Friday, June 05, 2009

all hail summer!!!

oh what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green???

our little family ventured out with some friends to the Kansas City Symphony and Union Station's Memorial Day celebration at the National World War I Museum. does your city have a WWI monument? no, it doesn't. kansas city has the only one. just another reason that we're so special.
though i am not one to look forward to getting older, there are some perks to aging. each year i gain a greater appreciation for our marvelous country and the many rich blessings we enjoy from living in these United States. for the weeks preceeding Memorial Day, posted outside of our local grocery store was a veteran in his full military service uniform. he looked so old i am guessing that he served in korea. everytime i saw him passing out his red poppies, tears would spring to my eyes. i always felt guilty about my meager offering to his collection plate for the VFW. i had reagan shake his hand. these few moments make me feel so proud. it always makes me want to live better and enjoy my freedoms more fully. speaking of freedoms, did i ever tell you that i joined the national rifle association? now all i need to do is get a gun. hopefully one that i can strap to my ankle.
some pictures of union station that i swiped from the internets:

by the end of the evening the entire field was filled with patriotic americans. we listened to the Kansas City Symphony play patriotic music and a retired general read some prose. a photo display was projected onto union station. cannons were set off and afterwards was a fireworks display.

later that week the kidlets and i visited a local old timey farm in kansas. it pained me to no end to cross the state line into jayhawk territory; i'm no traitor to my missouri roots, unlike some of my family members and some dear childhood friends.
there was an old-fashioned school and reagan displayed his academic talents. this reminds me of my classroom induced narcolepsy. since i started seminary my freshman year of high school, any classroom setting makes my eyes roll back in my head and my mouth start to drool. the only antidote is to fall asleep as soon as possible. natalie, do you still have those pictures of me sleeping through our college commencement ceremony?oddly enough, this late may day was a frigid 65 degrees.





the following weekend my friends jessica and meredith and i ran in the paradise park 5k benefiting jackson county girls on the run. this was the toughest course that i had ever run. it was 90% grassy field with a lovely combination of woodchips, loose rocks, tree stumps and roots and unexpected gopher holes. they say war is hell, i say a cross country 5k course is hell.

this was meredith's first ever race and she did amazing. probably due to my outstanding mentorship. she had trained for less than a month and ran on zero hours of sleep(she's a night nurse. it's a lot less naughty than it sounds). i was SO proud and i cried as she crossed the finish line.(surprise! me crying!)

i just love this picture of me sucking it in and flexing as if my life depended on it. take the picture quick!!!

bragging-i finished 3rd in the women's division and 9th overall.

not bragging-this was my slowest running time ever and most of the runners were 9-15 year old girls.

moral of the story-i'll be running this race every year if that means i finish well.


this past week i spent some time with my dear mother. even though i live 12 minutes away from her house door to door, i still rarely see her outside of church functions. it's a travesty! as a special treat, she took the kidlets and me out for a day of juvenile adventure.


we explored the lego exhibit at crown center.

all of the pieces of art were created out of over a million legos. even those amazing pictures behind my mom.





we then ate at fritz's legendary train restaurant.

you order the food by telephone in your booth/passenger car. it is then delivered to your table via overhead train system.


the train drops it off on a elevator and it is then lowered to your table.


the one-eyed pirate made an appearance.

and i enjoyed wearing the conductor's hat a little too much. i have always looked good in hats. unfortunately, most of my life i have had more opportunities to wear braces and glasses.they don't even compare.



after eating we cruised around in grandma's converti.

someday when i am mrs. america i plan on riding around town just like this:

6 comments:

Meredith said...

Looks like and awesome summer already!

The race was great, you were amazing! And you're going to rock it tomorrow!

And next time you go to Deanna Rose...CALL ME! We're always up for that place!

Rocketgirl said...

Ooo, lookit all mu cute pictures of my vacay, fun fun, I ran a race, YAY, and by the way I joined the NRA!
Still trying to wrap my head around all the topics of this blog :)

Merilee said...

Wow, I'm so proud of you for getting 3rd in the women's division. Who cares if the other women were younger. That just means you have more stamina than they.

Also, congrats on joining the NRA even though you have no gun. It's an important club to be a part of.

kimmesservy said...

wow, you are my hero! You ROCKED that race! And we all know you will definitely be Mrs. America in the future...but only if you keep your morals to yourself and not voice them. I miss you! Come back to Bama! We need more classy Southern Belles and less rednecks.--Kim Mess.

Jeppson Clan said...

I'm a member of the NRA too! Seriously, I am.

You are awesome. Nuff said.

Sarah Beck said...

you're looking good Heidi! And awesome coming 3rd in your race!