Welcome Home, Kansas City!

We’ve arrived!! Last Monday we began our journey to Kansas City. Jamari took the long 23.5 hour road trip with Kingston and I headed to LA to visit with family and stay with the kids closer to the airport for two days. On Wednesday, the kids and I flew to Kansas City. Flying with two children, under the age of three, during a pandemic, with as many possessions we can fit into suitcases, solo, was honestly not as bad as I anticipated. I packed and repacked my suitcases, carry on, and diaper bag six times before leaving for the airport to help myself be as organized as possible. I’ll write another post about traveling solo and tips and tricks I developed and was given.

We boarded our flight after being delayed for 2.5 hours and only having ONE meltdown (Audrey) in the airport because none of the restaurants were open. The kids were exhausted because we didn’t get on the flight until 8:30 and bedtime is 7pm. Maxwell was sound asleep before the flight even left the ground, and Audrey was sleepy enough to be easily distracted with shows on her iPad for the majority of the flight. This was Maxwell’s first flight and Audrey’s 11th, but her first where she understood what was happening, and she was mesmerized. We arrived into Kansas City with no issues and I was pleasantly surprised how well both kids did with the flight, Jamari greeted us, collected all my cargo (2 car seats, a double stroller, 3 suitcases, a diaper bag, and a carry-on). We arrived at our new home at 2:30am, did a quick walk through of our home, and everyone went to sleep truly exhausted.

Since Wednesday, we have been incredibly busy. Our belongings were delivered on Friday, Ms. Abby (babysitter extraordinaire ) flew in on Friday to assist with the move and watching the kids while we unpacked and organized, and Jamari flew back to CA to sell a car and tie up loose ends while Abby and I did touristy things with the kids. Kansas City looks and feels so different from California, that it’s a bit of a shock. The humidity is oppressive. Living in the Middle East and then California for the better part of five years has this NJ girl forgetting what humidity feels like…hell. The bugs are big, the heat is in your face, and they definitely drive slower than I am used to, but I think we will really enjoy our time here. I love the area we live in, and every store I could possibly imagine is within 10 minutes of my house. We went to one of the top BBQ restaurants, Joe’s BBQ; which happens to share floor space with a gas station (shrug) to try Kansas City BBQ and was not disappointed. With over 9000 reviews and 5 stars I guess filling your car with gas and eating BBQ has it’s benefits. Abby and I visited the zoo with the kids and lasted a solid 45 minutes with the heat and humidity but managed to see tigers and red pandas. We went to the River Market which has a huge farmers market and international grocers and tried the best homemade ice cream KC has to offer at Betty Raes and were pretty impressed. Jamari and I snuck away for a date night which was really nice to decompress and be able to talk. We’ve done a few Target drive up orders, and visited the local grocery store to stock our house and unpacked and organized most of the rooms.

And before I knew it, it’s been six days in our new home. I have a large bucket list of things I would like to do while we are here for the next year. Moving can be stressful and very overwhelming, especially with kids. I didn’t know what to expect because this was our first move as a family, but everything went better than I anticipated and we’re all together again. Moving frequently is definitely not for everyone, and can cause even the most seasoned individuals in this lifestyle to get overwhelmed; but there is a part of the change that I crave. I love setting up our new space, I love finding new favorite places, I love exploring new cities and meeting new people, and I love getting visitors at my new homes…so book your tickets, flights are at an all time low.