Time Flies...No Matter What.

Well I realized Saturday night, that the month of September is already half way over.  Can you believe it?!  I can't.  I feel like it was just yesterday we were celebrating Labor Day at the good ol' Delavan Parade.  Now it's already September 19th.  I am shocked.  I really am, I feel like there are days that are never going to end, but then before I know it, we're starting a new week.  This year has flown by, I've had to adjust to a new life, a new place, and just normal life.  And I've realized that not matter what, time flies.  It used to be that "time flies when you're having fun," but I've realized now, time flies no matter what and there's no stopping it.  As I sit here typing this, I know time is going quickly past me, and what do I do?  I sit here, looking out at the beautiful sun-shiny day.  We've had a lot of rainy, cloudy, not so nice days in a row, and now today and hopefully the next 10 days or so are going to be gloriously beautiful!  I cannot be any happier either!  As time flies by me, I am also thinking about what's coming up next.  Even though October seems so far away, I know its not.  Sophie is coming the first week in October, then we're going back to Illinois, because we have 2 weddings on the same day.  We're also going to a Chiefs football game in October, on Halloween.  As for the rest of September, I'm not even sure.  We may be going to Taylor Swift on Saturday with Kyle's cousins, but it's still not concrete.  Basically, we're fly by the seat of our pants kind of people.  I know what most weekdays will be, but weekends, who knows.  We're usually up for anything or nothing.  Whatever fits with our moods :)  Cheers until next time!

So Long Sweet Summer.

Well, I thought summer had officially ended, but we've had more summer weather.  It was chilly and fallish last week, but gradually it worked its way back into the 90s.  Today is supposed to be in the 90s too.  So I'm not sure what this is.

Well our week was the same as usual, but our weekend was a not-so-predictable weekend.  Friday night, we attended a fundraiser for the Kansas City Heart Foundation.  It was at the zoo and the theme was Africa.  Apparently, we were supposed to dress like we were going on safari.  We didn't get that memo, but Kyle wore khaki pants with a light blue with white pinstripes shirt, and I wore a khaki zebra print dress.  Both of us were dressed casual, but nice too.  We did see people dressed as "marsupials" and a man in a zoo keeper's outfit with a bow tie.  The "marsupials" were too much for me to handle.  2 adults with black eyeliner nose and whiskers drawn on their faces, with homemade ears on their heads, and HUGE tails attached to their jeans.  It was pretty crazy if you ask me.  Anyways, When we arrived, it was pouring down rain.  I instantly was regretting our decision to attend.  It was freezing and wet outside, and the event was being held outdoors.  As we waited for more people to get on the tram, the rain slowed, and finally stopped. We rode the tram to the Africa side of the zoo, and were greeted with safari hats and a photo booth.  The entertainment for our night was African drummers and dancers.  It was very interesting to watch.  We also went on the boat tour, but the animals were already inside for the night, so we went for a short crowded tour to look at some trees.  It was wet and misty on the boat.  Not a favorite of the night, but a good idea initially.   They served African inspired food, and a very tasty "African" cocktail.  We had lucky elephant bookmarks to take home, along with a giraffe mask.  Overall, the night turned out to be much better than I thought it would.  It didn't rain the rest of the evening, but it was quite chilly out.

Saturday, Kyle had drill.  I dropped him off around 7AM, it was a late drill.  Which I appreciated and he did too.  I spent the rest of my day with my friend Sarah.  We met at starbucks and I had my first pumpkin spice latte of the fall.  It was so good!  We talked and eventually ended up shopping for the afternoon.  Pier 1, World Market, Michaels, and Gordmans.  It was a nice day, I picked up some delicious organic hard apple cider from World Market, and a cute little spoon rest from Pier 1.  I thought my day was pretty successful.  I picked Kyle up from drill, and later we went out for chinese.  That night, we taught his mom and dad how to play eurche, but I'm still not sure if they get the game completely.

Sunday was great, I didn't have to take Kyle to drill, so I was able to sleep in until 8!  I got ready and watched a little of the 9/11 memorial service on TV.  I left around 11 to meet my friend Faith, from Illinois, at the Plaza.  The Plaza is a shopping district with nice restaurants and great shops!  We shopped for the afternoon, I got a new butter dish at anthropology, and Faith bought really cute drawer pulls and a spoon rest there.  She also bought some tops at forever 21 that are so her, not cute on anyone else but her kinda tops.  It was so good to see her, and spend time with her!  I had a really nice afternoon.

