So K has this thing about Polar Bears. It all stemmed from a childhood plush toy, and has grown into his adult love of polar bears (but not in that weird way that annoying people love dolphins and Lisa Frank). So when we first went to the zoo in the freezing weather we vowed we would go back to see the Polar Bears and back we went. 

It was a fabulous day weather wise and K was in charge of the camera so naturally we got some excellent pictures...and lots of me pictures also. Take a gander. 

Basking in the sun. 

Making friends in the animal kingdom.

Thaas a roo mate. 

A tree kangaroo. I was pretty disappointed at the people in the zoo who couldn't read the sign about being quiet as they are vulnerable and this was an observation area. 

I had forgotten there are parts in Australia where the sheep are simply wandering around. They are kinda weirder than you'd think to pet. I did not include the picture where I looked a little frightened to touch a sheep....

Love the elephants. 

Yep, a totally real giraffe. 

Giraffe, zebra, ostrich, crane. Lion King, circle of life anyone? 

The sea lions really enjoyed the people exhibit too. They found it illuminating and were charmed that the keepers got them all to clap and cheer on command. The keepers expect they might have intelligent potential and are desperately trying to unlock it :) 

We love the zoo! 

And now the polar bear moments you've all been waiting for! 

 

Those paws are impressive. He wears giant gloves. 

Chillaxing (hey! that is an added word for Webster's latest edition ok)

He looks like he is growling but he isn't, just about to dive in. 

Coolest part is the laps that he does. Nobody knew he was going to do this and I just randomly picked this spot to stand. Yep, and then I saw a giant bear heading for my face. 

Done and Done. 

What do you think? Vote for K's Halloween costume? 

Another fun fact, here lies an egg that I once fit it. It is a little derelict and off the beaten path now, but a nice bit of "born and bred" Kansas City feel. See the original below. 

I am seven in this picture and wearing a fanny pack. 

And I'll leave you with that. 

We love them tons and they packed up at a moments notice and threw together this picnic with us. 

We celebrated the end of summer and the beginning of cooler days. 

I spent 20 minutes this morning telling K all the things I want to do for Fall and we fully intend to invite these fabulous Kansas Citians along whenever we can:) 

Ok, if I am being honest most of the activities involve food. 

Happy almost Fall everyone, the season of eating AND the outdoors. Best...combination...ever. And jackets and soup, can we even have enough of those two things? I don't think so. Plus, every dessert is made of apples and cinnamon, nuff said.

It happens to be my favorite season of all time, so just be prepared for my serious enthusiasm. I work a lot this month, including traveling a week to a different state with my not-to-be named big important client. 

I have big hopes for October though. 

My Birthday Weekend was a smash. I have work to do tonight, so it will mostly be pictures but they are fairly self explanatory. I love my wonderful friends and family and thank many for coming such a long way to celebrate with me in KC.

I had some deliciousness at D'Bronx with the above shown and the Man Behind The Counter gave me free pie because it was my birthday. We also had some home-brew at the Foundry and went back to McCoy's the next day for some lunch with the R's and their pup. 

Here is one of my excellent birthday present made by the lovely lady pictured above. Being the gracious girlfriend I am, K was made to model it for the blog:) 

My family was excellent and has contributed toward our dreams of taking a trip to Santa Fe over the holidays and we will be dutifully squirreling away our sponsorship. Thanks Everybody! 

Today we went sailing with my folks and it was a blast. I learned many nautical terms and got to "hike out" all the way horizontal to the water. Much Fun. 

Mom rigging the boat on a beautiful day. 

(isn't he handsome? I know, it is almost ridiculous) 

Our able-bodied skipper! 

Cruisin'

Great weekend, now back to work! 

First, a look behind the scenes like HBO would do.  

I try to stay on the positive with this blog, but let me tell you that this story comes with perspective. The day I will tell you about was lovely and delicious in every way. K and I walked around on Cloud 9 all day long gushing over the awesomeness of our lives. 

The next day, I cried before 11 a.m. at the impending reality of my serious lack of time with K and some work stressage. 

I prefer to dwell on the happiness and take nothing but a glancing look at the unhappiness in order to learn from my mistakes, but as all of you who know me F2F know....I am a serious worrier that is plagued by pessimism. 

I am not, as I appear sometimes in the days post Grad School, some sort of obnoxiously peppy Pippy Longstocking. 

However, part of my goal is to consciously combat my nature and realize the extent to which I am fortunate and happy instead. Plus, everyone knows that on the internet, you can be whomever you choose. 

Context Given, on to the happenings. 

Despite my working weekend I managed to squeeze in a lot of fun. 

There are limited pictures of Friday's fun because one of our oh-so-lovely friends--> no likey the pictures. However, the F of L&F acquiesced to let me document his presence in a totally fun evening with them. 

It might have been a crazy night of driving in the rain 

But we had a lot of fun with these two. Dinner was delicious at Blue Koi. Also, they gave us tootsie pops....K was stoked. 

Saturday we woke up to find the first fruits of our labor 

Yep, we grew that tomato. Only having one, however, inspired us to go to the farmer's market. So we did. 

It was packed but so much fun. Musicians, face-painting, vendors and restaurants, the River City Market is like a little state fair every weekend and we got delicious produce, local Honey, local bison and some Italian Deli. Here is K chowing down on the food from his requested "good smells" place. 

The more we get to just wake up and decide to do something spontaneous and it turns out to be awesome the more we love living in the city. Every day here makes me appreciate KC more and be seriously happy not to be in the suburbs. 

A little raw looking. But you know what? It is Saturday and we get to wake-up, not shower and sweat at the City Market. Awesome summer day. 

Looks complicated huh? 

He is the master of this universe. 

Once again, the benefits of having physical skills to show off is that his work looks cool. 

Speaking of visiting, I got to babysit Miss Nithi the other night and did you know, they make teeny tiny robes? 

Cutest! She is such a little marshmallow in this outfit and I'm not going to lie, we laid down and watched some Curious George before bed and I thoroughly enjoyed cuddlin that roly poly. 

The fluffiness did not detract from her spirit though. 

She may look like a tame bunny rabbit but she is a wild hare at heart ;) 

So, I'm not my most loquacious after many hours of conference calls today but at least I provide pictures. 

Was I brave enough to eat the food? Sort of. K ordered food and I tried a bite of each thing. 

Yep, that is something called a Frisco melt, which I am pretty sure is a grilled cheese sandwich with a burger pattie and thousand island dressing...

Don't worry though, the tale of R&K and the late night diner has a happy ending. 

We were still just totally stoked to be hanging out together. 

You never know how good Fridays are until you get back to working 40-50 hours a week.