Anique and Kamaron

Weekend at The Family Place

2012-01-24T19:54:00.000-06:00

This Saturday Anique and I had the wonderful opportunity to go down to Lacygne, Kansas to spend time with the SetApart folks at the Unruh family cabin. This family establishment...called "The Family Place" was hand-built by Duane and his family. The purpose of this large cabin is the honor and cherish the legacy of the Unruh family. Barb and Duane are unbelievably godly people who have a heart for ministry and serving God's people. They even have a plaque in their home that says "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." They truly live out those words. I have to get one of those!!!

Here is the sign as you drive in

Their cute cabin nestled within 78 acres of woods and prairie is located about 45 minutes south of KC. The cabin is along a gravel road...straight out in the boonies!

The driveway coming in

Duane and his sons built this bridge over the creek

You can't have a hangout without cooking some wienies and s'mores over the campfire

Took this picture for the "Not-Quite-Country-Girl"

Such a cute cabin! When you are here, it just feels like all the worries of the world just leave you.

Chris and Brent

These two guys (along with Michael Davis) are amazing brothers in Christ. I know that one of the reasons God placed Anique and I here in KC was so I could learn about being a better person, husband, and future father from these guys. It's always a joy to spend time with these gents!

Inside the cabin

The whole gang

After some amazing food and fellowship, we headed home. It was wonderful spending time with our friends at The Family Place. I can't wait until we get to come back again!

Thanks for the hospitality Barb and Duane. God has truly blessed your family!

"That's What He Said"

2012-01-17T06:00:00.000-06:00

For all of you jokers out there, many of you are familiar with the dirty (but sometimes hysterical) "that's what she said" jokes that caught on like wild fire from the infamous show The Office. Our very creative and Godly friends here in KC, the same couple that founded SetApart (a ministry that serves to plug artist who are "set apart" by God into using their gifts for God) made an interesting spin off such jokes. It is actually Kristin Morris's creation and is a T-Shirt line called "That's What He Said". The shirts have catchy everyday lingo/phrases on them that connect to various bible scriptures. I was SO excited to discover that Terry got me one of these shirts for Christmas. What an awesome idea, the shirts themselves and for a gift!!! Last Friday I decided to sport my shirt for casual Friday.

The shirts all have the same back in common.

Close up on the front.

They come with very cute tags too...ignore the obnoxious glare in this picture.

I think these are very cute and fun and wanted to spread the word about them. So the next time you hear a "that's what she said" joke...it may just may make you think about what He said...or maybe that's a stretch but hey, why not? If you'd like to see more of these catchy creative shirts they're on Facebook and can click this link to That's What He Said Shirts. Have a blessed day and thanks for checking in with us!

Cooking Adventures with Kam and Anique

2012-01-14T17:57:00.002-06:00

Ha...that's right, we said cooking. We aren't the best cooks, but our skills have increased exponentially in the past couple of years. We've branched out and learned some fun recipes. Well, we wanted to share two of the new ventures we have explored past few weeks.

First - making our own popcorn! It is so simple really. We just bought some popcorn kernels, added our own (very healthy) coconut oil to the pan, apply some heat, and let it pop. I (Kamaron) haven't eaten popcorn in years. It seems like I'm just eating air, but Anique loves popcorn. So...for Anique (love you) we bought some popcorn, and it really is fun to make.

See it popping?

Our second little fun project has been with our new (actually old) smoker that I (Kamaron) received for free from a work friend. I have always wanted a little grill and this little guy has been a lot of fun. I've only cooked on it about 6-7 times so far, but every time I feel more and more like a man. ;-)

I have even branched out and "attempted" to make barbecue ribs. When you live in KC, you have to be a master at smoking meat...so I took my best stab at it. The entire cooking process only took about 3 hours. The first 2+ hours you use indirect heat (coals on the bottom, water pan with smoking chips on top). This allows the meat to slowly cook and stay moist. After that time, the final 30-45 minutes you apply direct heat from your charcoals. This gives it a nice crispy finish. I would grade my first attempt at making ribs as a "B." The flavor was incredible but it wasn't exactly "falling off the bones". Oh well! This just means we'll need to try again soon!

Yeah for ribs!

Exciting times out west. More to come soon :-)

Pictures from Dorothy's over Christmas Break

2012-01-06T21:20:00.002-06:00

We had a wonderful break this last week at both sets of parents - Gray's and Engelhardt's. We had a mix of fun/wintry weather and some gorgeously mild days too. It's always nice to travel back to the motherland to see our Indiana family. Below are a few pics we snapped at Dorothy's place.

Troy out walking Olive

Big fat flakes fell from the heavens

I could wake up every morning to the sun shimmering on the lake!

If you squint just right...

Praise God for family, friends, rest, and time off work. It was a wonderful break!!!

A Crown Center Christmas

2011-12-17T07:37:00.002-06:00

We love our downtown - Power & Light, Crown Center, River Market...it's a very neat city. This past weekend Anique and I had a date night downtown just outside of where we work to do some shopping and walking around.

This is where we work

Crown Center is a small downtown mall that is connected to Hallmark Cards. They have some cute little local shops inside that show off the Kansas City spirit. We definitely purchased some fun gifts for family/friends here!

Crown Center at night

After we bought our gifts and had a scoop of delicious ice cream from Sheridan's, we headed outside to the light display.

Walking around

See the tree behind us. That is real, but it is actually a tree trunk with a bunch of seperate branches. They haul it in piece-by-piece on a large semi every year from the great northwest (Oregon area) - pretty amazing to see them put it up.

There is just something special about walking around an area filled with lights, holiday music, and kids running around.

Self taken - big head for Kamaron

Self taken - big head for Anique

The light display next to the fountains at Crown Center

You can't hide from the camera

Anique and I are thrilled for Christmas next week. It'll be wonderful to see family and to be able to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ back in Indiana!

Dog Tired

2011-12-12T19:39:00.000-06:00

Every time we travel to Grandma Dorothy's we know that we're going to go on some good long hikes through the woods. Dorothy (Anique's mother) lives on Lake Monroe south of Bloomington - home to some of the most amazing single-track trails in the Midwest. So one of the days during Thanksgiving break we geared up and went on a nice long hike at Allen's Creek. We always do our best to wear out the pups, and we did just that. About an hour or so of walking the hills of Bloomington can wear out even the toughest of puppies. See the girls asleep on Anique's lap.

Dog tired!!!

Bentley is Here!!!

2011-12-06T21:43:00.001-06:00

So this is beyond after the fact (almost a month to be exact) but on the morning of Tuesday November 8th Jennifer and Patrick, our close friends, welcomed their baby boy Bentley into this world! He was quite the chunk, over 10 pounds, and ultimately she was relieved to have him by C-section. Everything went smoothly without any complications. Amen to that! That following Thursday morning we got to spend some time with them at the hospital. Patrick was such a natural Daddy and we were very impressed. We didn't take any snapshots of Jenn because who wants your picture taken after a major surgery anyway?! But it was so great to see them as giddy new parents together. Below are some snapshots at the hospital.

He didn't open his eyes once. He just wanted to sleep the day away. I don't blame him one bit! It's hard work breathing and eating on your own if you're used to being fed through a tube. Anyway, thereafter I got to spend a Saturday with Jennifer, since she wasn't able to lift anything after the surgery and Patrick was working. For the must part Bentley slept peacefully, only fussing for food at one point. He is a GREAT baby! I can only hope for a little one that good when it's eventually our turn (which is still some time away)! Below are some snapshots of the 5 minutes he was awake and wide eyed. He's just so sweet.

Here are a couple more pictures that Jennifer took.

He's already a dog lover as an infant!

Bentley enjoys some swing time that's for sure.

Lastly, we are very honored and excited to be Bentley's Godparents. We treasure him and his parents so much. We look forward to watching this little man grow up and also to being a part of his life :) Congrats to Patrick and Jennifer for a handsome and healthy little boy!

Doc the Hitchhiker

2011-11-15T18:34:00.001-06:00

Meet Doc the hitchhiker. Actually, his real name is Marvin but he goes by Doc or the Professor. Doc is a Vietnam war vet. On our drive down to Joplin on Saturday we cruised right on past Doc not giving it much thought to pick up a hitchhiker. Then Anique and Carolle (work friend) agreeably decided that we needed to turn our car around to pick this guy up.

Doc was traveling from Duluth, Minnesota down to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. From the tales he was telling, it sounds like he's been around the country and world many times over. We heard about his time with the Sioux Indians in South Dakota to his tour in Vietnam to his sight problems to his knowledge of history. Now, none of us have any history with hitchhikers, but from what I can tell they do like to talk. And another FYI...it takes them about 10 minutes to make a cup of coffee at a gas station. We speak from experience.

Our man on Hwy 71 South - about 30 miles outside of Kansas City.

There is some amazingness in the story of the hitchhiker though. We were able to share the story of the memorial to him and we even invited him to attend the event with us. Due to his time-crunched schedule he was unable to attend, but we still got to pray with him before we dropped him off at the laundromat in southern Joplin.

One crazy thing is that as we were traveling down to Joplin, he told us about his two buddies who had actually died during the tornado. Then as we entered the town itself we told him that we drop him off wherever he wanted to go. Well, he wanted to be dropped off in southern Joplin so we drove right through downtown and into the path of the May 22 tornado. We were all in awe as we passed through streets of pancaked homes/offices. It was nothing like we had ever seen before.

Just think, if we hadn't stopped and picked up Doc we never would have heard his wonderful stories, saw the devastation, or been able to pray with him. We did get his contact info as well, so I'm sure we'll be sending him a Hallmark card soon! Praise God for putting Doc the Hitchhiker in our path this past Saturday.

Pleasant morning for hanging around on the side of the highway

Event Day: Hope Memorial

2011-11-13T07:57:00.001-06:00

Saturday, November 12th was one of the most memorable days of our young lives. We were able to present a piece of artwork to the city of Joplin. This piece of artwork was very special too, it was actually made from the debris of a thrift store in Joplin from the aftermath of the devastating tornado that swept through this city on May 22, 2011. This tornado took 162 lives, and from the looks of the storm path through the city, it's amazing that more lives weren't lost.

The idea behind this artwork was to give back to the city of Joplin and show them that God can redeem anything and He has a plan for us. As a matter of fact, the verse that is tied to this piece is Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord."They are plans for good and not disaster, plans to give you a future and a hope." And that is exactly what we wanted to show the citizens and survivors in Joplin - that there is a hope and a wonderful plan.

The journey that we all have taken over the past 6 months has been 100% driven by God. From that initial conversation Anique and I had with Brent and Kristin in late May, to the time I spent with CJ and Leann in their kitchen back in Indiana, to the late nights and Saturdays working on the project with the crew, to the all-nighter we pulled that last Thursday to finish up the details that really set this project apart. It was a wonderful experience that led into the event day. It's no co-incidence that Anique and I's faith has grown 10-fold over the last few months. We have seen what amazing work God can do if we just let him do the leading and we just act as His hands and feet. Not to mention the fellowship we were able to have as we worked together on the piece.

And talk about a mountaintop experience. All this time and energy built up to the event day where we were set to present the project to the city of Joplin. The event was held at Joplin Family Worship Center. This venue is serving as a refuge for volunteers and community members who need assistance during this difficult time.

I was extra excited because I had two great friends who have mentored me through high school (CJ and Rob) who were making the trip all the way from Sulphur Springs, Indiana (9+ hour drive). My parents were also coming. The small community of Sulphur Springs has really blessed the Set Apart ministry with monetary needs, prayer, time, and love. It was great to have some of the gang their for the big day.

