Kansas City Collection.

Our days in Kansas City were filled with family adventures and visits with friends. We'll let the photos and captions do the storytelling...

:: PARADISE PARK ::

Paul, Juli, Sawyer & Stratton treated us to a fantastic afternoon out to Paradise Park. This was a fun mix of education & entertainment for the young & young-at-heart. Our entire family had a ball that day! Thanks, KC Leahys!

These cousins look like they got dropped in a bag of Skittles!

Future architects.

The water table was a splashing good time!

Like father, like son ... face paint.

... And then someone got some snazzy spectacles!

:: FRIENDS ::

In addition to having family galore living in Kansas, many of our friends live there, too. It's always fun to reconnect and catch up.

The Leahy & Vogel boys took time out from playing

Star Wars to snap a pic!

Jami with Theta friend Heidi.

What a charming home & neighborhood!

Who lives 2 doors down from Jami's friend Heidi?

Why none other than Scott's high school friend Joe!

It's a small world!

Lunch with Brent & Kori.

They had quite the tales to share after their

18-month excursion around the world!

:: BUZZIN' COUSINS ::

4 cousins on the couch: Stratton, Reid, Sawyer & Luke.

Luke & Sawyer cruise the neighborhood in style.

Rowdy crowd waiting for a seat at Mimi's Cafe.

:: FAMILY FEASTS ::

Some of the best times are shared over a good meal. We certainly had many good conversations with good cuisine while in KC.

We enjoyed Juli's delicious tilapia tacos while dining al fresco!

Stratton LOVED this Oreo cookie treat at Mimi's Cafe!

A little game of Pictionary while waiting

for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.

So good to see the whole family ...

Jami with Marie, Florence & Mary Ann.

Ladies who lunch ... Angela, Margie, Jami & Juli

I go. You go. Wamego.

We spent an overnight in Wamego with Jami's sister and family ... and then returned mid-week for some more fun in the Flint Hills! It's always so nice to head out to the countryside and slower paced life of Wamego and Manhattan. The boys love being at Uncle Craig & Aunt Briana's house ... and love to hang out with Dalton. Watching the 3 blondies together is oh-so-entertaining!

I scream. You scream...

Uncle Craig makes good homemade ice cream!

Cousins cuddling on the couch.

Ever heard of the Snuggie?

Reid is modeling one!

Big cousin & little cousin at the Manhattan Splash Park.

"Don't even think about stealing a bite of my cinnamon roll!"

We went to the Friendship House in Wamego

for a freshly baked breakfast.

Playing in the park.

Let me give you a hand, Dalton!

Sound the sirens ... here comes the fire chief!

"Hey, boys ... make a funny face!"

Presta Family Reunion

The itinerary of our Kansas trip included 2 reunions, the first being a family reunion on the branch of the family tree for Scott's mother and her Italian relatives. More than 100 people gathered in Antioch Park in Kansas City for the Presta Family Reunion. Jami designed the reunion logo to the left. We grilled burgers, Italian sausages, etc. and dined on some of the most amazing potluck food ever (with recipes hopefully destined for our family reunion cookbook to be published this fall.) Many of these people we first met at our wedding 10 years ago. It was great to gather together and celebrate our family ties. This is one fun-loving family tree!

These 3 cousins enjoyed playing the day away at Antioch Park.

A few of our family members gathered

in front of our reunion banner.

The Leahy crew at the reunion.

Sawyer & Luke are all smiles about hanging out with Emily!

Scott, Reid & Uncle Eric.

Anniversary with an altitude.

As a couple, we share a love for the outdoors and adventures. So in honor of this common interest and to celebrate our milestone anniversary, we took off on a journey we will remember for years to come ... and will have daily reminders of as we look at a certain famous mountain on our skyline -- Pikes Peak.

Our morning started bright and early at 6:45 a.m. when we arrived at the Challenge Unlimited (tour office) in Old Colorado City. Fitted with our gear, we piled into a 15-passenger van with a bunch of other willing participants (mostly tourists) destined for the summit of Pikes Peak at 14,110 feet. After an hour plus van ride up the twisting and turning mountain roads, we arrived at the top. Now as the saying goes, "what goes up must come down." And so begins our adventure. To commemorate 10 years of wedded bliss, we biked down Pikes Peak!

Here are a few highlights of our trip.

