Party in KC

I went to Kansas City this past weekend with my friend, Molly, and her husband, Robert. We made the special trip to celebrate our friend, Lynette's, birthday. In case you can't tell from this picture, she was turning 28!

Our first night, we did some celebrating in the Power and Light District. It was so much fun I plan to make a repeat visit. Apparently, Robert had an enjoyable time as well...

Lynette and I stumbled upon this guy.

He was wearing a real sheep's skin. No joke, we could smell the funk! Molly and Lynette got a kick out of me wanting to take a pic with him. They called me "goat girl" in high school. Supposedly, I tend to sound like a goat when I laugh from time to time. I have NO idea what they are talking about. Saturday night in KC entailed a thrilling night of cosmic bowling. Our good friends from high school, James and Brad, joined us in KC as well. We all posed for a "cool kids" class reunion photo.

Typical James pose....

Some things from high school never change.

James is still goofy and I still love my girls!

Cheers to a great weekend of celebration and great friends!

Robert got a "little" tipsy the first night. (Saying a little is really being too kind.) As a result, he agreed to be our designated driver for our second night out on the town. As he was driving us, he revealed an unknown fact.

Quote of the trip: "I've never been a designated driver before!"

--Robert

Really?!?!?! Wow!

Vacation, Topeka Style

One of my bestest friends, Michelle, turned 28 recently. Kylie and I decided it would be appropriate to pay her a visit in Topeka to help her celebrate the Month of Michelle. What would a birthday celebration be without gifts? We all share a love for cooking...and eating, so Ky and I thought Shell would love some new cookbooks. Here is Michelle posing with The Pioneer Woman Cooks and The Biggest Loser Cookbook.

After opening gifts, we decided to hit the streets of Topeka for some world class shopping. Kylie was pretty pumped about this find:

We finished our shopping just in time to catch the Cats and Hawks hoop it up at Henry T's. I was 100% confident that my team would pull off a win. However, I must unfortunately report, at the time of this post, KU is #1. You can draw your own conclusions on the outcome of the game...
After the game, a Jayhawk was nice enough to share an Irish Car Bomb with me. It was a tasty first for me. For those of you who do not know the genetic make up of this particular shot, it contains Bailey's Irish Cream, Guinness, and Jameson Irish Whiskey. This picture was captured by Michelle right after the drink consumption...I will allow you all to create your own thought bubbles above our heads.

For those of you who remember my last Topeka blog post, I discussed Glory Days pizza. I declared I wanted to try the Baked Potato Pizza. It contains ranch dressing, potatoes, bacon bits, cheese, sour cream, and chives. It did not disappoint!

We may have gotten a little carried away with our food and alcohol intake. At one point, we were debating on whether to have another drink when a friend of Michelle's reminded us we were on vacation. That's right, a Topeka vacation. So that became our motto for the remainder of the trip. Glory Days is so good, it is almost impossible to decide on just one pizza or one topping. So we didn't....

Thanks for a great weekend girls!

Quote of the trip: "Go ahead, you're on vacation!"--Sarah

Abilene, KS

It's been awhile since my last road trip so I convinced Julie and Gerry to take a short road trip with me to Abilene. I'll be honest, the only reason I picked Abilene is because it is in "the book." We decided to start the day out with a visit to the Eisenhower Center. The last time I visited the Center I was in middle school, and I don't remember a dang thing. I'm sure it was not from lack of paying attention. I definitely enjoyed the museum and what it has to offer more as an adult. Abilene was the birthplace of our 34th president, Dwight D. Eisenhower. The center contains a museum, the presidential library, Ike's home, and his grave. The museum not only tells Eisenhower's story, but also the history of Abilene.
Check out this bicycle we found on display. How much fun does that look like?!?!

Julie and I chillin' at Ike's.

Next, we did what any other chocolate fan would do....made a stop at the Russell Stover Candies Outlet. I think Julie and I were slightly more excited than Gerry. Here we are sharing some love with the "I love chocolate" bear.

$60 later...

