Kansas City - JAM's 1st Roadtrip

For the past few years, I have been lucky enough to join with family and friends and attend a BYU football game at different locations (Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, etc.). This year, my alma maters chose to play each other... so it was a game we had to go to. BYU vs. Mizzou in Kansas City. 

We had to decide who was going and purchase tickets in the springtime. The surprise came when Daniela said she was going. I reminded her that we would have a child by then. That didn't deter her. Then I reminded her that it was in November and would likely be frigid. To which she became more determined to make it happen. And thus our efforts began to do things with kids, even babies, that others wouldn't...

We had a great time in Kansas City including...

1. Great dinner with family at one of my favorite places... the Cheesecake Factory. 

Funny moment... we were there on a Friday night. Naturally it was very busy. An 2 hour wait for a table. Plus we had a group of 12 so it took forever to get our food. One of my nephews got very hungry during the wait. Looking around he got excited when he noticed what he saw some snacks on the table... He opened one and found some white chocolate and popped it into his mouth... only to find his white chocolate was pure butter :-)

2. Great time with the Johnsons.

3. Loved being with family & friends at one of my favorite places, the Nelson-Atkins museum.

4. And touring a TV station.

5. Driving through Mission Hills (no pictures... but it is a neighborhood with really nice houses)

6. The football game... with Daniela and Asher

Kansas City - Summer 2011 - The Recap

Daniela and I both enjoy reading the blogs of our siblings and friends and finding out what is going on in your lives. Yet over the summer we haven't taken the time to update you as to what is going on in our lives. Here is a brief recap of our summer...

Kansas City

Daniela and I both fell in love with Kansas City. Though located right in the middle of flyover country, Kansas City has many things going for it. First, the city is a great size - big enough to have an airport and professional sports teams yet small enough that one can easily get from point A to point B. Second, the city embraces the arts. The city hosts First Fridays, the first Friday of every month, when thousands of people flock to the art galleries in the crossroads district. Second, the city is home to the Nelson-Atkins museum. The museum has beautiful grounds and gardens, the building itself is magnificent, and inside is a collection of top-notch art. It simply was fantastic to live just blocks away from such a great museum. 

The outside of the Nelson-Atkins Museum.

The court-yard within the museum. I loved the architecture!!! Each time we visited, I found myself telling Daniela that my dream house would borrow heavily from this style. 

To me, architecture and sculpture are the greatest arts. Above is my favorite piece of art in the museum.

Finally, we chose to live near an area known as the Country Club Plaza. According to Wikipedia, it is debatable whether it was the first shopping center designed for automobile. What is beyond debate is that it is beautiful. The developer modeled the Plaza after Seville, Spain. I found myself falling in love with the style of the buildings, the use of fountains, the whole ambiance of the area. Once again, we were surprised by the style of Kansas City!

Several times a week we would take walks around the Plaza. Not since Irvine / Newport Beach, California have I loved an area so much.