Pumpkin Carving!

Joe claims he has NEVER carved a pumpkin. I find this ridiculous so we had to change that!

MU Homecoming

Yes, I am aware that neither Joe or I are "technically" alumni of MU. Joe would have loved to finished is undergrad degree there but he still claims that UMKC is part of the U of Missouri system. I attended KSU but was never what you would call a true Wildcat. I am officially converted now :)

The homecoming game was covered by ESPN College Gameday. This is what you might call "kind of a big deal" because two 6-0 teams were playing each other. OU was ranked #1 and MU ranked #11. Obviously, Mizzou was the underdog which made the weekend that much more exciting!

This is a pic of the ESPN crowd. (I didn't take this pic)

The parade is also a very big deal in Columbia.

The ESPN trucks were a big hit!

This is the end of the game after MU knocked off OU (36-27).
Those crazy kids... rushing the field :)

The Reaction...

This is Mom's reaction when she drove up to the party. A little background: Mom thought that my sister was having some of her friends over to the house for their annual "farm party."

Shhhh... It's a Secret!

October has been a very busy month! It started with a bang by throwing my Mom a surprise 60th Birthday Party. It was a VERY big surprise because her actual 60th birthday is still months away. It is in the dead of winter and too close to the holidays to really have anything exciting so we tricked her by throwing it really early.

Everyone waited on the front porch for her to arrive. We had somewhere between 40 and 50 guests so, a great turnout.


Mom arrived with her sister who helped us to distract her with shopping and errands. My Dad happens to represent a product line that includes large sign boards. She didn't even notice the giant "Happy 60th Geri" sign in the background.


Her Mom, sisters, and childhood friend surprised her by driving down from Nebraska for the party!

The kiddos were very patient waiting all night for the cake :)