Blake’s 15th birthday trip to Kansas City

About a month before his birthday I asked Blake if he had any presents in mind. He said he didn’t. I asked if I could take all his birthday budget and surprise him. He was very intrigued and agreed. Blake’s favorite music artist right now is NF. He was going on tour over the summer but Denver wasn’t on the list. The closest spot was Kansas City. We’ve never been, so it sounded like a fun adventure to see NF and cross somewhere off our bucket list.

Blake was so surprised and excited when I finally told him. He got to skip school on a Friday and we took and EARLY flight out of DIA. We arrived in KC and saw our very first fully automated Amazon store. WE PAID WITH OUR PALM. So cool.

Our flight was so early we had plenty of time to still hit breakfast. We found one of Blake’s very favorite foods–Crepes! We went to Seven Swans Creperie, and it was absolutely fantastic. Blake inhaled his giant Nutella Strawberry Banana Crepe in like 30 seconds.

We rented our car and went to check our bags at the hotel. Lucky us, our room was ready and we could go right up. So, after settling in, we set off to explore downtown KC. We took the trolly car to Union Station. Then we walked to the WWI memorial. Blake was not impressed, and declined to give the museum a go. We just wandered around and ended up at Crown Center.

Inside we saw Fritz. I remembered reading about this fun little place and so we made it our lunch stop. Your food is served by a train! So fun. The food was just ok, but it was so cheap. My hamburger was like $3.50.

After getting some delicious chocolates, we went back to the hotel for a nap. We wanted to be fresh for the concert that evening! Our hotel had a fun little rooftop patio with cornhole, so after our rest we went and played up there until it was time to walk to dinner. Of course we had to have BBQ. I’d made us a reservation at Jack Stack. It was solidly good. I really liked my baked beans. Blake thought I was crazy.

Now the moment we’d been waiting for! NF!!!! We walked to the T-Mobile Center and had just enough time to buy Blake a sweet hoodie before the show started. And it did not disappoint. He is a great performer. And the fan base was SOLID. I cannot believe how many people knew every single word. The only bummer part was we were on the front row of the balcony section, (that’s not the bummer–that was great) and NO ONE behind us was standing up. So, we felt like we had to stay in our seats. We wanted to be up dancing and singing and cheering! NF was great, but his drummer Rico? INSANE. He played a drum solo that Blake said he could feel vibrations in all parts of his body. The beat felt like it was pounding in our chests. We absolutely loved it and talked about it all night. We could not get over how cool it was. We needed time to come down from our post concert high so we walked to Betty Rae’s ice cream. I am still dreaming of my Brown Butter and Toasted Pecan ice cream. Right outside the shop there was a Porsche parked next to a Dodge Challenger. Blake said he’d pick the Challenger, hands down. We rode the Trolly back to near the hotel and watched the Nuggets playoff game while we rode.

The next day was Worlds of Fun day! This is a huge amusement park with so many fun rollercoasters. We got there right at opening, but lines were still really long. After waiting for about an hour for our first ride in the very hot sun, I splurged on the fast pass. Best decision ever. After that we only ever waited in line 10-15 min, and usually less than that. One of our favorite rides was the Mamba (which kept breaking down so we ran over every time we saw it open. Every single time we left the station the ride operater said, “Let’s get down, let’s get groovy, let’s go make a Mamba Smoothie.” Blake tried very hard to keep a straight face for the ride cameras, and he succeeded a few times. I never did–I always looked like a squealing toddler. We also love the Patriot, and the Boomerang.

I was making fun of someone playing a 3 pt basketball game because they didn’t even make one shot. Blake called my bluff and challenged me to try. Guess who also did not make even one shot? My only consolation was, neither did Blake. We laughed about that for a long time. Blake also got the refillable souvenir mug and probably drank his weight in soda and powerade. It was such a fun day! And this is the only picture I took!

Our final day was Sunday and we had till about 4pm until we needed to be at the airport. We thought it would be cool to hit up a few church history sites. So, after a delicious brunch at Mildred’s, we drove to the Independence Visitors Center. It was fun to learn a little more about what went on in Missouri during those early days of the church. I felt like they could have jazzed it up a bit, but overall it was worth going.

