It's cold in Kansas City

Let me start off by thanking my mom and dad for having us a couple weeks ago. The kids and I had such a great time visiting Kanas City and being able to spend time with my family. Andrew and Grace love Mima and Papa's house, especially their two dogs...yes, they do love their 14 year old schnauser mix, Rachel, who snaps at Grace on occasion and Shelby, well, who couldn't love Shelby (she's pictured with Grace above). I think that's all Grace cared about was those two dogs. Had they eaten, did they want a treat, did they need to go outside, sleep, etc. She followed them around like she was one of the two of them. That girl just loves animals and I see myself in her because that would have been me as well.

As for Andrew, he loves to play with Ryan and Kevin as often as possible. Usually Star Wars figures or wrestling figures. And skateboarding and basketball if it's nice outside. It was so funny though because my brother Ryan had over this cute girl one night and they ended up going downstairs into the basement to hang out. Well, here's my two kids opening up the laundry shoot every couple minutes asking Ryan if she was his girlfriend and asking them what they were doing down there. Oh, man, he took that for only so long before he came up to ask us to leave him alone. We were all laughing so hard. Are we immature or what?

I think what I love most about visiting my family is the time I get to spend with everyone and the time I get to do other things like playing with my kids, reading a book (which I almost finished while I was there), and just taking time to slow down. I don't have to do laundry, answer the phone, be anywhere, make dinner, etc. It's nice to just be out of my house and away from my day-to-day responsibilities. AAAAHHHH!

Another thing I love about visiting home is spending time with my mom. We always take a day (my dad watches the kids- THANKS DAD- YOUR WONDERFUL) and we head up to Atchison, KS to a boutique called Nell Hills. They have fabulous home furnishings and decorations. The only problem is that I wished I lived closer so that I could buy more and get it home. But we enjoy sharing ideas and my mom always pays for my purchases, no matter what. She's so generous to me and I really appreciate it. Then we mosey over to this cute, little cafe located in this old post office building, which is so unique and quant. We usually share a large order of fries (this time we added a pork tenderloin sandwich) and a piece of their homemade pie. Yum, Yum! It's just become our traditional fun day together. And I love it. Thanks so much mom for your friendship and company. I really miss you!