legoland

we had a little bit of discussion about what to do on our last day with papa and nana.  it was between legoland discovery center and the aquarium.  i thought that the kids might be a little young for legoland (mainly because it was so expensive and they aren't really in the 'lego' phase yet), but we had already been to two zoos so the aquarium seemed a little redundant.  we finally decided on legoland (i think the grown-ups really, really wanted to check out legoland).

our aim was to be there when they opened so that we might get through before lunchtime.  we were a little early and it was a good thing because the line to get in is outside and they stagger the entrance.  we were out there a while and very thankful for the morning 'coolness' (and the large fans blowing down).  we were also thankful for the bowls of legos out to keep the kids busy - waiting in line wasn't a problem for them.

once we got inside and purchased tickets (thank you papa and nana), we went into another holding room to wait for the elevator.  there were some lego figures to take pictures with while you waited.

i love this picture of madelyn.  it looks like she got caught making out.

 they also had a scale to see what you weighed in legos and a height chart to tell you your height in legos.

mason is leaning away from the wall because he wanted to look at it so he is a little taller than it looks.

 there weren't as many lego displays as i was expecting.  they had one room where they had replicated many of the kansas city landmarks and scenes from the wizard of oz.  since the kids aren't really familiar with either they were not as impressed as the grown-ups but still enjoyed checking it out.

we did find papa some giraffes.  here he is with a large one and madelyn sat on the smaller one like we had seen someone else do for a picture.  but then an employee came over to tell us that you can't climb on them so we didn't get pictures with the rest of the kids.

there were two rides and a "4d" movie.  i let the kids go on the first ride which involved shooting goblins.  i really didn't want them to because i felt that they were too young but i gave in.  i didn't get to go because of manning so i used the opportunity to nurse.  matt did say that there was just shooting because it was too loud to know what the story line was or that they were goblins.  i did stick to my guns about the movie which was call sorcery or something to that effect.  i really don't like all of the dark magic stuff with legos, harry potter, etc.  and i really didn't want the kids exposed to it at this age (yes, i am overprotective, but they are our children and these are very important years for forming beliefs).  when they are a little older i might let them go see it but not now. i mean madelyn thinks that "rapunzel" is what she can be when she grows up (first she wants to be an archaeologist, then rapunzel).

the last ride still had the sorcery theme but it was more a 'flying' pedaling ride - the more you pedaled, the higher your 'car' went as the whole thing rotated (think the dumbo ride at disney).  papa didn't believe that pedaling had anything to do with it so he and mason stayed at ground level until the very end.

the last bit of legoland was some block 'pits' and tables for the kids with a large playplace too.  madelyn didn't wear socks and maddux was too young so only mason went into the playplace (which is next to impossible to get your kids out of because of the sheer volume of the room and that you can't go inside the corral where the playplace is - you just check your kids in at the gate).

and that was it.  afterwords, matt and i discussed that it was neat, but not worth the price of admission.  it was mainly walking through single file type of thing and there just weren't as many lego opportunities or designs as we were expecting.  i think everyone had a good time though.

within the same complex is a train themed restaurant where you order your food from a phone and a train delivers it to your table via an elevator tray that comes down from the track.  it is neat.  we have been here several times but always seem to forget that the line to get in is crazy long!  the girls and manning waited in line while papa and daddy kept mason and manning busy walking around.

maddux wanted to carry manning in when it was our turn to be seated.  he really thought that he could do it.

once lunch was wrapped up we loaded up to head back to papa and nana's to pack up and for matt to have a nap.  our plan was to drive all night so that we wouldn't have to stop as much (aka no meals) and that way we would have saturday and sunday to recoup from our trip before getting back into the work week.

manning having one last snuggle with papa on the back deck.

it was very nice of papa and nana to put us up for the week and show us such a good time.  it wasn't a super tearful farewell because they are coming to see us again in a few weeks.  love.