In Late August, we all headed to our favorite mid-west city, Wichita, to visit our beloved Mimi & Boompa! What a fun-filled 5 day trip it was!
This was Greyson's second airplane trip, and he and daddy enjoyed having a row all to themselves :)
My airplane companion <3
I wish so badly I had gotten a video of us arriving at the Wichita airport...to see both kids see Mimi & Boompa and run full speed into their arms was so very precious!
On the short drive from the airport to their home, not taking a nap caught up with Greyson and he fell asleep <3
Mimi & Boompa really went all out to make their grand babies feel so special. Each had their own room, decorated specially for them. Ava was obsessed with her "princess tent" that hung over her bed, and Greyson will now not sleep without his Thomas blanket he got from them!
After we unpacked, we enjoyed the heat with water balloons!
Mimi & Boompa were also so kind to get the kids their favorite books so they could enjoy their favorite pastime of reading with each grandparent!
Our first full day, we had to visit our favorite Wichita attraction - the amazing Zoo! We were too busy enjoying the zoo to get many pictures, but we loved the petting and feeding zoo part, feeding the giraffes, and boat ride to see the elephants and so much more!
The penguin exhibit was fav!
And swinging with Mimi & Boompa <3
More water, sprinkler, and water balloon fun back at home:
Bath babies in Mimi's tub!
There was even a "garbage man," as Greyson calls it, waiting for him to play with...and we spent many hours playing with it together!
The third night there, Dee stayed home with the kids, so I could join my parents at a local charity even hosted by the Koke family...it was a surreal experiencing watching expensive experiences get auctioned and seeing people bid six figures on them like it was nothing...and sitting that close to the 12th richest man in the world was pretty surreal too!
Some of it: https://youtu.be/KaU54Uw6vS0
Our table!
What I would've bid on if I were one of the millionaires :)
Charle's Koke & Liz Koke:
It was sure fun to get all fancied up!
A fireball shot in a shot glass made out of ice..that was a first! https://youtu.be/MZXesgFyPrw
Before going to the charity event, I got to go to my mother's office, which was a cool experience. Very cool to see real manufacturing being done right here in the United States, and the biggest employer for Wichita. And, that in Mimi's office is a picture of her darling granddaughter <3
Our third day, Ava, Mimi & Mama got to do a very special activity - go to the Little Mermaid musical and go behind the scenes with the cast! I've seen many off-broadway productions in my life, and this show far surpassed them! The talent of the entire cast, the sets, the production value, the music - it was just the absolute best show I have ever seen. I cannot imagine broadway being any better! And, such a special experience for us girls!
Ava waiting to go backstage!
We got to meet Eric and Ariel, where they sang for us and told us all about themselves.
"Ariel" singing for us: https://youtu.be/CGl0oXORRUM
Meanwhile, daddy and boompa gave Greyson his first Spangles experience...it was a HIT!
Meeting Flounder, Ariel and Prince Eric before the show began <3
Backstage!
Between the meet & greet and the actual show, we had about 2 hours so we walked downtown for lunch and, as Ava so often does, Ava spotted a butterfly, called it a Monarch Butterfly and asked that I take a picture for our memories <3
Our final day in Wichita, we got to visit the Exploratorium, which was just the coolest children's museum I could ever dream of. It was enormous, and had science activities for every age group! We all loved it!
Ava enjoyed making paper airplanes fly with one of her favorite engineers: https://youtu.be/efr2eEzfnmA
Our favorite...getting to experience a 75 MPH tornado!
Leave it to our little guy to find every tractor!
Our little engineer...she loves putting things together!
My airplane companion <3
I wish so badly I had gotten a video of us arriving at the Wichita airport...to see both kids see Mimi & Boompa and run full speed into their arms was so very precious!
On the short drive from the airport to their home, not taking a nap caught up with Greyson and he fell asleep <3
Mimi & Boompa really went all out to make their grand babies feel so special. Each had their own room, decorated specially for them. Ava was obsessed with her "princess tent" that hung over her bed, and Greyson will now not sleep without his Thomas blanket he got from them!
After we unpacked, we enjoyed the heat with water balloons!
Mimi & Boompa were also so kind to get the kids their favorite books so they could enjoy their favorite pastime of reading with each grandparent!
Our first full day, we had to visit our favorite Wichita attraction - the amazing Zoo! We were too busy enjoying the zoo to get many pictures, but we loved the petting and feeding zoo part, feeding the giraffes, and boat ride to see the elephants and so much more!
The penguin exhibit was fav!
And swinging with Mimi & Boompa <3
More water, sprinkler, and water balloon fun back at home:
Bath babies in Mimi's tub!
There was even a "garbage man," as Greyson calls it, waiting for him to play with...and we spent many hours playing with it together!
And, then he got to see Wichita's real live garbage man! https://youtu.be/VqAFVIbzLbc
Some of it: https://youtu.be/KaU54Uw6vS0
Our table!
What I would've bid on if I were one of the millionaires :)
Charle's Koke & Liz Koke:
It was sure fun to get all fancied up!
A fireball shot in a shot glass made out of ice..that was a first! https://youtu.be/MZXesgFyPrw
Before going to the charity event, I got to go to my mother's office, which was a cool experience. Very cool to see real manufacturing being done right here in the United States, and the biggest employer for Wichita. And, that in Mimi's office is a picture of her darling granddaughter <3
Our third day, Ava, Mimi & Mama got to do a very special activity - go to the Little Mermaid musical and go behind the scenes with the cast! I've seen many off-broadway productions in my life, and this show far surpassed them! The talent of the entire cast, the sets, the production value, the music - it was just the absolute best show I have ever seen. I cannot imagine broadway being any better! And, such a special experience for us girls!
Ava waiting to go backstage!
We got to meet Eric and Ariel, where they sang for us and told us all about themselves.
"Ariel" singing for us: https://youtu.be/CGl0oXORRUM
Meanwhile, daddy and boompa gave Greyson his first Spangles experience...it was a HIT!
Meeting Flounder, Ariel and Prince Eric before the show began <3
Backstage!
Between the meet & greet and the actual show, we had about 2 hours so we walked downtown for lunch and, as Ava so often does, Ava spotted a butterfly, called it a Monarch Butterfly and asked that I take a picture for our memories <3
Then, the actual show...we had FRONT ROW SEATS! Ava was fascinating peeking down at the live orchestra :) It was a sold out show with more than 2,000 seats!
The next day was a low-key rainy day, which we loved not being able to see the rain this time of year in CA! We enjoyed playing with the slime kit in the garage!
More fun outside: https://youtu.be/WLNkEzvQWP0
We went out to dinner, and all Ava had to do was ask for dessert to get an ice cream cone bigger than her head!
Our final day in Wichita, we got to visit the Exploratorium, which was just the coolest children's museum I could ever dream of. It was enormous, and had science activities for every age group! We all loved it!
Ava enjoyed making paper airplanes fly with one of her favorite engineers: https://youtu.be/efr2eEzfnmA
Our favorite...getting to experience a 75 MPH tornado!
Leave it to our little guy to find every tractor!
Our little engineer...she loves putting things together!
