1. KC is so “family friendly” it makes you want to have m
ore kids! And so our biggest news of 2009 is that we are due with another bundle of joy, who looks quite healthy from the ultrasounds. Julie is scheduled to have a c-section on 2/10/10. 2. KC Barbecue is tasty, one of a kind, and in demand. Mike’s brother Matt came this summer and attended a citywide Barbecue competition with us. Your visit would most certainly include a memorable visit to the BBQ establishment of your choice!
3. KCI Airport Security is the best: each group of 3-4 gates has their own dedicated security lines, which makes it super fast to get to your gate! We utilized the airport this year on a wonderful trip to CA in January. (See here for details.) We had a blast seeing some of the sites and relaxing on the beach (though our hosts and we ended up fighting some nasty flu bugs from LA to San Francisco…which one of our hosts carried with them on a subsequent trip to Indiana!) We traveled again on a trip to Santa Fe, NM in April where we celebrated the life of Mike’s Uncle Tommy, saw a lot of Monahans, and admired the beautiful engagement ring on Rachel (brother David's fiance--May 2010 wedding) !4. KC Visitors save on gas. Let’s face it, we’re probably closer to the majority of you then we ever were in Seattle or Sicily here (since KC is nearly
the geographic center of the continental US)! This year we took to the highways over the Fourth of July. We drove to St. Louis, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, DC, Raleigh, and back again. It included a visit with college friends, about 4 days at the lake house of our sister Jan and her family—joined there by our friends Alex & Kathy & their 3 boys. (Henry fell in love with tubing and fireside stories there!) From Pittsburgh we drove to Idlewild, then DC & Williamsburg for fun visits with Navy friends, and then to Raleigh, NC. We got a nice tour and taste of Raleigh, courtesy of our friend Beth, and even tried Barbecue “East Carolina style.” We were also blessed to have a wonderful state park reunion with three families from our days in Italy. Over Thanksgiving, we trekked down to Midland, TX (just a 12 hr. drive) to spend the weekend with Mike’s family. So if we can do it, so can you! Most of you are just a day’s drive away! 
5. Great KC Accommodations are still available, for free! Plus, once you get here, a lot of the best local venues are free: Deanna Rose Children’s Farm (the coolest farm ever), the Arboretum (BEAUTIFUL botanical gardens, somehow even in winter!), Union Station, the Nelson-Atkins Museum (new Native American exhibit)…and they’re all just “right down the road” from us!
e WIN for KC Triathlon! Julie completed her first “sprint” Triathlon this year (3 months pregnant), and is looking forward to not being pregnant for the next one in 2010!! If you want to join her, plan your visit to be here on July 31st!7. Wonderful Family Values. We have really enjoyed our Sunday school class and small groups here. It is a friend in Christ that sharpens, challenges and supports your faith and we are blessed to have those friends here. Julie has had the joy of leading a MOPS (Mother of Preschoolers) table this year and continues to (barely) lead our Neighborhood Social activities. Mike was involved as a Youth Friends mentor and helped out with the company–sponsored high school Robotics team. He also moonlights as a Cardiac Arrest Response Team Leader and backup guitarist at church when he’s not working at Burns & McDonnell. We have also enjoyed a few “family” events with the Purdue Alumni Club here.
8. Don’t have to go far for that Country Music Paradise—Branson he
re we come! In August, Mike captained a pontoon boat on the nearby Table Rock Lake while the crew of friends & kids tubed off the back. Henry again challenged the speed of the pontoon boat while tubing…and held on better than some of our friends! We also enjoyed Silver Dollar City…and getting to meet Bob & Larry (from Veggie Tales) in person!
9. KC camping is exciting! The tent has done well, which is a good thing because we seem to have a knack for picking rainy weekends! The boys enjoy camping though, and are quite troopers, even in spite of the rain. We even exposed Julie’s parents to a rainy camping experience over Labor Day which included a trip to Elephant Rocks State Park in MO. We did enjoy a dry campout with some friends over Memorial Day, in raised “tree house” cabins!
10. KC Friendly Frogs are happy AND hoppy!! Henry (now 4) loves his preschool class (the Friendly Frogs) and always declares (on Tuesdays & Thursdays) that it’s his “favorite part of the day.” He still amazes us with his creativity, memory, and overall intelligence. Andrew (now 2) enjoys dropping Henry off at preschool and declaring that “it’s Mama Drew-Drew day!!” He has also become an avid pretend sword fighter since Mike ushered them into the Star Wars saga starting with (hold your groans) Episode I.
Many blessings to you in 2010! Much love, Mike, Julie, Henry, Andrew, & “Quilly” #3
6 comments:
I love your guys' top 10 lists!
We'll have to map out our 2 cross country trips (that will be happening according to the Navy's timing) and see if we can't work it out so that Kansas City is a stop along the way. Your list is so compelling! But, we'd really come to see you!
I love your top 10 lists, too! Hmm, I was one of those visitors to Seattle and Sicily. I might have to be a KC visitor in 2010.
love your top 10 lists!
Would love to come in 2010, but it will have to wait at least another year unfortunately. We LOVE the kid-friendly factor and CJ would have a great time at the farm now that he's a little older. The Japanese ones are a bit too organized and have cages so the animals can escape all the crazy kids.
Count us in! I figured we would wait to bombard you with 3 more little kids until you were settled with #3 ;) I miss you all so much! Thanks for the card!
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