New York City

So after catching up on some much-needed Z's, I'm finally getting to my NYC post. We had an amazing time there for our anniversary and saw a ton of things! I thought I'd give everyone a quick run down of what we did and how much we liked/didn't like each one. I'll definitely add as I remember as there was just so much to see and do!

Statue of Liberty - Wish we could have gone past her feet but still such an experience!
WTC Memorial - They are building a larger one, but this took every ounce of me not to just cry like a little girl right there. It was VERY emotional.
Carnegie Deli - Portions were HUGE and the food was great just like everyone told us it would be!
Chicago - Good old standard play....epitome of Broadway, but the stage was really small. Dr. Bailey from Grey's Anatomy was in it though and she was great!
Wall Street - Just as you'd expect it, too many men walking around in suits and not enough women!
Times Square - Really cool! So many ads and visual
Chinatown/Little Italy - The people were extremely pushy, but it was a fun experience.
NY Cheesecake - A+!
Shopping - I loved the smaller boutiques we saw in SoHo, NoHo, Greenwich, etc!
St. Patrick's Cathedral - Reminded me of Rome. Just gorgeous.
Central Park - Amazing. I want to build one in Kansas. It was the best people watching too!
Today Show - They weren't outside either day we were there and I didn't get to see my Matt through the window, but I did see Ann!
Pastis - Amazing anniversary dinner! The restaurant was very cool and our food was fabulous.... worth every penny!
Magnolia Bakery - Famous for their cupcakes and we now know why!
Original Tiffany's - It was beautiful inside!
Grand Central Terminal - Straight out of the movies! So pretty inside!
Original Ray's Pizza - We can see why it is famous. HUGE, JUICY pieces!
American Museum of Natural History - I'm not a huge museum person, but there was some interesting stuff! Worth the $15!

We also watched Harrison Ford and Rachel McAdams filming the movie Morning Glory and watched them do some takes! Here's a short video I took, they are both in suits -

4 Years of Love

4 years ago today, Derek and I were getting ready to start our lives as a married couple! It's so crazy to think that it's already been 4 years since we took those vows and began wearing the rings that would symbolize our wonderful relationship. It's been an amazing marriage so far and we grow closer together each day!

I did want to share a few things that I absolutely love about our marriage and my wonderful hubby:
* I love our little notebook that we write notes in to each other and hide around the house for the other to find.
* It's so cliche to say that we know what the other is thinking, but it's so very true! I love that we could say one word and the other knows what we're referencing or talking about.
* I love receiving emails with three little words that can make a bad day at work do a 180.
* I love that my husband rubs me to sleep every night. And yes, I mean every night. I'm extremely lucky!
* I love the nights we sit on the porch and talk. (We call it "porching")
* I love that neither of us want to leave the house without a goodbye kiss.
* I love that we've genuinely never gone to bed mad at the other.
* I love that we hold hands every single time we pray in church.
* I love that Derek will slow down his pace in order to stay with me when we're on a run
* I love our grocery shopping trips because Derek always ends up making them entertaining
* I love playing Sorry together when we're bored.

Quote from our wedding program:
Soulmates. 2 halves of the same soul joined together in life's journey.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (Our wedding scripture)
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight

Shrimp Kabobs

For Fathers Day on Sarah's side, we decided to grill out these Shrimp Kabobs !

INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup Italian salad dressing, divided
- 2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 large onions
- 16 large fresh mushrooms (optional)
- 2 large green peppers, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
- 16 cherry tomatoes

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine 1/2 cup salad dressing and shrimp. Cut each onion into eight wedges. In another large resealable plastic bag, combine the vegetables and remaining dressing. Seal bags and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 2 hours, turning occasionally.
2. Drain and discard marinade. On eight metal or soaked wooden skewers, alternately thread the shrimp and vegetables. Grill kabobs, covered, over medium heat for 3 minutes on each side or until shrimp turn pink.

These are the actual kabobs that we made pictured to the right:

(We didn't use the mushrooms, but replaced with zucchini!)

Nutrition Note: These are only about 150 calories per skewer!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

Happy Fathers Day to my dad, the ultimate jokster, and Derek's dad, the blackberry addict!

All joking aside, you two have helped mold us into the people we are and we appreciate and love you for it. By always being there for us and guiding us in the right direction, we have become individuals who stand up for what they believe in and follow their dreams. You have been the best dads for 28 years to us and we know you'll be there for us until the end of time.
For everything you've done, we are eternally grateful.

LOVE YOU BOTH!!

"He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it." ~Clarence Budington Kelland

"A father carries pictures where his money used to be." ~Author Unknown

"Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad." ~Author Unknown

Problem Diagnosed

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by a persistent pattern of impulsiveness and inattention, with or without a component of hyperactivity.

Does this remind anyone of a member of my family? Perhaps someone who is brown, 24 inches tall and weighs 55 pounds?

