Rainy Royals Monday

We went to our first Royals game of the season on Monday. Thanks for the invite Lyndsey and Brennan! We had a blast!! And what do you know...?? The Royals actually pulled off a win!! Shocker!

The tickets Lynds got from work were awesome. Really close to the field and right behind the dugout on the first base side. And, we got to experience the Stadium Club, which is a VIP restaurant/lounge area with huge windows where you can choose to sit and watch the game from if preferred. We chose not to do this because the seats were so awesome. Well, and because it was a little too classy for us! HA! However, we did grab a drink there before.

During the game, it was a little rainy and cold...ok really rainy and cold. But Lynds and I were great sports!! Thank goodness we brought our blankets. And to think that our husbands really made fun of us. Then, they tried to steal our blankets as they sat there shivering. Sheesh. Stupid boys. When are you going to realize that the women are always right!? :) :)

We enjoyed typical stadium food for dinner: pizza and pretzels with cheese! YUM! Probably not the best food to be snacking on before Mexico though...oopsies. Relish lost in the hotdog race, but according to the season standings, relish is still in first. We saw Ken Griffey Jr., a legendary player, and actually saw the Royals play well.

I just have to say this though...baseball is so boring! There I said it. I apologize if this offends anyone, but really? It's just so slow. I am more about the experience that comes with it. Tailgating, time with friends, stadium food, people watching, cheering, being loud, fireworks, fun games on the big screen and homeruns.

Oh, I almost forgot. Lynds and Brennan made it on the Kiss Cam!

Trolley Run

Well, after a late night out Saturday and only 4 hours of sleep, Brian and I forced ourselves out of bed to participate in the Trolley Run with his company early Sunday morning. Luckily, we had Matt and Heather to oblige us to go, otherwise me might not have made it for the cold and rainy Sunday stroll:).

We had to leave at 6:15 AM, in order to catch a bus from the Plaza to the running start in Waldo. There were about 10,000 runners/walkers, and according to the website, the Trolley Run is the largest timed 4-mile run in the nation.

I was planning on walking since I've been nursing my leg, so Brian put us in a less competitive starting wave. Lucky for me, Heather decided to stick with me! Matt and Brian left us within the first 2 seconds of the race and ended up running under 8 minute miles. Great job boys!

So, Heather and I started off jogging. I told myself I would comfortably jog, and if it started hurting, I would definitely stop. Well, we kept jogging and ended up running the whole darn thing! I couldn't believe it! Although we ran 10.5 minute miles (pretty slow, but not too shabby), this is great news for me. I haven't run more than 1/2 mile on my leg in about 14 weeks now.

Heather and I during the run. Yes, I am that girl that brings her camera and actually snaps a picture while running. So shoot me.

Successful run, and lots of fun, but VERY VERY sore now. I can't even laugh or sneeze without it hurting. And I look like I have something stuck up my butt when walking. Yes, I am in that much pain. Sad...I know. More sad because I have been working out; I should be in better shape. I think it was just the pressure and pounding on my joints that they haven't experienced in so long.

Either way, I'm happy. And it made me feel better that my hubs is just as sore as me:). But, my CEO/boss definitely called me out on running slow. He is in awesome shape for an older man, works out excessively (we are in the gym together a lot) and he even has completed P90x. That's a tough program. He's pretty much a stud. So, in the Monday morning marketing/sales meeting, he asks me, "Hey, why didn't you work out this morning?" I replied, because I did the Trolley Run yesterday and am really, really sore. "Really, how did it go?" I said, "Good because I actually ran the whole thing, but pretty slow, 10.5 minute miles." He says, "Wow Krista, that is pretty slow." And he wasn't joking.

Sheesh, even a 60-yr old is calling me out! :) :)

This is the group. I was taking the picture since I'm the enemy:) I couldn't be in the picture, c'mon we work for competing companies! Totally joking, I just offered.

At the finish line!

Great run guys!

Groupies!

We attended another Missing Kauffman gig on Saturday at Pizza Bar in the Power & Light District. It was a lot of fun!! Way to go Jeremy and Epstein! Love, your groupies:)

Epstein is belting it out and Jer is rockin'

 

 At Reverse before the show to meet up with my bro for Amy's b-day

Happy Birthday Amy!

Sibling love.

The girls, minus Bethany & Heather. They had already left:(

Me and Smack, #1 Groupies.

Shish Kabobs

A tasty meal on a stick.

Great for grilling on a nice day or evening.

This was me and Brian's Friday night dinner. It was such a beautiful night. We grill kabobs quite often. We love them. If you don't ever do them, I highly recommend you try. They are so easy!! A little preparation, but very easy!

