Turkey Day

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving and were happy to have my parents here to share it with us.

We ate out, cooked, ate in, shopped, bowled, and just had fun spending time together. We also found some things to do around town, but Lincoln, well, isn't known for having much to do!

Mom and me prepping the night before the feast...

Craig and I ready for the feast - Craig was very happy for NO turkey. Yes... the title of the post was deceiving.

Self timers are the best!

Mmmm...

My mom helped me start and finish a couple of sewing projects.

Bowling was fun - Craig won both games which was unfortunate for me because I actually broke 100 both games, which is rare!

The end result. I lost the first game. by. one. point. Great news is that my lefty dad broke 100 too!!

Now we're ready for Christmas with our leaning tree!

Happy Halloween!

I know, it's not quite Halloween yet, but I thought I should document proof that BOTH Craig and I dressed up this year for a before Halloween party. I can't remember the last time I dressed up and I don't think Craig has dressed up since before we were married. I've never been a big fan of Halloween or costumes, so this was a big moment!

Here are our wonderful costumes - I was a bag of Jelly Bellys and Craig was a Rubik's cube. I couldn't find a huge garbage bag at Wal-Mart (who knew, I thought they had everything), so as I was checking out, I decided to ask the cashier if I could have one they use and after explaining it was for a Halloween costume, he was glad to help. Thank you cashier man who loves Halloween!

Craig in his Nebraska gear with our pumpkin!

It's an 'N' for Nebraska. Go Huskers!

"Everything's up to date in Kansas City...

...they've gone about as fer as they can go..." When I told my mom we were going to Kansas City, she sang me this (beautiful) song from Oklahoma the Musical, so I had to youtube it and now I want to see it! It's always fun to get away for a weekend. Friday after I got off work, Craig picked me up and we headed on our way to Kansas City. We had originally planned to see Mamma Mia! that evening, but because of the flooding/road closures we had to detour through the country and couldn't make it.

We were both starving by the time we drove in, so we found some chain restaurant that's apparently famous for hot wings. Craig loves spicy foods, so he decided to try the habanero and mango wings while I played it safe with a grilled chicken sandwich. After waiting for what seemed like hours, our meal finally comes out and looks delicious, so we dig in. Craig took one bite and right away, his eyes start watering and nose starts running like crazy - it was hilarious! In the end, he ended up only eating two pieces of chicken, asking for a box, then throwing the box away in the parking lot. Stupid hot wings.

Saturday, we went to an amazing farmers market - there was so much produce and of course my favorite were all the free samples. I forgot my camera, but this was the entrance to the market and you can see all the tent tops if you look really hard.

There are several Romanesque fountains in Kansas City. This is Craig in front of the J.C. Nichols Fountain. We also like a fountain that had water squirting out of horses' noses.

We had some pretty ridiculous pictures - both of us sitting in front of Buddha (not sure if this is actually him) at the museum.

This picture makes it look like I'm not wearing any pants.

Trying to make it look like Craig was pushing this giant birdie over. I could not stop laughing though - he was just standing in the middle of this grassy area with his hands in the air asking if his hands were perfectly placed.

We also met up with Craig's brother, Curtis and had some delicious BBQ at a gas station called Oklahoma Joe's. The line was wrapped through the store and along the outside of the building - definitely worth the wait. No pictures though.

Saturday night, we headed to the Royals game. It was sooooo hot, but we had fun! We were glad to get away and spend time together before Craig starts living at the school!

When Craig is Bored...

So what does Craig do while I'm at work, you ask? Why puzzles of course!

One day he was complaining that he doesn't know what to do with all of his free time, so I suggested he start a puzzle. He became obsessed with finishing this puzzle which lead to frustration and many sleepless nights, but he finally finished after two weeks! It has now become the "table runner" on our coffee table. I won't let him take it apart just yet - I'm a little attached.

The finished product.

Childhood Memories

When I was 8 or so, my entire family, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins visited Glacier National Park. While there, my mom, aunt, older sister and two cousins went on a ten-mile hike with a guide as there were bears in the area. The guide told us that if we made enough noise, we would scare bears from the trail and would be kept safe.My cousin, who is one year younger than me had taught me a marching poem (I don't know if this was actually used by soldiers, but that's beside the point) that goes like this:

Left

Left

I left my wife with 49 kids and a bottle of milk 'cuz I thought it was

Right

Right

Right for my country and whoop-dee-doo

Repeat

We marched up the entire mountain, repeating this to, um, keep the bears away.

I was on a walk this evening when I thought of this memory and couldn't help but repeat this as I was walking. So, there I was 25 years old marching...I mean walking...down a dirt road in Lincoln Nebraska to this march poem/song. Good thing I was in farm land!

We Made It

We are now amongst the cornfields of Nebraska. Other than being hot and humid, we have loved it so far. We have met many new friends - most of them have finished at least one year of law school, so Craig has been getting the run-down of his professors. Hopefully they can help him study too!

I started working for WIC this past week, which is MUCH different than clinical nutrition. It's been good so far, but I'm still pretty useless.

My sister keeps asking me to update with pictures of our apartment, so here they are:

Here's the kitchen - much bigger than any apartment kitchen we have had before. I'm finally starting to cook this week!

Living room and Craig on the couch.

Our room - don't mind the bare walls.

Here are some of the pictures we still need to hang - one of the reasons I don't like moving. I'm obsessed with centering things perfectly, so the thought of hanging these gives me a headache!

Did we find Heaven?

I forgot to put this picture into my last post, but I think we found a little piece of heaven in Nebraska! Rocket Fizz is a little soda shop with hundreds of flavors of pop. I don't love soda, but we got some yummy peach and raspberry flavors - we'll definitely be coming back!

Future Cornhuskers!

It looks like we have Nebraska in our future! Craig and I visited Lincoln in March and absolutely loved it. It was definitely a small city, but there was a mall, good food, and friendly faces, so I think we're sold! Here are some highlights from our trip:

Visiting Liberty Jail

Farr West

Winter Quarters Visitor's Center...

...and temple

Craig's cousin Katie, her husband Tyler and baby Zach

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Dairy store (it wasn't as good as Aggie Ice Cream)

Husker football stadium - it was AMAZING

The State Capitol which had 14 floors and a tiny elevator

Haymarket Square where we had some amazing food on our 5th anniversary!

The International Quilt Study Museum - so many beautiful quilts and fabric

We also drove to Arkansas to visit the University of Arkansas, which we didn't love...

We visited Bill and Hilary Clinton's first home

Best part of Fayettville was Hugo's - a burger joint in a dark basement

We went to the Harry Truman Library on our way back to Kansas City

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Busy, busy, busy...

We sure have been busy for the past few weeks, but have been able to have fun too! Craig is just one class shy of graduating - we are both so excited! He has been busy applying to Law School this fall and has been accepted to 3 schools already. We're excited for the next adventure in our lives - hopefully we, the worlds worst decision-makers, can decide where to go!

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we ran in a Santa 5K. It was hilarious! Everyone was in these costumes - we even had beards and hats.

We went bowling for Kate's Birthday. I don't think we have been bowling for a couple of years and it definately showed!

We spent Christmas Eve with my sister and her family. We ate yummy food, read stories with nieces, and of course read the Christmas story. We love this time of year and are grateful to have families close to share it with.

Christmas morning at my parents. Bosley must have seen some food - it looks like he's trying to get away!

Of course we made (and ate) lots of sweets! What's Christmas without cinnamon rolls??