Sunday was a day remembering 9/11/01, and seemed so sad.  I cannot imagine how hard it would've been to be there.  It was definitely not forgotten and never will be.  When I was in NYC last fall, we went to the memorial museum.  It is a heart breaking place.  The missing persons signs, the videos, the interviews, everything made me so sad.  And yesterday hearing a fraction of the names of people who lost their lives that day was just as sad.  All of them were someone's somebody.

On the other hand, a happier reason to celebrate 9/11/11 was, it was 9 months I've been married!  I can't believe we've been married for 3/4 of a year.  It seems silly to have so many thoughts about being married 9 months, but it's a big deal to us.  The time has gone so fast!  Some days it seems like the days are so slow, and the next thing I know it's a new month.  I don't know how to explain it, but 9 months just seems like a milestone, even though it's not.  I just can't believe it's been that long, it seems like yesterday I was fuming at Jos. A Bank.  :)  Nine months.  Whoa.

Well...lastly, I have to say I wish we were going to Illinois sooner rather than later.  Today is my Mom's Birthday and we're not there to celebrate it with her.  We did last weekend, but it's still not the same.  We have about a month until we get to go back.  It seems like a long time, but I'm sure time will fly by.  We're going in October there are 2 weddings on the same day.  It's going to be a challenge to make it to both, but we're going to try!  Plus we get to spend an extra day in Illinois because Kyle has fall break and doesn't have school on Thursday or Friday.  Hooray!

Cheers until next time!

Labor Day.

As I sit on my couch thinking about what to write about, I am not sure, I don't even know what to call this blog.  I guess I'll write about Labor Day weekend, nothing eventful happened, but it was still wonderful, and still our weekend.

Well, we spent Labor Day weekend in Illinois.  It was so wonderful to be back!  It had been about a month since we'd been back, and when it's home, that is a VERY long time.  Kyle and I both love being there.  We have a great time every single time we're there.  The time always goes way too fast, and we both talk about the day, when we finally get to move back. 

Well, we spent Friday in the car traveling and arrived at Mom and Dad's around 3:30.  It was hot outside, but a nice day.  Kyle and I went for a short bike ride after we got there.  It felt so nice to be doing something after sitting in the car for 5 hours.  The sun on my face, the wind in my hair, and my sweet husband riding beside me.  It was great.  When we got back we went for a swim with the whole fam, except Cole.  He's a party pooper.  We also met my cousin Veronica for the first time, not because she was just born, but because our family is so big it's hard to meet everyone in a timely manner.  Veronica is from Green Bay Wisconsin and visiting my parents for a few weeks.  She is 13 and I couldn't believe it was my first time meeting her.  I guess we don't make it to Green Bay very often.  She loves being at the farm, and seemed to be having a great time so far.  After dinner, the girls and my mom went to the movie at the park, but Kyle and I stayed to visit with Dad.  He always has great stories to tell.  We sat and talked and laughed all night long!  He is so loud and animated, probably the best story teller ever.  I know one day he'll tell my kids stories and they'll love them as much as I do.  

Saturday was a BUSY day.  All the guys go to karate every Saturday, Kyle loves it.  He's already an orange belt, and wants to be ready to test for his purple belt when we visit in October.  They are gone from 7:30 -11AM.  Normally we have a nice brunch when they get back, but this weekend was Delavan's Fall Festival.  The carnival was in town, and ironically, Mom and I were working at the information booth that morning.  From 11-1 we sat at the info booth.  We were there to obviously inform people about things happening at the festival, but we did not know anything.  We were also selling T-shirts and duck numbers for the big race on Monday.  It was very comical to work this booth, no one told us things had been changed for that day's schedule, we were less knowledgeable than the people asking us questions.  My excuse to everyone was, "I'm from Missouri."  Everyone just laughed when I told them.  It was also a lot more fun because Tabytha, Mallory, and Charlie came to hang out with us.  Deb stopped by to visit too.  After we were done at the booth, Mom, Deb, and I went for a much needed pedicure!  It was so relaxing and nice, I didn't want it to end!  It was part of Mom's birthday gift from us, we gave her her gifts a week early since we won't be there on her actual birthday.  I didn't get to see a lot of Kyle, but we both still had a great day.  He ended up going grocery shopping with my Dad and Cole, and they all went to dinner together.  It was a male bonding day for sure.  We ended Saturday with playing BINGO at the festival, none of us won, but it's always an interesting time hanging out in Delavan.

