Day 23

This morning began in a panic.  I was up around 2:30am reluctantly zipping up the tent windows because I was awoken by distant lightning flashes.  I quickly went back to sleep only to be awoken again at 5:30am by huge gusts of wind.  I checked my phone for the current weather conditions and saw the whole state of Kansas covered in heavy rain and it was just about to hit us.  Not game for being drenched and all covered in mud again, I started packing as quickly as possible.

Within a few minutes the kids woke up and sensing my urgency did exactly as I asked for a change!  The girls got dressed and hopped in the car and Brayden was my flashlight holder.  I do believe we reached a new record for packing up.  We were headed to the comfort station and on the road just before 6am.

After about an hour we stopped for breakfast and headed to Wonderscope Children's Museum in Kansas City.  We've been to a bunch of museums in our travels that usually have a lot of the same exhibits.  This one was very unique and engaging.  And of course the kids had a blast.  I'm not sure we have ever stayed at a smaller children's museum for almost 5 hours before!

We do need a doctor in the family.

We need a veterinarian too.  Laney is doing surgery here and her rates are outstanding!  For tail surgery and a 15 day stay at the hospital, she only charged me $3.  I tipped her heavily.

This was a show Laney the scuba diver did for me for about an hour.  I would classify it as modern dance with an eclectic, new age twist.  She's booking up fast, folks.

Legos are always a hit.

I think the room we ended up spending the most time in was the art room.  The kids had an enormous selection of materials to create whatever they wanted.  There was everything from your standard paint, paper, glue and crayons to velvet, stickers, felt, cardboard, and all kinds of embellishments.  By far the kids' favorite part of that room was the wall of mirrors with face paint crayons.  Check out their handiwork:

While at the museum I checked the weather and found out the storm was choosing to follow us so we all made the quick, unanimous decision to stay in a hotel for the night.  We had a little bit further to drive than the campground, but the distance and time was quickly dismissed by all in favor of a quiet, dry bed and an easy, free breakfast in the morning!  We also were very excited to see a couple more hours of Olympic coverage.

After long, hot baths for all the kids I closed the curtains on the sunshine and they all fell asleep within seconds.

Day 23: Worry, wonder and wonderful beds!