During the event, attendees were asked to come up and be a contributing artist with the piece. This means that attendees came up and put their fingerprint in the skyline of the memorial. This artwork is every bit as much their work as it is ours. In the same meaning, this story is theirs as much as it is ours. We're all a family through God's eyes and allowing folks to participates emphasizes this point.

All in all the event was unbelievable. From the moment I entered the auditorium I could feel God's presence all around. I was extremely emotional and happy and sad all at the same time. And I think our time working on this project taught all of us about being obedient to God's calling. If He asks us to work on something, do it with a smile and in joy. This obedience will lead down a fruitful path. I think that our biggest takeaway from yesterday.

Below are some pictures of the memorial.

That last night on Thursday after we pulled an all-nighter. The piece was in Brent's garage.
He was painting protectant on it before it got loaded into the truck.

Another shot of the piece. The hands of God are incredible!

It got moved down to Joplin. Here is a side angle of the piece.

Amazing. It turned out so much better than any of us ever imagined. That's what happens
when you let God do the art directing!

The back of the piece is wallpapered in prayers from all around the world. We had 38 states, 20+ countries, and 5 continents who sent prayers to Joplin.

A few examples.

Here are some of the artists - Anique, me, Michael, Brent, Kristin, Carolle

Can't forget Isaiah. He is Brent and Kristin's son.

It was an unbelievable experience to be apart of something that was so special and will bless thousands of people over time. Sometimes Anique and I question why we are in Kansas City and what is God's purpose for us being 8 hours away from family. Well, this project is a perfect example of why God brought us here - to do His work and be obedient to His calling!

Check back again for more tidbits and side stories about the Hope Memorial.

This Ain't My First Rodeo (hm...actually it is)

2011-10-30T17:30:00.000-05:00

Friday night we headed to the rodeo. The American Royal rodeo featuring Lynyrd Skynyrd. Anique won two free tickets to the KC annual event at work during Customer Support Appreciation Week. This was our first (and probably only) professional rodeo we have ever attended. It made for a fun Friday night.

We first got some food downtown at the trendy Power & Light District then we trotted over to the Sprint Center to watch the event. Anique actually won two seats in the Hallmark executive suites, so we felt like high rollers! There wasn't a spread of food or free beverages, but there were very comfortable seats and our own personal TV so we would watch the World Series in between bareback riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling, and bull riding. What an interesting sport!!!

Below are some photos of the event. It was hard to get any really good photos...horses, bulls, and clowns move too fast sometimes.

Almost forgot to mention - after the rodeo, Lynyrd Skynyrd played a set. The music was a perfect fit for the slightly redneck crowd. Anique and I listened to about two songs then we headed out. Not that we don't appreciate the work LS has done, but it's not quite our style.

Overall a very fun night at the rodeo!

Small Group

2011-10-28T07:45:00.003-05:00

We love our small group at church. We're a young adults couples group that meets every Thursday night at our townhome. Right now we're doing a series on Making Disciples of Jesus. The conversations that have stemmed from this study have been very fruitful, including the day each of us were able to share our story with how we came to Christ (highlight moment thus far).

Being away from family back in Indiana, we hold on to groups of folks like these. This church group is our family here in Kansas City and we know that God has blessed us with this group of people. Some great friendships have sparked from our weekly get-togethers, that I'm sure will grow closer over time. :-)

Cheers to the Gray Small Group!!!

Front (l-r): Zack (wife Betsy - absent), Sarah, Tasha, Chad, Kamaron, Andrew (wife Rachel - asbsent)
Back (l-r): Anique, Jason, Patrick, Jennifer, Ashley, Ryan

Misc September and October photos

2011-10-26T19:26:00.004-05:00

Generational Buddy - Frank and Me

2011-10-16T12:56:00.002-05:00

My generation buddy at work is Frank. "Generational buddy" is a term used at Hallmark to label a bond between two people from different generations. Frank and I meet once every couple weeks to chat about life, challenges, and work - all with our own unique generational perspective. The goal is to better link the generations so that we have a clearer understanding of who we're working with and who are consumers are. It's a great concept and it's led to some pretty fruitful dialogue.

Below are some pictures of Frank and me (some serious and others a little goofy).

Christmas in October - 10/08/11

2011-10-09T08:22:00.001-05:00

Saturday was the annual Christmas in October event. CIO is a non-profit organization that supports efforts to rebuild/improve homes in the Kansas City area and help "winterize" their homes for the upcoming season. This year the Millennial Employee Resource Group (MERG) had three houses. I was the co-captain of one of the homes alongside Megan Fostich. Our work crew was 10 people strong - a mix of Hallmarkers and family members.

Megan and I had to do a few rounds of inspections before selecting our home. After our selection, we made a work plan then had to shop for our materials. 90% of what we needed we found at the CIO warehouse. The other 10% we had to buy at Lowe's, etc.

Some of the major projects we took on were: fixing/installing light fixtures, installing smoke detectors, stripping and painting his house, cleaning up his back yard, repairing minor patches on his roof, clean out his gutters, mow his lawn and trim/pull weeds around his home. It was a hard/fun day of work from 8-3! Below are some pictures of the event.

Inspection Photos

Light fixture in kitchen - we later put in a nice chandelier!

Back yard...a mess!

Backyard overtaken by weeds/trees...

and ivy!

Did I mention ivy?

His antenna was not attached too well. We actually took it down and then we patched that open spot near the roof.

Event Day Photos

Starting to tackle the backyard.

Down with the ivy! The backyard took us all morning, but it looked amazing afterwards!

Some of the ladies tackled the painting duties

Chip away that paint, Becky!

Hedge trimmers

Matt mowing the backyard. It took us 3 hours of solid work to get the backyard "mow-able"

Our awesome homeowner, Corranzo. He was very grateful.

Some of the gang during lunch break

Mike (on roof) chatting with Corranzo

Katie (blonde hair) and her family

Me and Niquey!

Crystal caulked the windows in the back

Nancy got after it all day

Anique and I tag-teamed the trees

Pat - a little sweaty. He was the chainsaw man...knocked down 3 dead trees in C's backyard.

The gang with Corranzo. You can see the painted house, shutters, and mowed lawn.

Our homeowner, Corranzo, was so grateful for all of our work. It made all of us want to work that much harder for him to get his house cleaned up. Our group of Hallmarkers couldn't have been better. Everybody worked hard and had a blast.

God bless you, Corranzo. Merry early Christmas!

The Crossfit Endurance Experiment

2011-10-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

Sometimes life is just hectic. Right now is one of those times. Both of us are busy at work, church, extra-curricular stuff, and fitness activities. Sometimes it barely leaves time for Anique and I to just spend time together.

I'm not going to complain about life though because everyone on the planet is busy. It's just that it has come to the point where something has to give.

It can't be work. Mr. Hall pays good money for us to work our butts off 5 days a week. It can't be church...God comes before anything and everything. It can't be alone time with Anique. So gaining back time can only come from two areas - extra curricular activities and fitness activities.

First off, I need to learn how to say "no" to stuff. Then I wouldn't get caught with too much on my plate at one time. A wise man once told me, just because there's a need doesn't mean that is your calling! Great advice...

Other other hand, my fitness activities can definitely be modified. Right now I spend probably 15 hours a week - running, cycling (commuting), and lifting weights. That's a part-time job if you think about it (but I enjoy it!). So the change I'm making will mostly affect my running/lifting. I will still ride to and from work 3+ days a week. But instead of running long-slow-distance, I'm switching to Crossfit-style running.

Crossfit Endurance is all about quick interval type training that supposedly translates to ultra-running and short distance running as well. So I'm doing a little experiment - trying CFE for the fall/winter months and then re-evaluating in the spring. This will reduce my running miles from 45ish per week to about 20 per week. My legs are smiling but my mind is unsure....

Now instead of doing 20-25 mile runs on the weekends, I'll be doing 10k time trials, 9 mile time trials, hill repeats, etc. It'll be nice to sleep in a little bit more on the weekends (waking up at 6 instead of 4).

My next test will be in November when I run a trail race (31 miles), then a run in early January (8 hour run). Hopefully this change will allow me to successfully run these long distances. We'll see here in a couple months!

Darrell Bland Sertoma Club

2011-10-01T18:10:00.002-05:00

On Saturday morning Anique and I had plans to play some putt-putt golf. We usually play once a year (on vacation) but we were looking forward to playing and supporting one of our good friends - Carol. You see, Carol's husband, Darrell, passed a way a few years ago. Everything we have heard about him is that he was a wonderful, godly man. This putt-putt/go-kart fund-raising event was for the Darrell Bland Sertoma Club.

Sertoma stands for "Service to Mankind." I don't know the complete story behind the organization, but I'm assuming that Darrell had ties to it during his life. From the feel of the event, it really felt Christ-centered and focused on serving the community. Sounds like a good thing to me!

On hole 4 with our friend Carol. Carol works with us at Hallmark, goes to Vineyard with us, and she ride bikes too!

Carol has an interesting tie to the Hope Memorial Project as well. I've told this story to dozens of people, but one day at work she mentioned a verse to me - Jeremiah 29:11. That verse then got passed down to Brent Morris and that has become the verse that the Hope Memorial Project is based upon. Talk about God speaking to you through someone else. Always stay on your toes because God never stops talking to you, we just stop listening sometimes...anyways...

Sizing up the course

"Fore!"

Lined up

I did win - by 2 strokes ;-)

After the challenging putt-putt we had a delicious lunch of bratwursts and cookies.
Here is the BBQ man! Every party/event has one.

There were go-karts too. We only played golf though.

It was such a wonderful time spent with a great friend and for such a good cause. Anique and I are so blessed and we couldn't ask for a better place to be in our lives at age 25. Amen to that!

Sometimes you just need to have the attitude of a puppy - stick your head out and smile!

Fetch!

2011-09-25T19:09:00.000-05:00

One of our weekend rituals is taking the girls to an open field to play fetch with them. It's great because it wears them out and they have so much fun running around. Here are some photos of the pups in action.

Ready...

GO!!!

Patiently awaiting the toss

Olive is retrieving the tennis ball

Luna confidently trots back

Rest...rub...then get ready for more

"I'm ready to run!"

"I'm spent!"

A fun Sunday night at the park!

Grandparents come to visit

2011-09-21T19:46:00.000-05:00

The Gray grandparents came to visit Anique and I this past weekend. We took them on a nice tour of the city, then we had dinner at Corner Cafe. And we all know that you can't go to CC without indulging in a large cinnamon roll/sticky bun.

Joyce and Grandpa - with the city skyline in the background.

The gang at the Liberty Memorial

A view up the Liberty Memorial

The most weird temporary art I've ever seen. It is some liberal statement about international trade and our debt.
These are cargo boxes that are placed on ships.

Titled IOU/USA. When you see it in person...you do not see the IOU at all!

Before church on Sunday we got a snapshot of Grandpa hanging with a new friend. They headed to service with us before they continued down to Oklahoma City to see the other Terry Gray.

Luna has a new buddy

It was great to have them visit us. Thanks for checking out our new place!!! Love you guys!

Baby Bentley

2011-09-18T10:38:00.013-05:00

Jennifer the beautiful Mom-to-be!

A couple weekends ago I and with the help of some of the gals in our small group threw a baby shower for the Hendersons. Jennifer and Patrick are our close friends and are expecting a baby boy in November! :) We are very excited to be a part of their lives and baby Bentley's too. Now I had never thrown a baby (or wedding) shower before and I felt very laid back and nonchalant at first. However, the closer it got the more nervous I became. I kept reading different websites and blogs for neat ideas...I couldn't believe how over the top you could make a baby shower! The last thing I wanted to do was disappoint the mother-to-be! Of course she is the most grateful gal and said that she was happy someone even wanted to throw them a shower to begin with...so she was by all means far from a Mother-to-be-Zilla, thank goodness!!!