• We biked through 4 climate zones. The temperature ranged from 38 degrees at the summit early in the morning to about 85 degrees at the end of the ride in the foothills.
• The summer season on top of Pikes Peak only lasts for 6 weeks. Some patches of snow were still lingering above treeline.
• We saw the former location of the Pikes Peak Ski Resort. When members of the 10th Mountain Division returned home from their WWII assignments in Europe, they took note during their tour of duty of the big European ski resorts. These veterans brought this concept back to Colorado and started the big ski resorts like Breckenridge, Keystone, etc. As a result, little ski resorts like the one on Pikes Peak couldn't compete and closed.
• On this downhill trip, we braked 95% of the time and pedaled very little except for a few small hills. The easiest 20 mile bike ride ever!

Our ride concluded with lunch at a fabulous creekside restaurant called Wines of Colorado. It was the perfect end to a wonderful bike ride!

Pikes Peak or bust! At the summit.

The view overlooking Colorado Springs.

The track is for the Cog Railway.

Look ... snow in the summer!!

Happy in helmets!

The top of the mountain was very rocky ...

like a cross between the desert & the moon.

Scott is biking in the navy jacket.

As we came down the mountain, the weather warmed

and we had to shed some layers!

Look how far we've come!

The mountain in the distance is Pikes Peak,

our starting point for the day!

A visual of our trip. Pikes Peak is on the left.

The mountain switchbacks on the right were fun to maneuver!

Toasting 10 Years

Celebrating milestone anniversaries (like 10 years!) is cause to step back and reflect on where life has taken us and what's ahead in the years to come. There's no better way to toast 10 years than with a delicious dinner for just the two of us! We celebrated with a prix fixe dinner at the Margarita at Pine Creek, a fantastic discovery in the Colorado Springs culinary scene that serves "comfortably, contemporary cuisine." What a fabulous place to go for such a special occasion!

The Margarita at Pine Creek

Scott enjoyed his fancy rendition of strawberry shortcake.

Jami is always up for trying new flavors ... like chocolate beet cake! Delish!

10 years ago today...

Once upon a time...

two young'ns met in the spring of 1996.

They dated throughout college

And exchanged vows on a

beautiful summer day in Kansas.

Ten years ago today, they began to

dance their way through life

together as husband and wife.

Life has blessed them with many reasons to smile

And a few challenges to muddle through, too.

A decade later, the life they once dreamed of

Has come true as they live

Happily ever after.

Happy campers.

To wrap up the 4th of July holiday weekend, we decided to have a family campout in the backyard. The boys were ecstatic to sleep out in the tent, and they even brought along Curious George & Spiderman (stuffed versions) to join us. We all slept soundly beneath the light of the near-full-moon with the sounds of the neighborhood dogs barking to entertain us!

Good night, sleep tight!

Red, White & bLuau!

The 4th festivities continued later in the afternoon with a gathering of neighbors for the Red, White & bLuau! The original plan was to eat, drink & hula around outside, but the usual Colorado afternoon rainstorm rolled through and lingered a little longer than usual ... so we moved the party indoors. That certainly didn't put a damper on the fun as the kids played and the adults chatted while eating Hawaiian fare. We have some very entertaining neighbors who have all sorts of interesting skills, so the evening also included some juggling and magic. What fun! After the first round of entertainment, we moved on to some low-key fireworks. We could only find grounded fireworks ... nothing that flies up in the air. Therefore, we had to skip the dangerous stuff like Roman candles, bottle rockets, and parachute men, but sparklers, snakes, and smoke bombs were oh-so-thrilling and just perfect for our young crowd. The grand finale of the evening was standing in our driveway and on our neighbor's deck watching 2 different firework shows at the Air Force Academy and Palmer Lake. What a 4th of July to remember ... our first one here was a BLAST!

Cute neighbor kids. Luke with his buddies Jake & McKenna.

After the rainstorm passed, the kids didn't mind

jumping on the wet trampoline!

Leahys who luau.

Kat & Debbie ... neighbors and runner friends.

Who knew our street was full of such talented entertainers?!

Todd and his wife Melissa are juggling clubs, while James

juggles in the grass. Such a great memory from the evening!

These shirts come in adult and children sizes.

We own both.

The kids all lined up and ready to watch fireworks!

Ready, set, SPARKLE!

Melissa helps Gavin with his sparkler.