We then stopped at the monument for the 8 Witnesses of the Book of Mormon. This was a bust. It was off in a random fenced off field that felt like trespassing to enter.

Our last stop was at Liberty Jail. We learned our lesson in Independence and decided to do a little of our own research as we drove to this one. We found a podcast that taught us a lot. The cute little sister missionaries leading our tour were brand new and struggling to memorize their dialogue. I’ll cut them some slack. I’m glad we took the time to see these sites.

Our final stop was at Slaps BBQ. We wanted one last BBQ meal and this is on the Kansas side of Kansas City, so we also got to say we went to two states on our trip. The line to get a table was out the door and around the block, so we ordered online and ate in our car. This place was yummy, yummy, yummy. I liked it so much more than Jack Stack. It was a perfect end to our fun weekend. I loved hanging out with Blake and getting him all to myself. He’s grown up so much this year. I’m so proud of him and can’t wait to see what adventures this next year will bring.

The rest of Blake’s birthday unfolded a few weeks later. He had friends over to hang out and eat his Toasty Marshmallow Menchie’s cake complete with the picture of him and Shaq.

THEN, right after school got out he took Driver’s Ed. He got most done before heading to Adventure EFY, but had to do his last day when he got home. The next day we went to the DMV and he is now a permitted driver! We got lunch at Raising Cane’s and then went over to the airpark to practice later that afternoon. He did a pretty good job for his first time out! At dinner he said, “I still cannot believe I drove a car today.” Me either, Blake. Me either.

And last, but certainly not least….the birthday letter.

Dear Blake,

What a year it has been. It’s been filled with ups and with downs, but I’m really proud of how you’ve handled it all. Starting at EHS and being on the drumline was a highlight. It was so great to have something to belong to right at the beginning of HS. And I’m pretty sure you’ve worn your drumline hoodie 80% of days since. The Football team won the state championship this year and it was a special experience for you to get to play in Canvas Stadium.

You lost both Grandma and Grandpa Banks this year, and that’s been really hard. I feel so sad at the loss of those relationships. Remember how much they love you, and how proud of you they always were. I’m glad you and Grandpa got to share a love of Taylor Swift, even if your era was short lived.

Your fall season of Flag Football was the best one yet! You were the league Champs! It was so fun to get that giant ring. By spring season you’d grown about 6 inches and you were always one of the fastest players on the field. It was so fun to have Dad coach your team, the Rockers, and listen to “We will Rock you” as pump up before every game.

It was a pretty great year for travel. A family trip to Ireland, and then a Cornell trip to Kauai for Thanksgiving. I’ve always said you were born for the beach life. We also took a really fun Spring Break trip to Steamboat and tried night skiing for the first time. It was an instant hit.

You and dad got monthly passes to the trampoline park this winter and you both loved going to burn off some energy and practice new tricks. You’ve also been really consistent at Fitness Edge and it’s showing! You are so fast and fit.

School has been a bit of a struggle to figure out. It’s easy to want to give up when things get tough. But I’m really proud of how you persevered and really improved your grades in the second semester. I’m glad we’ve been able to talk about it and work together to help you be the best you can be.

This has been a very social year for you and I love having all your friends around. They are such a fun bunch. I’ll aways remember you guys doing “guy-sers” on the trampoline.

I love when we get to curl up together and watch Instagram reels. We especially love animal ones, and Dad often finds us laughing uncontrollably in the bed.

Your testimony has grown a lot this year as well. FSY last summer really changed things for you. I’ve loved watching you develop your relationship with God and take your church responsibilities seriously. You were called as the Teacher’s Quorum President, and I’ve seen you take that role and learn and grow and try to serve others. After the BOM read-a-thon you bore your testimony about how you thought attending all those extra meetings as president would be boring, but how it’s actually such a blessing in your life. Remember that. When you put yourself in the right places, and say yes to opportunities that come your way the blessings always follow. I’ve seen you feel so happy and content.

Blake, Dad and I love you so much. We are proud of the person you are becoming, and so grateful to share this journey with you. Keep learning, keep growing. Even though it’s hard, it’s all worth it in the end.

Love, Mom