After work on Friday Kim and I headed to our local Target to pick up some supplies for the weekend and also for this coming weekend. We bought some cheap bag chairs, a new flashlight & lantern combo, some buy spray and some other stuff. From there we headed to Doni & Phil’s to have some drinks and play some cards. We decided on Pitch, a game that Kim and I are picking up on pretty well. I still don’t think it is better than Euchre though.

Saturday morning we woke up fairly early so we could get out to Salina, KS for the Smoky Hill River Festival which VACO was playing at. We met up with Steve Christy at our hotel and shortly after were on our way to the show. Salina is not a very big town, but the festival was packed. Either everyone from Salina was there or there were a ton of out-of-towners in attendance. Either way this is a pretty well planned event. An $8 button gets you unlimited access to the park and festival, and you can bring your own cooler in. We took advantage of that and brought something like two cases of beer in. I believe we got there around 2 and VACO first played at 3. It was hot and the local freaks were out in force. We saw VACO play two sets that day and although they were short they were a bunch of fun. The festival was over by 10 I think, but we left shortly before then. We headed back to the hotel and were out around midnight. It was a fun day!

Sunday we woke up to a rain filled day. VACO was supposed to play again that day at 4, but we left town before they started. The rain was showing no signs of stopping and there is very little cover near the stage they were playing at. We hit some nice storms on the way home but made it back eventually. It would have been an even scarier drive if we would have realized that our brake lights weren’t working. Yeah, you read that correctly. We have yet another problem with the car, but again I think this is something I can do myself pretty easily. Perhaps I should consider a career move though.

Alright so first thing I did on our busy Saturday was replace a temperature sender on the Jetta. You may remember talk of a check engine light from over a month ago. Well I though it was just a loose gas cap, but that was not the problem. A few weeks ago I took the car to a car parts store and had them pull the error codes. I then googled the error codes and found a message board thread describing how to fix the problem. I bought the parts last week and then pretended to be a mechanic. Today the check engine light is no longer on! Looks like that problem is finally fixed.

From there we took the car to Tires Plus to get the tires rotated and balanced as well as have a brake inspection performed. For a week or so there had been an occasional squeak coming from one of the wheels. In the end we got a call saying the car was ready and the brakes are fine. Guess I’ll just keep my ears open for any other sounds and take it from there.

While the car was in the shop we headed to a couple of PETCO stores since they were the only ones in town to have the tank stand I wanted and the turtle dock I wanted. After we bought the necessary pieces we went home and I put the whole thing together. I took some pictures of the process and also have a webcam up and running. It should take a picture every 2 seconds or so. This is quite a strain on my PC though, so we’ll see how long it lasts. I think it is pretty neat though.

Mike came over during the setup and after it was all done we walked down to a newer pizza place near UMKC‘s campus called Pizza 51. They have huge slices of pizza, along with good calzones and sandwiches. Oh yeah, they have beer and Saturday night entertainment as well. We stayed there for awhile and that pretty much ended the night.

Sunday we went to the grocery and then picked up the car. My mom told me earlier in the day about a scanner at OfficeMax for $5 after rebates. So I picked one of those up and started scanning ticket stubs again. Right now I’m just re-scanning the old ones so that they will all be of the same quality. I have hundreds of stubs though so this will definitely take some time. We also fit in a round of golf with Mike during the day. Toward the end of it I really started to hate the game, but hopefully we’ll get out again next weekend.

Pictures from our trip are up! I pretty much handed the camera over to Kim, so no comments about my photography skills please. :)

Yesterday was a pretty standard work day and a typical night of pizza, beers and movies. We have a busy day lined up today, I’ll tell more about it later…

I am back at work and Kim is on her way to Minnesota for business. Here is a brief recap of the weekend. We left Kansas City bright and early on Saturday and stuck with the route described on the page I linked to earlier. It took us about 13.5 hours to get to Cincinnati; it usually takes 9. The drive was much nicer though and we did stop a few times at various little towns. One in particular was made famous for their albino squirrels. We went to the city park in Olney, IL but were not successful in sighting one of these. We did see a bunch of really friendly regular squirrels though. When we got into Cincy, we went straight to Amy’s apartment. A small group of us gathered there and then we decided to take a cab out to our old stomping grounds, the UC campus. We went to Christy’s first and then made it to Murphy’s before last call. Overall I felt pretty old in the bars, but it was a nice night out.