The shower had a jungle baby theme. No shower is complete with out streamers and homemade tissue pom-poms! It was a blast making everything. There were jungle (stuffed) animals throughout the room for extra ambiance too...

Lion cupcakes...super cute. All thanks to Tasha. She's a talented girl!

Once everyone was accounted for it was time to eat...and it was deee-licious.

Below is not a glam shot, it's to capture the little miniature close-pin clips for name tags...props to hallmark. I had some great finds for supplies at our employee double discount store.

Before gifts we had some games. Of course Jenn being the competitive type won! It was only fitting since it was her shower :) At one point everyone drew an animal for a letter of the alphabet and wrote a note. They'll go in an A-B-C book for Bentley...a great idea by Kendra!

Then it was time for gifts...and boy was she shower-ed with'em!

When it was all said and done her car was packed full of supplies and toys!

Tasha's on the left and Betsy on the right...cheese!

Watching in anticipation for what the next bags contained...

Her grandma from Arkansas was even able to make the trip along with her mother.

There was so much love and support for her in the room.

What baby wouldn't want a jumper?

Besty played it off like she was terrible with kids...she's a natural ;)

The shower was at Betsy's home. She and Zack have a gorgeous inviting home. It was perfect!

A reminder gadget for Patrick...he'll learn quick with Bentley and will be a great Daddy.

The diaper cake was AMAZING. Tasha, is a talented gal and has quite a knack. Side business perhaps?!

Group photo...

Thank goodness I had oodles of talented and helpful girls on my side. The shower turned out to be a lot of fun and a great blessing to Jenn. She is a hard worker and is so deserving! The day was something to be proud of...phew!

We are ready for baby Bentley to come and welcome him with open arms!

Sioux Falls Half/Full Marathon - 9.11.11

2011-09-12T19:58:00.002-05:00

This past Sunday, I made the drive up north to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for the half marathon. There was a whole slew of guys who went up for the race - Scott Smith (marathon), Dan Fields (marathon), Jeremy Skinner (marathon), Gene Webb (marathon), Kevin Knapp (half), and Tom Broadhurst (half). We carpooled up there. I was riding with Scott, Gene, and Dan. The drive up was about 7+ hours...with the I-29 detour due to the Missouri River being flooded. The race was on Sunday, we drove up on Saturday and stayed the night at the Sheraton (a couple blocks from the start of the race).

After we got to Sioux Falls, we wanted to drive around the 26.2 mile course. This would allow us to get a feel for hills, terrain, other places of interest.

This was the starting line for the race - the local high school football stadium. We ran 1 lap
around the track before getting on to the more exciting parts of the course.

The course took us through city streets, suburban complexes, and park trails.

Gene was trying to read the Marathon course map.

A couple miles into the marathon course, you see flat fields of grass/corn.

Much of the course was on this city path. It was flat and mostly shaded as you got further into the city.

Arugably the best part of the course - through 'Sioux Falls' on the Big Sioux River.
This is where Sioux Falls got its name.

More photos inside Falls Park

Falls

The marathoners - Dan, Scott, Gene

Another big part of the race is strategy. These guys take this stuff seriously.
It was quite the ordeal trying to find a safe spot to drop their water/gatorade.

A safe spot - in someone's bush in their front yard.

After we drove the course we got some food at Olive Garden before heading to bed. The marathon started at 6:45 followed by the half at 7:30 on Sunday morning.

Race conditions were pretty favorable. Temperatures were in the high 50s for the start of the race, and by the end of the marathon we were probably sitting in the 70s (which can be warm when you're running 26.2 miles).

I thoroughly enjoyed the half marathon. My race goal was to beat 1:30 - 6:50 pace. My first few miles of the race was around 6:15 pace. I had to back it off, knowing that with my training...I couldn't maintain that. I eventually pulled it back to 7:00 min/miles for the final 3-4 miles...bringing my final race time to 1:27:47 - 6:42 pace. I was very happy with that, my 2nd fastest half marathon in my short running career.

My buddies did great as well. Kevin ran a 1:41 half, Tom - 1:44 half, Scott - 3:21 full, Jeremy - 3:25 full, Gene - 3:27 full, and Dan - 3:38 full. There was a little bit of cramping coming from the marathon guys, but you can never predict what will happen after about mile 18. The marathon is a beast and force to be re-conned with. Everyone did a great job and came out without any injuries.

After the race, we made the drive back to KC. Somewhere in rural Iowa our driver (to remain unnamed) got tagged by the state trooper for speeding. I won't go into all the details, but our driver was going 16 over the speed limit, was packing heat, and there may/may not have been beverages sitting on the back seat floor. Nothing major, but made for a funny story post-race.

Bonus photo - the cop behind us as we're pulled over along I-680.

Awesome weekend and a great race with my friends! I am looking forward to our next big adventure...maybe in the spring?!

A Step Back in Time

2011-09-05T18:45:00.000-05:00

For Labor Day Anique and I took a trip up to northern Missouri to Jamesport. Jamesport is a little Amish/Mennonite town with cute antique shops, bakeries, creameries, etc. We wanted to do something on our 3-day weekend, and this seemed like a fun getaway.

We quickly felt like we were 50+ years old. Not too many folks in their mid 20s want to go to an Amish community - most are at the lake.

We arrived right around lunch time, and I'd already done research on the best places to get some grub. So we hit up Gingerich's at the 4-way stop and it was delicious! An all you can eat lunch buffet (fried chicken, beef stroganoff, mashed potatoes, gravy, cobbler...YUM!) is a great way to start the trip!

We went to City Hall when we first arrived to get a map of the area. Yes...city hall.

Gingerich's - Mennonite run restaurant

There is an interesting dynamic in the town. The Amish are not allowed to have business in the town, so we had to travel the backroads to find their little businesses. Our lunch stop (Gingerich's) are "shunned" from the Amish community. According to a shop owner, no Amish would be caught dead or alive there!

One of the cute little antique shops

Interesting ice cream shop

Ice cream bar

Caribou head coming out of the floor

Where are we?!

The bikers were in town today. The tourists combined doubled the town population

After we spent some time in town shopping around, we hit the countryside to see the quilt shop, wood shop, and the creamery.

The countryside is incredible. You don't see this when you live in the 'burbs.

Mennonite creamery. We of course bought some cheese to take home!

We finished checking out the area, and got ready to make the drive back home. But before we headed straight back...I had a little detour in mind. A cute little town called Gallatin.

We drove through, snapped a couple pictures, then headed home. It's difficult to top a town with Amish...you know?!

Gallatin county courthouse

It was a great Labor Day! We feel refreshed and we're ready to take on the upcoming work week.

I won!

2011-09-03T05:30:00.000-05:00

Thursday evening Anique and I came home to a surprise on our front step...a package. Apparently 2 months ago during the Tour de France I won an online competition. The goal of the competition was to pick the stage winner and the overall yellow jersey holder after the determined stage. I guessed correctly, but I was never notified that I would receive an awesome gift package!

Inside the box - Running book, a box of 30+ Clif Shots, cycling socks

A cowbell

My very own VeloNews polo

Yay! I've never won anything online...and I probably never will again. I'm soaking it up right now!

Our 1st Sporting KC Game

2011-08-24T19:57:00.001-05:00

On Sunday night Anique and I were PRIVILEGED to go with some of her girlfriends from work to go see Sporting KC play versus DC United at the newly built LiveStrong Sporting Park. For you non-soccer fans out there, this is our Major League Soccer team. Anique's friend, Rachel, provided us with some awesome free tickets! Thanks, Rachel!!!

Here's a view outside the brand new stadium. It has a European soccer feel to it.

There are some amazing features in the stadium. One detail that Anique and I truly enjoyed was the "yellow seat." All the seats in the entire stadium are blue, except for the one yellow seat. That seat is reserved for Mr. Lance Armstrong. If he is not there though, he reserves it for another cancer survivor. When they announced the man sitting in the seat and that he was a leukemia survivor, it just gave us chills!

Some of the Hallmark girls.

Inside the stadium. It was quite the experience.

A view of the east side of the stadium. This where all the rowdies sit.

Welcome to the Blue Hell. This is the loyal fan section. They have drums, flags, and chats the entire game. So much fun to listen to them go crazy for 90 minutes!

Some fans showing off the Jimmy Nielsen head. He's our goalie...with freakishly blonde spiked hair. Go Jimmy!

Anique's favorite play - Espinoza. Not sure of the first name.

Pre-game shot.

It was such a great experience watching us win 1-0 against DC United. We're looking forward to attending another game in the near future. We're considering seeing another game on September 5th versus David Beckham and the LA Galaxy. Woo hoo! I'm not a true soccer fan, but the experience is totally worth it.

Hope Memorial Update

2011-08-20T07:33:00.001-05:00

Friday evening the "Set Apart" group met to discuss planning of the actual event day down in Joplin. Since we now have a set date and time of October 8th from 1-4 pm, we can start to really plan out how things will flow during the service. We added a couple of new folks to the group since last time - Krista and Kim. Krista (wearing the white with short brown hair) will be the worship leader and Kim (in the orange shirt) will be dancing during the service. It's great to get a large group together to brainstorm and dream about how the event will take shape.

Here's the Hope Memorial sculpture of Jesus' hands holding the city of Joplin. Brent (in black) is speaking with Duane Unruh (in white) about the sculpting of the hands. During the service, folks will have the opportunity to become contributing artists and place their fingerprint on the hands of Christ.

The memorial service will be held at Joplin Family Worship Center. This venue has a sanctuary that can hold up to 1,200 people, so it's a large facility. This wonderful place has actually been a refuge for many of the victims of the disaster. Their large parking lot has tents full of aid and supplies for people in need. It feels great to be partnering with a place that has been so selfless over the last few months.

One of the details we've wrestled over is who should be the speaker at this event. Since our event is themed around "hope" and Jeremiah 29:11, we wanted a speaker who can present on God's plan in our lives. We felt led to ask Bethany Hamilton about being our guest speaker (because of her inspiring story of overcoming disaster). We emailed her earlier this week and graciously got back a quick response from her stating that she will be out of the country during that time. That just means that God's plan is to have someone else be the speaker come October 8th. We all know that God will place that person in our path when the time is ready. The event isn't really about the speaker anyway, it's about honoring and blessing those in need.

Being such a "planner" it can be tough to deal with the ambiguity sometimes of these types of projects. The truth is that when you're led by Christ, it isn't always black and white. Just think about it - Moses was called to lead his people out of Egypt. Turns out he led them out of Egypt, but it took them 40 years (and Joshua) to get to the promised land. The point is that God works in His time, so be patient, pray, and trust that He is holding the reigns!

I won't give all of the other spoiler details about the actual event (because we don't have everything hammered out yet), but it will truly be a unique experience where everyone in attendance will be blessed (the victims and the helpers!). We just pray that we'll let God's work shine through and that we'll just "stay out of the way!"

Dog in Heat + Dog Park = Bad Idea!

2011-08-17T19:14:00.000-05:00

One of Anique and I's favorite past times is taking our Welsh Terrier Luna to the dog park. Since we got our second dog Olive, we hadn't ventured out to the Penn Valley Dog Park in quite a while. So a couple of weekends ago, we decided to see how our 12 pound miniature poodle would react to the crazy world of dogs at the dog park.

A little context behind the breeds first...the Welsh Terrier Luna is an independent dog, scared of nothing, and always ready to play. The Minature Poodle on the other hand is the perfect lap dog, but can be overly protective and is quite skiddish. So we figured we can break her in and allow her to become more social by taking her to the dog park.

