To Kansas for a week...

What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than to spend a week in Kansas City with our friends and family! We spent 6 days in the "colder than we're used to" climate of Kansas. Luke kept wanting to go outside to play ... only to return within a mere 2 minutes with a red nose and chilly cheeks to report that it was "brr, brr" outside.

Here are a few highlights from our trip...
- Lots of playtime with the boys! Luke enjoyed checking out Cousin Sawyer's toys and playing in the basement with all the trucks and trains. We stayed with Juli, Paul, and Sawyer, so the playtime was maximized from sunrise to sunset. In fact, Luke wanted to extend his playtime a bit one day by not wanting to nap and scheming a way to crawl out of the Pak'N'Play where he was supposed to be sleeping. Mission accomplished unfortunately ... he escaped.
- An evening out at Power Play. This evening proved to be fun for all ages as we took the young (and young-at-heart) to this huge indoor arcade/entertainment mecca. The evening was complete with several go-kart races featuring a high-speed crash by Jami head-on into the barrier (she was fine but suffered some major embarrassment) and a heated race between the 3 Leahy brothers.
- A visit to Horton. We trekked up to Horton to visit Grandma Eleanor and meet up with Briana and Craig for dinner. We had a great time catching up with Jami's side of the family, and Great Grandma Eleanor just giggled at all of Luke's antics!
- Special celebrations with the Kearys. We enjoyed a delicious turkey dinner with all the fixins' at Margie and Ted's lovely new home. We even spotted a few deer in their wooded backyard. Luke loved exploring his grandparents' house and playing with the GI Joe guys that his dad and uncles treasured growing up! Margie and Ted also had a special vow ceremony that we were fortunate to attend.

It was a wonderful week-long vacation and time well spent with our family!

Pizza!

Scott and Luke share many special moments -- and meals -- when it comes to pizza! They both love to celebrate their Italian heritage by chowing down on pizza. Like father, like son ... just hold the anchovies and pile on the pepperoni!

Hoops and Bikes

HOOPS: Scott and Eric play in a city basketball league on Sunday nights. They've been playing for about a year. The team finished in 1st place in the least competitive division the city had to offer, then moved up to the most competitive league (meant for college and very good high school level players) where they were in over their heads. This season, they're playing in one of the intermediate leagues, which seems to be about the right pace. Scott had a 5 point play in their last game (fouled on a 3-pointer, made the first two free throws, missed the 3rd, but got the rebound and made a 3-pointer) in the final minute to put his team up by 3 to win the game.

BIKES: Jami has gotten back on her bicycle recently now that the weather has cooled down a bit here. She likes to hit the roads around the new neighborhood for some fast-paced cycling. We also recently purchased a bike trailer that Luke can ride in, so now we can also take rides as a family. Luke's cue that he's ready to roll is to hop in the trailer and say, "Need a ride!" So much fun!

Luke's first dentist visit.

For the last 3 days, Luke has had something stuck between his 2 front teeth. Every attempt was made to remove it, but with no luck. Actually, Luke took it on as his biggest challenge to keep us from looking in his mouth -- screaming, kicking, biting, etc. It was like wrestling with the tazmanian devil.

So today Jami decided to drop by her dentist's office to see if they could help. Upon first examining the tooth issue, the dental hygienist said, "It looks like a cavity." Gasp. Jami nearly fainted.

Then Amy, the hygienist, got out the "hook scraper" (there's probably a much better term for this but you know the tool). Luke sat perfectly still without a single peep while she checked out his front teeth. When she turned on the overhead light, he just looked up and gave her a big ol' grin. Great Luke ... why couldn't he have been more cooperative with his parents! With one attempt she slipped out the lodged food particle, which looked like part of an oat perhaps from a granola bar.

Luke's first visit to the dentist took less than 5 minutes, involved no tears, and was an all-around happy experience. Let's hope that future visits to the tooth doctor are just like this one! Yeah right...