Fondue for the Chocolate Lover

This is what we had yesterday at work to celebrate the birthday of a co-worker who loves chocolate. Needless to say, we were the hit of the 3rd floor!

"OUCH! IT BIT ME!"

After a bit of research and calling around, we finally settled on having our Family Boating Day this past weekend at Hillsdale Lake. After a quick lunch, we all boarded the 10-person pontoon and were off for a day full of leisurely relaxing out on the water. The weather was amazing(not a cloud in the sky), it wasn't unbearably hot and the wind was minimal. A perfect boating day right?

There was, however, one HUGE problem. I think this past weekend must have been horse-fly mating season. That, or Lindsey's BRIGHT green swimsuit was attracting the biggest of those suckers and they would NOT leave us alone. We probably murdered 18 of those flesh-eating insects and yet, Lindsey still ended up getting bit!

Yes, we're pretty much all fried. Yes, there was a swimsuit malfunction. And yes, a pair of sunglasses was donated to the local fish. But overall, it was a great day and we all had tons of fun! Can't wait to try out another lake with my family.... and maybe this time, Mike will have found a new swimsuit that wasn't 23 sizes too big for him.

(click to enlarge)

She's a Stripper?

This past weekend, Derek had his 10 year high school reunion and it was a blast! Our friends had a bunch of people over for some food and drinks to enjoy before the shenanigans started later that night. The yearbooks came out and so did the stories! At about 8pm, we all ventured down to the reunion and the gossip began flying! From finding out who became strippers, to who has 6 kids now, to who made it big....it was a night full of great stories and catching up!

Most of Derek's good friends were there and we had a great time (even though we did leave our credit card at the bar)! It set a high bar for my reunion coming up here in a few weeks!

Happy 90th Birthday Reta!

This past Sunday, Derek and I ventured out to Pomona, Kansas (population 1,000) to surprise his great aunt, Reta, for her 90th birthday get together. And no, we didn't throw on the lights and yell "SURPRISE"; because at 90 years old, you just never know how strong the heart is. Instead, as she unknowingly walked into the room, everyone started singing Happy Birthday. She was so overwhelmed with emotion to have all of her living siblings there and to be surrounded by about 50-60 of her closest friends and family.

Here's to you Reta! At 90 years old, you're still driving, playing cards with your friends and living the good life! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I'm Hooked

So after seeing Food Inc on Thursday with some friends, I couldn't WAIT to visit Kansas City's biggest farmers market, the Riverside City Market. This morning, we made the 30 minute haul down to the market and after 45 minutes of colorful sites and delicious bites, I am HOOKED! It was so chaotic, yet peaceful. Everyone seemed to be in the best mood and I love knowing what/who I'm supporting. I've tried for a couple years to buy organic when there's an option and only (and I mean only) buy free range eggs after seeing a documentary on caged hens.
Open year round, this little slice of heaven made my day. Derek and I are cooking up some string beans and cutting our fresh cantaloupe to enjoy with dinner as I type! For dessert - a yummy, Mennonite baked, organic dutch apple pie that we saw! As most of you know, I LOVE flower shopping and planting and was overwhelmed by the beautiful stems at several booths. I can't WAIT to go back this fall and load up on mums! I'm definitely hooked on this place and will be back soon!

7/25 UPDATE - Went to the Downtown Overland Park Famers Market today and although it's smaller, the food looked just as good and took me 1/2 the time to get there. Overall, I have fun and enjoy walking around at either one!

Baby Charmer

Derek has a natural ability to calm babies in any situation. It's actually an awesome talent to have seeing as we'll have children of our own someday. Derek's basically a live-in snake charmer for kids. When our children won't stop crying, I simply will do the 'ole hand-off to Derek and let him work his magic! This trait will be taken full advantage of whenever possible in my house!


The little one in these pictures is my high school friend, Beth's, new little girl; Lotus Charlotte. . She was born June 3rd and weighed in at 10 pounds, 1 oz! She has the cutest, squishy wrinkles and pretty blue eyes. As much as Jeff doesn't want to admit it, I think she's got a red tint to her hair, just like her mother.

Thanks Beth for letting us visit the newest of your family members!

Old and New Memories

This past weekend, Derek and I spent a day with his family helping his grandma move from her house in a tiny town called Lamont, to her new home in Enid, Oklahoma. Grandma Brewer has pretty much lived in Lamont for the past 50 years of her life on farms and is now in her first maintenance-free townhome with actual, real neighbors! Friday night was spent with all of Grandma Brewers children (minus one daughter from Kentucky) and some of their family members reminiscing through old pictures and telling stories of the old days on the farm. On Saturday, I went to Lowe's and picked out flowers to pot and put on her new back porch.

After we helped pick some weeds and hang some pictures, we all enjoyed a big lunch shortly before hitting the road. Derek and I were off to Oklahoma City to spend the rest of the weekend with our good friends Craig and Michelle. We spent all night at Bricktown after a good, grilled dinner and then wound down watching Saw 5 starting at like 1am. Michelle and I love these clever, gory movies and it somehow makes it more fun to watch them after a long night of drinking! Sunday morning we awoke to wrinkly pugs 2 inches away, staring at us while we slept on the aero bed. We freshened up and were off to the pool while the guys played some golf. After a quick shower, we all grabbed a bite to eat from the Spaghetti Warehouse and then hit the road for the drive home!

It was a great weekend full of old memories shared and new memories made. We somehow managed to survive the 104 - 107 degree weather while we were there and are definitely enjoying being back in the cool, 80 degree weather!

Old Age or Jealousy?

Last night around 9pm, Derek and I headed into the bedroom to wind down and watch a bit of the tube before we went to sleep. As we entered the bedroom, we immediately smelled this horrid, urine stench and then saw the evidence. On my side of the bed, the comforter had been pulled back and there was a urine stain as big as Rhode Island all over the sheets. And it wasn't just a sprinkle on the top layer. This urine covered about a 4th of the bed and went all the way past both sheets, our down filled fiber bed and the mattress cover to the mattress itself. Lacy was found hiding with a face that said "don't kill me" and because of that we knew it was her who had done the deed.

We're really not sure if this is evidence of a 7-year old losing her ability to hold her pee or if it was a 7-year old jealous of the 2-year old getting more attention these days. Whether old age, or childish jealousy, we've never experienced that amount of urine in the house, let alone the BED! Lacy is a very well-trained member of our family who knows how to get our attention if she needs to go outside.

Let's just hope in this situation that it was a one-time accident as I'm just not ready to start investing in Doggy Depends.