Kansas City Cheer Trip Revisted

This past week concluded Kaitlyn's competitive cheer competitions for the year. She'll try out again in a few months to get ready for next year but let me just say...

whew.

I'm done traveling for a while...that is, unless my wife wants to kidnap me and whisk me away to some secluded tropical paradise. THEN, I'm all about another trip. However, in the case of family getaways, I'm OK with staying here for awhile. Since the last weekend in February, we've been out of town or home sick w/the flu. To say I'm kinda looking forward to just relaxing this weekend and getting back to church is a severe understatement.

And yet, before anyone thinks I don't like going away with the fam, nothing could be farther from the truth. It's always great to get away as a family but even those family "quality times" need to re-charge themselves if you know what I mean.

So, back to this weekend. We wrapped up Kate's cheer schedule with a jaunt up to KC for a 2 day event downtown. We were so fortunate to be able to stay at my grandparents' house on Friday night which not only saved us some money and a hotel stay but more importantly, we got a chance to visit with 2 very dear, special people to our hearts. Even though we were only going to be able to stay there for about 12 hours, it was an incredible visit and one of those "moments" where it would've just been great to hide the car keys and stay at GG & Bapa's house the whole weekend.

The kids had a ball too. They got to sleep on some big, fluffy sofas and they were tickled to be out in the living room / family room by themselves. Jennifer and I got to stay in their king-size bed which was SO comfortable and soft. I think I was asleep within about 24 seconds.

We got up on Saturday morning to one of GG's famous biscuit & gravy breakfasts, something we all were looking forward to. However, time flew by way too quickly and it was soon time to leave for KC, which was still about 90 minutes away. As we drove away and watched GG & Bapa wave to us, I heard a soft whimper behind my seat.

It was Jacob.

We asked him what was wrong and he muttered through his tears "I wanted to stay with GG & Bapa."

Your heart just breaks when you see your kid all torn up like that. But, to be honest, I have felt that exact way whenever I've left their home so many times it's hard to count. There's just something special about getting to stay at Grandma & Grandpa's house...

We made it to Kansas City in record time and got everyone to the cheer arena with about 15 minutes to spare before her team was to officially meet for a brief get-together. She wasn't to perform until about 1:30p so we were in great shape as far as time went so I decided to go ahead and check us in at the Marriott across the street.

It's always a good idea to have a "retreat" especially when you have a 5 year old that can be a little cantankerous at times.

Kaitlyn and her squad performed on time and did an amazing job! In fact, they had ZERO deductions (which is a big thing in cheer comps) and after a quick review of the scores, were told they were solidly in second place. There were even whispers they could even move into first place after Sunday's performance.

We all went back to the hotel room, excited and eager to chill out for a while. It came time to go eat dinner so we thought since we were in Kansas City, why not try some world-famous BBQ?

We need to thank Grandma Tricia for the inspiration to go eat at a place called "Jack Stack BBQ" because it...was...incredible.

Oh man. I think my stomach is still thanking me for the burnt ends and ribs I got.

We got to the restaurant right at 5pm and were immediately seated. We'd decided we needed an early dinner since Kaitlyn had a quick practice scheduled for 8pm later that night. The service at Jack Stack was great...friendly, quick and attentive...a great way to start the dining experience off.

The kids were a little more hungry than usual so we ordered an onion ring stack for an appetizer. I think it was less than 10 minutes when the waiter brought us out the rings. Talk about huge!! These things could've been substituted in a game of horseshoes!!

And then, within about 10 minutes of getting the onion rings, our order came out. Talk about food piled high! Jennifer had gotten a sampler platter of BBQ sausage, chicken, ribs and pork while I got the burnt ends (think a chunk pot roast but seared and smothered in sauce) and some beef ribs. The kids got their usual fare of either chicken or chicken tenders but seemed to find a way to munch off mom & dad's plate.

Somehow we managed to save a bit of room for dessert. Kaitlyn wanted a root beer float while Jennifer, Jacob and I shared a brownie sundae. This "brownie" was more like a small chocolate cake. It had to be about 6 inches in diameter, filled with large chocolate chips and covered with chocolate sauce. Then, for a spot of overkill, they lopped on a large glob of vanilla ice cream, all served in a giant bowl with 3 spoons.

I've never felt so euphoric and so gastric at the same time but I did that night. Imagine walking with a smile of being full but then a small wince of all that food sloshing around on the inside.

That was me. LOL

We made it back to the hotel in time for Jake and Jennifer to get their baths and pajamas on and settled in to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks. I agreed to take Kaitlyn to her practice but not before I stopped by Wal-Mart to get some supplies to decorate our hotel door with cheer
streamers and balloons.

Kate and I got back to the hotel around 10pm and did a little decorating as you can see here. Sadly though, the weight of the hooks and balloons caused everything to fall off during the night and we found it all in a heap outside our front door. Still, it was a lot of fun and some good "Daddy / daughter" time, especially on a Saturday night.

Sunday morning came and we got ready for the final performance. After some quick pointers from the coaches and some prayers from the parents, the girls went out and nailed yet another great routine. However, the team that was in first place garnered just enough points to remain there, beating Team Cheer by only 5 points. I know the girls were sad to hear this but they were very excited to end the season with a strong 2nd place finish and we're all very proud of them.

By 6:30pm, we had finished dinner and began the long journey down Highway 71 toward Fayetteville. I think I had a brick fastened to my shoe because we made it home in less than 3.5 hours, which seemed kinda fast for me.

But hey...I'm not complaining. We're home, we're safe and other than being a bit tired from all the traveling of late, we're all happy.

Not to mention...spring is almost here!!

Now then, if we could only get the leak in the dining room roof fixed, all would be well.