Our last stop of the day was for dinner at the Kirby House. This is not in the book, but it should be. I absolutely loved this place! The Kirby House is a Victorian home that was built in 1885 by banker, Thomas Kirby. The home was restored to resemble how it looked in 1885 and turned into a restaurant in 1987. The atmosphere is fun and inviting. And the food was amazing. I had chicken fried chicken, mashed potatoes and the best iced tea I've ever experienced.

Happy faces and full tummies after a wonderful meal.

Quote of the trip: "I guess you have to be really talented to weave hair into a wreath..."--Lindsay

Referring to human hair wreaths that were on display in the museum.

KSU vs. KU

Warning: This post may not be suitable for youngsters, easily offended people, or KU fans. The use of blinders may be required for small children.

This past weekend, my family and I traveled to Manhattan, KS for the 107th Sunflower State Showdown. I was pretty excited the event was in Manhattan where I could be surrounded by my fellow Wildcats since my family was rooting for the Hawks. My brother, Jordan, talked crap on the Cats all the way there. Here he is sporting his Jayhawk pride on the drive to the game. Notice he is looking pretty smug about the Jayhawk's ability to pull off a win.

Half time score...

And as you can see, a little bit of the smugness has disappeared from his expression.

Final score, need I say more?

I would have gotten a picture inside of the stadium to show the upset on Jordan's face, but he decided to escape before the roar of the crowd took over the stadium. I was able to snatch this photo as I approached the car. Better luck next time Hawks!

Quote of the trip: "I'm not watching KU football for the rest of the season!"--Jordan

Hermann, MO

Molly and Lynette are two of my best friends. Lynette and I became friends in elementary school. Molly and I became friends in middle school. And the three of us became inseparable in high school.

Here are a few good pictures from our high school days.

I love wine and so do Molly and Lynette. So, I couldn't think of two better people to explore Missouri Wine Country with. This trip was planned straight out of "the book" and we were not left dissappointed. We started the weekend off in KC so we could spend some time with Lynette's boyfriend, Dave, and a few of his friends. He took us to a local bar called Johnny's where we partook in lots of shots and drinks. It was the perfect warm-up for our day of wine tasting.

Lynette and Dave

After a bit too much fun the night before, some water, and tylenol, the three of us headed to Hermann the next morning. Hermann is a quaint little town of 2700 people that exudes German culture. In 1836, a group of Germans from Philadelphia bought the land in Hermann and started producing wine. In the 1900s, Stone Hill Winery was the second-largest winery in the United States until prohibition occured. The winery re-opened in 1967. According to "the book", Oktoberfest is the best time visit, so that is exactly what we did.

We started the day off with some German food:

After some food in our bellies, we decided to take a tour of the winery.



And after the winery tour it was time for some wine tasting. We went on the tour with a group of 45 people, and I'd say we really enjoyed the tour, but we enjoyed the tasting even more. We were the last 3 left in the wine tasting room.

After purchasing a case of wine, and becoming Stone Hill VIP members, we decided it was time to leave the winery and explore the town. We found this cute little choloate store called Ricky's Chocolate Box and did some more sampling, only it was chocolate this time.

We visited a few beer gardens and listened to Oompah bands.

Our last stop was a local brewery.

Aside from all of the fun, Hermann is also a gorgeous town. Here are two of my favorite picutures of the beautiful scenery.

We stopped in KC on the way home to meet the newest edition to Lynette's family, her niece, Jensen Michelle. I was so happy to meet her!

Thanks for a great weekend girls!

Quote of the trip: "I don't drive bad, I just have a sensitive steering wheel!"--Lindsay

Kansas Humane Society

On Friday, October 23rd I was scheduled to leave town for a girl's weekend, but decided to make a pit stop at the Kansas Human Society to adopt this cute little girl!

Kya is a Boxer/Boston Terrier mix and one of the most adorable little things I've ever seen. We are having lots of fun together and I am quickly learning her likes and dislikes.
Kya loves too....

Play with her rope

Chew on anything and everything, including the couch

Wear her coat

Sleep in my dirty clothes

Cuddle with her cousin, Doja (My brother's dog)

And play with Doja's tail!

Quote of the trip: "Woof!"--Kya (Translation: "Thanks for rescuing me!")