Sunday we visited with my family for a few hours and then headed back over to Kim’s for a gathering of her extended family. That took care of most of the day and then on Monday we finally got our loan to buy out the Jetta’s lease. We are now the proud owners of the car. :) From there Kim went out to dinner with Amy and other friends for Amy’s birthday while I met up with my buddy Jon and went out to Paxton’s where Ken was bar-tending. When Ken was done with work we all headed up to Hap’s to finish off the night with Kim and Amy.

The funeral was on Tuesday and it was a very nice service. I’m sure everyone appreciates all of your thoughts and prayers.
HAIS Charles F., beloved husband of 64 years to the late Mildred M. (nee Doyle) Hais. Loving father of Carolyn (Doug) Otto, Peggy (Ron) Fleming, Chuck (Mary) Hais, Susan (Tom) Cupito and Jodi Hais. Dear brother of Margie (Don) Flick, Mimi (Dick) Berning and the late Al Hais. Devoted grandfather to 20 favorite grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. On Thursday, May 12, 2005 at 84 years of age. Visitation on Tuesday at B. J. Meyer Sons Overlook Funeral Home, 4841 Glenway Avenue, (next to St.Teresa Church) from 10:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M., followed by Mass of Christian Burial at St. Teresa of Avila Church at 1 P.M. Family requests memorials to Teen Parent Mentor Program, One YMCA Place, Greensboro, NC 27401 or St. Teresa of Avila Memorial Fund, 1175 Overlook Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45238. www.bjmeyersons.com

The weekend flew by and so has work so far today. Here is a quick update:

Friday we left work a little early and drove all night. We finally got to Kim’s parents around 2AM and quickly went to bed. I was woken up at 7AM and shortly after we were on our way downtown to run the 5K race. To my disappointment, we were not given timing chips so there is no online record of our times. This was even more disappointing after we finished the race since we all ran less than 8 minute miles. We started off together, but before too long Chris pulled ahead of us. Kim decided she was going to try and keep up with him. I hung back with Chip, even though we were still moving at a pretty quick pace. When the first mile marker read 7:50 I couldn’t believe it. We kept it up though, and finished the race just under the 24 minute mark. I think Chris was close to the 23 minute mark and Kim was just ahead of me and Chip. It was a good run for all of us!

From there we went back to the Hais house to relax for a little bit. Later on that evening we headed over to visit my family. We stayed up a little longer than we probably should have, especially since we got up even earlier the next day to head down and watch my dad run the marathon. I never really went down and watched before, mostly because I was in school and they are typically finished before 11AM. It was a really cool experience though. We stopped at various points along the way to cheer for my dad and Shawna along with anyone else out there. You can check out my mom’s pictures here.

Before we knew it, it was time to get back in the car and head home. We decided to get a hotel in St Louis since we would be getting a late start and didn’t feel like making the drive straight through. We finished off the drive this morning and now I’m back here at work starting off another week.

So the site is back up for now. If you did not already notice, we are back from our little vacation, here is a summary…

I left work on Tuesday and drove up to the airport. I caught up with Phil on the bus ride from long term parking to the terminal, and we quickly found Christina’s boyfriend Nick as well. The flights were rather uneventful. I did get some quality pictures of Salt Lake City from the plane. This was my first time in Utah, but I guess it doesn’t really count. Speaking of pictures, I took over 400 that I’m going to go through sometime soon, maybe tonight. We finally got to San Diego and took a cab over to the Hotel del Coronado which was quite large and beautiful. Kim’s national meeting was wrapping up, so we joined what was left of the group in the hotel bar to finish off the night…

Wednesday we woke up and headed to the beach early. We walked along the water and then had breakfast at a little cafe in town. Unfortunately we had to check out of the hotel del since even the discounted rate for the remainder of the trip was like $250 a night. We headed over to the Hilton on Harbor Island which I had won for all us on priceline. We arrived there early, way before check-in, so we checked the luggage and headed off to Sea World. We saved 20% on admission using our Southwest Rapid Rewards cards, which was a nice bonus. We rushed all around the park trying to take in all of the sights before they closed at 6PM. My favorite parts of the visit were the dolphin show, the penguin area and of course the Shamu Show. After rushing through one side of the park, we realized that we had lots of extra time, so we wandered over to the killer whale tanks just in time to watch some of the practice session. I got some of my best pictures during this, so it was definitely worth the visit. After seeing the Shamu Show, we left the park and headed back to the Hilton to get checked in. After quickly cleaning up we headed over to a local restaurant called The Boathouse. It was primarily a seafood restaurant, but they had some chicken dishes that we were quite good as well. After the long day, we headed back to the hotel to rest up for an even longer day…