At Penn Valley there are two areas for dogs to play in - the >40 pound dog play area and the <40 pound dog play area. Since there are NEVER any dogs in the <40 pound area, we decided to test out Olive in the "big dog" area. I mean, Luna got along just fine when she was only 10 pounds...so we were hoping Olive would do the same.

Olive stayed right by our sides for the first 5 minutes or so, then when a big lab came up and smelled her...she yelped started sprinting towards the gated exit and then a hoard of 20+ dogs chased after our poor little Olive. She's just a tiny little thing and she was getting bit by these huge dogs. All the owners converged on the mass pile in the corner pulling their dogs away from the scrum. Our little mini poo was wet from the bite marks and she was SCARED TO DEATH!!! We felt like "those" parents. You know...the ones that bring there kid to Wal-Mart and they kick and scream the entire time. We were so embarrassed...and not to mention scared for our dog's life! Never again will we take her back to the dog park. Some pups just aren't made for that type of environment.

Here's where the title comes into play. The next day we actually noticed that she was bleeding from her underside. We didn't think too much about it. Ha...it turns out that she's having her first period. Anique and I had talked about getting her spayed months ago, but we kept putting it off. Now we're seeing first hand what a mess that can be if you're the pet owner (I won't get into the details). The crazy thing about having your dog in heat is that every dog within a half mile can smell your dog and they'll be craving her like a fat kid craves candy. It's no wonder she got "dog piled" at the park!!! We should have known. We're terrible parents.

To fix that problem we're getting her fixed on Friday. So she'll be wearing the "cone of shame" for a few days after. Oh the joys of puppy parenthood!

Birthday Boy Celebration

2011-08-16T22:13:00.001-05:00

This may be a bit delayed but since we forgot to take our camera with us on recent excursions, I'll do a quick recap on Kam's B-day. The weekend before last we celebrated his Birthday. I didn't want our anniversary to overshadow it or make him feel any less special. So his birthday became more of a birthday week. Suddenly, it became the trump card for any conversation or question. I must have heard, "but I'm the Birthday Boy" dozens of times that week. It was cute for awhile... ;)

He was showered with birthday cards from friends, work and family. I'm always impressed with how thoughtful people can be. Who doesn't love getting snail mail?!

Cheesin'

Kam wanted a fruit pizza for his dessert of choice. Since we didn't have a round pan and when I went to buy one it was tax free back to school shopping weekend, there wasn't a round cooking pan in sight. Wal-Mart typically has it all but not one single round pan to be found. Not wanting to encounter anymore crowds at a second location I settled for the rectangle and moved on!

The finished product. It would've been prettier outside the pan but it would've
ended up in a crumbled pile. So it stayed in it's safe original metallic home :)

I was the only one singing...we could have really used Kara in that moment.

Birthday Boy!!!

Candid photo. He had no struggle blowing out all 26 candles
(your age plus one to grow on...an Engelhardt tradition kept alive!).

No one's too old for opening presents!

I tried to get a more normal face on this one...we'll take it!

Although my first attempt at a fruit pizza could have turned out better, Kam still really enjoyed it thank goodness! I loved making him the center of attention for a day (or a week) and making his day special! He definitely would not let me forget that....he was the "Birthday Boy".

Two Years Already!!!

2011-08-02T07:38:00.003-05:00

Life is certainly in the details and it's hard to believe that Kam and I have been married already for two years! It feels like it was so recent that we jumped in a Uhaul and moved out West to Kansas City to start a new life in a new place. It's been well worth it. When I came home from work I found this lovely pair of roses. Kam said they're for each year of marriage...motivation to keep it going and add more years eh?! ;) But really, Kam rarely buys flowers and only for very special occasions. It makes them more meaningful and I loved the surprise.

He was so proud he snapped this pic before I even got home.

Beautiful!

We decided to celebrate at Olive Garden. We both have standard dishes the we just LOVE. We stuffed ourselves full of bread sticks, salad and pasta. It was fabulous and we were all smiles.

Post-Dinner Snapshot

***Side note: Today is Kam's birthday so this post fulfills two things...One, I never post and he always begs me to, so it's a thoughtful gift and two, well just to share our anniversary.

Here are just a few reasons why I love Kam so much...
1. He watches the Bachelorette with me (a girl's dream come true).
2. He's willing to share household chores and does the dishes.
3. I know I've mentioned this before but he always has a wholesome sense of humor that just never fades!
4. He's active (maybe a little too active but I'll take it!) and inspires me to do the same.
5. Although he plays a macho tough guy part, he's a sweet loving man that I adore!!!
...many more of course but 5 will do for now :)

HaPpY BiRthDay Kam!!!

~As always thanks for checking in with us~

Home Sweet Home

2011-07-31T17:47:00.000-05:00

Anique and I just got back from a wonderful beach vacation to Emerald Isle, NC with the Gray family. We soaked up plenty of sun to last us for the next few months. Both of our pasty bodies turned a slight reddish brown...good enough for Midwestern folk. We got stuffed to our gills and I'm sure we both respectively put on a couple pounds of Oreo, chocolate, and seafood blubber...feels good though.

Even after after a great week on the beach it felt so good be back home. There's nothing better than home. Webster defines home as - the place in which one's domestic affections are centered. It's strange to call Kansas City home, but it truly feels like our place of comfort and life. Even traveling back to see family feels like a mini-vacation...and is never a restful place like our little townhome in KC. Ah...feels good to be back!

Relaxing with the pup...showing my biker's tan.

It was great to see our girls - Olive...

and Luna!

I'm sure this will be an exciting week at work as we get back in the swing of things. I have a feeling we might need a vacation again after Monday!

WyCo Run with Psychos

2011-07-23T11:26:00.000-05:00

This Saturday morning a group of my running buddies had a 20 mile run planned out at Wyandotte County Lake (a.k.a - WyCo). The bridle trails at WyCo are intense. Up and down, through and over, zigging and zagging through the woods. Since we've been under some wicked heat this past week, we started early to beat the rising temperatures.

Below is a picture of the Psychos I ran with - the Hallmark running clan. Scott Smith (the man on the far right) organized this run. Like I mentioned earlier - 20 miles was the end goal, but the heat of the day and our hungry bellies held us back some. We only managed to do one loop (10 miles) and some change to end with around 11 miles of running in about 2:45...that's ultra marathon pace!

Max, Tom, Flagler, Gene, Scott

You may / may not recognize the man in the middle of this pack of guys. That's John Flager - my ultra running partner.

In the first couple of miles...climbing a hill. Sorry, it's a little blurry.

The trail is pretty technical and it on horse trails. So there are a few iffy spots where footing is an issue.

In the ultra world...it's common to walk up the hills. Actually, it's more uncommon to run up a hill.
So we practiced our power walking up the hills.

Gene making his way up a killer climb

After the run, we washed off our legs to hopefully (cross my fingers) eliminate the poison ivy.

2 thumbs up

Playing in the water

All in all, it was a great run. Although we had intended to run farther, whenever you set out for these type of long trail runs...you really have to just run for time and not necessarily distance. Or as they say in the ultra world, it's about time on your feet as much as it is distance.

1st Annual MERG Kickball Game!

2011-07-13T20:37:00.002-05:00

Tonight marked our 1st Annual MERG Kickball game. You are probably asking - what is MERG? MERG stands for Millennial Employee Resource Group. Millennials are folks in their 20s - so our resource group focuses on linking the generations by leveraging our younger employees at Hallmark. It's a really fun group!

I am the Membership/Social chair for MERG and one of the fun activities I wanted to do was have a kickball game. It's a great way to meet other millennials outside of the workplace in a laid-back setting (aside from having a happy hour).

We had a great turnout and outstanding weather. For those of you familiar with the Kansas City area, we played our game downtown on the east lawn of the Liberty Memorial. So after work we all met at the park and played a rousing game of kickball. Below are some pictures of our group in action!

Action shot

Allison kicking the ball...with a nice metro skyline

Two of my favorite Hallmarkers - Jerrod and Danielle

Katie took a break during the game to play with the dog

Great form, pitcher

Get ready

A legit 3rd baseman

The intern Sam had quite a leg

The gang!

We had a lot of fun kicking, laughing, running, and eating pizza. It is great to have such a wonderful group of folks to work with on a regular basis. Looking forward to the 2012 edition!

4th of July Weekend 2011

2011-07-04T20:48:00.000-05:00

Anique, I, and the two dogs traveled back to Bloomington for the long weekend. The only definite plans we had were to get out on the lake every day, rent a boat on Saturday, and eat at Smokin Jack's Rib Shack. We managed to do all three.

Saturday morning we went to Four Winds Marina and picked up our rental pontoon boat for the morning. After an unfortunate tragedy (Dorothy dropped her iPhone in the lake!!!) we hopped in the boat and headed out to the "calm" side of the lake. We anchored in a cute little cove on the east side of 446 and did some swimming, eating, chatting, and taking in the sun. It made for a wonderful start to or weekend! Below are some pictures of the crew.

Captain Troy

Mother of the ship

Pasty white boy

Dorothy's conversation face

Jessica - first mate. She is one of Dorothy's clients and family friend.

Captain and first mate

The girls chatting it up - Dorothy, Mary Beth (family friend), and Anique

Trees

Speed boat

Splish splash

Saturday night we went to a Bloomington tradition-top-of-event....Picnic with the POPS. This event is a wonderful live music festival where everyone brings there food and watches a live orchestra play songs. They were outstanding! Such a great patriotic event. Aside from the great music, other highlights were - Smokin Jack's BBQ and we ran into Barbara and John at their Maui Wowi stand. Small world!

Sunday after church we met up with our dearest Bloomington friends, Jeff and Shauna, for a bite to eat. They just got married about 3 months ago, so it was fun chatting with them about their new life together. It's always good to see them, but it seems as if we never have enough time to catch-up. It was still great to see them, and it's good t know they are doing well!

Jeff and Shauna

I'm posting this after an exhausting 9 hour drive, so I pray there are no incomplete sentences and typos. Hope you enjoyed your 4th as well. God bless America and all of you!!!

Church or Movie?

2011-06-28T20:36:00.000-05:00

The answer is church. Every Sunday for the past few months we've been attending Vineyard Church at the Brighton campus...literally about 1/2 mile from our home. The service is held at North Glen 14 Theater in Kansas City at 10AM. It's a great service. The worship band is awesome and it is full of young adults like ourselves.

Our church

Anique and I outside of church

Me and campus pastor Kevin Townsend greeting each other

Brighton campus "Welcome Center"

Receiving my bulletin before entering cinema #8. This is one of the larger rooms in the building.

Like I said earlier, our band is awesome. The big screen makes for a great backdrop.

A picture of the crowd. We usually have about 125-150 people at our service.

Campus pastor giving some announcements

The message is given by our Senior Pastor at our main campus. This is just
a playback from his Saturday evening service. I enjoy watching the sermon on the big screen
as much as I do live.

I never was a big fan of self-taken photos.

Post-service pondering the message

We love our "theater church." There's something about the informal setting that makes it feel inviting to guests that walk in the door. There isn't the pressure of dressing up, it's a come as you are type place. We've met some amazing people at our church and it has led to some great opportunities. Anique helps with the children's ministry and I am a regular greeter and prayer team member.

We truly feel connected to this church and it has led us across the path of many great people and friends. Anyone who says you need a live sermon, pulpit, pews, and a steeple to have a church are wrong. It's all about the people and we found it at Vineyard Church's Brighton Campus.

