It's War!!

1. Thank you internet for the idea... 

2. Thank you Nerf for making such fun toys.

3. Thank you Thomas for being my best friend and making it 10x's more fun to act like a 8 year old sometimes.

We had SO much fun - I felt like I was a little kid again, running around the house screaming and hiding. I suggest that you try it. It's a great middle of the week break. :) 

In Other News...

We picked a ton of veggies from the garden. The tomatoes taste amazing! 

We used our tomatoes, and eggplant to make this yummy (HEALTHY) dish.
Try it out:  http://theshiksa.com/2012/05/31/italian-vegetable-quinoa-bowls/

Three months and Three Reasons…

This weekend, Libby and I celebrated being married three months.  It has easily been the best three months of my life and I could never have imagined the abounding positive effects that such a wonderful person could impart on me.    I wanted to list three of the most important ways Libby has brought enjoyment to my life. 

First and foremost, she is the funniest person I know bar none.  Her sense of humor transcends all categorization, and no matter the situation, her ability to make me laugh is surpassed by no one.  Whether it is situational, high-brow, sarcasm, self-deprecating, or most likely slapstick, I am enamored with her gut busting ability to bring me to tears (from laughing). 

Secondly, her kindness and thoughtfulness amazes me on a daily basis.  She makes me such a better person through the level of emphasis she places on making others feel welcome and appreciated.   She loves to entertain and to maximize the enjoyment of any visitor.  My ability to entertain and make people feel welcome has been very much augmented with her by my side.  She strives harder than anyone I know to show thanks to people for even the smallest acts of kindness.  I only hope that I can become more like her with my own ability to portray these attributes.   

Finally, her ability to show love and affection is insurmountable.  I have never met someone with so much love to give.  She is so endearing and makes me feel more special than any person I have ever encountered.  I try to show her the same level of affection and love she shows me, but I am sure it pales in comparison.

Overall, getting married to Libby has been the best decision of my life.  Every day I wake up and realize how lucky I am to be with someone so great.  It is humbling, and I will try every day of my life to provide her with the same immense amount of love she has shown me.  I love you Libby, and I am thrilled that I will get to spend the rest of my life with you, the best person I know.

The Birds

Last night we had Scott and Meghan Bird over for dinner and had so much fun! They get their own blog post shout out because because Meghan is one of my few loyal blog followers. (and by few I mean 3) She is always so sweet and leaves comments. Meghan actually inspired me to start a blog and I follow her's.

Tom and I tried our first fish and chicken tacos. I found a recipe that had great reviews online. Everything was great, except I didn't really like the fact that you had to beer batter and fry the meat/fish. Don't get me wrong... it was yummy - just not the healthiest fish tacos. The deep fat frying also resulted in our first (and hopefully last home fire) it was very minor and involved a paper towel. I am happy to say that Tom and I stayed calm, and collected to put out the fire. Smoky the bear would be so proud! We also had some delicious fresh salsa that the Bird's brought over.

It was really fun to catch up, relax, and enjoy their company! We are lucky to have Scott and Meghan as our friends.

Fresh flowers that Tom picked up

We tried out our new rice cooker too!

Peppers from the garden!

Deep fried fish and chicken

Busy Busy Sanfords!

This summer has been so much fun, but also really busy. Lots of time with family, friends, house projects, traveling, cooking, and lots of other fun activities!

We started remodeling the bathroom off the kitchen last week, and we are already DONE! We still have some decoration to do. I want to find an antique mirror to put in there - if you have any suggestions of places to look, let me know!! Tom and I busted through this remodel. We keep joking this is our fastest remodel to date. We are having some friends over for dinner this week, so we gave ourselves a date and we got it done. Side note: it was also our smallest project, but we are still proud! Tom tore everything out, we both painted and stained, Tom was the mastermind behind putting in the new sink, toilet, lighting, and outlets. He is good ladies and gents!

We tried a new dinner spot on Friday with our group of friends called Port Fonda. We LOVED it! They all wear these cute denim shirts, and old school Kansas City hats - that were designed by two local fashion designers. Fun drinks including, a good blood orange margarita, the best guac I've eaten...ever, and an original tasty menu. This place started as a food truck and just opened in Westport a few weeks ago. I had a this pork meatball sandwich (very spicy but great!), and Tom got pork tacos. If you are in KC - go there!

We went to the farmer's market Saturday morning, and out with some of Tom's work friends on Saturday night and had the best time. We went to O'Dowds on the Plaza, and it was so nice to catch up with everyone. Sunday my dad and Emily stopped by to say hello! We enjoyed some ice tea, and good conversation!! We ALWAYS love to have visitors. That night I made squash blossom, goat cheese pizza that was amazing, if I do say so myself.

Port Fonda

Cool Port Fonda sign - love this place!

Yummy margarita at Port Fonda

The love of my life and I at Port Fonda!

Squash blossoms from the farmers market.

Yummy tomatoes at the farmers market

Ahhhh! So amazing!!

AFTER bathroom 

Brown on the walls - khaki on the ceiling 

My paint job on the ceiling 

Before bathroom 

BEFORE Bathroom

I love this apron sink vanity we found. Very rustic!!

Our Deck Looks Like NEW!

We recently had our deck stained. We are so glad to have the stain back on our deck so it's protected from the hot Kansas sun! We found two VERY nice, hardworking people to help us put on the stain. Tom spent hours and hours power washing the deck, and replacing the boards.  It looks amazing!! Bring on the brats, burgers and patio drinking! 

Before - half power washed. 

Before

We had to cut down the hop vines to finish the stain. They painted 2 decks, and the wall. 