Thursday we headed over to the Zoo as early as we could since it too closed at 6PM. Everyone went along for this trip: me, Kim, Phil, Doni, Christina and Nick. If you have not been to this zoo, it is huge. We took advantage of the guided double-decker bus tour so that we would not have to walk all the way out to the furthest parts of the zoo, and could still see most of everything. From there we walked back to parts that the tour missed or that we wanted to see once more. They are very proud of the Giant Pandas they have since there are only six or so in the U.S. We waited in line to see them, but once we got in the viewing area could hardly see the lone panda that was hidden in a tree. I guess the others were behind the scenes somewhere. I tried to get a picture, but I doubt any of them will come out. I really enjoyed the zoo though, and my brother would have loved it too. The elephant exhibit was quite good, and they had three or four of them out and about. I also got some great pictures of the two hippos that they had on display. At first they were far from the viewing area, but as we waited for a few minutes they began feeding them and then the water in their habitat came alive. Definitely the closest I have been to one of these huge animals. Anyway enough about the zoo. We planned ahead of time to stay the entire day in downtown, since going back to the hotel took so much time the day before. We then decided to go to a part of town called the gaslamp quarter. We started off at an Irish pub called Patrick’s II. The bartender was a little grumpy and we were getting a little hungry so we then headed over to Maloney’s. After some drinks and dinner it was off to another more exciting bar, this time the 5ifth Quarter was our choice. They had a cover band playing that entertained us for a little while. And then to round out the night, we found The Shout House a dueling piano bar. This was not quite as much fun as I’ve had before in a bar like this, but it was good enough. Kim, Doni and I even ended up on stage doing the O-H-I-O during ‘Hang On Sloopy.’ This was enough fun to end the night for sure…

Friday Kim and I headed to Tijuana Mexico. Kim and Doni also went to Mexico earlier in the week so Doni and Phil decided to skip it this time. It took absolutely no effort to get into Mexico, all we did was walk in. First thing we noticed was the Tijuana River which we walked over. Not much water in it, but it smelled horribly and was very dirty. That was just the beginning though. I read so much about going to Tijuana, but nothing can actually prepare you enough. I was shocked at the poverty of the entire area. It was pretty depressing at times. We did make a few buys however. I got a pair of Foakley’s for $15 and a couple bottles of tequila. Before we knew it we were ready to head back to the good old U.S.A. The line at customs was not too bad and we got in with no trouble at all. All you need is a driver’s license and then the simple answer of “U.S.” when asked your citizenship. They didn’t even check out what we bought, guess I should have bought more liquor. :) From there we met up with Doni and Phil at a place called The Fish Market and then headed back to the hotel to clean up again. We decided that we would head to Old Town for a nice Mexican dinner. We ended up at Casa de Bandini which was an excellent choice. They had large margaritas and amazing food! From there it was back to the hotel to enjoy one final night of vacation…

Saturday we had to wake up and get to the airport to catch our flight back home. It was sad to leave, but I think we made quite a contribution to San Diego and were financially ready to leave. :) The flights were once again rather uneventful. When we got back into town we met up with Mike at our favorite plaza restaurant, Tomfooleries, to reminisce on the trip…

Yesterday was full of the typical errands, but I’m glad we made the choice to fly back on Saturday and not on Sunday so we had a whole day to adjust. Mike and I did go over to Doni and Phil’s to check out some dogs that they were thinking of adopting. They did settle with a cute little pit bull, hopefully they get some pictures up soon. I learned quite a bit about the breed and found out that they often have a bad reputation. This little guy is so much fun so far…

Edit: Phil has updated his blog and included pictures of the new puppy!

No update yesterday because I never made it into work. I woke up around 9 and decided to call in sick. I guess I had a little too much fun the night before…

Immediately after work I met up with Courtney, her sister and a friend at McCoy’s for some dinner and drinks before the show. I am still in love with this place, it is so good. On to the show. Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers played first. I’ve been hearing lots of good things about this band, especially from my buddy Weeba. He couldn’t have been more right, these guys are good and highly entertaining. They have quickly become one of my favorite new bands. Ari Hest was up next. I’ve seen him before, but only because he was opening for someone I really wanted to see. He isn’t bad, but isn’t really that good either. He falls about right in the middle of the singer songwriter genre, and I am continually losing interest in those types. After that, O.A.R. rocked the place! Each and every time I see them they sound better and better, and that has to be hard to do at this point. I got a shoutout from Marc right before they played “Tonight” which was another good version. During some of the “bathroom break” songs, I talked to Rick at the merch booth for awhile. It was a very good time.

