Lucky No. 13

I played my fifth round of golf on Sunday at Wichita's Sim Golf Course. It's my new favorite place because I reached a major newbie-golfer milestone: I hit par for my first time! It was on lucky hole 13, a par 3.

Brian was there to celebrate, as were our friends Tony, Nicole & Rob, whose 33rd birthday we were really supposed to be celebrating.

Brian on the tee box:



Me still trying to figure it all out:


When I sunk my putt for par, I screamed and jumped up and down. Yes. Very nonchalant. I think I drew the attention of this little guy. Makes sense. I heard that he likes nuts.


(View more photos in my newest Facebook album.)

Going out with a bang

Brian & I headed down to the Wichita River Festival on Saturday afternoon to hit the food court, meet up with the Connect young adult group from church and spend some time together. Watching the fireworks together is an annual tradition that we always enjoy.


Some sights from the event:


The water feature at the Hyatt Regency downtown, near where we set up camp for the evening.


The sun setting over Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.


People peeking out from the Hyatt.


Lights big and small as dusk set in and before the real lights lit the sky:



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Bright spot

At Quilt Guild on Tuesday, Mom, Janice & I relished quilter Sandi McMillan's colorful projects and equally vibrant sense of humor. A few of her quilts:

Got a camera? Stay awake!

After a delicious dinner at Mom & Dad's on Sunday, I fell asleep while relaxing on the couch. Seeing a chance to take advantage of the situation, my family seized the opportunity ... and my camera. Lucky for me, my camera has a 2GB memory card. Jen tried diligently to fill the thing up. A few of her nearly 100 pictures of random things around my parents' house:








Funny story about the above drawing: It's a self-portrait that my sister Amanda did when she was a wee tyke. I'm proud to say that her art skills -- and self image -- have improved since the 1980s.

Happy Mother's Day!

We celebrated Mother's Day with Brian's mom Saturday night. The party ended with Eric, Brian, Janice & me playing Rock Band at our place. That game is ridiculously fun. (Although Dakota & Lilly, in the background of this photo, obviously think their rawhides are much more interesting.)


On Sunday evening, we had dinner at Mom & Dad's with Jen, Ryan & Kaden.

Mom and her cute -- and rather large -- greeting card from Jen & Co.

Grandma & baby

Kaden entertained us at dinner by showing us how well he can shake his head no. (Nodding yes is still on the "things to learn" list, as you'll see in this video, which I dedicate to Auntie Amanda.)

Four & fore

Brian's brother Eric was in town for Mother's Day weekend, so the three of us joined our friend Tony for my fourth round of golf, this time at the city of Wichita's Tex Consolver course. Brian & I played best ball (again), and my game featured a couple nice drives and a putt for par. At this point, I'm still simply taking what I can get!



A few pretty sights from the course:




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Whole lotta fun

Brian returned from his St. Louis work trip on Friday evening, and we enjoyed spending time together this weekend. He requested a Saturday morning breakfast date at The Donut Whole, a funky 24/7 donut shop in downtown Wichita well known for its novelty flavors. Brian and I, for example, sampled the following: maple bacon, root beer float and creamy orange. A popular treat in the newsroom, I've also previously tasted peanut butter & jelly, chocolate mint and chocolate lemon flavors. It's a little adventure for your taste buds. Plus, there's just something fun about a Saturday trip to the donut shop.