Maybe the most common symptoms will help you figure it out:
- Inattention: easily distracted, day-dreaming, difficulty listening, and motor clumsiness.
- Impulsiveness: jumping from one activity to another, acting before thinking of consequences, tendency to interrupt other peoples' conversations.
- Hyperactivity: restlessness, often characterized by an inability to sit still, fidgeting, squirminess, climbing on things, restless sleep.

Yep! You guessed it. We are officially diagnosing Bailey with this disorder. Although she doesn't have a mean bone in her body and can go 11 hours without touching a thing in our house, she definitely has ADHD....And we love her just the same!

Fun with the Phelans

This weekend, we had our good friends, The Phelans, stay with us as they were in town for a couple of family-related events. On Friday, Michelle and I kicked off the weekend with a relaxing pedicure because the sun was not showing its face and we were not able to lay out! Then they were off to a family wedding and we headed to Lawrence to see my cousin and his little daughter who we rarely get to see. Later that night we saw, The Hangover, and it definitely deserves an A+! It felt like I got an ab work out due to laughing so hard for that long.

On Saturday, we ventured out to The K early to tailgate before heading in to the Royals game. The fact that they won combined with the yumminess of chili cheese fries and beer made for a good evening. After the game, we stopped at Johnny's for a while before heading home around midnight. Yes that seems early, however we did start tailgating at 4 that day! On Sunday, Derek and I walked in the Dog N Jog with our girls and they enjoyed seeing other dogs, eating ice cream and wading in a kiddie pool filled with ice. The rest of Sunday included catching some rays, seeing the Phelans off, hitting the hay early.




Get ready Phelans - T minus 3.5 weeks until we tear up Bricktown!

O-Town Escapade

Our quick, 52 hour vacation in Orlando was a nice little retreat full of great laughs, great friends and great food (no calorie counting)! Except for the rain, it was a perfect weekend and our fun friends (whom we met in 2003 when we lived in Jacksonville) made every second enjoyable! We discovered a new drink, fell in love with a yellow lab, saw tons of animals (no gators) and experienced the beach in a way we never thought we could. We also even got to play 'fake parents' for quite some time on Sunday with their 18 month old son at Sea World. Brooks is the sweetest, best little boy ever and he became quite attached to Derek. I too made a new best friend while there too, but mine always happen to have four-legs and shed all over me for some reason!

The absolute best part was that we got into Sea World for free! (No, it wasn't done illegally, but we might have stumbled upon two unused passes at the entrance into the park that we might have claimed as our own).

The worst part, however, was the rain. We ended up still going to the beach on Saturday and you can see from the picture, we ended up sitting in our car and enjoying some beverages while staring at the waters from inside!

Thanks again Mel and Kev for letting us stay with you and take over your house, dogs and child for the weekend! We STILL have our theme song playing over and over in our heads!

Derek and Kevin (2nd group of 4 on the right) riding the Manta...


I also took a video of the cutest penguin ever jumping around at Sea World!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEREK!

Today is my best friend and husband's birthday (and the 7th one we have celebrated together if you can believe it!) We decided to have our traditional family dinner tonight at Jumpin Catfish. Derek has wanted to go there for quite some time now and the birthday boy gets what the birthday boy wants! Our neighbor has always recommended the seafood there so stay tuned for our reviews.

After dinner, he gets to enjoy his most favorite dessert in the world: Tippins Pumpkin Pie! I'll soon update on what I got Derek as I don't want to ruin the surprise. The big gift, however, is the trip to Orlando this weekend to see our friends Melissa and Kevin! We are definitely looking forward to some sun, sand and fruity drinks!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABE!

**Update: I got Derek Tiger Woods 2009 for the Wii and he loved it!

Flower Overload

This weekend was a definite flower overload. It seems like we were completely surrounded everywhere we went!

We started Saturday morning off by heading out to the Powell Gardens to enjoy a nice morning out in nature. There were tons of flowers in bloom, but my favorite part was all of the baby geese roaming around. They looked only a few weeks old and were so furry and cute!


The roses were all fully open and looked beautiful in the sunlight. We did end up coming a few weeks before one of my favorite flowers, the Lily, was in bloom.
We only spent a couple hours there and were definitely the youngest attendees, but overall it was a nice morning. To the right are some of the shots that I snapped while we roamed the gardens and avoided the horse-sized bumble bees.



That same night we attended our first wedding of the weekend for my work-friend, Erin, at the Clubhouse on Baltimore(left picture below). And what might you ask were we surrounded by again? FLOWERS! There was no escape on Sunday evening either as we attended an outdoor wedding of my high school friend, Cindy (right picture below). The weather was perfect in the shade and the reception at The Sawyer Room was beautiful. Both brides were stunning and congratulations on both of your special days!

I absolutely love flowers, by I'm pretty sure Derek never wants to see another one again this year!