The day started for us at Lowe's, they have a wonderful program year round called Build & Grow. It is free, you just have to sign up online and fill out a waiver. There is also no age limit- which is nice because at one of it's competitors stores they have something similar but with an age limit of at least five years old. Mads has been swinging a hammer since this summer (at not quite three years old) and doing a great job- it really just depends on the individual child on how they will do.
 |
| Marshall feels right at home in hardware stores |
This month's workshop was building a holiday train! So, like Santa's elves, the boys went to work with reading the directions and building the train- which even has a light up feature!
 |
| "First rule, always read directions." |
 |
| Yes, Marshall does make the same face while hammering that Rambo does while shooting. |
In no time at all, the train was together! Marshall gets to keep anything he makes there, and they also give the kids little builders certificates for each project completed as well as an iron on patch to put on their work apron (at a child's first workshop, Lowe's gives them a free apron and safety goggles). Marshall is just pleased as punch over his nifty train!
We bought a few moving essentials- which were 10% off with Marshall's builders certificate- and we were off to do our FOURTH annual trip to Whoville! Fourth. Can you believe that?
 |
| Can you believe this picture is from four Christmases ago? |
As we drove to Whoville- yes folks, Whoville is just a short drive in Kansas City, we talked with Marshall about the Grinch. He said the Grinch is mean and will get coal from Santa, I tried to remind him that the Grinch turned nice in the end (spoiler alert) but apparently Marsh doesn't forgive or forget. Sorry Grinch, better luck next time.
We brought a bag full of canned goods to donate to Harvesters' Food Shelf for the event and talked with Mads about why we bring the food to these places. About those that are hungry and don't have ways or money to go get food at the store. We stress to Marshall how important it is to give back what you can and what a privilege it is to help others. We donated veggies, chili, and soups- all purchased at our local grocery store's yearly Thanksgiving sale when all canned goods are between 25 and 50 cents! I recommend doing this so you can really get more bang for your buck with donating.
Anyways, we slowly got closer to the front of the line and I was honestly a little disappointed. There were a lot less displays, no crafts, and no play equipment and the Who house wasn't its once brilliantly painted self. But Brad and I tried to get Marshall excited. Mads wasn't buying what we were selling, he saw the Grinch and started signing "stop" at him. No forgiveness, no mercy. Brad quickly set him down and I snapped the picture. Here's our fourth- and final- Whoville picture:
Oy. We needed some Carollo's to take the edge off. Yup, Whoville is also in the City Market- I told you, on the fourth day, City Market covered many different cultures, even Who!
Carollo's, oh man will we miss Carollo's sandwiches, wine, and baked goods. I went photo happy in there so we could save this place in our memories- yes we love it that much. Yes, we have problems.
 |
| The freshest, best seasoned sausages, cheeses, and spiedinis |
See, we were so happy to move to Kansas City, but once down here we were all on our own. One day, we stumbled into Carollo's and I instantly was reminded of Delmonico's in the old northeast Minneapolis neighborhood- the old Italian neighborhood where I was baptized, where I followed a statue of Mary through the streets at our yearly festival. Old man Frank was inside yelling at people and telling jokes that would get most people fired- but he owns the joint so forget about it. This place was my piece of home for the past years down in KC. These loud mouth Italians, rolling their eyes as people scoff at the seafood salad, made me feel right at home.
 |
| You know you're in a legit Italian groceria when they have a bread cross. |
 |
| This folks, is heaven |
 |
| With sandwiches so big, a toddler can barely wrap his arms around it |
We got our sandwiches, mine grilled up chicken spiedini- seriously you have to try it- and Marshall was able to bat his eyelashes and get a free crescent cookie from the bakery case. It was time to say goodbye to this little place of amazing food and community.
The thirteenth day was a day of celebrating Marshall and his strengths in fine motor skills and hand eye coordination. He builds confidence every time we go to a Lowe's workshop. It was also a day of going to one of the only places we took Marshall for his first Christmas season, despite the tears, we are happy we were able to make it back for one final year. This year's twenty-five days has really started to be a goodbye letter of sorts to the city we built our lives and family in. Sometimes it's sad to say goodbye to some of these places and people- but we know that there are so many memories to be made in our new home. So here's to saying goodbye to happy memories and letting them forever hold that place in our hearts. And here's to new beginnings and new adventures with old friends and family. We hope you enjoy this final week of Kansas City posts! Until tomorrow, we leave you to pack up the remaining stuff in preparation of moving day. Happy Who-licious Holidays to all!
No comments:
Post a Comment