Beginning of Christmas Season

Well, the Christmas season is finally here.  Most towns around Kansas decorate for Christmas on Thanksgiving weekend.  We started our holiday adventures by visiting Santa Clause in Norton on November 26.  We did miss the cookies and sleigh ride, but dinner at McDonald's was fun too.  :)  Our son forgot to tell Santa one thing he really wants for Christmas, so I guess he'll have to write a letter. Our daughter told Santa what she wants, but her picture came out fuzzy.

We did not make it to the Christmas Tree lighting at WaKeeney.  We were not in WaKeeney that day and the weather forecast was for too much wind for us to drive that way.  We did get to see the beautiful lights later, but missed the official lighting by Santa Clause.  If you happen to be driving by WaKeeney any time this month, drive downtown to see the lights.  It is the Christmas City of the High Plains.

University of Kansas Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum at KU was listed as a must-stop for families. So, on our adventure October 30, we stopped.  We were not disappointed.  Well, our daughter was a bit disappointed because the live snake exhibit was closed for renovation.

The museum itself is separated into 3 floor (will be 4 when renovation is complete.)  Each floor is a very different experience.

We began our adventure in Bugtown--where kids can be bugs, pretend to order at the diner, and watch three bugs commenting on Sci-Fi Bug Movies in the style of Mystery Science Theater 3000.  Our son could have stayed there all day if we let him.

Fossils



The Tar Pits









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Narwhal Tusk

  





The main floor housed the all important gift shop as well as panorama of wildlife.  We had just been to Cabaella's and their North American wildlife display was even more awesome in our opinion.  If you are looking for North American wildlife, that is the place to go.

The top floor we could access had an exhibit about Exploring Evolution.  We looked at all the exhibits and tried out all the hands on stuff.  Eric had a great time imitating chimpanzee recordings.  :)  It was a unique experience to get to explore with our children and talk about the differences between scientific fact and theory.  It was a great springboard for talking about Creation and how amazing the world is that God has created.

They even had a stair lift
It was almost as much fun as being at Disney

Cabella's

It was an absolute must to stop at Cabella's in Kansas City before we left for home.  The good news is you can walk across the parking lot from Great Wolf Lodge.  The greeter at the door started our adventure off on a good foot.  He was super friendly and he and Angel connected because they are both in wheelchairs.    The kiddos loved that he was passing out tokens for the shooting gallery upstairs.  That just might be their favorite part. 

Our daughter had looked forward to the live aquarium, which of course is awesome, but such a small part of all there is to see.

There were even live fish in a pond in another part of the store.
You could walk right over them on a bridge.

Besides shopping for all your sporting goods needs, entering Cabella's is really like entering a Natural History Museum. There is so much to see that even if you are not a sportsman, you don't mind staying awhile just to look at everything around you.

Africa

The Mountain

One of the most fun things about this adventure was eating lunch at the Yukon Base Camp Grill.  Our son still tells everyone he had an Elk Burger for lunch.