The Challenge is Over

2011-06-25T14:12:00.000-05:00

After two months of jam-packed, athletic-filled weeks KCCC is finally over. Tug of war was the final event that unfortunately got rained out. Below are some pictures of the event....before the rain moved in.

Longview Lake Beach

Here is our rope. The rope is 120' long. Our team had 14 people - 11 guys, 3 girls.

If the middle of the rope moves past either side, the match is over.

Our team. We all were super skinny for the event. I dropped a total of 18 pounds from Jan to June.

Long rope

Before the event, warming up our hands/back

Team

Our rope. There were multiple ropes...one rope for each division.

After the coin flip, sides are determined then the teams dig their holes.

Here we are furiously digging away.

Jared and I are in the back digging the anchor spot.

Dig away. We have about 1 minute to dig as fast as we can. I am basically digging a grave to sit in so that I can use my legs as best as possible.

Time to pull. We finished our first pull (and won) before the rain moved in. We'll have to wait until next year to try again.

Until next year...we'll tug, run, bike, swim, kick, jump, and shoot again in 2012.

KCCC Update #3 - Duathlon

2011-06-13T16:30:00.035-05:00

Sunday was a painfest! The Corporate Challenge duathlon took place at 7AM on Sunday down at Shawnee Mission Park - a hilly, beautiful park that makes for a tough course. The distances are as follows: 2.4 mile run followed by a 13.5 mile bike topped off with a final 2.4 mile run.

The course was a little windy this year on the back stretch of the bike course...which slowed many of us down during the bicycle portion. The positive was that the temperature was superb....about 68 degrees and overcast.

I had built up a little bit of hype for this race...I was on the prowl to beat the kid who beat me last year in the overall. He was around 2 minutes faster than me last year as I finished 4th overall in the 2010 edition. For me success was going to be if I - #1) was faster than last year and #2) if I beat Nick from Henderson Engineers. Anique's measure for success was completing the race, but in typical Anique form, she did amazing! Read on to hear the results.

Anique's Race Commentary
She is quoted as saying this was the "hardest endurance event she has done." From an outsider though, she looked smooth.

On the first leg of the run, she averaged about an 8:45 pace. In transition 1 she changed into her bike shoes, mounted her Giant OCR1 and pounded 3 laps of the bike course. This portion of the race really separates the ladies from the girls...and Anique truly rose to the occasion. As for any first timer, she didn't know what to expect as she climbed the "dam hill" on the west side of the lake. It's a "dam/n" hill for sure....

Her bike portion was great, averaging around 16.9 mph. In transition 2, she dismounted the bike put back on her Brooks runners and did the second leg of the run. Her run average was right at 9:00 pace for the final run giving her a finishing time of 1:31:20...good enough for 14th overall for women, and 3rd in her age group! That earned Hallmark some points! One big bright spot for Anique is that she had the 7th fastest transition time - she really knows how to change her shoes!

Kamaron's Race Commentary
My quote of the day was "I need to start doing speed work for next year."

The first leg of the run I averaged around 6:28 pace, around the 7th fastest. I kept the defending champion in my sight although he had me by about 1:30 after run #1. The bike leg is my specialty. I had one of the faster bike averages of the day - 22.8 mph on the hilly course. I passed my nemesis on lap 2 of 3. I thought that I definitely have a chance to win!

I came out of transition 2 in the lead by well over 1 minute. Little by little though, Nick gained ground on me. With about 1/4 mile left he passed me on the run and beat me by 11 seconds! Ugh! My final run leg was a 6:29 pace, but not good enough to hold him off - finishing time in 1:07:27. Overall I came in 2nd place, 1st in my age group. My bright spot was that I was around 2 minutes faster this year than last year...most of that coming from my running legs.

Other bright spots - Hallmark team tri came in first place! Max Kesner (50+ age group did great) 3rd in his age group - 18th overall and Scott Smith (30-39 age group) got 9th in his age group - 20th overall! Ralph Wetzel (40-49) did an amazing job too - 37th overall, 7th in his age group.

Go Hallmark!!! Swimming is the week - ugh - 50 freestyle. Then tug of war is in 2 weeks. Time to slim down some more. I still need to cut about 7 pounds in 2 weeks!

Kansas City Convoy of Hope

2011-06-12T20:00:00.033-05:00

We volunteered this Saturday at Swope Park for KC Convoy of Hope. This free to the public event provides free groceries, health care, haircuts, clothing, shoes, games, refreshments, job fair, and feet washing for the Kansas City public who are in need. Last year (we were out of town) the weather was very rainy and nasty. This year we had beautiful weather for the event. We had about 10,000 or so people come through the gate to this event.

Local churches volunteered to help put this event on. We had around 1500 volunteers. I worked in the inflatable games area for the kids while Anique worked in the feet washing area with our new friend Emily! We both had so much fun helping. Everyone was so grateful which makes it even more fun to help. A picture is worth a thousand words...so enjoy the pics below!

Groceries galore. The volunteers help get things organized.

Grocery team

More groceries than you can imagine. Enough for 10,000+ people!

Free shoes and socks. This is where Anique and Emily worked...helping with the feet washing!

Health services for people who can't afford it

Big pavilion (not sure of the significance)

Our new friend, Emily, with the ponies

Anique and Emily at the event I manned - Pop Shot

More inflatables - obstacle courses

Kids Zone from my view

Anique and I before it all started in the Kids Zone

Many lives were touched on Saturday! We were just happy to be a part of it...allowing God to work through all of us!

KCCC Update #2 - Track Week

2011-06-11T19:56:00.000-05:00

This has been one of the longest weeks of our lives! Work from 7-4:30, go to the track from 6-11...sleep, repeat. Although it was very tiring, it's a ton of fun!

Anique and I did a plethora of events for KCCC this week. I participated in the 400m, 800m, mile, mile relay, distance medley, and long jump. Anique participated in the 400m, 100m, and sprint medley. I think my biggest learning from this week is: Anique is a really good runner!

Monday: 400 meter

- Kamaron (59.9 seconds) was 20th in my age group for 2 KCCC

- Anique (1:09.4) was 5th in her age group for 14 KCCC points

Tuesday: Mile, Mile Relay

- Kamaron (5:28...not my best) was 14th in my age group for 2 KCCC point

- Relay team took 4:54 was 34th overall for 4 KCCC points

Wednesday: 100, sprint medley

- Anique (14.2 seconds) good enough for 4th in her age group - 15 points

- Relay team 31st...no points

Thursday: 800m, distance medley, long jump

- Kamaron (2:22 same as last year) 17th in age group - 1 point

- Medley relay (9:21) 25th overall - 6 points

- Long jump (won't even go there) - 1 point

It was a great week of running. Anique and I were both complaining about having tight hamstrings. It's amazing what speed work does to your body. One lap around the track hurts more than a 10 mile jog to me!

Below are some pics of our Hallmark squad.

Wednesday's sprinting gang

Thursday's 800m and distance medley team

Mile relay team

Sprint medley team. Allison, the gal behind Anique, is an assortment planner in everyday cards as well.

Overall the Grays contributed 42 points this week to KCCC. Sounds good, but Hallmark is now in 7th place, trailing by about 200 points. We need to catch up!

Tomorrow is the duathlon, triathlon, and team triathlon. I have a feeling we'll narrow the gap.

Dorothy and Troy Come to Town

2011-06-01T19:04:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend with Anique's mother and brother, Troy. They made the trip in from Bloomington to see us for Saturday - Monday! Each day we had a plan to show them around and have a great time.

On Saturday we went to the Kansas City Zoo. Anique had some free tickets, so this made for some great, cheap entertainment. The last time Anique and I went to the zoo it was 40 degrees and rainy. The weather was much more agreeable this year - 70 and overcast.

Troy was most excited to go to the zoo. The kid hasn't been in years, and I have to admit...even at my age I still get giddy when I go to the zoo.

After the zoo we drove to Crown Center and had an late lunch / early dinner at Fritz's. Always fun getting food delivered to you on a toy train! Sorry...no pics of that.

Giant rodent. Imagine a 3 foot tall one of these coming after you!!!

Warthog

Tortoise. Did you know that tortoises have an average life span of 100 - 200 years?!

Simba

Big boy

On Sunday after church and a quick bite to eat, we headed to Brass Rail (billiards hall) to watch the Indy 500. We caught the last 50 laps of the race. It was a lot of fun to hang around, chew on on chicken fingers, and enjoy the race.

We decided to take the pups (Luna, Olive, and Lady) to Smithville Lake to burn off some energy. This little destination has become one of our favorite local spots. I'm not sure who got worn out more - us or the dogs. Then nothing better to finish off a great Sunday than to go to Popeye's Chicken for some good ol fried chicken. None of us had ever been there, but there's a first time for everything.

Watching the race

Glam shot

On Memorial Day we had an appointment with Kauffman Stadium to watch the Royals game versus the L.A. Angeles. After a slug-fest, we lost due to Torii Hunter's big bat in the 9th innning - a two run bomb off of Joakim Soria. Can you say blown save?!

After the game we hit up BW3s and had some more chicken wings and brews. Yum, yum...a great end to a wonderful week with the Engelhardt clan. Thanks for taking some time to come see us. Love you both!

Kauffman from the parking lot

Outside the stadium

Our view from our Hy-Vee level seats

We are loyalists. After 2 years (!!!) in Kansas City, we've earned the right to cheer for losers.

Troy digging his 2nd baseball game ever

We just love Royals games. Actually, in the first inning the kid in the seat next to us
caught a foul ball. We almost made the highlight reel.

Their reliever in the 7th inning

Our "used-to-be stud" Joakim Soria. After this blown save he lost his job as closer for the Royals.

Troy and Dorothy loving the weather

To the Lake with the Dogs

2011-05-22T20:11:00.000-05:00

This Sunday afternoon we took advantage of the hot weather and drove to Smithville Lake to hang out in the water. We always try to take some time each weekend to do something for the pups. They love their exercise as much as we do.

Luna can't get enough of playing fetch.

Chase it down

Retrieve

It's almost impossible to wear out two dogs in a game of fetch.

If you hold the stick in your hand, you have her undivided attention.

Woof!

A day on the lake!

We had a fun time on the lake. I'm sure we'll be back soon...especially when the water warms up a little bit. Enjoy your week!

A Quaint Concert: Shawn McDonald

2011-05-21T13:43:00.000-05:00

I recently took a liking to an artist I had heard on Air1 back in the Fall; Shawn McDonald. The first song of his I heard was All I Need. It's a simple, authentic song about just needing God's love or else we truly just "run dry" in our own lives. I instantly liked the upbeat, down to earth and simple nature of his music and lyrics.

I was SO excited to find out he was playing here in Lawrence, KS (home of the Jayhawks...I won't get started on them, that's material for another post!), just 40 minutes west of Kansas City. Now, my favorite types of concerts are the ones in smaller venues, like coffee shops or at small parks with amphitheaters. The concert was held in the upstairs of a coffee shop/bookstore/gallery called Signs of Life. It was very charming and quaint with art covered walls and interesting literature to peruse through.

Having come straight from work, we were practically the last ones to arrive. We stood in line for a little while before they let us go upstairs to find our seats.

There were probably only 100 people there at most! It was such a great small environment. I am sure you are wondering now where's the picture of Shawn McDonald? Well, our camera battery died right before he came out to play. I couldn't help but to think how symbolic it was though. A true introvert at heart, he didn't want any credit for his music and even at one point in the concert said "I still don't know how this all works. I just say God if you keep opening doors then I'll go through them. If not than I'll stop playing my music" (something along those lines). He was an incredibly humble artist grounded in his faith and wanted little claim to the success he's had in his career. He even sang a couple worship songs in the middle of his play list and said, "I hope you don't you mind. This wasn't planned." The crowd sang along and it wasn't forced at all...it was a very heartfelt and unexpected experience!

