It's My Life

We attended the Great Pershing Balloon Derby again this year. It was The Short Chic's second Derby. The Boy is away at college and could not attend. He has not attended since he was The Short Chic's age. I know what you are all thinking, if you have seen one derby you have seen them all. Except that is so not true! This year the weather was a huge factor in the Pershing Balloon Derby. Storms were moving into our area. The flight was delayed. There was much debate about the safety of flying. Many flyers chose not to launch. Others decided they would be able to do a quick launch. Last year the weather was not a factor and the balloons launched and raced. This year those that launched played a quick game of fox and hound. This year we had friends join us. My work friend Shannon and her family drove up from the Kansas City metro area. My friend Debbie and her family also joined us from the St. Joseph area. My mom joined us. We then ran into another work friend. I...

Two days after the graduation party, barely enough time to clean the house, my work sent me on a week long road trip around the state of Missouri. I have traveled from Kansas City to Springfield; Springfield to Farmington: Farmington to Ironton to Festus; From Festus to Jefferson City. That is a  total of 731 miles in five days!                               It has been a long week but it has also been a great week. I have met so many great people. It is honestly true when they say Missouri's people are nice. Everywhere I have been from hotels to restaurants from work meetings even at gas stations, people have been so friendly! It has not been all work and no play. I met up with friends along the way. I even spent a lunch hour hiking at a state park I had never been to before. I found myself less than 10 miles from Elephant Rock State Park in the southeast corner of Missouri.  The f...

This past weekend we said farewell to a summer tradition: camping. We went on our ninth camping trip this year. Our usual camping buddies joined us (they have made seven camping trips this summer).  We stayed close to home, returning for the third time this year to Watkins Woolen Mill State Park. Watkins Mill had their First Annual Camp N' Treat Weekend. It was the first time we have ever participated in a camp n' treat. The concept is simple, each camp site that elects to participate in decorates their camp and the kids trick or treat from one camp site to the next. I should also note that Watkin's Mill is not the only state park that has a Camp N' Treat, I know Wallace also had one too. All of us just returned from Walt Disney World where we attended Mickey's Not So Spooky Halloween Party where we dressed up as Crayons. We wanted to make use of our costumes so we stuck with our theme and decorated with crayons. The State Park granted awards for best cos...

Kansas City is known for many things: jazz music, barbecue, and fountains. Kansas City is actually known as the "city of fountains" second only to Paris, France.  I have wanted to do a fountain tour for some time but finding time in our busy summer schedule has always been difficult. Finally we had a down weekend and with a couple of lunch visits, I made it happen.  I found a self-guided tour guide on the internet developed by the City of Fountain Foundation. The guide list 32 fountains. I invited a few of our friends to join us and we set off to see as many of the fountains as possible.  1. The Northland Fountain North Oak Trafficway and Vivion Road The kids knew and recognized this one. It is most popular during winter as it is on the only fountain that is kept on during the winter months creating a large magical ice formation. The kids also knew that the fountains are colored twice each year: blue in April for Go Blue Day (kick off to Child Abuse Preventi...