Kansas City Getaway!

At the end of August, Jay Dee and I had planned a quick trip to Kansas City, mainly to use one of his christmas gifts. He received a Nascar Ride-Along from my parents and there was only two weekends in KC that it could be used, and so we decided to go on August 21. About 2-3 weeks before that, I unexpectedly won tickets to a KC Royals baseball game! So we did some looking and found out that there was a Royals game the same weekend. So very suddenly, our quick family vacation turned into an "adults only" weekend away with friends! And boy was that the greatest decision we ever made!!!! So we asked our best friends, Nate and Amie, if they'd like to go with us, and they were all for it! Yippee! ( I think I needed this more than Jay Dee did!!) A great photo of our great friends!



So we all made arrangements for our kids for the weekend, and we took off around 1pm on friday for KC. It was a nice ride to KC just visiting and catching up. The Royals game was on friday night, so it worked out perfectly. Our hotel was right across the street, which was nice so we could just walk to the stadium. Even our walk over was quite eventful, with me falling and sliding down a hill. I'm not sure if anyone else fell, i just remember the grass was wet and slick.



We had amazing seats right under the awning off of first base. Awesome!


This photo is zoomed in at home plate, pretty amazing.

We had heard there was a possible chance of rain, but were hoping it would stay away. Well before the game even started, the clouds rolled in and it got darker and darker. We only made it through 1/2 of the first inning when the rain started. Lucky for us, we were under that awning, and so we were able to stay in our seats without getting wet. At least for awhile.

Then...it started downpouring! For an hour and a half if poured!!!! The most remarkable thing was to watch the guys get the big white tarp put over the field. They had a system and it was pretty cool.

So, after the 1.5 hours of rain, they postponed the game. We were told we could use our tickets for any other game the entire season. Luckily for us, there was another game the next night, and due to the rain, they were going to be playing a double header. So we headed back to our hotel...and this is where even more eventful things started to happen. As we were walking up to our hotel, we suddenly realized that it was awfully dark...like no lights at all. And then when we walked up to the door and noticed it was propped open and we were greated by a hotel employee with a flashlight, we knew what we were in for. No electricity!

So we managed to climb the stairs (no working elevators) with a flashlight. Keep in mind it had been raining, so the stairs were very slick with water from all the people trying to get to their rooms. We got to our rooms to find we did have a bit of light. Very dim lights. Then the beeping started! Our smoke/fire alarms batteries must have been low because they started beeping constantly due to no electricity. So the handy farmer and police officer did what they do best...take care of the situation. Unplug it and hope because it was a wired in system that it didn't set off the whole hotel! And it didn't. One problem solved.

Next...what do you do at 8 o'clock in the evening in a hotel with little to no electricity? Well, the guys headed out to find a store that might have power so they could buy some cards and snacks. They were gone for awhile and when they came back, they had exactly that. So we started playing pitch. We did that until probably midnight and had lots of fun. It was a bit hard at times to see the cards, but we managed.

The next day was Jay Dee's Nascar Ride-Along. So we dropped Nate and Amie off at Cabela's and we headed over to the racetrack.

We got to see things that most people don't. We drove right into the garage area to park and walked up onto pit road. That is where Jay Dee had to register (sign his life away!) and get ready. I believe he stood in line for 1 1/2 hours before it was finally his turn. It was a hot day, so I was getting sunburnt waiting for him, but it was worth it. He had a great time!

All suited up and ready to go. He had to wear a fireproof suit and headgear.

Climbing into the car -- a real Dukes of Hazzard moment. And you might notice the number on the car... MY favorite driver! He didn't live that one down for awhile.

Getting all buckled in.

And just that quick, it was over. 3 laps around the track and he was done. Quite a wait for 3 laps of excitement.

Then we ate lunch at IHOP with our friends and did some shopping. We discovered the Legends shopping area, and have decided that me might start making an annual trip there every year. Then it was back to the hotel for a bit, hoping we might have electricity. And we did, finally at 4pm. Then is was off to the double-header ballgame. Not as great as seats this time, but it was still a lot of fun.

One quick photo of us.

We had such a great time with our friends. We immediately started planning for next year and decided that we need to make this an annual thing...just for us adults to get away and enjoy each other's company and relax! Thanks Nate and Amie for coming with us!!!!

Another school year

At the beginning of September, Ben started his second year of preschool. He was very excited to get going again. Mainly because he would get to go 3 days a week this year, and for a longer amount of time. His class is on monday, wednesday, and friday, from 10:45 am to 1:00 pm. Because of this he also gets to start eating lunch at preschool. Another new element that he loves! Ben getting ready to go to preschool. Last time in front of this door!

Ben and his beloved teacher, Gina.