i am living with an almost thirty birthday boy. thirty is a big year, isn’t it? i thought it should be celebrated in style, so…i planned. and i planned really well. first, i invited a friend to come surprise Andreas. don’t ask me how i kept it a secret for t-h-r-e-e months, but i did. Robi, arrived on wednesday and they have been the dynamic duo living it up midwest style including: jack stacks, baseball, worlds of fun, fork & screen, summer heat and the pool, mexican food, cuban cigars and good wheat beer.

second, another adventure was checked off the list today – skydiving. not my idea, not my idea at all. but i am supportive and we have life insurance, so i said do it once. Robi and Andreas flew up 10,000 feet in a dinky plane, risked their lives, experienced 45 seconds of indescribable free falling to be followed with parachuting to the end. it was hard – i made him say pet gracie before we left, ask where he wanted to be buried and told him he could back out any time. but they loved it, and if asked i’m sure they would do it again.

i could spend hours on your soft sandy beaches

your bright colors are everywhere –  they take my breath away

your romantic side is always there

and you know how to make a fantastic margarita!!

we were so lucky to have these folks make a 15 hour plane ride and a 7 hour car trip, all to come visit us! one of great things about having family far far away is that they come visit you. and let’s be honest, having visitors is the best! i love cleaning the house top to bottom before and after. planning a menu. showing the best of the city.

yes, nathaniel is wearing oshkosh b’gosh. i wanted to gobble him up in these overalls.

what does one do when visiting kansas city during a heat wave?? shop, of course! needless to say, it’s a tad bit cheaper here in kc than in norway. i believe berit knew her way around target just as well as i do by the time she left. perhaps, the best shopping included a trip to lawrence. the boys headed to the pool and left us girls to walk down mass street, oh the danger one can get into on mass street. sarah’s fabric was a treat for this crafty mama, as we spent a good hour drooling over the fabrics.

another must-stop included the lawrence antique mall. ohh the treasures i have found there. no we did not come away empty handed. i grabbed a few (four is a few, right?) glass jars and a serving tray. berit was oh so selective in her purchases. she showed great restraint but in the the end that red canister set had to go home with her. don’t believe for a minute that that is all the shopping done while in kc, not for this lady. but you’ll have to visit her blog to see all the deals she scored. fyi – google translator is amazing!

of course, any shopping and swimming must conclude with ice cream. ben and jerry’s i heart you.

…more to come on our trip to sandy beaches, loads of guacamole and scuba adventures…sigh…i want to go back!

memorial day.

jack fork river.

hots dogs and s’mores.

warm fires.

summer rain storms.

perfect calmness.

lots of turtle spotting.

After a whirl-wind of events, Andreas and I made a trip to Minneapolis this weekend.  The main purpose – to drop off my letterpress to this lovely lady.  I think I am as happy that my press is going to a good home, as she was to have it.  I told myself at the beginning of 2009 that this was the year to decide if I was going to keep my press – either use it or loose it. After some soul-searching and re-discovering this little contraption, I knew it was okay to let go of my press.  And a week later, I was driving to Minneapolis to drop her off.  I was a little sad and nervous as we pulled up to the studio, but once I met Laura I was more than fine.  I am taking that as a sign of good decision making.

Of course there was a little secondary motive for making a 7 hour drive to the land of below freezing temperatures…Ikea.   Home of simple and sleek Swedish design, and prices that don’t make me queasy when I buy 10 glass containers.  I could spend hours in that stores, but alas the closest Ikea is 7 hours away so I’ll have to make due with my yearly trip.