Sunday Funday.  We went to church and after, had a ton of people over for lunch.  As always Mom and Dad had enough food to feed an army!  The day was nice and relaxing, and ended with all of us going to the small firework display in Delavan, but not before we played a couple more rounds of BINGO.  I was 1 away from winning the BIG game, with a $106 prize.  It was fill your card, but 1 away doesn't win the prize.  :)

Monday, Monday.  We had the traditional Labor Day breakfast.  Dad makes every possible breakfast item imaginable.  No one can ever eat everything.  We had pancakes, blueberry pancakes, biscuits and gravy, eggs, breakfast burritos, sausage links and patties, ham, bacon, fruit, juice, milk, chocolate milk, and that's all I can think of right now, but you get the idea.  Milo and Cindi came over, and Dad's sister Dana and her family came too.  After breakfast we had to get ready to go to the parade.  We got LOTS of candy and beads there.  It was a good time for everyone :)  Nothing like Delavan's Labor Day Parade.  It's one of a kind.  After the parade we all went to Aunt Carol's house for our get-together.  Aunt Jac, Aunt Lori, Aunt Dana, Aunt Carol, Aunt Lana, and most of the cousins were there.  We had a nice lunch together, but eventually we were back at the park for one last go at the BINGO tent.  None of us were lucky enough to win this year, but there's always next year!  Kyle and I left Illinois and made it home late Monday night.  It was a great weekend with friends and family, and I cannot wait to have another one sooner rather than later. 

Cheers!

Weekending.

Well after a long summer of being gone, we finally made it back to the city market.  It was so nice.  The sun was shining, parking was easy to find, and the market was full of wonderful home grown produce.  We brought home some delicious tomatoes, peaches, and green beans, just to name a few of the wonderful things we bought there.  I love going to the market, people are all friendly, there's tons of entertainment, and lots of things to look at.  It's a lovely sunny day, and I'm not sure what else there is for us to do, but unfortunately Kyle has to work this afternoon.
At church Sunday we had the installation service for our new pastor, Rick Holland.  It was a huge service.  There were tons of people there and guests from either coast of the states, and I guess all over the country.  So it was a big deal.  The rest of the day I spent cooking, cleaning up, and reading.  I have been reading a book called Little Bee for the last few days and I've flown through it.  I am not a fast reader either, but I think I'll be finished with it today.  That's a record for me, a book in less than a week.  I usually have 2 or 3 books going at one time because I get bored with one book, but this one has a lot going on in it.
Another new thing is Kyle updated my computer to windows 7 over the weekend.  I like it so far.  I was running vista, and now I guess I'm up to date.  It doesn't really matter to me, as long as my computer turns on and I am able to get online, and do what I need to do, I'm fine.  It was a crazy transition though.  We both forgot the password to our internet, so I was internetless for a while.  Then Kyle realized he saved on the information for the internet on his desktop of his computer.  So we fixed that.  I lost all of my internet bookmarks :(  I had to redownload itunes and reload all my music, which is still a work in progress.  So was it worth the trade off?  I'm still not sure.  Right now it seems like a lot of unnecessary work, just to upgrade to windows 7.  Especially when windows 8 is supposed to come out in like a year.  I don't think I'll be going through an upgrade anytime soon.  Cheers!

