Our Trip to Kansas

So before I show pictures of this highly unexpected city I would like to share some facts my mother-in-law sent.

KC has the cleanest water of all 50 states
KC has over 200 working fountains, second only to Rome
KC has two soccer teams (Wizards and Brass)
KC was site of a Bonnie and Clyde shootout in the 1930's
Country Club Plaza was the first suburban shopping district built in the US
Large Irish population (buy green for St. Pat's Day)
KC was on the Santa Fe, California, and Oregon Trails westward
Jo. Smith declared Independence, Miss. Garden of Eden and there was a settlement of Latter Day Saints in present day KC;
they were run out of town in 1833, 2 years after coming
KC is the Anglicized version of Cansez (area owned by the Spanish for a long time, although they allowed French trappers to
operate there)
During the Civil War bitter strife between slave owners and non -- the area went with the Union eventually.

I know she was doing her best to get us psyched to move to Kansas, but little did we all know what was coming our way...

It was BEAUTIFUL! Mature, lush green trees EVERY WHERE. Tons of parks and Mac would probably want to mention the most beautiful golf courses we've ever seen.
Did you know Johnson County (where we're going to live) is one of the top school systems in the country? BOO-YAH! Oh, and high end shopping. A lot of high end shopping, which is great because we'll be getting a pay cut when we move.

We spent most of the time in our car driving around speechless that Kansas could look like this!!! When we spoke to renters they would tell us that it was further west that looks like crap, but KC is a magical little secret and then they would do a dance for us.

The very first moment we got in the car we got lost (shhh) and ended up in an area that looks like a Jane Austen movie so I'll show those first.








Mac's work





Union Station had a cool mechanical dinosaur. We had to capture the moment.


Last night hanging out in down town KC.



One last reason we loved this place...one of our favorite actors (Don Cheadle) came from here!!

Words You Hate to Hear...

"Come see what your son did". Ah crap. Permanent marker all over our carpet? Correct. All over himself too? Yes.








I know, I know...buckets of rubbing alcohol...and magic.

Easter

Well, the day began as usual. Noah peed through all of his clothing, but after he was cleaned up it was time to find some Easter eggs. He also got a water slinky ("water mountain" as Noah calls it) and bubbles.
Funny, we knew we had to put the eggs in PLAIN SIGHT, otherwise we'd still be looking for them. I think Noah may have dad's eye sight. Anyway, Noah had so much fun looking for the eggs.
After the hunt we had "egg wars" with the eggs we dyed the night before. My orange egg crushed all but the last one...darn.
Happy Easter to all and hope you had a great day celebrating Christ.

Make your own picture collage

Phrases gone wrong...

I say two phrases to Noah on a regular basis.

1- Noah, please don't you're hurting me.

2- You're driving me nuts!!

Well, Noah and I were watching a movie the other night when he turned to me and said, "Mom, you're hurting my nuts". Uh....m?

Skin Problems...

Mac is currently doing a rotation with a very good dermatologist. I asked him what would be the most mild face wash and moisturizer. Why? None of your business, but I'll tell you anyway. I have EXTREMELY DRY and SENSITIVE skin. I have rosacea, which means I will break out into a wicked rash on parts of my face if something displeases it. Everything displeases it.

So, being on the budget we're on I couldn't quite afford all of the expensive brands I was used to plus, they had been irritating my skin lately. If you can afford the nice face washes and moisturizer then that's great (please keep in mind that I have a pet white tiger, so I'm probably still better than you).

The dermatologist told me that with sensitive/dry skin these products have the best results with his patients. I switched two weeks ago. Just to appease Mac I told him I would try the products out. I was hooked within a few days.

So, if you have my problem (which you don't because I don't have problems) try them out.
But if you have oily skin...you're on your own...freak.



Love this because it bubbles AND scientific reasons.




This cream is made up of the same things your skin cells are made of, it's been in magazines every where and everyone that has used it loves it. If you want to try it you can find it at Walgreen's.

SLC to PC, OR

Wow. We've been a traveling duo this past month!! First to SLC and then 6 days later to Pacific City, Oregon.
I don't know how many of you have actually seen the Northwest's coast, but I know why it's considered one of the prettiest places in the world. I am grateful I was able to see it!!!
We went with some of our friends to the very, very little city and was mostly entertained by Noah and Ben's conversations and fights.
We went to Tillamook City (about a 20 minute drive from PC) and toured the cheese factory!! Oh man, their ice cream, cheese and yogurt are some of the best I've ever tasted...too bad they don't sell it all over, also too bad that I can't eat more than a spoonful before I am farting up a storm.
Then we went bowling in a near by city called Lincoln City. They still had there Happy New Year sign up...good times.
Mac, Noah and I went to Portland for a day and I shopped while Mac caught up with an old missionary companion. Good shopping. Really good.
We spent a lot of time on the beach finding sand dollars and watching our kids get dirty. We made a fire on the beach and roasted Starbursts. We also watched Mitch try and skin board in 50 degree weather and a gale force winds...it was funny.
Anyway, thank you Tippetts for making the trip possible!!! We had a blast!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Bath toys got old...

Noah was taking a bath the other day and I went to check on him. This is what I found.






Yeah, he's got skills...and may hate water.