A few more days

I've had these pictures loaded for awhile now so let's see if I can finish this post up. After Kevin's departure we still had a lot of fun the next few days. We went and watched 'Mr Popper's Penguins' which was a cute movie. It was a slightly tamed down version of Jim Carrey which I actually prefer and the kids love penguins (I must agree they are awfully cute).

There was a lot of just hanging out and enjoying each other's company. It is just nice being around everyone.

I did make a road trip to Emporia to visit my good friend Kara. Kara was only 4 days from her due date when I visited and it was wonderful to be able to see her and catch up. Abby Sue finally arrived a week after that on July 1st and now I can't wait to meet her! 

We took a few pictures in the baby's room. Ryan and Kara did a fantastic job painting and decorating the room. The three of us went to lunch and it was nice to hear about how they have been doing with the pregnancy and the excitement of waiting for their first baby. 

I was really glad that I went to Emporia during the day because that night there was some weather that I wouldn't have necessarily wanted to be driving in. We don't have thunderstorms in the Bay Area and you don't realize how much you miss the lightening storms until you see it again. 

The lightening was far enough away that we were able to sit inside to watch everything. It has to have been at least 3 years since I've seen fantastic lightening and it was brilliant! Getting a normal face on both kids at the same time was impossible so I just picked my favorite.

Here we are at Taco Bell. Mom used to take me and Cheryl here when we were younger and we always had a really fun time. Hailie and Seth really loved it too...they kept talking about going back to Taco Bell. 

Cheese!

The time flew as expected and it was already time to head back to the airport. Hailie was set on coming with me. She even packed a suitcase. Contents included: swimsuit, wii remote, sweater, pajamas, sunglasses, underwear, and Sophie (her puffalump). I really want to get both the kids out here sometime. I have so much I would love to show them. If we end up staying out here a little longer we may have that chance!

Family photo shoot before heading to Kansas City.

We headed to K.C. a little early so us girls would have a chance to check out this store called Charming Charlie's that Mom had heard about. Hailie had a blast trying on all the different hats so I felt it called for a collage. The crown headband was a fan favorite and Seth thought it was comical as well.

The kids are growing up so fast it is hard for me to wrap my head around. I just love them so much!

A little time in Kansas

Kevin and I just returned from a trip to Kansas this past week. It was my 10 year high school reunion and I was excited to make a mini vacation out of it. We flew out together but Kevin had to leave a few days before me. Since he left about halfway through I have decided to split the trip into two posts.

First we headed to lunch after arriving in Kansas City. The kids were pretty excited to see Uncle Kevin!

For some reason I just really love this picture.

My Mom was quite the chef while we were in town. She has mastered the grill for sure. One of the best parts of summer is all the tasty fresh fruits and veggies...delish!

We had the Copp family over to celebrate a few birthdays that hadn't been properly celebrated. It was nice seeing everyone and I was glad so many people made it. 

Grandmom and Dad

Thomas and Serena were house sitting that weekend so we headed over there with Kevin's brothers to hang out. The guys played a little friendly game of poker while Serena and I enjoyed a chance to visit and catch up. Serena and Thomas are currently expecting their first baby and are due in November. It was nice getting to hear about how she is doing...I'm excited to be an aunt again!

Here we are before heading out to the reunion. The organizer of the event had more stuff planned for us but there was a lack of responses so she just reserved a private area of a bar for a few hours and let people mix and mingle. There was definitely a low turnout but I did enjoy seeing the people that did show up. I didn't take any pictures so this is it for that evening.

After the reunion ended we headed back to my parents house to play a little game of marbles with the family. 

The girls were champions again although it was a pretty close game!

Mom and Dad were singing in a special choir for church on Father's Day and they also had a duet. I enjoyed getting to hear them sing together...it has been awhile. The choir had to wear red and black and the kid's dressed to match so I couldn't resist a family picture.

Kevin had to leave that evening and we were headed to his parent's house for lunch so this was goodbye for the kids. 

We were sad to see Kevin go but we had a lot of fun the rest of my visit.

Cable Cars in San Fran

On thing I've been wanting to do for a long time is to ride on the cable cars in San Francisco. It is a very touristy thing to do, but something I feel should be done at least once. A few Saturday's ago I finally got my wish. Moria, Andi, and I all took the train up to the city for a girls day. The only thing I had on the agenda was the cable cars.

We had to wait in line for awhile but it provided plenty of opportunities for taking pictures of the cars as they approached.

Andi and me

Moria and I wanted to hang off the side to get the full experience.

I loved some of the random sights we saw along the way.

