My family came to Kansas City for my birthday this past weekend. It was such a special and fun weekend, since my older brother was home for a 2-week leave from his deployment in Iraq — just in time for my b-day! :) We ate at Jeff and I’s favorite local restaurants, took my sister-in-law on a quick tour of the best spots in KC, playing the rowdiest and loudest game of Catchphrase (ever), and had plenty of time to just hang out!
On Saturday, we did a quick drive through some of the more notable neighborhoods and districts of Kansas City. When we arrived at Union Station in downtown KC, we went in to show Justin and Leslie the awesome architecture and classic beauty of the old train station.
There’s something so timeless about hand-holding in an old beautiful train station…
And I just love this old-school diner inside the station. Who wants to do a retro-style engagement session here??
I can’t get over how ornate and beautiful the restoration on the grand hall area was — check out the ceiling, and this amazing chandelier!
Leslie has penny souvenirs from all over — so when she saw a machine in Kansas City’s Union Station, we couldn’t miss that opportunity. :)
For the longest time, I have wanted to convert all of our old home videos to DVD — it’s even on my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. Well, my family beat me to it! They even surfaced these long-lost tapes of my little brother as a baby and my older brother and I as elementary and middle school-aged kids (and even a few from my high school cheerleading days — yikes!). We watched some of them this weekend. I love home videos, but this was just a real treat — video that I have NEVER seen and didn’t even know existed. Maybe it’s because I’m in the business of preserving memories… but that just makes my heart happy. :)
That’s my younger brother on the screen in the crib. So cute! Thanks for crossing off #4 for me!!
Petey was reunited with his brother, Bruce, who is Justin and Leslie’s miniature schnauzer. They were SO good together all weekend (a first for them) and it was so awesome! They were just the best little pals, and so cute! They liked keeping watch all weekend (Petey is the little guy!). Jeff took these cool shots:
I have no idea what prompted this next photo (or the 5 or 6 that followed…), but my little (okay, younger) brother and I are quite a pair. I think he looks a little like Edward from the Twilight movie in this shot, minus the hair. Just don’t tell him that, because he is against Twilight with every ounce of his being. :) As for me, I just look mad. I don’t have a very cool serious face… and my sweatshirt isn’t as cool as Jacob’s popped collar. ;)
Oh, siblings. I love family time! Thanks for coming to KC everyone… and making my birthday so special! :)
Yay! Looks like you had such a fun time:)! So I’m thinking…maybe we could make a trip to Union Station on May 23rd??? I would loooove to get a picture of Geoff & I in that diner!
Erica, I’m so glad you had such a wonderful birthday! ‘Looks like it was a lot of fun. The fact that your family crossed off your item # 4 is so thoughtful. What a great gift! Happy Belated!
Yay…another one crossed off your list. Glad your birthday was filled with wonderful family times! I totally thought the same thing about the picture of you and Jacob…it’s probably the similarity of some of the movie shots, and his collar is up, hehe!
Awesome Erica- I hope you had a great birthday, glad you got to see your brother. We are so proud of him :)
a very random question but is your sister-in-law by chance leslie? i’m pretty sure i went to high school with her and twirled with her. :P such a small world.
lovely. :)
happy, happy belated birthday! one of these week nights, we’re going to have a double date, deal?
erica…you could most definitely be a sweatshirt model. amen.
thanks for the comments! :) it was such a fun weekend.
and Jerzees has already contacted me about modeling for their new zip-up sweatshirt line…
okay, that was a lie. i just lied on my own blog. this modeling fame has gone to my head. :)
I’m so glad you had a great weekend with family and a wonderful birthday!