This leads me up to the end of the night. I was out talking to Rick during the encore, and then I had to wait for every person to exit before I could get back into the venue to get my recording gear. I talked to JP the soundman for awhile and then Marc came out and I talked to him and then Jerry came out and I talked to him. I finished tearing down and was just about to head out when Jerry asked if I wanted to get one more beer. “What the heck, I don’t have much to do tomorrow.” :) So I went backstage where all the guys were hanging out and had another beer. I talked to Stephen Kellogg and his cousin Jess for quite some time, they are incredibly nice people. I talked to everyone in the band too, and then before I knew it I had drank a few beers and it was 2AM! So I got a ride home with some girl who was driving Ari Hest back to his hotel and I quickly slipped into slumber. Pretty easy to see why I slept in as long as I did.

So yesterday after calling in sick, I stayed in bed and slept until around noon. Woke up, got Chipotle, and then converted O.A.R.’s set. It was a much needed rest! Kim got back into town last night, and I played hockey later on. Thanks to my mom for buying me some new gloves that I started to break in last night!

Tonight will probably be a dinner and TV kind of night…

Last night I went to my first show in almost a month with Kim and Amanda. Tanner Walle played over at O’Dowd’s for about an hour or so. It was an acoustic show with Mike. He finally got copies of his new CD, and I finally have one in my hand right now. As I mentioned before it’s a solid disc, and I recommend picking one up! I’ve added a new song of the moment from the CD titled “Madeline.”

My mom has her pictures from their trip online already. There are over 100, so it could take a little time to get through them all. I think I only took like 20 pictures and I don’t even have them up yet. Must be nice not having to work yesterday. :)

Friday after work we headed up to the airport to pickup everyone up. From there our first stop was Tomfooleries in the northland. A little bigger than the plaza location, but the two bartenders working were guys I had seen at the plaza numerous times before. Actually one of them is the one that always remembers Todd for his whiskey addiction. No Irish Ale on tap, but of course they had Wheat for everyone to enjoy! After dinner and a few rounds we headed to our apartment. I gave a brief tour through Westport and The Plaza, but it was a little too dark to get the whole “feel.” We all got a pretty good night of sleep in preparation for a busy Saturday…

First up on Saturday was the Boulevard Brewery tour at 11AM. Its great the way they left you see everything that goes on, much better than that other brewery in Missouri. And of course you get numerous samples of their beer. They had seven different choices. All four of the year round brews, Irish Ale, a trial called Saison (I think) and a version of the porter with a touch of whiskey. The last mentioned sounds interesting, but it was really quite good. I think the brewers just got a little bored one day and decided to mix it up. After leaving Boulevard, it was decided that we needed to get to a sports bar so we could see the end of the Dayton and Xavier game. Unfortunately for Tim, Dayton lost the game, but at least we found a place that had the game. Cincy played later on in the day so we decided to stay and watch that one as well. A better result for everyone with the Cats winning the game. Another nice thing was the Granfalloon had Irish Ale on tap! We played a few games of pool, a round of golden tee, and visited with old neighbors from Huntsville (The Reynolds) who now live in Overland Park, KS. Before we knew it, it was dinner time and we were still in the same seats. Our friend Jeff came down, along with Joel and Amanda. Eventually we had spent a little too much money, so we headed back to our apartment for some cards. I didn’t have as good of a streak as the last card playing day, in fact I don’t think I won a game. Oh well, it was a very good time!

Sunday we all we are a little slow getting up, but eventually we started my tour of Kansas City, v2.0. First stop was the Liberty Memorial. My brother quickly pointed out that you could actually go to the top of the monument, so we did. Pretty cool view for a cheap price, I think my mom got some good pictures. From there we drove by Union Station and then headed of to the stadiums. Next up was Independence, MO where we saw all of the Truman sites and noticed the large number of churches in the area. I’m gonna have to ask Susan more about this. We then drove through Swope Park on our way over to the Brooksider. Everyone wanted to see the place that is talked about so often. We then ended up at Gates for lunch. They were out of burnt ends for Tim to try, but I think everyone was happy with what they got. We then toured Overland Park a little bit, stopping off at the Kansas store that we frequent so often. I showed them the sprint world headquarters as well. Tim’s one request was to go to Kansas and we made it, haha. It was getting close to my hockey game time, so we made a quick stop over Kansas Speedway, one of my dad’s requests, and then headed up to the rink, thus ending the tour. We seriously drove around the city for like 4 or 5 hours, but it was fun. Kim had to take them back to the airport while I was playing hockey. Our game started off pretty rough but we ended up in a 5-5 tie. What a weekend! I should have called in sick today because I am really dragging. Only 7 more hours…