Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful parents! 37 years ago they were saying their vows and beginning their lives together. In this day and age where 50% of Americans get divorced, I'm so lucky that mine have chosen to live out their lives together. It's definitely something we hold as a high priority in our family and I'm glad I married someone whose parents taught them the same virtue as well!

Play Date

Our girls definitely like to take advantage of the nice weather that we're having by spending their time outside. Sometimes, they even get to have "play dates" with their cousin Tally (Derek's parents black lab).

Here's the 3 loungers chillaxing in the shade after chasing balls and playing for a while....

Bailey's New Toy

Bailey wanted to add to moms blogging, so this post is courtesy of Bailey herself.

On Sunday afternoon, I was playing in the yard with sissy when I spotted it. MY NEW TOY! Sissy and I immediately began to play together with it and we were in heaven! It was super fun because it squeaked just like my other toys and moved on its own. Mom must have already put the battery in for us and threw it out here when we weren’t looking. After we were playing for a bit, mom came out and said that we were going to get treats and go in the car, but I was too excited to care. Sissy went in, but I wanted to show mom how happy I was playing with my new toy and making it squeak. Then, all of the sudden, she ran down the stairs at me and wanted to play chase. I wasn’t going to let her have my new toy so I played along too! She definitely got really mad though and yelled at me to drop it with this fierce look in her eyes so I did because I’m a good girl. My new toy even squeaked for mommy when she picked it up! My Grandma called me into the house so that mommy could play with the toy too. I watched her though as she took my new toy outside of the yard and set it in a bush. This made me sad and I pouted all night. I don’t know why mommy would get me the best toy in the world and then take it away. Oh well… it was fun while it lasted!

In case you didn’t figure it out, click here to see what Bailey’s “new toy” was. Fun times.

Office Fun

Where I work, pranks pretty much happen often. It makes my job fun and it definitely makes for an enjoyable, relaxed atmosphere.

Exhibit A is our latest prank on another manager completed last Friday -
Yes, that would be a fort constructed by a few team members to encircle our co-workers desk. It even comes with a doorknocker, windows and a fireplace drawn inside.

This is why I love my job.

Apple Fritters Anyone?

I had been told by some friends from work that the best apple picking around is at Vaughn Orchard, in Weston Missouri. It's a little family orchard with tons for little kids to do and the best apple fritters around. We ventured down there this past weekend to enjoy some fresh country air and definitely was glad we made the trip. Although the apples on the trees were sparse, the apple fritters and apple cider slush were AMAZING!! It was a nice, relaxing getaway from the city and we did end up finding about 15-20 quality apples while there!

Sorry, it's so small that there isn't a website, but if you click here, you can find the address and phone number! And if you have a fear of bees, this might not be for you. This was apparently "bee heaven" because of the mass amounts of rotting apples on the ground!!

Birthday Burgers

Each year, for the girls birthdays, Bailey gets to indulge in a birthday cake from Land of Paws and Lacy gets a cheeseburger from McDonalds. Obviously we get enough for both girls to enjoy each birthday.

Well this past Saturday, our first born turned 7 years old! The technical age for a dog to be considered 'senior'. I think I'm definitely in denial about that, however, as this particular lab is going to live to be 35 years old. Since she is our snuggle-bug, she received a lot of loving this weekend and happy birthday paw rubs.

Then on to the annual burger-fest where she inhales an entire cheeseburger from McDonalds in 2 seconds. Bailey, on the other hand, likes to daintily savor every bite of hers.

Fab Lab Reunion

This post should have been up about 3 weeks ago, but I forgot my camera so I had to wait for others to email pictures out!

For Bailey's 2-year birthday, she met all her brothers and sisters at the Shawnee Mission Dog Park to celebrate! I'm not sure if I've ever posted, but Bailey and her 7 brothers and 1 sister were left on the plaza in a box overnight to be rescued by the KC Humane Society. The families of this liter all stay in touch and send pictures/updates once and a while. It's definitely fun to hear how the other "fab labs" are doing and what they have been up to. I think all but one of the pups showed up to enjoy in the reunion and wonderful cake that another mother provided!

I have to brag on my little angel though as she was the only one who swam! Some of her brothers would let their toes get wet, but some wouldn't even come within feet of the water! The picture on the right (below) is most of her brothers and sisters. You can see that she definitely is the smallest out of the liter!

Pooch Plunge

Around Labor Day each year, many of the area pools keep their pools open for a day extra so that the cities dogs can enjoy a swim of their own. We've tried a few of these in the past and the girls absolutely love them.

This year, we decided to check out the "Pooch Plunge" at Tomahawk Creek in Overland Park on Tuesday. Needless to say, the girls swam their hearts out and are still extremely tired from all the fun.

Here's Lacy swimming back to shore as Bailey enters the screen to the left -


And here is Bailey playing with 2 different balls -

Family Weekend

Saturday was the first KU football home game and we couldn't have asked for better weather. With a small breeze, the sun out and the heat to a minimum, it was the most perfect setting for a football game. Even though I still don't understand everything about football, I definitely still enjoy tailgating and the game with friends and family.