After! Looks so so great. 

Before and After - we are so pleased!

My Poor Car!

On the way home from our St. Louis and Champaign adventure we ran into some car trouble. We started home from Champaign around noon, and had only made it about two hours when the car shut off going 70mph down the highway - and smoke started billowing in around the steering wheel and dash. Wow! Talk about scary. Tom was driving, and stayed calm as we pulled over on the shoulder.

We were both so started and got out of the car fast because we didn't know if the whole car had caught on fire. After the smoke clearing out and standing a few hundred yards down the highway, we went to check it out and call a tow company. Luckily, Ford has a roadside tow assistance that we called.

We spent about two hours on the highway waiting for the tow truck to come. We had a couple people stop to ask if we were okay, including a lady that gave us water bottles. A highway patrol stopped and ran our drivers license, but didn't offer to assist or let us sit in his ac. Jerk! It's funny how when you are in a situation like that how many different kinds of people you come across, and the people that are most willing to help. There are some NICE people in this world.

We made it back to Jacksonville, Illinois that night and took the car to the Ford dealership there in town. We made our way down the street to the Country Hearth Inn. If you are ever in the Jacksonville area - it's a real beaut. The next morning we heard the news that it was not actually the car at all - but the electric car starter! Ugh. What a headache. Tom, being the amazing husband that he is got the car starter for me for a Christmas present last year. The unit had been professional installed, and a highly rated electronic/auto store. Catch was that they installed it ALL wrong, broke equipment putting it in, and put it in with stereo wire. All in all it did a lot of damage, but could have been a lot worse. For a second I thought that my husband of just a few months was already trying to kill me. ;) Kidding!!!!

My uncle, and his staff were amazing. They were all so kind, helpful, understanding, giving (I could go on and on). It made me feel so blessed, and lucky that I have such good family and that Tom and I were safe. I cannot thank him and his staff enough!

We were able to get a rental car and drive back to Kansas City Monday afternoon. My car was safely delivered right to our front door 4 days later. So glad to have her back safe and sound. My car is my most prized possession (after Tom). Not only the Fusion, but Ford has been amazing. I would highly recommend and encourage everyone to not only buy American, but buy Ford! I LOVE that car!!!

I have every intention of going down to the auto shop that put the car starter in, and letting them know the damage, stress, and scare they caused. I think it's important that they know what happened - and that other people could be in this danger, and hurt a lot worse than what we were.

Letting our car cool off. When we still thought it was something under the hood. 

My poor poor car - she was not happy with me at this point. 

Inside the West Town Ford dealership 

So glad to have her back - love this car!

St. Louis and Champaign Adventure!

Tom and I ventured east for the weekend to see my sister, brother-in law, and celebrate Tom's birthday! It was a fun getaway, and it's always good to take a break from the real world and see family.


I surprised Tom with our first stop in St. Louis - we headed downtown to the Robert Mayfield hotel. We were in the middle of the action (and a St. Louis Cardinals game) when we got there. We got checked in and headed to dinner at a really fun place called, Taste. It was a really great little spot, and had a speak-easy feel to it. We enjoyed delicious dinner and drinks, and their decor was awesome. After dinner we went to check out Urban Chestnut Brewing Company and tried several yummy beers. The next morning we went over to Schlafly Brewing Company and ate lunch, and checked out their brewery from a distance. It was a fun food, beer, entertaining 24 hours in St. Louie! Here's to you Nelly! 

We then drove north to Champaign, Illinois to see Jessie, Rick and my niece, Skipjack the cat. We ate at a fun pizza restaurant and enjoyed a few libations for Tom's birthday. The rest of the weekend was spent wine tasting, avoiding the heat, touring the campus, exploring an awesome new restaurant in Champaign called Big Grove Tavern (highly recommended!), messing with the cat, and catching up on family gossip. It was a successful, relaxing time!!

We started our trek back to Kansas Sunday morning and had a little bit of unfortunate excitement with my poor car. (Blog post to come!!)

Tom blowing out the candles. He is getting old so we could only fit one candle on his cupcake! 

Fun restaurant we tried in St. Louis. 

Jessie and Rick at dinner! We had fun!!!

White wine tasting at the neatest little shop by Jessie and Ricks house!

Yummy beets at dinner!

Pi Kappa Phi - Toms frat house on the University of Illinois Campus

Beers on tap in St. Louis

Tom and I at dinner

Hello and goodbye St. Louie!

Sleeping Skipjack

We loved this place!!

Happy Birthday Tom!

(almost) Happy Birthday Tom!! - Tom's actually birthday is not until this Friday, July 6th, but who doesn't want a whole birthday week to celebrate? He deserves it too!

We have lots of exciting stuff planned and a few surprises too. We are going to Ozawkie tomorrow to hang out with Chris, and his wife, Amanda for the 4th of July. We will of course stop in to say hello to By-daddy Sanford! Then Thursday we make the trek up to Illinois to visit Jessie and Rick! Next week we are going to see OAR in concert at the crossroads. (the perfect summer band if I do say so myself!)

28 has been a fun and exciting year for Tom - and we are both excited to see what 29 brings for him! Happy Birthday to the most kind, intelligent, hardest working, fun, guy I know! We love you Tom!!

Still a kid at heart!

Love your adventurous personality! 

Handsome husband! 

You are always up for trying something new, and a good time!

You're my best friend, and favorite travel partner. I am writing to you, Tom not Rasta Ralphie.  

You always make me laugh! 

A wonderful addition to our family.

And in your 28th year, you made me the luckiest girl in the world. Thank you!