Wordless Wednesday

The Tourists - Commanders in Chief, Civil Rights & 'Cue, part 1

Tales from our vacation taken in June of this year.

(This is a picture heavy post...)

We left early on Thursday and drove to West Branch, Iowa to visit the Herbert Hoover NHS and Presidential Library. It's a great stop and worth the time!

We drove on toward Missouri from there. We stopped at the Eagleville Welcome Center. The kids stopped for a pose with President Turman...

We stopped for gas at

 (the name just killed DS-he laughed everytime we passed by one...)

We got to Kansas City and checked into our hotel, in Independence. We headed into KC for dinner and look around. Thanks to our GPS we went through a VERY rundown and a stretch of neighborhood we did not want to be in. My husband, who doesn't scare easily, told the kids that if he said "Down" to get on the floor of the van. 

ANYWAY - - we made it downtown and went to the Crown Center. We had dinner at Fritz's, where your food is delivered to your table via train.  The food wasn't that good but the atmosphere was pretty cool!

Friday, we had breakfast and headed out for a day of "touristing". We walked around downtown Independence (it's a nice town from what we saw). We walked by Clinton's Soda Fountain, where President had his first job while growing up.

The kids had their picture taken with the Truman Statue in the square.

We took the tour of Truman's Home (a NHS) - the interior has been preserved as it was when Mrs. Truman passed away.  President Truman's final car he owned is still parked in the garage.

 We headed to Kauffman Stadium (home of the Royals) to take the ballpark tour. It's a wonderful park and we had a fantastic tour guide. 

 We headed to the World War I Museum. It is quite a place! We learned a lot about the war and politics during that time. You can go up in the tower and get a wonderful view of Kansas City.

We had an early dinner at:

The food is INCREDIBLE!!!!!!  It is in a gas station - so you have to kind of know where you're going.

Saturday, we continued our Truman Tour (or Trumanage, as DS called it)

We went to the Truman Presidential Library - they have fantastic exhibits and activities for kids.

President & Mrs. Truman's resting place in the courtyard.

 DS wanted to go back to the WWI Museum for a second day, so we took him and we took DD back to the Crown Center to see the fountains and visit the Hallmark Visitors Center. 

We saw this bus in a parking lot and DS wanted this picture of an official "short bus".

 We went to Gates BBQ for a late lunch - if you like vinegary tasting BBQ, this is the place for you. We weren't very impressed, but whatever you like.

We took the kids back to the hotel and got them settled, then DH & I headed to Arrowhead Stadium for:

As we pulled into the parking lot, the skies turned black and it was getting ready to STORM!!!!! We grabbed our ponchos and made a run for it. We had just gotten in the gate when the skies opened up. So, we sat under the stands with the rest of the fans, watched the water roll through the concourse and lots of people get drunk. It was one of those "don't tell mom" times.

When we finally got to go to our seats, we watched a good show. (photos from the Kansas City newspaper site), despite worrying about two girls behind us that were so drunk they puked through most of the concert and the couple next to us that were out of their minds drunk (she almost fell down the stairs [we were in the uppermost bowl] and he went over the seats in front of us). I would like to make a note that the accoustics in Arrowhead weren't very good where we were, until Chesney's crew must have taken over for his part of the show.

(he falls under the "Chief" category in the title...)

 After the show, we walked to our van to find that the two back windows had been broken out from a beer bottle. That is NOT what we wanted to find at 11:30 at night in a city we weren't real familiar with. Security refused to do anything to help, so the nice people parked behind us helped us clean up the glass a little and directed us to the closest Wal Mart, to pick up supplies for a repair. 

DH & DS covered the window as best they could in the dark (and redid it in the A.M.).

That's the first 3 days of our trip.  Stay tuned for further adventures...

Music Monday - the concert edition

Happy Monday!
If I don't have anything big to post, I plan to have a "Music Monday" post. I hope you'll tune in...

Today's topic is:

CONCERTS!

I truly enjoy going to concerts. I like seeing the performers I listen to on the radio, live. I have been to several in my lifetime and hope I can continue to go through my life. In a silly way, I hope I'm that crazy old lady at shows that's still dancing and singing along. (And no, I'm not one of those who shows up drunk - I don't think I've ever gone having had A drink, let alone several...)

Anyway, I started to think about all the shows I've been to and started making a list. WOW! I surprised myself at how many I'd been to (most with my DH).

My parents took us to a couple of shows at a local theatre when we were kids: The Diamonds (you know-the group from the 1950s...). That was a fun show!

My mom (God love her!) took 5 of my friends and myself to see New Kids on the Block for my 16th birthday (some years ago...). How she dealt with the 6 screaming teenage girls she took, along with the THOUSANDS of others, I'll never know!  THANKS, MOM!!!!!!  (PS: DH - I would love to see one of their reunion concerts...just saying!)

