Parents’ Weekend

I’ve been falling down on the blogging once again.  Truly, I feel bad posting mundane stuff about our lives, so I try to wait until we do something noteable…this seems to happen very infrequently!  Last weekend we had a very nice visit from my mom and dad.  They came out to spend some time with us (I assume) and to attend a concert at the Lied Center.  The weather cooperated and we got to spend some time outside walking around downtown Lawrence as well as taking the Princess (the most loveable dog, Lucy) on a nice long walk around our neighborhood.

I also had a nostalgic trip down memory lane.  My parents were eager (and quite gleeful) to bring out boxes of my old stuff from their house.  Apparently, they have been awaiting the day when I have a basement of my own to store all this stuff, and the time has come.  I spent hours looking through boxes of old yearbooks, photos, music trophies and art projects.  I had forgotten how much time I spent as a child writing little books.  They are hilarious and I must do a separate post for them later.  From the age of 7-11, I wrote books progressing from hand-written stories on the back side of scratch paper all they way to a book which I hand bound complete with a laminated dust jacket and a blurb of my exciting 11-year old self (yes, with a photograph of myself).  They are hilarious.  It makes me wonder why I stopped writing stories!  I clearly enjoyed it and I find myself thinking all the time how I wish I could write stories.  Anyway, it was very fun to reminisce!

The Princess, wrapped up in Phil's blanket

Lucy made herself quite at home, taking over Phil’s blanket and his favorite love seat.  The cats were exhiled to our bedroom for the duration of the weekend.  No, we didn’t lock them in there, but they quickly realized that it was in their best interest to steer clear of the little wiener dog!

On Saturday night, Greg and I hit the town, or the KU campus actually, for a fancy party in celebration of Charles Darwin.  G works with the KU Natural History Museum and Darwin is kind of a big deal there Its an excuse for everyone to put on their formal wear and party it up.

All dressed up

Then on Sunday, we had a nice day staring with blueberry pancakes for breakfast, followed by a long (and only slightly wandering) walk around our neighborhood.  After a short afternoon siesta, it was back to the kitchen to make dinner before the concert.  I made my first successful roast chicken with smashed sweet potatoes on the side.  The chicken was tasty and cooked through (although there were slight doubts initially) – but I continue to stink at meat carving.  By the time the chicken was carved, it looked rather hacked and mangled…but its the taste that matters, right?

Roast Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

We have another fun weekend coming up.  My birthday is on Saturday and we have dinner and a concert lined up.  I also hear that a small family celebration may be in the works, spear-headed by little Morgan who is always up for a birthday party.  I’ll try to stay on the ball with the camera so I can share the good times with everyone!