you don't have to admit you're blown away.

the midwest just plain rocks. i hope you all realize that by now. i had the opportunity to play tour guide to my dear friend natalie this past weekend. she was a good sport whilst i played, "this is my life" and showed her all the mundane aspects of my current goings on. and even better, she was unable to escape me when i displayed the pointless-to-anyone-not-me-aspects of growing up in kansas city. anecdotes about people she doesn't know were shared, drives to nowhere important were made, tours of a bygone era were observed, gasps of "this used to be a field!" or "i always thought this was the boonies!" were listened to. she was my captive audience. and i do mean captive. she couldn't get away.

friday we were blessed to visit the country club plaza for dinner and shopping and a movie with friends. unfortunately, no pictures, which is a crying in the night shame because we were looking as fly as all get out with heels and make up and brushed teeth and everything! we were the textbook definition of "flossin' ". we were able to take in a little art house indie flick called new moon(perhaps you've heard of it?). natalie LOVED it. she sort of gushed about it, which is unusual for natalie. she is completely shy and reserved and normally has a hard time articulating herself. speaking in front of others makes her blush and occasionally she will cry. frankly, it was embarassing. she likes to give the impression that she was unimpressed by the twilight saga and that she didn't even want to see this movie. there were a few times when i had to say, "natalie, please. calm down! jacob black/taylor lautner is underage!!!" she left her ticket stub here, and now i need to mail it to her so she can frame it and put it next to her wedding pictures and pictures of her children. (does sarcasm normally translate well in written form?) thomas also made the trip to new moon. but he didn't like it one bit. i think his quote was, "one of the top five worst movies i have ever seen." he doesn't mince words. but he is still so supportive of my interests!

saturday was chock full of site seeing. after natalie has the simpson waffle breakfast experience, we set out to see former america idol david cook's childhood home:

and we found it.

it happens to be across the street from my high school alma mater. we jumped around and screamed but it didn't look like mr. cook had left a light on for us. (OH! so clever!) ps-i have no recollection of david cook in high school. it's like i was too cool for him.

we then ventured onward and upward to the new gap generation store. the website claims that it was "more than a factory store" and i think they were right. more expensive and fewer markdowns. i need to give it a few weeks to reassess itself and the go back. i demand a lot from my bargain shopping.

gratuitous photo opportunities

after we got all that worldliness out of our systems, we ventured northward to the liberty jail historic site. fascinating and humbling all at the same time. let's just say that my make up was done. it's time in my life for me to purchase stock in kleenex.

after liberty jail we ate at los compas mexican restaurant, which according to the server, means friends. quite apropo! and we laughed till we cried about the time in college that we ate at that terrible restaurant in draper called guadalahonky's and they used to have a billboard on I-15 that said, "i get gas at guads!" and they weren't kidding! the fact that we hadn't bathed that day meant nothing at gudalahonky's! as reagan would say, "a beautiful stink!"

after that we said our goodbyes and natalie headed back to real life in the ATL. and i headed back to my real life in the KC. but those 24 hours suspended in college silliness and carefree friendship were rejuvenating and priceless!

and when i got home i saw that my darling family had picked out our christmas tree! i have a fast held belief that only white lights belong on christmas trees(someone else here doesn't agree) and i compromised by only putting a few of my lovely jewel toned ribbons on the tree. not naming any names, but marriage is all about compromise. holla for christmas!

sunday was the primary program in our ward. it is hands down my favorite sunday of the year. reagan diligently practiced his line and delivered it flawlessly. if i can brag on reagan's talents, he is a master memorizer. after his dazzling performance, he sang his heart out and entertained the congregation by picking his nose, double barrel style. lucky for him he was sitting on the front row so everyone was able to catch a glimpse. thomas and i laughed until we cried.

afterward grandma gave him a present to comemorate the event. i wanted pictures and this is what i ended up with:


why doesn't everyone love taking pictures as much as i do?