Life as I know it

Well today I've been thinking about our life, mine and Kyle's that is, and how routine it is.  I like it though, now that we're in the back to school mode, I can pretty much predict what our days will be like.  It allows me to plan, and I like to have a plan.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love to be spontaneous.  Right now we ARE taking advantage of the fact that it is ONLY us (plus our fish Ralph), and we have a lot of freedom, but I like a schedule.  I love my calendars and knowing what the upcoming events in our life are. I love being able to know that next weekend I'll be home in Illinois for the weekend!  I love knowing that Kyle has fall break in October and we will have a school free week of being OFF schedule.  I love knowing that time is going by, and we are finally living our lives together.  My dreams are coming true.  Well I love Sundays, Mondays, and Fridays, because I get to spend the most time with Kyle those days.  He is a busy guy!  Between school, working, and homework, he doesn't have a lot of free time.  Which is different from summer, when he took online classes, and I had him to myself a lot more. (I like it that way)  Once again this is all just ramblings from my head....sorry.  Well anyways, I starting babysitting for the 2 kids I babysat for over the summer again this past week.  It's picking them up from school and hanging out with them until their parents get home from work.  We read, play games, they do their homework (though they haven't had much this week.)  The youngest is 8, close to 9, and he is always bored.  He only likes games they don't have, TV he's not allowed to watch during the week, and computer games he's not allowed to play during the week.  I cannot think of ways to entertain him for the life of  me.  He's crazy, and Oh yeah he does NOT like the piano, he has to practice daily.  Other than that we have a great time.  I like my job, and the kids, and I'm so happy to have something to do daily!  I am also working on getting my substitute certificate.  It's a big paint in the rear end, if I do say so myself, but I love subbing, so I'm working on it.  With the way the dept. of edu. is run here, I'll be lucky to be subbing by January. I'm praying for sooner though.  I really miss being in the classroom.  Tonight we're babysitting for Luke and Alana.  Poor Luke had the mosquitoes get to him last night, and not his ear and his eye are very swollen.  He was a worn out little guy when he went to bed.  Alana on the other hand was bright eyed and ready to party with us!  Until close to 9PM, when she finally passed out.  She so sweet.  I love her smile.  Well it's late, so goodnight!

Lately.

Recently I've been doing quite a bit of cooking and baking.  The past two days to be more exact.  I have made Kyle chinese chicken, green bean casserole, brown rice, and homemade rolls.  I also made dinner last night for our friends Jon and Becca, who had a baby last weekend.  I made chicken enchiladas, santa fe corn, and homemade salsa.  I also made cupcakes for them that said "Welcome Home Baby Asher!"  Their new baby is the sweetest.  He's adorable and wonderfully sweet!  I loved holding him, he smelled so good.  Just like a baby should!  Well anyway, tonight, I made chocolate cupcakes with a peanut butter cup inside and homemade peanut butter butter cream frosting.  Here is a photo.  They are quite delicious if I do say so myself.

I also picked up my knitting needles today :)  It felt so good! But now I want to go pick up a bunch of new yarn tomorrow and figure out how to make some super cute stuff.  Hopefully this will keep my attention for a while.  Something to keep me busy until I am ready for something new.
Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the library.  I'm thinking Monday will be a great day for it!  Though today would have been too.  It was raining and the library would have been a nice inside thing to do today.  Oh well, cheers!  Until next time!

Park U Library

Well, I must admit I'm disappointed in the Park University Library.  It is definitely not a place that makes you feel like a you're in a college library.  I thought Trinity's library was a not so up to date library, but this place is ancient.  It definitely does not scream NICE, INVITING, WELCOMING place for students to study.  I L.O.V.E. love Monmouth College library.  It was so so nice and just felt like a place you would really want to spend time and enjoy being there.  This library, first of all it is underground!  Meaning no windows to let the sunshine in.  All they have is artificial lighting, it's cold down here, and very much like a cave.  They have the tiniest book collection, like a small high school library.  It's definitely not a selling point of the college.  I personally feel that the library at any university should be extensive, overwhelmingly large.  A small public library is larger than this place.  They also have computer printed signs EVERYWHERE I can see 3 from where I'm sitting, saying "NO FOOD OR DRINKS ALLOWED IN STUDY AREA"  how do you not allow students to bring drinks into the study area.  Food and drinks are not allowed anywhere in the library.  I can remember spending a whole day in the library.  I know there are reasons for now food and drinks allowed here, but usually there's a place somewhere for you to sit in the library and have a drink or a snack with you.  Monmouth had a cafe in the library.  I was so excited to come to the library today, but I don't think I'll be returning.  It's just not what I was hoping it would be.  I was hoping for a nice chair to sit down in, with a big window behind me--reading my book all day.  I just wanted to enjoy reading in a nice space--feeling the warmth of the sun on me.  BUT instead I'm in a cold cave, not inspired to read or anything.  I'm just looking forward to when we get to leave.  Just a bummer. Hopefully our public library will be nicer, that's my Saturday adventure--find the library and pray it's nice!  Cheers!