St. Louis

This weekend, Wah Wah said she needed a vacation and couldn't wait till our official vacation to Oregon in a few weeks. So we decided to head to St. Louis for the weekend. Unfortunately, after about a hour on the road, Wah Wah came down with a fever but insisted that we don't turn back.

After exactly four hours in the car, we arrived at the St. Louis zoo. It was a pretty nice zoo with not nearly as much walking as our KC zoo. Best of all, it's free. Woogy and Nibbles liked the butterfly garden while I enjoyed hanging out with the penguins. After about 4 hours at the zoo, Wah Wah couldn't take anymore, so we left to find a hotel.
Without sounding totally cheap, I was hoping to find a Super 8 or a Motel 6. Unfortunately since I didn't plan ahead, we couldn't find one and ended up in the Drury Inn in downtown St. Louis. For dinner, we walked over to Union Station and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. I always wanted to eat at one of those but didn't find the food that impressive.
The next morning, Wah Wah was feeling a little better so we went to go see the Arch. I always wanted to go up in the Arch, but I wasn't too comfortable being in a small "egg shaped" tram, squished in with 5 other people traveling up the Arch. Woogy was at first scared, but got over it and really enjoyed the view from the top.
After the Arch, we were kind of pressed for time since we had to be back in KC by 7pm to pick up the dog. So we stopped at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. I wish we could've had more time at the Gardens, because there was a lot to enjoy.

Woogy enjoyed the maze garden and Wah Wah liked the Asian Garden. I always love places that are photogenic. After a couple of hours there, it was time to go. It was a nice mini vacation.

Anniversary weekend

This weekend Wah-Wah and I celebrated our 6th anniversary. We decided not buy each other anything since we had our kitchen floor replaced this weekend. I've been wanting to replace the tile that I installed in our kitchen four years ago (Not because I did a bad job, but it was cheap tile and was showing scratches and water marks). Wah-Wah knew some guys from her work that said they would be willing to put some ceramic tile for a good price (I sure wasn't going to try to put in ceramic tile). I thought it might increase the value of my house by a couple bucks.
The original estimate was going to be $1000 bucks and half a day labor. I thought that was fair. Unfortunately the job ended up taking 2 full days and about $1500. Some estimate. These guys did a good job but I prefer a more accurate estimate. I think what really irritated me was these guys kept leaving the back door wide open when I had the air going. I can't wait to see my electric bill.
Anyway, Wah-Wah and I celebrated on anniversary by dropping the kids off at the sitters and headed to the Capital Grille down at the plaza. This was the nicest meal Wah-Wah and I ate since on dinners on our honeymoon cruise. I have to say that the service was excellent well. They decorated our table with rose pedals and gave us complimentary champagne and a appetizer. Wah Wah and I both order steaks and we got complimentary dessert. Despite all the complimentary stuff we got, we still went over $100. It was a very romantic dinner

My Birthday weekend

I must say, my birthday (Thursday 7/6) kind of sucked. It started with Wah-Wah giving me reminders that my driver's license was expiring today. It would of been nice if I got those reminders earlier, like weeks ago when they came in.
I hadn't said a whole lot about my birthday at work, but my boss remembered and she brought a Tippin's cake. Unfortunately all my other coworkers were out, so we had a lot of cake between the two of us.
By the evening, I was on my way home when I got a call from the Independence police department telling me that one of my client's was missing and they would like to talk me (since I was the last one to see her). As I was driving back to Independence, I missed my exit and had to go a couple of miles down the road to get off the freeway and turn around. By this point, I was getting pretty frustrated that I was missing my birthday at home and it was getting late. I guess I wasn't paying attention and ended up being pulled over by the police. I was doing 77mph in a 65. I did my usual "I'm sorry officer, I didn't realize I was speeding, my you look nice this evening." As always, the officer didn't care and gave me a ticket anyway. I even tried explaining my situation at work. He said that he was doing his job by keeping the freeway safe, and I told him thanks for the birthday present and what a great job he was doing and truly I was headed for disaster. The officer apparently didn't appreciate that remark and got in my face and told me that if I kept it up, he'd take me in. I told him that I better shut up then and drove off.
I'm sick of the Independence police, they have given me 3 tickets within 6 months, which is bad news for me. I called a lawyer and he said he could probably get the last ticket off my record (for a couple hundred dollars) . Thank God for lawyers! I've also decided that I'm buying a radar detector.
By the time I got home, my family had gone to bed and I had to take a driving test to update my license. Some birthday.
On Friday, I went into the DMV and got my license updated and found out that I could use glasses. That makes you feel old. I ended up working a few hours and that evening me and the family drove up to Iowa to see my good friend Dave. He always can find a way to cheer me up, and I could use it by this point. We stayed at my parents house but they weren't there. They had just put their house for sale left that morning to Oregon.
On Saturday, me, my family and Dave went to Iowa's only theme park-- "Adventure Land". It's no Disney or even Worlds of Fun, but it's alright for Iowa. This was my kids first trip to a theme park and I wanted to get pictures, but Wah-Wah forgot the camera. Usually when I go to these theme parks, I'm on the roller coasters and all the other "thrill rides", but with little kids we spent most of our time riding things they enjoyed. I did ride a few good rides, but Woogy lead the way most of the time. By the end of the day, the kids were pretty tired and Dave and I got together with another college friend and went out on the town.
On Sunday, Wah-Wah and the kids went to one of her old college friend's house, and Dave and I went to see "Pirates of the Caribbean 2." I don't think I could explain the plot, but it was entertaining and I did like seeing parts of the ride come to life in the movie.
I guess my birthday wasn't so great but turned out to be a good weekend

My 4th

Since this 4th of July fell on a Tuesday, many people I know had a 4 day weekend, but not me. I ended up working on the 3rd and just settling for taking the 4th off. I really wanted to spend the 4th at a pool, but Woogy seems to be going through a phase where he doesn't want to go in water (even though he'll play in his plastic pool). Wah-Wah thought the kids would have a better time at Paradise Park instead.
In case you aren't familiar with Paradise Park, it's a cross between a children's museum and a Chuck E Cheese, divided up into two sections. In the play side, there is a ball pit, a kitchen (where they help the kids cook), and lots of little rooms where kids can play dress up. This place is a blast for kids Woogy's age, but sort of a drag for the parents who end up chasing their kids all day.
After spending the better part of the day at Paradise Park, I took Woogy out to see the fireworks in Shawnee Mission Park. Wah-Wah has decided she doesn't like going since she gets bitten by bugs and we usually spend an hour or two exiting the park. I've always have gone to firework displays, so it's sort of like a tradition to me. Woogy and I had a good time. We took Monty and played some soccer while waiting for the fireworks. Monty always attracts attention everywhere he goes. Everyone says he's so cute and want to pet him. He'd be a great babe magnet if I wasn't married.
The fireworks are always pretty late at Shawnee Mission and it always takes a long time to ext the park. If you get in the wrong car lane (like I did), you end up driving around the park and having to turn around way out at Bonner Springs. I never seem to learn my lesson so I'm sure I'll go back next year.