I know a spot that I love full well,
’tis not in forest nor yet in dell,
ever it holds me with magic spell,
I think of thee, Alma Mater.
K-S-U! we’ll carry the banner high,
K-S-U! long long may the colors fly,
Loyal to thee, thy children will swell the cry,
Hail, Hail, Hail…Alma Mater!
-H.W. Jones
Big game tonight. We’re cheering on our wildcats from afar. And wearing matching shirts. 
There’s this cozy place in Prairie Village that I love and put on my ‘must eat at’ list .
The Blue Moose.
They have the absolute best hummus ever. I drool just thinking about it and the spinach salad with strawberry poppyseed dressing.
This is also where Todd & I had our very first date, so of course we like to come back here whenever we can and have a little anniversary. I also like to remind him that he wouldn’t stop talking long enough for me to get a meaningful sentence in on that date (which is probably why I denied that it was our first date for quite some time), but apparently we still thought each other was pretty cool.
Some other people who are pretty cool….we met up at the Blue Moose with Drew & Sallee Gaelle again and our friends Shawn & Mindy drove up from Wichita to hang out with us.
After dinner, we headed to Drew & SG’s plaza apartment for a game of Apples to Apples. These two guys were Todd’s roommates in college and Shawn was my co-worker for several years so I actually knew he & Mindy before even meeting Todd. We’re all like one big happy family.
One big happy growing family, that is. Mindy & SG are both about 5 1/2 months pregnant and oh, so cute. I’m glad everyone’s plans coincided and we got to see them at this stage together.
It’s interesting how our conversations have changed throughout the years—from parties and college life, to houses and babies and work—but it’s so effortless to pick up right where we last left off. It’s always hard to say goodbye.
I’m already anxious to start planning our next reunion….hopefully in Seattle.
Making the most of our treasured brief time back home in KC, Dad & Mom drove down to spend a couple nights with us kids and celebrate a belated family Christmas.
We were all anticipating their arrival…
We spent the afternoon with Aunt Janice and had lunch at First Watch, followed by some last minute shopping and oohing and aaahing over her shiny new kitchen.
It feels so good to be together as a family and relax, eat, talk and play games. Unfortunately it’s an occurrence that only happens once or twice a year, so I have to sit back and remind myself to cherish every fleeting minute….even if I’m getting dealt too many consecutive bad hands at Phase 10.
(Ben would probably like me to admit that I lost to him in chess….and it wasn’t even close. What happened to the good ol’ days when he didn’t even stand a chance against me?!?!)
What a wonderful way to end our ‘Christmas Eve’.
. . . . . . . .
All the kids were up early and excited for Christmas Morning
We decided to only gift them toys this year (afterall, they’re just two big kids at heart).
these are snowslings for scooping up snowballs without getting your hands cold and wet. brilliant!
While it wasn’t quite the same as being together on December 25th, we still kept the family Christmas tradition of reading about Christ’s birth and having oranges in our stockings. No matter when or where we gather, it’ll always feel like home by having those two things constant in our celebrations for the past 27+ years.
i love my daddy
We spent the rest of the afternoon playing more games until we were all worn out.
If only we could do this every weekend…
We took advantage of cheaper airfare and less blizzard-y weather and flew back ‘home’ to Kansas City last week for a belated ‘Christmas’.
As with every trip back, it was a hectic whirlwind of running around the metro seeing friends and fitting in an hour here and there with whomever we could.
Thursday we enjoyed our separate little lunch dates with friends. I met my friend Jamie for lunch at Pot Pie (why do I always forget to take pictures when I’m with Jamie??! probably because the conversation is too entertaining) and Todd had lunch with Drew & Klee at Jersey Boyz.
Since everyone was at work, Todd & I walked around the Plaza and then took a relaxing drive through the snowy countryside. I may have been the only person in Kansas City who was excited to see snow on the ground as we drove around. Seemed like everyone else was sick of it.
Every time we go back, there are a few places we have to eat at. Todd always has to go to Jersey Boyz and I just have to go to Kona Grill on the Plaza for sushi. For being landlocked in Kansas City, Kona has some of the best sushi I’ve ever had, and dare I say it….maybe even better than anywhere I’ve found in Seattle.
My best friend Catherine: the person who introduced me to Kona. We’ve had so many sushi dates and girl talk together there, that it’s only fitting this is where we meet up again and share our favorite sushi rolls. Problem is, our time together is never long enough.
Also in on the fun: Stuart, Drew, Sallee Gaelle (pregnant with baby Jonah). It’s so nice to gather friends from different phases in our life and see how they all come together and catch up like old friends.
We said goodbyes and headed back to our home for the duration of our stay. We love getting to stay at my brother Ben & sister-in-law Kim’s—there’s lots of laughter, sibling flashbacks to childhood (Kim & Todd just roll their eyes), good conversation, and never a dull moment.
Talk about two different lifestyles…Ben brought out his new ‘toy’ for Todd to look at. Probably the only time you’ll ever see him hold a real gun.
Every night was game night.
Plus, we love getting to spend time with our ‘nephew’, Diesel. He’s always excited to see Uncle Todd & Aunt Katie.
As this past year draws to a close, we look back on it with joy and fondness. 2009, you were good to us. MORE than good to us. It’s amazing to look back and see how much we’ve done in the past year. The fun, the family, the friends, the travels, the love that keeps growing….it all snowballs into one big happy year.
A few highlights from our busy year:
Celebrations started things off.
We welcomed visitors.
Visited the tulip festival.
Had an inaugural FRIENDS party with friends.
Discovered our love for Blue C Sushi.
Ate our weight in cheese.
Sailed off on Katie’s birthday cruise.
Clicked our heels back home to Kansas
and the place where Todd met Katie.
met new friends and laughed with old ones.
saw two friends tie the knot.
Katie went back to the farm.
Ran a marathon.
Ran (sprint…walk…sprint…walk…sprinted) a 5K with friends.
Flew off on an unforgettable trip to Europe for our 1 year anniversary.
Gave thanks with friends.
and ran with kids.
And above all, made wonderful lasting memories to carry us on into the next year of our lives.
We are ever so blessed by God. 2009 was one of the best years of our lives, but 2010 will just keep getting better.
Cheers to a healthy, happy new year!
