walking around Worlds of Fun all day tomorrow?" 

I nearly had a heart attack.  Our surprise trip!  He forgot it was a surprise!!

"What?!?!"  I squeaked back at him, while furiously shaking my head.

"WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH THESE TREES WHEN WE'RE AT WORLDS OF FUN ALL DAY TOMORROW?"  he said again, louder this time.

"What's Daddy talking about?" Briana asked. 

"I have no idea," I told her.  "I think he means when we're walking around Nebraska City tomorrow." 

Luckily, Briana forgot about it and didn't mention it again. 

After our sweaty nature adventure, we went back to the lodge and cooled off in the pool. 

Friday morning, the day of our big surprise, we woke up to rain.  We headed torwards Kansas City anyways, hoping for the best.  About half an hour out of Kansas City, Briana started noticing all the signs saying we were about to enter into KC. 

"Let's tell her now!" Mike said to me.

"Ok," I agreed. 

We let Sydney tell her the news, and Briana just about lept out of her seat with excitement. 

Have I mentioned Briana's love for all things Snoopy?  That was the whole appeal of Worlds Of Fun, the new Planet Snoopy attraction. 

We spent a good part of our day in Planet Snoopy riding rides and seeing shows and shopping in the biggest Snoopy store ever. 





And, wouldn't you know it, one of the carnival games at the park just outside of Planet Snoopy had Smurfs for prizes.  Sydney's eyes practically fell out of her head.  Lucky for her, she played the game and won!

After we were pretty much done with Planet Snoopy, we ventured out into other parts of the park for some other rides.  Mike went on all the roller coasters.  Like this one.  He's in the front row!



Too scary for me!  We also saw a couple shows at the park.  One in particular was a musical show with some music from the 60's and 70's.  It was an interesting compilation, with some interesting performers.  About half way into the show, after we had all given each other some questionable looks as to what we had gotten ourselves into, Mike was singled out of the crowd and pulled onto the stage.  The girls and I couldn't have been happier. 

He's such a good sport. 

We ended up staying in the park quite a while longer.  The girls wanted to go on lots of the rides two or more times, and they went without Mike or I with them!  Does that mean they are growing up?  I hope not!



Mike somehow managed to drive us home after all of that, in the dark even.  Briana already told me this morning that she's ready to go back today.  But, since the high in KC today is 107, I think we'll wait till next year.