Surprise Party!!!

So excited to see this little guy!!! 

I'm woefully late on posting about all of the fun stuff happening out here in Kansas! Several weeks ago (the same weekend as Girls Day Out) Brian threw me an awesome surprise party! Ava and Chris were in on the surprise and tricked me by telling me were going wine tasting. Instead, we ended up at a campground where all of our friends were already hanging out, a feast was laid out and most importantly, there was beer!

One thing that has been great about this year is the awesome people that are now in my life!

Beautiful Ava!

Apparently we're not that exciting...Hayes on his phone ;-)

Flying baby! Leigh and Hayes tolerated me tossing their son around!

Grant is just so shocked to be held by this gorgeous lady!

Food, friends and great conversation.

Pete brought Melanie and Madison too!

Patton and Christie - two of the kindest people!!

No party is truly complete without a game of Bananagrams!

What you don't get to see with all of these pictures is the CRAZY thunder/lightning/hail storm that we endured! The sky darkened and we all had to hold onto the tent to keep it from flying away!!! Despite the terrible weather, we all still had a wonderful time!

A huge thank you to everyone that was able to help Brian and come celebrate with us - Chris, Ava, Jessie, Leigh, Hayes, Grant, Christie, Patton, Danny, Mark, Dirt, Pete, Melanie, Madison, and Marine Mark!

Post rainstorm photo op! Hard to tell, but everyone is drenched!

Girls' Day Out - Part 2

After a lovely morning at City Market, Chris, Ava and I decided we should go get pedicures! A new salon just opened near us, so we went to check it out. It was fabulous and very relaxing. 

Ava and Chris enjoying the massage chairs!

There is something very relaxing about that blue light.

We all opted for the paraffin treatment - it was my first time and it was very weird.

After we finished at the nail salon, we headed to Gladstone, MO to get a spray tan...we purchased these on Groupon, thinking it was a great deal. I got a spray tan over girls' weekend in NC and it was great, so I was excited. Both Chris and Ava were first-timers, so they were pretty nervous. Turns out, they definitely needed to be...

We went to Salon-E-Clips, which seemed like a really nice salon. After filling out some paperwork, I volunteered to go first. I should have headed right out the door when I realized that it wasn't a spray tan machine; it was a woman with a hose/paint contraption! But, I decided it would be fine and I waited in the room for her to show up. 

Another red flag was the towels on the bottom of the spray tanning tent...they were WET...this is what happens to your feet when you stand on the tanning solution for ANY amount of time. Yes, they turn dark brown and look muddy! 

She had me stand in all different positions and finished the spray tan and said that it might appear splotchy, but that it would blend over the 8 hour period...yup, looks like my legs are covered in freckles!


When I got the spray tan in NC, I left the salon and couldn't tell a difference in my skin tone. It really did take a few hours for the tan to show up, so I was expecting something similar. I put a sun sticker on my shoulder blade to see if I could get a "tattoo," and it turned out that it was already showing because the tanning mixture she used was so dark!

This picture is from 5 minutes after the spray tan!!! Ridiculous. Thank goodness for the list of things they tell you NOT to do after you get a spray tan. Turns out that list works really well as a way to get rid of a TERRIBLE spray tan! Chris went after me, despite my awful results...unfortunately hers did not turn out any better. We immediately cancelled Ava's and headed to CVS to purchase some loofahs and body scrub. Luckily the shower fixed the disaster and all was well. 

Girls' Day Out - Part I

On Saturday morning, Chris, Ava and I headed down to City Market in Kansas City to get some veggies. We had a wonderful time just walking around and looking at everything they had to offer! They have almost every fruit and veggie you can think of and it all looks so amazing.

Ava and Chris stopped to help a woman hang her sign...they are so sweet!

Amazing tomatoes, rows and rows of spices!

Trying out the delicious treats at the bakery! Poor Ava couldn't eat anything in there, but Chris and I made up for it. I got a delicious chocolate croissant and Chris had a yummy broccoli and cheese quiche.

More veggies!

This man was very talented and nice enough to let me snap his photo!

Beautiful flowers for sale!

Of course I had to ask these lovely ladies to pose for a picture!

City Market hosted a free, outdoor fitness class! What a great idea!

Stopped by a food truck for a delightfully, refreshing limeade.

Delicious smelling potpourri!

Ava even found a super cute dress! 

Absolutely loved going down there with these two fantastic ladies! What a great way to spend a Saturday morning!

Nascar Truck Racin' Time

On Friday, May 10th, Brian, Mark, Dirt and I headed to the Kansas City Speedway to watch the Nascar Camping World Truck Series SFP 250. It sounds a little bit redneck...ok, it was a little bit redneck, but it was such a good time! Any place that lets you bring in your own beer is a place that I like! Lots of pictures of the night!

How creative is this - a hearse towing a coffin that was turned into a grill!!!

Mark and Dirt are so excited...can't you tell?

Finally on the track!

1st lap...1st crash...driver was okay.

The boys were super excited to pose for the camera!

Pretty much the highlight of the race!!!

And the winner was #51, Kyle Busch!

Spinning out on Victory Lane!

Lazy B Ranch

After a fun evening at the baseball game, we all headed home to get some sleep...because we had another awesome activity planned for Sunday morning! We went to Lazy B Ranch in Leavenworth to ride some horses! Mr. and Mrs. Boylan are the owners of this ranch and they are awesome! Chris, Ava, Jessie, Brian and I arrived around 0945 to ride the horses and then have a barbecue. So very proud of Jessie who was riding for the first time in years after a very bad fall...she was so brave and got right on the horse! She even did some trotting! 

Mr. and Mrs. Boylan prepping the horses for our ride.

Chris the horse whisperer!!!

Look at that majestic face!

 

Do we all look ready to ride? 

Brian & Hank, Jessie & Red, Ava & Dutch, Chris & Sonny, me & Tucson post ride!

After our trail ride, we enjoyed an awesome lunch - cooking courtesy of Brian.

And one of the best parts of Lazy B Ranch - all these dogs! The dogs actually walk with the horses while we ride them and they are all so cuddly!

If you are stationed in Leavenworth and haven't been out there - make the trip! They do an amazing job of making sure everyone is comfortable on the horses and they have a beautiful property.