Birthday Scavenger Hunt!

Ever since I was little, my family has done a fun tradition for my birthday: a scavenger hunt! Usually, dad would would write out clues and hide them throughout the house and I would go figure them out and find the next clue or a present! It was always so much fun. Well, being as this year was my 29th birthday, it never occurred to me that the tradition would continue but this year it did!

I had driven down to Charleston, MO this week to spend a few days with the family. On Sunday, we went to lunch at a local diner after church. We were finished with our meal and getting ready to leave when the waitress came to the table and handed me a note. I was so confused!! I thought, why is she giving me a note? Did someone in the diner know me? What is going on?!? I opened the note and it was my first clue!!

Over the next hour, we drove all over the town finding more clues. We went to the historical society, nutrition center, and more!

One clue led me to this skull at Boomland!

Another clue was at this statue at the court house.

Another clue was at the high school track.

Another clue at the Mexican restaurant.

Another clue at the church.

The final clue was at the park.

 In other news, JJ and I went to our last Royals game of the season. They won! I just hope that that wasn't my last time to see Alcides Escobar!! Please come back to the Royals next year Escobar!! I will be devastated if you don't. Thank you for making this year so much fun!!

Since it was the last game, I finally tried the funnel cake fries! But unfortunately, I didn't like them! They tasted a little rubbery to me. Bummer!

I went through Prairie Village, KS, for the first time last week and saw this cool fountain at Mission Rd and Tomahawk Rd. I didn't get any info about it, but it seemed pretty cool!

No. 79- Mission Rd and Tomahawk Rd in Prairie Village

Well, this is an exciting time for me because I made the decision to take back my life! I'm done living in fear. I felt like I had to work a job only because I had fear that I couldn't find another one. I realized that listening to the doom and gloom news was making me stay in a situation that was not a good one for me. So, with the support of my family, I quit my full-time job and will be attending a court reporting school starting next week!

I'm very excited for this opportunity and the chance to have an actual career that I can be proud of. I hope to attend this school and graduate in summer of 2013. While I attend, I will probably find a part-time job for the nights/weekends. If anyone has any leads on that, please let me know!

Til next time...Laura

Book Reviews Vol. 2

Ok, here is a recap of the last three books I've read.

I read the book "Shiver" by Maggie Stiefvater. I am not ashamed that I have read all the Twilight books and loved them. This book I could tell was a knock-off of that style but I didn't expect it to be completely the same characters, same story, same everything! It was horrible. Don't read it whatever you do! I give this book an 'F'. There was no originality, the characters were stupid, it was awful.

Next, I read "In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin" by Erik Larson. This is the same author of the great book about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, which I already wrote about. I figured I would like this book because I liked the author and I love history! I give this book an 'A-'. I really got into it at the beginning, but was ready for it to be over by the end.

The book follows the true story of the American Ambassador assigned to Germany in the 1930's just before WW2. So, it's fascinating because we have hindsight and know that Hitler should have been stopped. There were definite signs of trouble, but America was so focused domestically, it didn't want to mess with Europe's problems. It's a debate that this country will always have: when to focus on itself and when to intervene in other country's issues. We're in the middle of this debate now and there's no perfect answer. The ambassador had a daughter who had many flings and the book tells those stories as well.

Again, just like the other book, the author says it's nonfiction and everything quoted is from a letter or public document. I think I would have liked maybe a better conclusion at the end but the first half of the book is awesome because you, as the reader, knows that this family is walking into the lion's den but they have no idea. So, if you like history I recommend this book for sure!

Finally, I read "No Country for Old Men" by Cormac McCarthy. I had seen this movie a couple years ago and saw this book at the library. I give it a 'B'. The characters and story are very good. It's suspenseful, and even though I had seen the movie version, I was still reading in suspense and feeling anxiety for the characters' situations. The story is about a guy who finds a case of money. The problem is the case has a tracker in it and the owner of the money comes looking. The owner uses a psychotic killer who is very violent and scary. Then, the sheriff starts looking for both of them. It a great cat-and-mouse times two. The part I didn't like, again, was the ending. It leaves the story a little unfinished and the main character goes through these dreams that seem unnecessary. The first 90% of the book is all about the chase but then the title implies that it's about the sheriff's story of becoming old and dealing with the all the problems Texas now has in the drug war that he didn't have to deal with when he was younger.

It's also kinda done in a confusing way, in that it doesn't use quotations marks in dialogue. So, it was kinda hard to keep track of who was talking. Nevertheless, the book is good and the movie is excellent as well, but it is a little violent. The movie follows the book perfectly.

Til next time...Laura

September birthday and learning about Merriam

First of all, thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! I am so grateful for all the wonderful people God has placed in my life. Love you all!!!

Last night, we had a double Birthday party for myself and Jessica Judy (whose birthday is Thursday!). We had a fun tailgate and game at the Royals. Finally, the Royals won at a game I attended! And they had 2 home runs! I was mad at myself because I had made a birthday sign and I left it in the car. But we still got on the jumbotron!

Jill, JJ, me, Angie and Bree at the tailgate

Jason and Adam getting ready to cheer on Moustakas and it worked- he had a home run!

For the past several months, I have been commuting to Olathe everyday for work. On my drive there, I go through Merriam, Kansas. Up until this year, I had no idea that Merriam even existed. But I pass by the Visitor's Center everyday and see their beautiful fountain. I finally stopped to take a picture and record it in my fountains count. I ended up learning quite a few interesting things about Merriam.

No. 77- Shawnee Mission Pkwy & I-35, Merriam, KS

 The first thing I noticed was they had a second fountain with a sculpture of some bears. I found this to be very odd, as there are no bears anywhere near here. Why would they do this? I found my answer as I began to read about Merriam. Back in the 1880's, Merriam opened up the first private recreation attraction in the Kansas City area and it included a zoo (hence, the bears!), carousel, lagoon for boating, picnic area, and more! How fun does that sound!! The park was designed by George Kessler who later became instrumental in creating KC's famous parks and boulevards. They had 3 bears in what was known as the "Bear Pit." The bears often escaped and eventually, only one remained in the zoo!! The park later closed in the early 1900's.

I began thinking about this. Most of you know, I have issues with Kansas because it is very suburbia-land, with no unique character. But what is really sad to me, is learning about something really cool that used to exist in a place like Merriam but now, it's literally just a place that you drive through to get somewhere else. Blame the interstate for cutting it in half, blame the success of chain franchises, blame white flight, whatever. The point is, I find it very sad that what sits on this land that used to be the Bear Pit is now a Krispy Kreme donut shop and a Kmart.

Fountain No. 78- Bear Pit

The other really cool thing I learned about Merriam was its rich history in ending segregation in public education. This picture below is of Ester Brown who fought to equalize education for black and white students. This later paved the way for Brown v. Board of Education which officially ended school segregation.

Thanks again for reading and til next time...Laura