It was refreshing, unique and one of the best concerts both Kam and I have ever been to :)

It's inspiring to see such a candid artist express his creativity and faith at the same time. We ended up leaving that night with two of his CDs in hand as a little memento :)

Thanks for checking in...have a wonderful weekend!

KCCC Update #1

2011-05-13T17:07:00.000-05:00

It's Corporate Challenge time! The next month and half will be full of events and stories. So far Anique and I have participated in two sports - 5k and the bike race. Tomorrow will be fun too...I'm working the fishing tournament from 5am-9am.

The 5k was held down in Shawnee, Kansas at Shawnee Mission Park. It's a very hilly course, but I was much better prepared this year. I've only been running twice a week - typically 3-4 mile runs. I didn't feel like I was in the best running shape, but aerobically I'm probably in the best shape of my life. My final time was 17:50. The was good enough for 18th place overall, 7th in my age group giving Hallmark 4 Challenge points. Last year's time was 18:54...so I improved! Anique did not participate in the 5k.

Running is okay...but bicycle racing is fun!!! Anique and I were looking forward to the bike race in which we competed this past Tuesday. It was a scorcher of a day - 90 degrees with 19 mph wind gusts. Not ideal conditions for a 3 mile time trial...but it'll do.

Inside Kansas Speedway. The race consists of two laps around the track. You finish on pit road -
following these orange cones.

Anique completed her race about an hour before me. She looked great at the finish (sorry no action photos). Her final time was 8:27 (20.2 mph). That was good enough for 8th in her age group!!! I'm so proud of her - racking up 4 points for Hallmark in the Challenge.

My race was the last event of the evening. By the time I went, the wind had died down slightly, so conditions were much more favorable. My final time was 6:39 (27.1 mph), beating my last year's time by 3 seconds! That was good enough for 1st in my age group giving Hallmark 13 points for the Challenge.

After the bike race, Hallmark is now in 2nd place behind Garmin. As long as we're ahead of Sprint, (currently 3rd) I'm happy!

Here's the Hallmark age 20-29 group from left to right (Leah, Kamaron, Josh, Steve - coordinator, Anique).

Much of the fun of KCCC is getting to hang out with people outside of the traditional cubicle life. It's been a lot of fun so far. Next up is June 6th-9th with track events, then the duathlon June 12th. Yikes...we'll see how that goes.

More Soccer...and Mickey Mouse!

2011-05-11T17:37:00.000-05:00

We have a very strange story that I think you'll all enjoy. It starts off with a Sunday night soccer game down in Overland Park. Anique plays in a co-ed league with some Hallmark friends, Aaron and Amanda. Anique usually meets up with Aaron around Hallmark HQ to carpool down to the games. I decided to tag along for a game to check out the new team and to hang with my work friends.

It's Aaron's turn to drive so we step out of our car and into his. In the front passenger seat is one of his friends from California, Bret. Side note - Bret and Aaron went to college together and they both worked at Hallmark for a few years until Bret decided to pursue a different career.

Now Bret is not really your stereotypical Los Angeles type guy. He's very laid back, easy going, and kind. What we found out after our initial introductions is that Bret is THE official voice of Mickey Mouse! He does all the Mickey cartoons. As a matter of fact, he is only the 4th voice of Mickey Mouse since his inception.

Long story short - the previous Mickey (Wayne Allwine) passed and Bret applied for the role after a friend forwarded him an email with the attached job description. Bret did a some auditions and then became Wayne's understudy until he took the full time role. Basically this is a lifetime job - you get it and you keep it until you can no longer talk...what a cool gig! He even has his own wikipedia page and YouTube clips.

Of course, his occupation became the entire topic of conversation during the 15 minute drive to the sports complex. He told us about his amazing 2-3 day a week work schedule, Donald Duck, Goofy, and about how much his throat hurts after doing the voice for hours on end. And of course...we heard the voice. OH BOY...HEH HAH! Listen for him on Season 4 of Mickey Mouse Club House.

Below are some photos from the evening! I had just anticipated taking photos of the game, but we now have a celebrity on our blog. By the way...during the game, I got to sit and talk with Bret. I felt so honored to watch a game with Mickey!

This is my best photo of the game. Anique is passing a nice ball to her teammate.

Some of the Hallmark gang (closest to furthest) - Aaron, Anique, Amanda

Here's Mickey Mouse - look at his shirt!

Mickey Mouse (Bret) and Aaron

I've mentioned this in an earlier post, but Aaron is a phenomenal illustrator at Hallmark. He illustrated the top selling recordable storybook - All the Ways I Love You! What a creative duo...

Mini Ham Sammies - A Gray Tradition

2011-05-05T20:16:00.000-05:00

The other day Anique and I made those little ham and cheese sandwiches that my mom always makes for get-togethers. We didn't have all the ingredients (poppy seeds, Worcestershire sauce), but we made due with what we had. Wowee...they are like I remembered - yummy! Made for a few days of good lunches for work.

Missing the poppy seeds, but still yummy

Kamaron handles the meat, Anique does the greens

She's the prettiest chef in town!

Sunny Saturday

2011-05-01T08:53:00.000-05:00

What beautiful weather we're having out here in Kansas City! This Saturday the weather was in the mid-70s, sunny, with a nice breeze. That's perfect for walking around in the sun, soaking up the Vitamin D. That's exactly what we did....we went up to Weston to hike some trails with our two pups. They have a great trailhead inside the park right along with Missouri River that leads to the town of Weston. So we hopped on the trail and took the short walk to downtown. It's such a cute town. I'm sure anyone who's been out to KC to visit us has been there.

It was about 11am by the time we got to the park and we were already hungry, so we walked to Weston...got some ice cream, then headed back. It was a beautiful day to stroll around the park on the trails.

I would love to be the sign artist for this particular sign.

We didn't leash our dogs though

Ice cream in Weston.

In the town on our way back to the trail we ran into a couple of women at a garage sale. One thing about having dogs by your side is that they're always conversation starters. Nobody knows what breed Luna is and everyone thinks that Olive is adorable. This conversation got started because they thought Olive was adorable! We started talking and found out that one of the ladies is literally our neighbor about a block down the road in our complex. That isn't the only commonality we had. We found out that her husband is from Indiana and that he played football at Depauw under coach Lynch. They also have a chocolate mini-poodle. After all that talk, we are definitely going to have to meet up with her and her husband for dinner sometime. Too funny!

In the evening we had a fun night with our small group from church. That was a blast! We ate tacos, threw the football, had homemade ice cream, and played Apples to Apples. It made for a wonderful night.

Spring is here finally and hopefully it will stay awhile!

Bicycle Drama

2011-04-23T20:45:00.000-05:00

I know...another bicycle post. Well now that the weather is turning around, we're hopping back on the bikes and exploring new routes in the Northland. Aside from getting some new wheels for Anique's ride, we also got an adjustment on her gears, and I had quite the incident today. We were out doing some time trial practice (for Corporate Challenge in 2 weeks!) and I noticed that my left pedal seemed pretty "mushy." It was giving a lot more than it should, so we took it off and checked it. Looked fine, nothing too major...just needed tightening (or so we thought).

About 1 mile from home we were climbing a hill, I jumped out of the saddle, and pop...the left crank broke. Another issue with our bikes?! Ridiculous!!! We both have quite a few miles on our bikes and like a car, they need special attention to give them longevity. This was just poor timing though.

Shoe with the broken crank still attached

Frustrating sight to see

I can become a one-legged cyclist

Well, we'll get it all figured out soon enough. We can't complain about the warmer weather though...it's been great for exploring the great outdoors. Hopefully we can fix 'er up this week.

Good Friday Service at Colonial Presbyterian

2011-04-23T06:18:00.000-05:00

One of my good friends from Hallmark, Brent, was doing a painting during church service this Friday evening. He had about 45 minutes to start a painting and finish it within the time of the service. The painting was done on a 6' x 3.5' canvas. The pictures say it all!

At service

About 20 minutes in. Brent is using his God-given talents!

Starting to take form

Finished. You see all the dots on the canvas? Each member in the congregation got to
take part in this painting with his/her fingerprint. Each of us come to the cross alone for our sins.

Brent on the left with the pastor

Unbelievable painting!

Life is so precious and we thank God every day for his sacrifice on the cross for our sins. As the painting shows, He Saw You as he was on the cross looking down. It just gives me chills thinking about it.

Have a blessed Easter and thanks be to God for his sacrifice!

A Bump Up

2011-04-21T21:22:00.000-05:00

So I know what you all are thinking..."finally a post from Anique" and I admit I've taken quite the hiatus from blogger and, at last, I'm back. :)

The biggest news around the KC Grays house this week is the new wheel set that we bought for my bike! The truth is Kam's given me the commuter bug and I'm loving it. I'm commuting one-way at this point, just shy of 20 miles. My legs aren't quite ready to do both there and back. Then I kept flatting (tubes busting on the inside of the tires for those of you that aren't bike people) because I needed new tires. So, in the mean time we put Kam's very nice wheel set on my bike to hold me over until we made a trip to the bike shop.

Snapshot of the wheel set... they still are not on my bike since it's been rainy the last couple days!

Now I always believed I had at least a decent set of wheels on my bike and a nicer set couldn't make that big of a difference. Once I tried Kam's wheel set though...there was no turning back. I FLEW down hills like I've never done before and it made riding up hills a lot more fun than usual (yes, we cyclists get a strange enjoyment from making it up big hills). I couldn't believe the difference. It was amazing! This got the conversation started. The truth is now that we're both at Hallmark we get the perk of having the opportunity to commute together (on sunny days at least). It's a blast. Since I've been converted to a true "commuter", it was time to get my bike in good shape and up to speed. I'm so excited to try them out and am more than grateful for this treat...yes people, I've caught the cycling bug and it's here to stay!

Work Day Antics

2011-04-19T20:00:00.000-05:00

Not much going on in these parts so here's a work day funny from the other day. We placed down a mouse trap to catch the little family of mice near our cubicles. We came back the next day to check the and there lay a mouse (click, click). It must have been the janitors.

Mouse next to the mouse sticky trap

Back to Bloomington for the Hockett Wedding!

2011-04-06T20:38:00.000-05:00

We went home last weekend for the celebration of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Hockett. It was a great weekend of seeing friends and family. Not to mention, Bloomington is gorgeous in the spring!

We arrived in B-town around 3AM on Friday. After a nice sleep, we woke up and made the trip into town to Clinique Wellness. No trip is ever complete without a trip to see Dorothy in her office. She is extremely talented at what she does and it's always fun to come and get a quick analysis.

Seeing my results

Anique (cheesing) is getting ready for a scan

Reading the results

After a nice session, we went down to the IU campus to meet up with my favorite young brother and his soon-to-be wife for lunch. Since Kansas City doesn't have a Penn Station, we try our hardest to find an excuse to eat there when we're back. Seeing Kyler and Kara was that perfect excuse! We had a nice chat about life before we parted ways. After all, they're busy college students and we have to get ready for the rehearsal.

Tallest to shortest

Kyler looks like he could be the front man for an indie rock band.
Kara just looks...

After lunch we got ready for rehearsal at ECC. This of course brought back memories. This is where Anique and I went for our first couple of years of college. After the rehearsal we went to Farm Bloomington for dinner. Absolutely delicious - compliments of Dr. Hockett!

It was so great to see Jeff and Shauna. They are the type of friends that time doesn't even matter. You can not talk to them for months and then when you finally see them again it's like nothing happened.