Steak (marinated with Lawry's Signature Steak flavor), mushrooms, pineapple, onion, green/yellow/orange pepper, and a little Mrs. Dash and olive oil over the veggies.

Thread meat and veggies on kabob skewers. We got our metal ones at Price Chopper believe it or not. They work much better than wooden sticks.

YUM-O!

Grilling Guru, looking like a cheeser

Dinner is served!

Frustration

Well, we had some minor implications (major in my mind, but I'm trying to have a positive attitude about this whole thing) with our Mexico trip. Turns out, our travel agent booked our hotel in the wrong location! Intended plans were for The Royal resort in Playa Del Carmen, but The Royal resort in Cancun was booked. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy.

Now for the solution...
We will be staying 3 days at our intended resort (in a lower grade room than originally planned because that's all that is available) and 4 days at a new one about 5 minutes outside of the city. It's still considered Playa del Carmen, it's just not right in the city. We had no desire to go to Cancun, so this was the best option to still stay in Playa. The agent did upgrade our room to a Suite at the new resort and is going to throw in a day trip to Chichen Itza (Mayan Ruins) - which we planned to do anyways. But, I'm a little iffy that the other hotel will be full of loud, obnoxious kids and teens. According to reviews, it seems to be a family resort and springbreakerish, whereas the first one (the one we were supposed to stay at the whole time) is adults only. It could be that the first several pages of reviews are from spring break time. Not that I don't want to hang with the kiddos (I love kids, especially babies right now:) but really, not my first choice for a romantic getaway with the hubs.

I understand it was entirely human error on our travel agent's part, but it doesn't excuse the fact that our trip is being compromised. Not to mention all the time and effort I put in to researching and finding this place. I mean, really, who wants to pack up their crap in the middle of their trip and move to another hotel? Not me! Especially not when I'm on a beach and the majority of the time will be spent lounging around being lazy:)

It also doesn't help that the agent is a family friend of Brian's dad. Although, his dad told us this is a business transaction and we need to be compensated for his mistake. We just felt bad for getting too angry with the situation.

So, I'm trying my darndest to not be a brat about this. I mean, it's not everyday that you get to go to Mexico. I should just be happy that we are even getting to go on a vacation. It's just a little frustrating there were problems/issues to begin with. All in all, we get to experience two different resorts. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise! Bon Voyage in just a little over a week. CANT WAIT!

Jakey Boy is going to miss us, but Grandma K will be taking very good care of him while we are on the beach:) He will be wearing a sombrero in spirt of mom and dad's vay-kay.

Road Ridin'

I wanted to give a quick update on my biking skillz. It's going well:) The clipless pedals are much, much easier now! Soon enough, I'll be a pro! Brian, Matt and I did 16 miles yesterday! That may not sound like very much to some, but it is really good for me.

We tried to do around 20 miles on Saturday morning before leaving for McPherson, but failed miserably. About 2 miles into the ride, Brian got a flat tire. And sure enough, we weren't carrying any tubes to fix it. So, I had to ride back to the house alone to get the car. All in all, it's going well and I like it more and more each time I do it.

Now, gotta keep truckin' along and become a better rider to get ready for my triathlon coming up in July! I did it last year too, but didn't train properly for it at all. So, I'm hoping to kill it this year.

Crazy Coupon Lady

So, my friend Callie turned me onto this thing called "couponing". She has a blog too and had a post about how much money she saves each time she goes grocery shopping.

Well...when I heard save and money in the same sentence, I definitely perked up. You know me...pretty very (who am I kidding?:) conservative, frugal and always looking for a great deal. Love those BOGO's! I get it from my mother, I just can't help it. Sometimes, I think it drives Brian crazy, but deep down, I know he appreciates how much money I save us! He's getting better though. He is starting to understand how to work our credit card rewards to his advantage. From everyday purchases, we were able to maximize our Discover rewards points and buy all new kitchen cabinet hardware. It was awesome!

Anyways, there's this great site/blog that Callie checks several times a day called Hip2Save. It's a great site. Young stay-at-home mom with 3 kids who posts coupons, deals, freebies and ways to save on everything. A lot of what she posts is for Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens and CVS, but she also posts restaurants, clothing stores and coupons for everywhere! Check it out if you have some spare time. It can be a little overwhelming with how much she posts, but there are some great deals hiding in there!

So, from the site I have already printed LOTS of money-saving coupons, signed up for freebies (including free subscriptions to OK! Magazine and Maxim for the hubs) and found out about some awesome deals. I haven't received any of our freebies in the mail yet, but according to Callie, she has received full-sized bottles of shampoo and lotion!

