Go Broncos!! And our KC trip...

On Christmas Day, we took off for Kansas City so the boys could go to a Broncos/Chiefs game. They were SO excited! The game started at 7pm, so we were aiming to be there around 5pm. Well, we started driving and we were only about an hour into the drive and it started POURING down rain. Like....torrential rain. We started to get a little concerned because Tommy is not the hardiest boy in the world. He doesn't like being tired and he doesn't like being wet. And we knew if it kept raining, he would be both. We just started praying it would quit by the time the game started! I had bought them both ponchos for the game, so we knew they would have a little protection from the rain, but we also knew Tommy would still probably be whiny. 

It was still raining when we got there. We checked into our hotel and dropped off all of our stuff. The boys were pumped and ready to go!

 

 

 However, Nick went to unpack the ponchos and we could only find one of them. Of course. There was no sign that the rain was letting up, so we headed to Walgreens to buy some garbage bags. They weren't wide enough to fit around Nick's shoulders, so he told Tommy he'd have to wear a garbage bag so Nick could wear the poncho. 

Well. That did NOT fly with Tommy (I keep thinking, "Nobody puts Tommy in a trash bag.....nobody."--just a little Dirty Dancing reference there). He did NOT want to put on a "stinkin trash bag." We were able to stave off a meltdown about the garbage bags and redirect his mindset to something else. We got to the stadium and waited in a line of cars a mile long just to drop the boys off. We had NO idea where to go, so we just picked an entrance. They tried to charge me $50 to go through that parking lot, but they finally let us just drop the guys off and leave. As I watched them start running through the rain to the stadium (that seemed SOOOOO far away), I was so worried Tommy was going to be grumpy and ruin Nick's time. Tessa and I headed back to the hotel and I kept praying they'd have fun despite the weather.

Let's just say, "God is good." Nick texted me about an hour later that they had made it to their seats. The rain was slowing down, but it didn't matter, because their seats ended up being under an awning! I know it's silly, but that made me SO happy. I knew Tommy would have more fun if he was dry and warm, which meant Nick would have more fun. They were surrounded by Chiefs fans, but Nick said they were all super nice and even bought some snacks for Tommy. Obviously, he was enjoying himself.....

 I mean, that face is the face of a boy who loves his pretzels! The Broncos ended up losing, but the boys had SO much fun! Tessa and I had a good time at the hotel watching TV and making jewelry with a little kit she got for Christmas. We went to go pick them up when the game was over and let's just say I will NEVER do that again. I don't care if a cab costs $100.....we'll pay it just so I can avoid that parking lot. Nick and I ended up having to text our coordinates to each other. I just parked the car until he was finally able to find me (an hour later). Once we had all met up again, we headed back to the hotel for some rest. Tommy was SO exhausted!

 The next day, we just did some shopping and running around in the morning. We ate at Bob Evans. It was good, but not like the BEST food I've ever had. However, Tommy continues to talk about it two months later and always wants to "eat at that place in Kansas City where we had ice cream." So Bob Evans, head to Wichita, would ya?! My son loves you!

 After finishing our shopping, we headed to our next stop that was another surprise for the kids. We had told them to bring their swimming suits in case we had a pool. They kept asking when we would get to swim and we had to hold them off for a bit. When we finally pulled up to our hotel, we got inside and they were SOOOO excited! We went to Coco Keys, an indoor water park/hotel. They looooooooved it. I was a little leery because of some of the reviews. However, it was really a pretty nice facility and the kids had a blast in the water park. There were all kinds of slides and pools and things to do. And it was nice because Nick and I could swim with the kids, but also eat funnel cake and drink grown up things while they were playing in the kiddie part (that's a win-win in my mind).

These are literally the only two pictures I took while we were there.  The first one I just thought was hilarious. Tessa kept begging to see out the window, so I put her up there and she looked like a gecko!

 

This was the kiddie pool area where we could relax and they could swim without us worrying they would drown! It was great!

We stayed the night at Coco Keys and then left for home the next morning. This was really our first "vacation" where it was JUST us. We've gone a few places with his family or mine, but never just as our little family of four. It was SUCH a great time of bonding and restoration. The kids were SO good and we all got along really well. I loved it and can't wait for future trips!