And...... I'm back!

I'm embarrassed that I've gone two weeks without posting! Life gets crazy sometimes! And mine just keeps piling higher and higher with stuff!

Here's a quick rundown of the past few weeks:

I was in Kansas City for a night, just in time for the Harry Potter midnight release of the final movie. Courtney, Andrew and I stayed up and watched it, along with a million, obnoxious teenagers. The girl next to us sobbed for the last third of the movie. It was awkward. Movie was great though; well worth the late night!

The next day we went home to my parents house to celebrate the big 125th anniversary for Rozel, Kansas. It was a pretty fun time - we played in a softball tournament, saw lots of old friends and spent some nice family time together. The weather was less than ideal - temps in the 110 degree range and so terribly dry. The grass was cracking under your feet as you walked. Poor western Kansas crops!!

Batter up! We only won one game... but it was still fun (once you got passed the fact that we were all sweaty, dirty messes)!

The anvil shoot! 

Once the anvil landed. It flew up higher than the grain elevators!

Courtney preparing to wow us with her bowling skillz.

And the final scores.... HS 75, AP 71, CM 108 and CS 108.

Courtney, Andrew and Krista all tasted Rocky Mountain Oysters (aka fried bull testicles) for the first time. I think everyone liked them or at the very least, they tasted better than they expected them to.

The plan was for my parents to come back to Chicago with me and spend a few days, so we packed up and headed to Manhattan where we were catching our flight out. Courtney, Andrew, Christian and I hit up the K-State Union for some shuffleboard and bowling. My bowling skills were less than impressive.... I didn't get last (ahem, Andrew....), but we were both 30-40 points below Courtney and Christian. I need to work on my skills and then challenge them to a rematch!

Once we were back in Chicago, my parents and I had several fun days together trying new foods and doing touristy things. We ate at some tasty places that I had been wanting to try - Home Bistro, Tengo Sur and New Tokyo. We also had some tasty ice cream at a candy shop near my apartment. I deviated from my typical selection and ordered birthday cake ice cream in a chocolate-dipped waffle cone (I never order ice cream in a cone - I like eating it out of a cup). It was SO good! And perfect since it was my mom's birthday. Speaking of my mom's birthday, her big gift was an iPad 2. Color me jealous.... I was hoping they would forget it when they left, but unfortunately she remembered to pack it. Dad says that if he can get 85 bushels per acre on his milo, he'll go halfsies with me on mine. Pray for rain people! The likelihood of that happening is not in my favor, but I hope he reads this and sees how sad I am without their iPad (and their company!) and decides to just give me one :) Just kidding, Pops. I'll break down and buy my own one of these days.... And then we'll facetime.

My ice cream treat. And Audrey trying to sneak a bite of it!

The view from our Seadog tour. Love that skyline!

Blueberry bread pudding from Home Bistro. Delicious!

Mussels and truffle fries..... Mmmmmm....

My brother, his friend and Andrew are all coming to town this weekend... And Lindsay is moving in! It is going to be busy again! And next week I have an agency retreat to Michigan and three days of Lollapalooza (and Courtney in town!!), so it might be tough to squeeze in another post... I promise to get more consistent soon!

In case you are worried about my little furball in this hot, muggy weather, he is doing just fine.

Have a great weekend everyone - stay cool!

 love, H&W

For fun - Courtney and Christian playing shuffleboard. Nice v-neck shirt, Chris!