Well, my first true "couponing" experience was last Friday when I went to the grocery store to get some things for our BBQ that night. I'm not cool enough to have a coupon organizer yet, but don't worry, my time is coming Callie! So...I'm walking through the store gathering up what I needed. I had about 10 coupons for various things and they were all laid out on my reusable bags in the front part of the cart. I have to say...I felt like everyone was looking at me! Even at Wal-Mart! In my head I was like, stop looking at me and take a look in the mirror! I felt like that crazy coupon lady!

But, as I exited the register and looked at my receipt, I saved $11! And it was all for stuff I needed or was going to buy anyways. It was exhilarating! I know I sound so corny, but I'm hooked:)

So, here's another great deal I thought I would pass along for the ladies. I've been wanting to start a facial regimen for a little while now. It all sparked from a conversation with girlfriends. Gotta take care of those wrinkles before they start popping up! Well, after talking with Studer, she turned me on to trying out the Olay Professional Pro-x line. Sure enough, I checked out Hip2Save shortly after my convo with her and I find a $20 rebate form for purchasing $50 in Olay products. The 3-product AM/PM facial kit is $60 at Wal-Mart. Great deal! Here's the Rebate Form if anyone is interested, must purchase the products before May 14.

So, now that I have written a novel about couponing, I'll get back to what I should be doing:)

But remember, every penny counts! My financial adviser would be so proud:)

Wedding Bells in Mac Town

We traveled to McPherson this past Saturday for Josh Eckholm's wedding. Josh is a fraternity brother of Brian's. So, since my best friends also married DU's, I got to spend the weekend with them as well!

So fun! We had a blast. It was girls in one car and guys in the other:) Thank goodness we didn't have to deal with those stinky boys for the 3-hour drive!

Plus, we squeezed 6 people into our room at the Econo Lodge, so it was $10 a person to stay the night. What a STEAL!! Thanks to heather and matt for sleeping on the air mattress:) I still say we should have stuck Brian and Josh on it. They have spooned in the past...they would have liked it.

The wedding was a great time and we got to catch up with a few friends we haven't seen in awhile. Bonus, we even got to eat Braum's the next day.

There were kiddy rides in the atrium area at the hotel. Of course us big kids had to give them a try:)

such dorks!

Before the wedding ceremony. Do these dresses look familiar? :) Don't worry, we all wore the same EXACT thing to XO reunion just last week!

Chad & Lina:) Lovebirds.

Chad caught the garter. Maybe he is next?? Hope so!

Not sure what is going on in these pics, but they are too funny!!

LOL. Love it.

I think Brian was thanking Julie for remembering his suit jacket at the reception. This was also right before he accused all of the girls for taking his watch. Notice, it's on his wrist. He then proceeded to take it off and forgot that he put it right on the desk.

Boys will be boys.

BBQ & Guesstures Night

Our Friday night consisted of a last minute, thrown together BBQ at our house and a wicked game of Guesstures. We had lots of yummy food and best of all, fun time with friends!

 Krista, Bethany, Megan, Julie

Heather, Lyndsey & Denise

 Hangin' out on the deck - Brennan, Cole, Brian

Abby, Lyndsey, Megan, Julie - cute pic!

Jeremy was lovin' the grilled veggies

Cole & Abby

Cole making Brian crack up and he is trying to take a pic of us:)

Now, this wasn't just any ordinary game of Guesstures. It was a very intense, competitive game, thanks to Bethany, Studer and I. What can I say? We get really into games (actually anything that involves a competition) and we really like to win.

The first game was an even mix, but the second matchoff was girls versus boys. It came down to the boys winning by only one point, but they totally cheated:). The boys talked when acting a few times which is totally against the rules, and the girls basically got robbed. Ok, ok...all competitiveness aside, the boys won. But I am a terrible loser and I don't like to admit being defeated.:)

For some, this was their first Guesstures experience and for others (like me) played excessively as a kid. But it's an awesome game...similar to charades. Here's a quick explanation for anyone that may not know the game.

Everyone is split into two teams. Each player takes turns acting out the words on the cards, as their team members guess. There is no talking allowed when you are acting. There is a time limit, and the cards eventually will fall down into the dispenser if your team doesn't guess the word and you don't grab the card in time. The team with the most points at the end wins!

Here are a few of the words we acted out:
chimney, wheelchair, pancakes, stork, kangaroo, stapler, toupee, umpire, vomit, cow, molar, hide, poison ivy, skateboard, hickey, nerd, checkers, tripod, square dance, sign language and see more below.

Spoon. Yep, Brian definitely spooned our dog.

Turban. It was so funny! You should have heard the racial slurs that were yelled out! LOL

Vampire.

 Cole was a first-timer.

Beth & Corey

The boys

 Julie & Josh