We're lucky we went when we did...they just voted to raise the price to $6.

It is hard to tell, but this is a view of Lombard Street.

After the cable car ride we headed to little Italy to grab some lunch and then spent some time just wandering around the city. It was a nice day to be outside and I really enjoyed the girl time and just getting to know Andi a little better. I've decided that there should be more day trips to the city.

Used Gear Sale

In my last post I believe I mentioned that we went to our first ever REI Used Gear Sale. REI has a 'no exceptions' return policy on items bought from their store. Whether there was something wrong with the item (big or small) or you just don't like something after using it a few times (or it's beat up from obvious use) they take the item back for a full refund. As a result of this they are getting items back that they can't put back on the regular sales floor but they still want to sell. For REI members this means a used gear sale. 

The sale doesn't start until they open at 10am on a selected Saturday, but you have to get in line early so you get dibs on the best stuff. We arrived at 7am and there were already 3 people in there. One of them had been there since 5am! Right in front of the door there is an awning that we were lucky enough to get to set up camp at since it rained the entire time. 

We came prepared with our chairs and rain jackets. Luckily there was a Starbucks not too far away so we could stay caffeinated and use the restroom.

We talked to random people in line with us and enjoyed just hanging out with friends.

The rain kept people away for awhile but eventually people started showing up with the hopes of getting their hands on something good. 

The rain really started to pick up and we felt a little bad for those standing in the rain....I guess they should have shown up earlier to have a little shelter! A few people tried to cut in line behind us and there were a few awkward moments when people further back confronted them about it. People get a little crazy at these sales.

When the doors opened they let us head to the back room of the store in a single file line and emphasized the walking part. This is when being at the front comes in handy because you can see where to go and grab what you want before everyone is back there and you have to fight your way through a crowd. Normally they have stuff outside but most of it was moved inside because of the rain so it was even more compact than usual.

The main thing we were after was a 2 person backpacking tent and we were extremely pleased to get one. The tent we ended up with normally cost $179 but we got it for only $60!!! The reason for return was 'used' so there were no known defects with it. We set it up when we got home and cleaned it up a little bit (just a little dirt inside) and got a free head lamp! The previous owner must have hung it up for light and didn't take it down before they returned it.

Other great finds included a heart rate monitor watch Kevin had been wanting and a pair of Keen water sport shoes for each of us. The previous weekend REI had a regular store sale and we purchased a few other items we had been wanting. Luckily we had a few gift cards to use which made getting all this stuff a whole lot easier.

 Now we are excited to get to use some of our new stuff. We have a canoe camping trip planned for the 4th of July weekend and hopefully another Yosemite trip soon after that. I can't wait for camping!

Celebrations

This Friday was a day of celebration. Sarah defended her thesis the day before and passed...she is now Dr. Sherlock! Normally Sarah can't miss Friday's because of a weekly meeting with her advisor but that day she didn't have to go in. We took the opportunity to have a girls day to celebrate both Sarah's accomplishment and my birthday.

Sarah, Moria, Andi, and I headed to downtown Palo Alto and had a late lunch before hitting up happy hour. Here we are with 'The Hurricane' (Don't worry...there were four of us at work on this thing).

I wasn't able to make Sarah's actual defense since I had to work but I did go to one of her practice talks earlier in the week. I know she is so relieved to be done!

Later on in the evening the guys walked over from campus to join us. Brett was in this picture but I opted to crop him out since he had 'crazy eyes' after my pop up flash startled him.

Brian and Moria

As the evening wore on more and more people trickled in.

Bettina, Sarah, Scott, and Brian.

Laura, Andi, Daryl, and Colin

Even though we were having a blast celebrating we called it a somewhat early evening since some of us had to get up early the next day for the REI used gear sale. I think I'll do a separate post for that but I'll go ahead and say that it was an experience.

After the sale I did have to go to work :( but I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived to some beautiful flowers from Patti and Kevin. A couple more of the lilies opened up over night and I am really enjoying them.

After work Sarah was insistent that I come over to do a little something for my birthday. I was tired from the early morning but so happy we went over.

It was strange to load this picture after having just loaded a very similar picture from Sarah's birthday (same apartment, same table, and even the same candles) not too long ago.

Once again Sarah impressed me with her creativity. I think the little flowers are adorable. The number of candles isn't exactly accurate... I'm definitely older than that. According to Kevin's Dad I am 'slightly seasoned'.

After cake we played a few video games including this dancing game that Sarah owns. We managed to get Colin, Jonathan, and Kevin to all play for one round and I won't lie...we had a few good laughs as well as some awesome pictures.