Saturday was game time! The wedding was set for 3:30. After hours of pictures (which were beautiful), we were all on the stage for the big show. Anique was a bridesmaid and I was a groomsman. The main act of course Jeff and Shauna ;-)

Behind the scenes: the bride getting those lips ready for kissing!

She looked beautiful

Shauna and the two flower girls

Shauna and Emily

Maggie and Shauna

My personal favorite - Anique and Shauna

It was a wonderful ceremony and we felt fortunate to be a part of it. We know that God will truly bless them for years to come. Thanks for letting us be a part of your big day!

Must Read: "Heaven is for Real"

2011-03-30T20:17:00.000-05:00

I just finished an amazing and inspiring book titled Heaven is for Real, by Todd Burpo. I don't want to spoil it for everyone, but the story is basically about Todd's son, Colton, and his near death experience. During his near death experience, 4-year old Colton takes a trip to heaven and sees the wonder of God's dwelling. Absolutely amazing!

I've read 90 Minutes in Heaven, and this book actually tops that novel as well. A must read for anyone needing a boost in his/her spiritual walk. It makes me smile knowing that some of our loved ones are experiencing the bliss of heaven right now!!!

Awkward Family Photos: Grays and Hendersons

2011-03-22T20:13:00.000-05:00

Stemming from the popular site --> www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com, comes the Gray/Henderson edition!

Me with Doc Gizmo. He was outside the venue selling science kits and CDs/DVDs. I approached him
at the booth and said: "I just want to have my picture taken with you!" It was a little awkward, but hey...this guy is legend.

Only Anique could act the part. The man in the coon skin cap looks ridiculous (cough)!

Patrick is the living edition of Woody from Toy Story. You had to do a double-take didn't you?

Another awkward approach shot. After seeing this woman sing, I had to get my picture with her.
Why you ask?! Well, this is Teresa Stone by golly. She's the International Yodeling Champion in 2010!

Taken directly after a couple of 5 year olds had their turn.

No comment

Animal addition. The packaging of these two animals is just awkward. Couldn't they arrange
these animals a little better in the plastic?!

Weekend in Branson: Part 2 of 3

2011-03-21T19:07:00.000-05:00

Our time in Branson was short-lived, but a vacation never ends without a road trip home. We left a little before lunch and drove up north to a little town outside of Springfield called Ozark. There we went to the "Home of the Throwed Rolls" - Lambert's! Simply amazing cuisine...amazing! It's one of those places where you arrive around 11:15 in the morning and the crowd is 100+ strong outside the restaurant. The wait was only 50 minutes before we entered this heaven on earth. (Side note - since we moved to Missouri I've always wanted to eat at Lambert's. Well, mark that off the bucket list!)

Approaching...

The name says it all.

At this joint, you order your meal then they come around with these delicious, warm rolls. But it's not just the rolls, it's the thick molasses they dollop on the rolls that makes it a splendid treat. I only had 4 because my belly wasn't fitting much more. Not only are the rolls great, but they come around with unlimited sides like fried potatoes, black eyed peas, and fried okra (reminds me of Grandma Lois). Needless to say, Anique left with more food than she ate.

Bustlin' inside

Post-meal. No wonder you get so full...they fill you up with soda. Look at those cups!

After a fun meal at Lambert's we hopped back in the car and traveled further north to a town called Osceola. Here they have a cute little cheese store. Neither family had any intention to purchase, but we wanted to try some of the 190 free samples. Even on a full stomach, the cheese was delicious!

I have to throw this in there for Jennifer. Osceola Cheese had 11 clean restrooms for a traveler's enjoyment and relief.

The mascot

Anique is a mouse. I am more of a rat.

Never too old to jump on a statue outside of a store when people are staring at you.

We made it back to Kansas City safely and in one piece! What a joy it was to spend a great weekend with our friends. Be sure to check back in the next day or two for part 3. Just for a quick tease...part 3 will be titled "Awkward Family Photos: Grays and Hendersons."

Weekend in Branson: Part 1 of 3

2011-03-20T19:10:00.000-05:00

Anique and I got to spend a relaxing, fun-filled weekend with our friends Patrick and Jennifer in Branson, MO. Branson is a mix between Nashville, IN and Gatlinburg, TN. Home of the world's largest banjo and more shows than Vegas, this cute town is a place for family fun!

The reason for the trip was to celebrate Patrick's birthday. Jennifer and Patrick rented a cute home in the hills of Branson for Friday-Sunday. It was such a nice place with room for all of us to lounge around, cook meals, and laugh together.

After an evening of driving, we made it!

Such an awesome place! Just out the windows was a great view of the woods and the hills. Southern Missouri is very hilly and beautiful.

Dining room

Kitchen

We spent our Saturday at Branson's one and only Silver Dollar City. This place is truly unlike any amusement park Anique and I had been. It's comparable to Holiday World, but with historical buildings and great entertainment. A perfect place for a family...or conservative adventure seekers like ourselves :-).

At the entrance. Temps were in the high 50s...perfect for just walking around.

Inside the park

There were some intense thrill rides there that we took full advantage of. The one below is a loop-d-loop roller coaster. It's fun to be a kid again!

See the guys a few rows back. I'm on the outside and Patrick is
on the inside. Loving it!

I was laughing the whole time, Anique was squealing the
whole time (with her eyes closed), Patrick was
white-knuckled the whole time!

Classic pose

We tried to mix in thrill with soothing activities. We'd ride a thriller, and do something a little more relaxing. You have to make it creative.

Headed towards the Barn Swing. An 80' swing that reaches speeds of 50 mph.

The cute thing about Silver Dollar City are the little side shows and shops all around. SDC is a Christian-run company, so the atmosphere is very nice and warm. There are always smiles...which just enhances the climate of the place.

Below is legendary act Doc Gizmo. He's a science guru with some amazing experiments. Although his experiments are mostly for kids, I was eating up every word.

Doc Gizmo - Did you know it's easier to peel a banana from the other end?!

We also went on a fun (cheesy) train ride. The truth of the matter is, if you don't like fun and cheesy activities...SDC is not for you.

Pre-train ride

Choo-choo through the woods

CHEESY...the train robbers are at it again! Our conductor had to stop the train to bust these bad guys. Good thing we made it back safely. ;-)

The train robbers!

All in all, a fun Saturday at Silver Dollar City. Highlights of the day - Doc Gizmo, Pure Heart (entertainers), barbecue lunch, and a quick nap in the church at the park. We're never too low to sprawl out on a pew for a 20-minute nap!

Pre-Wash the Dishes

2011-03-13T18:41:00.000-05:00

Baskin Robbins for puppies - enjoy all the 31 flavors!

Possum Trot Orienteering Club Match

2011-03-12T19:30:00.000-06:00

Some of my work buddies signed up for an adventure race this spring. An adventure race is a race that's comprised of mountain biking, canoeing, orienteering (trekking through the woods), and climbing/maneuvering past obstacles. Anyway, these two gentlemen have been doing these orienteering matches in the Kansas City area for the past couple of months. After hearing from them, I got the itch to try it out myself. So I asked Anique if she was interested in competing with me. She was a bit hesitant, but she came with me.

We arrived early at 10AM for the start at Watkins Mill State Park. At registration people have the option of signing up for various distances. We choose the orange course - 3.9km. This distance is measured between each checkpoint. I'm sure our total distance topped 5km with all of our criss-crossing around!

The start of the match. You get your map and punch card, then the marshal tells you when to go. There were a lot of military men and ROTC groups there. Many of the folks were a little more hardcore than us. We were the "newbies" of the group.

The objective of the match is to find each checkpoint in the fastest time. At registration you receive a map, a punch card, and a map legend. The map is just a topographical map with a magnetic north indicator. So Anique and I had to use our compass and the map legend to indicate the distance and direction between each checkpoint. One very helpful tip we discovered is that pace steps are key for such an event. Discover how many steps you take every 100 meters, and you use that as your base on the map to indicate distance.

Anique heading towards the marker. This one was one of the easier ones to find.

At each checkpoint, there is a unique hole puncher. You punch your punch card on the correct number with the unique hole puncher. This is done so that after you complete the course, the course marshal can check to see that you truly did hit all your checkpoints.

See the marker?!

It was basically like the Amazing Race. Anique and I of course had to work out our differences as we guided our way through the course. Being the man of the relationship, it's difficult to take directions from my lovely wife. So after a few minutes of griping at each other, we both got our respective roles for match. I held the compass and directed us in the exact direction we needed to go. Anique held the map and indicated spots where we needed to stop and re-orient ourselves on the topographical map. We really made a good team. We have completely different skill sets, but we both love challenges and that made for a great morning of competition!

At this point we were starting to get the idea of how to do it. We shot straight through the woods to this one. The hint for this marker was "Well."

Well, well...WELL!

Of course the match is held out in the middle of the woods, which makes it super awesome! We did learn a few tips for our next match.

1) Wear jeans. Our legs got thrashed by the thorns in the deep woods.

2) Have two nice compasses! Our compass was the Target special. Not the best for this type of event.

There is another match in a few weeks. We may have to check it out again. Next time we'll be prepared :-)

Mom Away from Home

2011-03-09T19:50:00.000-06:00

It is anything but easy leaving behind family and friends to start your life somewhere else. I can put on a bluff and say that it doesn't affect Anique and I, but that's definitely not true. Discovering our lives outside of what we've always known and where we've lived has grown us closer to each other and has strengthened our relationship with God and with other important people in our life.

Kim is one of those very special people. We met her about a year or so ago when we lived down on Parvin Road. She lived in the complex caddy-corner from our apartment complex. She has a cute little terrier named Boomer. So when Luna and Boomer met, it was an instant connection. Since dogs are great conversation starters, our conversations with Kim were first just brief as both of our dogs pottied in their desired spots outside the complexes. Then as we got to know Kim even more and invited her to church with us, we really connected at a much different level than just our dogs being playmates.

It became a Sunday ritual, we'd meet Kim at church then we'd spend an hour or so chatting over brunch at a local restaurant. About six months ago we got to meet her daughters from Tennessee. You see, Kim is a transplant just like us. She comes from out-of-state as well. Her entire family lives in Tennessee...including her husband. Kim came to Kansas City because General Motors closed their Tennessee plant and Kim had to transfer to Kansas City to get her 25 years in to officially retire. Needless to say, being away from her husband, daughters, and grandchild has been very hard on her.

Having that common bond between us has allowed us to grow together. Although Anique and I live further north and Kim has since moved to another apartment, we still try to get together so she can see her "gran-puppies." Or in her famous words: "How yous doing? Come see grammy!"

Luna knows her voice. Since Luna was a tiny puppy Kim has always been her special friend.

This past Sunday we invited her over after church for our own little brunch at the KC Gray establishment. We made some choco chip pancakes and bacon, and we chatted about life. It was so good to see Kim. She's just a dear friend and such a Christ-centered woman.

During our conversation we discovered that her husband is moving to Kansas City sometime this year. She is ecstatic and so are we! It's never easy being away from family. That's why it's good to have your "family away from family." Love you, Kim!

Our "mother away from home"

Corporate Challenge: Here We Come!

2011-02-26T12:03:00.000-06:00

I (Kamaron) had an interesting lunch on Friday at work. It involved high shorts, war paint, and orange tented glasses. You can't guess what I was doing yet, eh? Well, it was a photo shoot for Corporate Challenge. A few of us Hallmarkers pooled together our best athletic apparel to take a slew of photographs to help encourage people at Hallmark to join in Corporate Challenge. Often times people either feel like they're not good enough to participate, but we were attempting to put a more light-hearted angle on it to allow people to feel open to participate at all skill levels. It's not necessarily about winning every event, it's about having fun with co-workers outside of work.

