Looking for a New House

24 hours later I was back on a plane in the opposite direction.  Joel has accepted a new position in Syracuse, New York.  The timing is very tight to try to get the kids into school before the beginning of the school year, so we hopped on a plane the very next week after accepting the job.  It's a bit crazy to be returning where I grew up.  Home inventory is very limited in this area, so we were a bit concerned about finding something that fit our family.  The process was both frustrating and also fairly miraculous.  We looked at several homes, and they all had huge issues in upkeep or layout.  One house had such low ceilings that Joel would have hit his head over and over again getting out of bed and using the bathroom.  Halfway through the realtor told us she had some friends preparing to put their home on the market, but that it wasn't listed yet.  She asked if we wanted to go see it even though it wasn't show ready.  We went to see it, and I instantly fell in love with it.  We looked at some more homes on the other side of the city, but nothing even came close to comparing to this home.  We went back to look a second time and put an offer on the house that very day.  They were lovely and accepted our first offer and said they'd wait for our home to sell in Kansas and not put it on the market at all.  We were so grateful.  It worked out so well.  He is retiring from the same hospital Joel will be working at and she is a quilter, musician, and avid baker.  It's a match made in heaven.  We're so relieved the process is working out, and things are moving in the right direction for the move.  

Kelly!

Kelly has ruined me for other concerts.  I could not get over how well she sang, and how she got better as the night went on.  She saved one of her hardest songs for the end.  I was blown away.  I was maybe 6 feet away from her.  Melissa waited in line a couple hours early to get in the center of the pit.  (I had almost just as much fun people watching while waiting for the concert to start).  The whole thing was incredible.  I loved how much energy she had and how comfortable being herself she was.  It was so much fun, and I also loved the full band and orchestra.

We had to get up at 4am to catch our flight home, but it was worth it. 

Downtown Vegas Food Tour

Last year Melissa and I went on a celebrity food tour on the Strip.  We wanted to try another one, but we didn't love some of the options, so I went into planner mode and found a bunch of places for us to try that were all within walking distance.  In fact, we added a little extra walking to get our digestive systems going a bit more between restaurants.  We had 5 places planned but were defeated at the 4th location.  

First stop was 7th & Carson known for its brunch foods such as breakfast pizza and stuffed french toast.  Both were delicious, but we both loved the french toast the best - it's stuffed with a subtle lemon mascarpone that took it over the top.  

Second stop was CarsonKitchen.  The two items it was known for was Black Ox Tail Risotto and a Glazed Donut Bread Pudding. We liked both, but the risotto was delicious!  In fact, I think it's my favorite thing I ate the whole day.  The inside had a cool vibe as well.

Stop three took us to the main drag of downtown Vegas. It felt like we were inside a blow dryer is was so hot outside. Stop 3 was Dirt Dog known for its crazy hot dogs and loaded fries.  At this point we were really slowing down.  Originally we were going to order the Elote Dog and the Carne Asada fries, but we only ordered the Elote Dog.  It was delicious and a lot of fun.  We really needed a third or fourth person to split the food with.

While we were eating, Joel sent me a picture of the kiddos going out for brunch at the Shack.  It was nice to see their smiling faces. 

Our fourth stop was at Nacho Daddy.  Their loaded nachos are incredible.  We ordered the Thai Chicken Nachos.  I could only take a few bites, because I was so stuffed.  We never made it to the Pizza Rock, and honestly, we were so full from the tour we didn't even eat dinner that night.  I was full through the whole concert, but we really ate some awesome things that I would love to eat again.

We got dropped off further from where we were staying on the strip, so that we could walk for a while.  I wanted to show Melissa the cool decor in the Wynn.

It was hotter than Hades and some seriously depraved people on the streets, but it was still a lot fun.

A Long Time Coming

 Melissa and I had tickets to see Kelly Clarkson's residency tour in Las Vegas last summer, but it was cancelled 48 hours before we were supposed to go.  We still went and had a fun time, but we've been waiting to see Kelly.  The concert was rescheduled for this July.  We were so excited!  The other concert the two of us really wanted to attend was Sarah McLachan, but we found out she was going to be in Kansas City while we were in Las Vegas.  What are the chances?!  We found out she would be in St. Louis the day before, so we hatched a plan to take the train to St. Louis and then fly straight to Vegas from there.  It worked, and we had a fabulous 48 hours!

First stop - St. Louis!

We headed to Union Station to take the train. The Amtrack was relaxing.  I read a book, and then we hopped in an Uber to the hotel to check in before heading out for the evening.  We went to a nice Italian restaurant next to the venue, and then walked around for a while.  Sarah McLachan still has the voice of an angel.  Her voice is so soothing, and I really loved hearing the background to her songs, and I also liked her new music as well as the songs I grew up on.  

We loved it, and then we hopped on a plane in the morning to Las Vegas!

Melting and Driving

 The boys chose the hottest day of the year to watch the San Francisco Giants play against the Royals.  Even the shade they were melting.  

In the other news, Little Lady has her license.  She doesn't want to drive, but her older brother is leaving for college soon, so she doesn't have much choice.  The irony is that she's a cautious and good driver.  

Anxious Kitties

We had to pull our cats from the house while pictures were taken, and they did not do well in the car.  Poor Stella anxiously panted so hard that she threw up.  In the carrier or outside of it - They didn't do well either way.  

España!!!!!

We were SO excited when Spain won the World Cup!!!  It was so fun to watch them play through the tournament.  They played beautifully!

Happy Birthday, Girls!

 The kitties turn 6 this week! They're up to their usual mischief and mayhem...and napping.

Hallway Memories

 For the last 7 years I've been adding tiles along our hallway of family pictures and memories.  We recently had a bunch of repairs done in our home that required painting.  I went on a painting binge.  Once one wall looks nice the rest look dingy.  It's a thing.  It's also hard to stop.  Anyway, I ended up taking down the tiles to paint the hallway.  Before I did that I took one last picture of our memory hallway.

Family Pictures

With Little Man leaving for college I felt a deadline for family pictures.  We haven't had family pictures taken since the week everything shut down for Covid, so it felt long overdue.  Jamie Peterson took our pictures on their land.  It was so beautiful and the mosquitoes really loved us!

Little Guy was not thrilled with having to take pictures, so his outtakes were the most amusing.  When asked to raise his eyebrows he went a bit above and beyond. 

No one will ever accuse him of not having a personality. The last photo is after she asked everyone to show how they felt about family pictures.  Don't worry - I'm sure it'll be a couple more years before they're tortured again.