We celebrated the afternoon with Derek's family by eating lunch at Free State! Then, we enjoyed the game by sitting in their new, shaded-side seats! On the way back to the car after the game, we snapped this great picture of the 4 Jayhawks in front of the Campanile...



On Sunday, the family festivities continued. My side of the family gathered at my parents house for some delicious dinner and pumpkin pie (per Derek's request..... and I think he ate an entire pie!). Because the great weather continued, we were all able to enjoy eating outside on the patio. My cousin Brandon and his 2-year old daughter, Reyna, were even able to be with us since they are in town!

Thanks to both families for the wonderful food and together time over the holiday weekend!

New Basement Carpet

Now that our little pup is no longer a carpet-chewing monster, we decided to get new basement carpet! The previous carpet was this old, flat, stained, ripped stuff pictured to the left. The only nice thing about it was that when you spilled, you couldn't tell at all since it had a HUGE variety of colors mixed in.

Derek and I decided to move furniture ourselves to save some mula. My hands are STILL sore from lifting some of our bigger pieces. To the right is what the basement storage area looked like Tuesday while it was being installed.



And here's the new carpet that is soft, plush and great looking. It still smells brand new and doesn't have a single dog hair on it. You can bet the dogs aren't allowed down there during the day! Definitely a huge upgrade from our old stuff and we are excited at how much better our basement looks overall!

One relaxing weekend

My amazing husband surprised me with a plane ticket to Dallas a while back to see my other half, Michelle. We spent hours at the pool, shopping and bar-hopping and it was a much-needed relaxing weekend. Derek and I are obviously going through a tremendously stressful time in our life and this was such a sweet surprise.

For those of you who don't know her, Michelle is one crazy, random girl who always is in a good mood. We have the same personality and likes/dislikes and it definitely ends up to be a good time when we're together. Except for my cat-allergy attack where my eyes were BRIGHT red, I had so much fun with Michelle and her sister Laura and am thankful we've been friends for 5 years now.

There are WAY too many stories from last Saturday night, but the pictures below show how much fun we had around Dallas. We started out the night with Sushi at this great restaurant called Kenichi and then bar-hopped all night ending with some Romanians and burgers.

Faucet Fun

My husband and father had a fun time changing out our master bathroom faucets tonight. It was desperately needed as our old faucets (probably originals) were starting to look really crummy and gross.

Despite my arguments though, Derek wanted to do this project "himself" (obviously with my dads supervision). I secretly smiled to myself after realizing that this "2 hour project" was probably going to end up taking 4 or more. I secretly smiled even larger when I heard water spraying everywhere and I was being screamed at to get as many towels as I could.... FAST!

And no, there's no conclusion to this post because they are still in there slaving away. Hopefully within the next couple of hours (or at least under 8) we'll have 2 new bright and shiny faucets!

For now, I'll leave you with a glimpse of the "Faucet Fun"!

Wills Completed

Remember Terri Schiavo? That won't be me! Derek finalized our will and living will documents and we had them officially signed and notarized on Friday!

It was somewhat depressing, yes, but at the same time was a relief to know that our assets as are fully covered and our future children will be all set should anything happen to us!

The only thing left to figure out.... who gets our 4-legged children! :)

Disabled List

It happens about once a year. I refer to it as the "Annual Skin Removal Process" and it works best when running outside on hard, scratchy surfaces. i wish it was a facial procedure that would make me look 20 again, but it's actually a removal of knee skin that occurs when one does not pick up their feet completely when jogging. This bit of fun revealed it's ugly face again on my morning run today and below is what my once "good knee" now looks like.
I wish it ended there, but somehow I managed to hurt my ankle, shoulder, hands and elbow also. I'd give the performance about a 9.5 and so would the school kids waiting for their bus who witnessed the entire debacle.
It's pretty much a surface injury as I don't feel like I pulled anything or messed up any joints. This means my long run tomorrow, however, is postponed one day in order to let this baby heal a bit.
For now, neosporin, Tylenol and bandaids will do the trick....along with maybe a bit of Sangria and a sympathy back rub by my wonderful husband.

100th Post

I can't believe I only started this journey less than a year ago and have posted 100 times! I also can't believe we were in Europe 11 months ago as it seems like we JUST were standing under the Eiffel Tower enjoying a romantic smooch.

I hope this blog gives my friends and family and entertaining read and is a way to keep everyone updated on what Derek and I are up to. Besides that, it's so much fun to see who ends up here across the world! Currently, the UK and Canada are not too far behind the US in blog views, but I've reached much farther! Check out the map of all the areas shaded in green where people have clicked on a link.


Most surprising countries who've been on my blog: Greece, Peru, Suriname.... and where the heck is Malta?!

Book Review - The Art of Racing In The Rain

For anyone who loved reading Marley and Me, this will be your next favorite READ! This book, written by Garth Stein, tell the story of companionship during the best of times and the worst of times told through the voice of Enzo, a golden retriever. If you've ever thought that your dogs know what you're saying to them, or are trying to talk back to you through their eyes, then this book is for you!

This heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, is a well-crafted and amazingly captivating look at the wonders of human life. You will laugh and cry through this unforgettable journey.... and what's even better is that it's written by Enzo himself!

Definitely an A+ in my book (pun intended).

Party Like It's 1999!

Such a great song and we only did about 74 dances to that song my senior year of being on the Pacesetters Dance Team!

It's been a decade since that senior year at Shawnee Mission South and this past weekend we celebrated this event at our 10-year reunion. About 100 or so of my classmates attended the festivities held at he Berg Event Space Saturday night.

To start the night off, I hosted a small "pre-party" at my house with four of my high school dance team friends. We indulged on some finger foods, drank some sangria and reminisced about those fun years. There was, of course, a yearbook appearance as well along with some Raider colored green and gold napkins and plates.


It was such a fun time and so nice to catch up with a couple of the girls whom it's been forever since I've seen last. Little Madeline even joined us and Bailey loved getting her all excited and playing with her (right)!

And just like at Derek's reunion, it wasn't long before the "who got really fat" and "who got boob jobs" conversations started to swirl!
Overall, it was a really fun night and was so great to catch up with so many old friends.


"There's nothing greater than a Raider" GO SOUTH! :)

Happy Birthday Bailey!

My little angelic bear turned 2 years old Sunday! I can't believe she's already 14 years old in human years! She has matured so much and has turned into a wonderful dog for us. We are so blessed to have found her even though she hogs the bed and suffers from A.D.D.! We couldn't have asked for a more happy dog whom we trust around anyone and anything and is so fun to be around. From the day we picked her out from the Kansas City Humane Society (left), she has melted our hearts and made our family complete!



Here she was just a couple months after birth -

And here she was this weekend indulging in her birthday cake from Land of Paws. (And yes, Lacy got half the cake).

Then we played her favorite game in the world for quite some time - BALL FETCH! (the tennis ball is in between her legs in the pic!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAILEY!!

Freshman Move In Day

It was 10 years ago this weekend when my family was moving me into GSP at KU. I finally felt like a free adult and was so excited to be done with high school and starting my Freshman year in college. I was born a Jayhawk and couldn't wait to experience this amazing school on my own!

The memories all came back again Friday when we helped move Whitney into her dorm at KU. From the guys around campus checking out the 'fresh meat' to the girls all dressed to impress, not a ton had changed since that weekend 10 years ago. There was so much excitement in the air and Whitney was on cloud 9 as she met her roommates and prepared their dorm suite by asking all the important questions; Who gets the bottom bunk? Which desk are you claiming? Where will we put the keg? (J/K Lesa!)

Matt decided to check out the amenities and is very thankful that he'll never have to squeeze into that shower!

Enjoy college Whit! We are so excited that you decided to join the Jayhawk tradition and we know you will do so well up there. It's only 4 years, but will include some of the best times of your life!

ROCK CHALK!!

Talons

I was playing with Bailey last night and was gouged by these things! Looks like someone is in need of a good clipping before we have friends over Saturday night!

Does anyone else have a heart attack before every clip when they do their dogs nails? I just get major anxiety that I'm going to hurt her and it is NOT a fun chore.

2 Inches Closer = Sting City

While trimming my front yard bushes today, I noticed a couple wasps flying around this bush -
Only when I finished and was cleaning up the trimmings did I notice this sucker hanging on a limb with several wasps flying around it! I literally almost chopped the nest in half which would have resulted in an afternoon of NO FUN!

(Note: no wasps were harmed in the destroying of their home and taking of these pictures... all flew away safely and without injuring the photographer.)

The Blame Game

If you spotted Derek darting through oncoming traffic on Pflumn this past weekend, here’s why.

On Saturday morning, Derek was picked up by his friends to golf. Once they decided who was driving (he didn’t get the short straw), he tossed his keys onto the back of his closed trunk and was off. Fast forward 5 hours later when we were getting ready to head out for the evening and the keys were nowhere to be found. I’m asked “did you leave them on the back of the car when you went to the Farmers Market?” I had NO clue what he was talking about until he explained the situation..... and went on to blame me for not noticing they were there.

After several round of this (not so fun) game, we decided to re-drive the route I had taken earlier that day with the hope that they maybe just slid off the back of the car and were laying in the street. About 10 minutes in (those suckers apparently held on for life!), Derek spotted them in the road and we were jumping with joy. It wasn’t until after a few minutes of running in between cars when he finally retrieved them and I could tell by the look on his face that something was wrong.

He got in the car and handed me these. Rolled over, thrown around, beat up, but yet still all on the chain. At least we know that our house can't be broken into now with half the key missing!


** Feel free to cast your vote in our 'battle of the sexes'! Was Derek at fault for leaving them on the back of the car without telling me? Or was it my fault for not having magic powers and automatically checking the back of the car for anything left behind?! Only you can help decide!

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!