Here is a sampling of a few of our pictures.

The crew - Bess, Aaron, Kamaron, Tom

My favorite picture

1...2...3...TEAM!

Acting so tough

Tee ball picture. Looks like Tom is picking his nose. Danielle is the gal on one knee. This whole photo shoot was her idea.

Ha...it's hard to be serious

We'll see if anyone signs up now ;-). KCCC starts late April and ends the end of June. Anique and I are both excited to have something to look forward to in the coming months!

Valentine's Dine-in

2011-02-23T19:23:00.000-06:00

This was our 2nd Valentine's together as a married couple. To be quite honest, I don't really remember what we did our first Valentine's Day. I really think it's just a made-up holiday that Hallmark created to make money...oh wait...that's our family salary.

Anyway, Anique and I decided to dine-in this year. She had a killer recipe picked out - bleu cheese and bacon stuffed chicken! The meal was a true delight. Now making the meal on the other hand doesn't always go as smooth as planned.

Anique (Betty Crocker) Gray

Stuff chicken in its pre-oven phase.

There might have been too many cooks in the kitchen at one time. So, with that being said I resorted to making the homemade ice cream. Not too difficult, add ice and salt then repeat for 30 minutes.

Ice cream station

This was a Christmas gift from Justin (Anique's brother). It's a skillet cookie - just like down in High Point, NC. It made a nice complement to our vanilla ice cream!

It was a great meal and time spent with the love of my life! We feel truly blessed to be in Kansas City with each other, and to experience new and exciting things every day. Happy belated Valentine's Day!

Ride with the Liberty Guys

2011-02-19T20:15:00.000-06:00

Bright and early 6AM on a Saturday morning...what would you do? If I were Kim Gray, I would've already planted 3 rows of corn and butchered 3 chickens, but I'm no Kim Gray. But..I did get to ride with some work buddies out of Excelsior Springs to Liberty and back this beautiful morn'.

What a joy riding with Scott and Ralph! They were gracious enough to let me tag along with them to ride down to Liberty. Here's a pre-ride picture with Scott and Ralph. A little bragging on these gents - both are Boston Marathon qualifiers. Scott, on the right is actually running in 2011 Boston Marathon in April. This riding bikes thing is just a new found hobby for these runners.

Left to right - Ralph and Scott

We rode down H Highway about 15 miles to meet the other riders at Biscari Brothers in Liberty. The Liberty guys have a weekly Saturday morning ride where they ride to a small town north of the city for breakfast then ride back. It's basically a men's breakfast on wheels! This week's ride was a 30 mile out-n-back to Mill Inn Restaurant in Excelsior.

Ah...a refreshing start to a great weekend. Tonight Anique and I celebrated our V-day. More pics/post to come on those festivities ;-)

Biscari Brother's Saturday morning crew

The Hermits Come Out

2011-02-13T08:24:00.000-06:00

The entire Midwest has just been getting pummeled by winter storm after winter storm. It's gotten to the point where Anique and I are becoming hermits...watching episodes of Lost and playing Super Mario Bros on the Wii. To make matters worse, we're starting to have in-depth conversations with Luna and Olive...just kidding.

Well, we finally got to get out of the house and we explored the great outdoors again. The temps touched the mid 40s and we had to take the opportunity to get out for a nice long bicycle ride. Ah...it was so refreshing!

Getting ready for the ride. Note the piles of snow in the background.

I've still be commuting into work when the temps are in the teens, but that's more from an economic standpoint than pure enjoyment.

Also, on Saturday evening we went to our church for a Young Adults Valentine's game night. It was a small but mighty crowd. We played Bingo, Sequence, and Buzz Word...and our own Anique won two guessing games - guess the # of candy hearts in a glass, and the # of chocolate malt balls in a jar! This is a hidden skill we both never knew she had. And to be even more precise, Anique guessed the number of candy hearts exactly correct - 84!

Our young adult group

Anique and young adult pastor Kevin counting the candy in the jars.

It was a fun Saturday to get outside and soak up that Vitamin D. I just checked weather.com and it looks as if we'll be reaching the 60s today! Looks like we'll be hitting the outdoors again :-). As for the laundry and dishes...they'll have to wait their turn.

The Blizzard of '11

2011-02-01T18:24:00.000-06:00

Remember back in the day - February of '11 the ol snow storm that swept through KC. Well, we're in the middle of it right now. It's snowing like God and His angels are having a chronic dandruff problem. So we're snowed in for now.

Welcome home

Anique did have to drive in to work today until noon when she was dismissed. You'd think in the city it wouldn't be so bad, but you're wrong. The road crews are working their behinds off, but you can't fairly compete with 35+ mph winds. I winded up pushing Anique's car to a halting stop at its resting place along the side of the road in our complex. It might end up getting plowed in...we'll see when dawn breaks!

3PM - 4" easy

We're keeping our spirits high though and combating the cold weather with our own heat...in the oven...with some enchiladas.

9PM - still going strong. ~8" inches so far.

Thanks for checking in with us. We'll keep you posted on life!

Just stay in and play!

The Three Girls

2011-01-30T09:18:00.000-06:00

Fresh off a haircut - well...for the two canines.

Friday Evening Ritual

2011-01-22T10:45:00.000-06:00

It's becoming a ritual - Friday night indoor soccer at Sports City in Blue Springs, Missouri. Anique plays in a co-ed league with some friends late Friday nights. When I say late, we're talking about 11pm late. Yikes, that's about 2 hours past my bedtime!

Anique pre-game

Aside from the late start, it's such an awesome experience. Really what makes the league fun are the friends on her team. Some of our first KC friends - Missy and Alex from New Life Church - are really the organizers of the team. They just recently got married, and Anique and I truly enjoy chatting with them about life and marriage on the car rides to and from the complex. We all normally carpool, making it all the more fun!

Emilia always has a light-hearted stance on life!

Now not trying to boast or anything, but Anique's team is one of the better teams out there. Most of the girls played college soccer (Missy, Emilia, Natalie, Kelsey played at Park University and Anique at Indiana), so our females usually have the upper hand in the majority of the games. Speaking from experience, having good girls in co-ed makes a world of difference.

Start of the game

This complex is much nicer than the other complex in North KC. The field is larger, flatter, and the lighting is better. Aside from that, the competition is even much better. It's just fun to have a group of friends who can compete together.

I tried to take some action shots with our new camera, but they turned out fuzzy. I need to work on my shutter speed or something...

GOAL!!!

Cheers to the Mighty Ducks!

Left to right - Daniel (goalie), Gabe, Anique, Missy, Emilia, Natalie, David, Alex

Painting for baby Luke

2011-01-16T18:44:00.000-06:00

After finding Vineyard Church last year and realizing how large of a church it was (hundreds of attendees) we quickly decided to join a small group to get connected on a deeper level. Otherwise, it's easy in a church of it's size to get lost in the sea of people. It's been such a great source of friendship for both Kam and I. There's a number of married couples and virtually everyone (with the exception of two other couples) all have little ones running around now! Overall, we are a great support for one another. Each week, we meet together socialize, then dive into our study and then have a separate ministry time where the guys and gals split apart and meet together separately.

Last week, during ministry time, Becky, with a baby boy Luke on the way due in just under a month, revealed that she was getting nervous about not having everything (nursery...furniture, the works!) ready for his arrival. Now Becky is a sweet, easy-going gal that seldom has any complaints to be voiced. She has an 18 month old boy, Noah, who's as cute as can be. Her hard-working husband Dan is studying right now for his Bar exam, to officially be able to practice law in Missouri. It's an exam that requires him to study at least 10 hours a day, which leaves very little breathing room for big projects!

So, painting the nursery seemed to be the main stressor and boy were we ready to conquer that! We all immediately started brainstorming how we could help and before Becky knew it we scheduled to meet at her house in two days to paint the nursery. It was so much fun to help out a dear friend! Below are some action pictures...a couple are foggy since my camera had been out in the car...but they're still fun pictures.

While we painted we chatted and it was completely finished in just 2 hours! Looking back I cannot imagine her doing that by herself while entertaining Noah at the same time! That's exactly what small groups are for...support. Plus it's another reason to get together and socialize. We are truly excited for Becky, Dan and Noah to have their new little addition, baby Luke! :) I hope he enjoys the sky blue of his freshly painted room...

Thanks for checking in with us here in KC, have a blessed week!

Ramsey Update

2011-01-12T19:07:00.000-06:00

As many of you know, we're taking the Dave Ramsey approach to our finances. Use the envelope system for your expenses, always play towards the most favorable interest rate, and live like no one else so later you can live like no one else. Pretty simple approach...

Well, we're knee deep in debt snowball right now - (that's baby step #2 following step #1 of having a $1,000 emergency fund). We have just knocked out one of our debt items - student loan #1...only 2 more student loans to go. It's hard to get the debt snowball rolling, but after you get going, it's all downhill from there. Knock out one debt item (usually the smallest when you start) then after you finish that one, put the money you used to put towards debt item #1 and throw that towards debt item #2. And so the snowball begins!

We both are feeling so good about the progress we're making. Optimistically we still think we can get out of debt in 2011, but it may take as long as 18 months from now. Ugh...it seems like a long road ahead, but we're getting closer. One baby step at a time.

It'll feel great to understand the true feeling of being debt-free, and we know we're hitting this hard for something bigger than just a feeling of freedom. I know that God has something significant planned for us in the near future (not sure what it is), but getting out of debt is step number one. After we get past this road bump, we'll wait and see what doors He opens for us. :-)

Just call us Hallmarkers :)

2011-01-09T20:02:00.000-06:00

A couple weeks before the holidays, I had the opportunity to interview for an inside sales opportunity at the corporate headquarters of Hallmark Cards. After going through the phone interview I received a callback that the position had been filled. I knew it was a long shot since it's a GREAT job and they mostly try and promote people from within first (I later found out that is exactly what they did!). My heart sank but the HR recruiter mentioned that they were "also hiring for a customer service support specialist position and I should consider applying for it". She then proceeded to say she would be in touch. Taking the hint, I realized it was at least worth looking into and exploring further. To be honest though, when I heard customer service, I thought of a giant call center and not that great of a job. However, with the help of Kam and some of his mutual friends, I got to talk to a couple of gals that are in the position currently and it proved to be a great opportunity to work for an amazing company. Overall, it's a great place to start with the company because you become an expert on product knowledge and people move all over within HMK from this department.

Now let me take a moment to say a few things...My time at PCI has been great (and I really truly mean that) but after working there nearly a year, I realize it's just never going to be a good long-term fit. So when this opportunity came my way it was now or never to give it a shot. I have talked to so many people in Kansas City that have tried to get into Hallmark for YEARS and just never could do it.

Okay, long story short, they invited me in for an on-site 2 and a half hour interview this past Wednesday. It was a great interview; I got to job shadow someone for 30 minutes, meet with the HR recruiter I had been talking with and then go through three 30 minute interviews with the Trainer, Manager and the department head. It was a long-haul but very informational.

All I could think about the following day was whether or not I got the job. I prayed about it, knew that I had done everything I could and had a deep peace that either way God was leading me in the right direction....Friday morning I got the call and was offered the job!!! This means so much for our lives in KC and we both are very excited. I finally don't have to work Saturdays and will have a set schedule. This in itself is a blessing among many others I am sure.

SO, big changes here in KC for the new year! I am so grateful for my time at PCI. I have worked extremely hard for the school and have gained great experience in recruiting and just plain working with people overall. I am excited for this future opportunity to grow with a great company and stay in one place for a long while :)

Thanks for reading my story and checking in...we send our love and hugs from KC!