We're Home!

I bet most of you never even knew we were gone! By we, I mean me and Baylor. Last Tuesday, we took off to have a little fun in the Midwest. We flew into Kansas City and then headed west to Lawrence to visit my friends, Doug & Halie. Some of you may be thinking, "Why did she only take Baylor?" Well, quite simply, Baylor and I are the only two people in the family with a flexible schedule.
This trip wasn't planned. It was thrown together about two weeks ago when Doug found out an exam was going to keep him from attending a Dave Matthews Band concert with Halie. However, Doug's misfortune turned out to be my jackpot. Sorry, Doug! The concert was an amazing experience! Dave puts on an incredible show, and I will definitely try to score tickets during his next tour.
Baylor wasn't able to join us at the concert. Nope, it was Ladies Night! Luckily, Doug's sister (and my friend), Julie, was able to come up and babysit for me. Julie's husband, Steve, and 5-year old daughter, Xaria, were also a huge help.The concert was really just a bonus. The real treat was spending time with my friends. They treated me to meals at my two absolute favorite restaurants: D'Bronx which makes killer subs & NY-style pizza and Fiorella's Jackstack BBQ which quite simply is just heaven-on-a-plate! Coincidentally, we did discover that Baylor isn't a fan of BBQ. He seemed to like the beans, but that's about it.

While we're on the topic of Baylor, he was a waaaaaaaay better traveler than I expected. I'll admit that I was pretty much dreading the flights there and back. I guess my little guy decided to take pity on me and he kept the tantrums to a minimum. He actually did really well while on the plane.

It wasn't until we were on the rental car shuttle that he had a complete breakdown. I can't really blame him though. I was exhausted by that point and can only imagine what he was feeling. He passed out as soon as I loaded him into the carseat. Clearly, he was just looking for some sort of familiar environment so he could sleep.

Besides visiting friends and attending the concert, the trip had a third purpose. I thought it would be nice to have some pictures of Baylor on the KU campus. That way when he's older and attending the University of Georgia like his mom, he can say, "Look, dad, I did go to KU!" We took similar pictures of Jax on the KU campus. So, both my GA boys are covered.

In addition to seeing Doug & Halie, Baylor and I also paid a visit to our friends, Jim and Allison. I haven't seen them since we all got together in Miami during January 2008 while rooting for KU in the Orange Bowl. I was pregnant with Baylor at the time, and since then, Allison delivered their 3rd son, Finn. So, this visit was a chance to catch-up and meet the newest members of the gang.

Talk about insanity! Jim & Allison's house was buzzing with activity thanks to their 3 boys: Alex (6), Parker (2), and Finn (1).It was welcomed insanity though. Baylor felt right at home. What does that say about my house? I guess all families kind of operate on the same level and at the same speed. Busy, busy, busy...Fast, fast, fast! I can only imagine what life will be like when the kids have schedules that rival our own.

Jim and Allison, treated Baylor and me to another round of good ol' KC-style BBQ. They actually asked whether we had already had BBQ, and I told them, "no." That was a little white lie because I was worried that if I said yes, they would propose something different. Since we've yet to discover BBQ in Florida that compares to the Midwest, I wasn't about to miss out on another chance to stuff myself silly with bbq'd beef!

The trip felt like a whirlwind. It was over before I felt like it really began. As soon as I returned home, we started planning a return trip in December. Clearly, Anh and Jax felt cheated out of a good time, and Baylor and I just want another round.

That's the thing about seeing your good friends. You naturally pick up right where you left off the last time you saw each other. It's like you were never apart. That is, until you have to leave, and you think of how long it will be until you see each other again. December isn't too far away though...