It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

At least in my opinion. As you can see my house is turning into a Halloween wonderland as we prep for our annual Halloween party for all of the ortho residents and their families...

Happy Birthday to a....

great husband, father, son, brother, son-in-law, friend, and surgeon! Today we celebrated Matt, enjoyed ice cream cake (that luckily turned out yummy!) and spent the day together as a family!

Country Club Plaza - Kansas City

I know some of you who read my blog are bored with these pictures, but some of you have never visited Kansas City and may enjoy some blog sight-seeing! Kansas City is the "City of Fountains" and it also the sister city to Seville, Spain. The pictures taken above are from probably the most famous area in the city called The Country Club Plaza (or as we natives call the Plaza). I was lucky to have called the Plaza home all of graduate school and enjoyed living in the hustle and bustle of the city, and just a moment away from the city's best shopping and dining! It was like a dream to listen to the sounds from my window, walk across the street for coffee and listen to a jazz band playing and simply having the luxury of roaming the many blocks that are as beautiful as the pictures show above. I haven't traveled everywhere in the world, but my guess is there are few places that can compare. I took some pictures of my favorite architecture and I believe many are replicas of plazas in Seville. Would you believe the city lights every last inch of the Plaza with Christmas lights for the Plaza Lighting Ceremony Thanksgiving night?! It is breathtaking and a picture would never do it justice. Oh, and the blue tile stairs pictured above is one of the places we had our wedding pictures taken!

I just wanted to share a piece of my hometown. I get more and more homesick with each trip back, and this last trip over Labor Day I couldn't get enough of the urban feel I miss so very much. It's safe to say I don't fit in very well in the south, although I am happy here for a short time. Both cultures have so much to offer. However, I am a midwest *Kansas City* girl through and through. Those of you who haven't been to K.C. should really consider making the trip!

Make New Friends, But Keep The Old...

I returned Monday, Labor Day (and my birthday!), from a great trip back "home." Since high school I have enjoyed all of my experiences and new friendships through college, graduate school, living in new places and now residency. BUT, nothing compares to the friends you grew up with. Ashley gave me a very memorable birthday gift, my cheerleading sweater! and the girls that were together that weekend are life long friends, some even date back to preschool! I am so blessed that we have kept in touch and it is amazing to think of all we have been through together, and all of the ups and downs we have carried one another through. Thanks girls for your friendship and for such a fun weekend! I can only hope when residency is finished that Matt's job carries us back closer to you all...

Our Vacation to Longboat Key, FL

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

First Day of School

If Blake looks a bit disheveled, well it is probably because he was...and probably because we ALL were this morning! It is hard enough to adjust to getting up earlier, but to do so after a very fun and adventurous vacation is even more of a challenge! We were all still a bit groggy. But, even so Blake was up and in my room with clothes and underpants in hand at 5:45am (a little earlier than the 6:00am alarm!). At this point school is something you don't have to convince Blake to attend or enjoy. When I dropped him off he was beaming, when I picked him up he was beaming. Grinning ear to ear! When we walked into his classroom (since carpool line doesn't start until next week - grrr) he quickly turned around said "kiss" for me to kiss him, then waved and said "bye!" Hint, hint Mommy. So, guess who cried this morning? Dane! He was so sad to leave his brother and wanted to stay. He will be back to his school tomorrow and will start back to 3 days a week as I do the same for work. My boss was kind enough to allow me to work only 2 days during summer break to save some dough in childcare costs! So..I can chalk this up to the worst back to school photo thus far, but Blake's smiles and excitement for school makes the need for this picture pretty minuscule.

Life Skills

Isn't dunking an Oreo one of the most important life skills a person should learn? Dane was introduced to this old snack technique tonight. He is a kid that already loves to "dip it," which is what he does with just about everything (and requests it using those words), so he soon became an expert. And loved every minute of it...