I had the chance to see Bryan Adams when he performed at Illinois State (again, some years ago...). He's an amazing guitar player and put on a GREAT show!

I don't think I attended another concert for quite a while. In the 15 years my husband and I have been married, we have been to quite a few. Guess who we've seen the most times? (If you have read my blog for any length of time, you SHOULD know this)

This guy:

Kenny Chesney, a total of four times (in three different venues).

2002: No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problems Tour with Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Sara Evans and Phil Vassar

2008: The Poets & Pirates Tour with Luke Bryan, Gary Allan, LeAnn Rimes and Keith Urban (PS: Jake Owen played outside the stadium before the concert)

2012: Brothers of the Sun Tour with Jake Owen, Grace Potter and Tim McGraw

2013: No Shoes Nation Tour with Kacey Musgraves, Eli Young Band and Eric Church  [this concert will be posted about my post tomorrow...]

I have never been disappointed by one of his shows!

You know who else hasn't disappointed?

This lady:

Miranda Lambert plays a mean guitar and has an incredible voice. We've seen her twice and hope to catch her again soon!

2010: Revolution Tour with Josh Kelley and Eric Church

2013: Locked and Reloaded Tour with Thomas Rhett and Dierks Bentley

We have a summer festival in our community that brings through some bigger music stars. We have seen:

Joan Jett (we've seen her twice, once at the festival and once with Cheap Trick):

Phil Vassar (talk about an energetic performer!!!):

Sara Evans (seen her as KC's opening act and as a headliner - fun show):

My list of concerts I would like to go to is endless! Near the top of that list are:

Brad Paisley

Aerosmith

Carrie Underwood

Blake Shelton

Maroon 5

Lady Antebellum

Who have you seen in concert?  Who do you want to see?

(Don't be embarassed - I'd love to know!)

Some of our random concert pictures:

Greeting readers!

I hope you have all had a good week. It's been a productive one for me!

I will be back on Monday with a post (and continuing through the week...).  I will be blog visiting again, sorry for my absence on the blogs I read regularly (see the blogroll to the left...). I would like to encourage everyone stopping by to visit these blogs too!!!!

Have a great rest of the weekend - "see" you on Monday morning!

Mini MIA

I am 'unplugging' this week. I have some non-electronic projects to work on this week. I'll still be checking e-mail but that's about it - no blog, facebook, pinterest, etc.

I'll return in a few days.

TGIF

Today I am linking to my photo blog to show off a few of my favorites from a photo shoot I did on Tuesday evening. No editing has been done yet!

I'd love your input

Photos by Jen

Have a great weekend!

"Wordless" Wednesday

The Tourists - BBQ!

Welcome to a new "segment" on my blog I am going to call - Traveling Tuesday. I'll post about our adventures and places we've been.

Last year while we were on vacation, we stopped in to The Shed (in Gulfport, MS) for dinner one night. We'd see it on Travel Channel and Food Network - it had to be good, right?!

Ummmmm - YES!  It was INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!  The food was super, the restaurant has more character than I can even begin to explain.  (It's picnic tables in the middle of a junk yard, next to a lake)


After we ate, we walked around to take everything in (and so the kids could find all the plates to "win" the license plate game). It's fun, the people and staff are fantastic and you truly know you're in the south, when you're here.



We highly recommend you stop in and take in some 'Q!
******************************************
Coming VERY soon (hopefully this week still...) - our vacation recap from this year.

Weekend scrapping & stuff

 I completed one layout and ALMOST got done with another.

This is from our trip to Hawaii, our first hotel.

Circle detail:

We went to the Chicago Rush arena football game on Saturday night. They won! One of the cheerleaders had the CUTEST haircut...I'm seriously considering trying to give her 'do a go for myself.

Yesterday afternoon we went to see Grown Ups 2, it was pretty funny. A lot of obvious humor but entertaining.

Other than that, it was laundry, working with DD on learning to ride her bike (I think she's getting hang of it!), watching the finale of The Great American Bake Off (not who I wanted to win, BUT....) and just relaxing.

How was your weekend?

A trip to the ER

Yesterday morning was interesting....

DH calls me at work and says DS needs to go to the ER, he cut his thumb. Now my DH is all about band aid and duct tape fixes, soooo I know it must be pretty bad. So I head to the hospital to wIt for DS and my MIL to arrive. (DH had to stay at the job site because the front door was being replaced and he couldn't leave). Anyway, DS was cutting open a tube of caulk with a utility knife and it slipped.  He ended up taking off the tip of his thumb above the nail. It's a good cut and bled a lot!  No stitches, but he gets to wear this...

For at least a few days.

He's in good spirits and should make a full recovery.

And they wonder why I worry about them while they're working...

Friday Fun-Friday letters

Dear Friday,  Hello!

Dear Weekend, Please go slow! I don't have to work at all, and I want to enjoy it!!!

Dear Self, your weekend work retreat is next weekend. Rest up now! You know you can't seem to get much rest and tend to have a couple too many grown up drinks ever year....but remember to enjoy!

Dear Chicago Rush, let's have a win this weekend!

Dear Weather, this week has been beautiful. Let 's keep it up for a few more days, eh?

Dear Pinterest, I know we have been spending A LOT of time together this week. Let's make or organize something!

Dear Hammock and Tree, I hope we can get together Sunday.

Dear Cubbies, please beat the Cards this series!

Dear Blog Writers, I have found some new to me blogs the past week and it's been fun. Keep posting my fellow bloggers!

Dear Blog Readers, thank you all for stopping by. I appreciate your comments and love.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Thankful Thursday

I have a lot to be thankful for this week.
*My jobs (even when they're crazy)
*My family (random silliness while walking through the house usually gets a giggle or laugh from someone)
*Books (I've been reading a lot of smut and fluff the past couple of weeks, but hey - it's summer!)
*Flowers (mine are blooming away - now if the rabbits & squirrels would stop eating my lilies)
*A nap in a hammock (have I mentioned that was a little slice of heaven?)
*Scrap time (I'm working on samples for my scrap group)
*Friends (they bring me smiles when I need them)
*Neighbors (who else shares their excess garden veggies with you?)
*Blog readers (I love your visits and comments)

Wishing you all much to be thankful and grateful for!

Check!

I had three things on my to do list last night and I got them done!!!!
*Laundry
*Download vacation photos from camera (watch Tuesday for the 1st installment post of our vacation)
*Cut out circles for scrap group (my Cricut was working hard!)

I even got to watch a little of Dance Moms and relax with hubby for a bit before crashing out for the night.

Happy Hump Day!

Book review Sand Castle Bay

Sand Castle Bay
By Sheryl Woods
4 of 5 stars

Genre: Romance/Cick Lit

Publisher's synopsis:  In a trade-off she's lived to regret, Emily Castle left home years ago to become an interior designer. The youngest of three sisters, Emily desperately wanted to prove herself. Success, though, came at the cost of leaving behind the man she loved.For Boone Dorsett, losing Emily left his heart shattered, but another woman was waiting in the wings. Now a widower with a young son, Boone has a second chance with Emily when a storm brings her home. But with his former in-laws threatening a custody suit, the stakes of loving her are higher than ever.

Will fate once again separate them—or is the time finally right for these two star-crossed lovers?

My thoughts: This is the first book in the series.  I fell in love with these characters. I had a hard time putting this down, it's a great summer, fluffy read.

Happy reading!

As my wise 9 year old told me, she enjoys reading because she can get lost in another place without actually having to go anywhere.  YES!  I agree with her.

It's all about me!

I was a little selfish yesterday, and I enjoyed it!
I got the hammock out (yes, it was warm & humid out) and set it up in the shade under our big oak tree. I had a fantastic nap laying there. I woke up to the leaves rustling in the breeze and feeling it on my face. The birds were singing (maybe it was squawking). It felt good to nap and nap while enjoying the peace of our backyard.
It was a wonderful way to wrap up a weekend.

Thank you!

I don't think I posted here.
I want to thank all of you who sent well wishes after my surgery in May. All your emails, cards, thoughts and help were/are greatly appreciated!
I am feeling worlds better, especially the past couple of weeks. My energy levels are returning and I'm starting to exercise regularly again!
And of course, thanks to my cardiologist and surgeon who were supportive, understanding and "fixed" me.

I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!

Cheers!

A great Friday night!

We had a fire last night. It was wonderful to sit by the fire, have s'mores and play with sparklers. I hope we can do it again soon, and hopefully with a grown up beverage.

I hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Friday Fun-Music Video

I think Brad Paisley is very entertaining and this video is really cute!

Happy 4th of July

I hope you all enjoy your holiday!

Wordless Wednesday

Oh no....

First, happy July!

Guess what I have discovered?  Instagram....  I'm not following but a couple of people and only have a few photos up.  I'm cubsfan3410, if you want to request following.  Leave me a comment with your instagram id if you want another follower. I think between Pinterest and Instagram, I may start ignoring Facebook more... 

I hope you're having a good week!
Hugs!

Monday gratitudes

This week I have been grateful for:
*my family
*reconnecting with an old friend
*enjoying a book
*a new yarn project
*my blog readers
*watching karma at work
*my husband & son having a great time on Friday
*a clean house

I hope last week was a grateful one and wishing you another blessed week.
Thanks for stopping by!