Peanut Butter

As I finish up my work day part of my ritual is to put away my 2 lb. 8 oz. jar of Skippy Creamy peanut butter.

During the holidays, we had to fill out a "secret" form at work. During our holiday luncheon they said random things and everyone guessed who they were talking about. Before the word "whose favorite food is peanut ...." got out everyone yelled, "Beth"! I eat it straight out of the jar so it's my staple afternoon snack and viewed by many.

Growing up, I never had hot lunch (yuck) at school . Everyday, for years and years, my mom made me peanut butter and jelly.

Before I met Steve, every night I ate PB&J or pasta with olive oil and italian seasonings.

I love peanut butter. Honestly I only love Skippy Creamy peanut butter. Nothing else compares.

Oh what a night.

This weekend we enjoyed spending time with the Seiler clan and my parents in Iowa. It was a fun, yet quite comical, Saturday night. Steve & Ann - we were all sorry you weren't there.

Andy said multiple times, "Oh What a Night". and "I wish we had a video of last night". Enough said.

Click on the photos below to see them larger.

We grilled out...

Why is my dad doing the work while Andy is just standing there?

Enjoyed some beverages...

Yep, Ty's a Seiler.

Dad and Jules sharing a moment with their PBR.

Read the newspaper...

Played in the dirt...

Luke was very proud of his "gloves". And Ty is quite the washer player.

And, of course, did some ear candling.

You'll notice the third sister-in-law is missing. I don't believe in subjecting my nephews to open fire near grass.

And the birthday continues...

Tonight Allison, Jen and I (Michelle was there in spirit) celebrated my birthday. After work we met at the new 810 Zone on the plaza to watch the KU game. After being told it would be a 4-5 hour wait for a table with no place to stand, we hit an establish more up our alley...Brio. At Brio we enjoyed happy hour martinis (we stocked up for the night) and apps with a view of the plaza and the game. For my birthday, the girls bought me a concert ticket for a girls night out at the City Market in May! Ahh...good times.

KC+St. Patrick's Day+Saturday=FUN!

Growing up, my brother and I always had St. Patrick's Day themed skating birthday parties at the roller rink located in the county fairgrounds.

This year we spent St. Patrick's Day underneath a huge tent in the middle of a parking lot in the middle of KC surrounded by kybos.

The facilities on Saturday were remarkedly cleaner than the skating rink at the fairgrounds but equally as fun.

33 is glee.

On Friday, my brother, Steve, and I celebrated our birthday. The day itself was quite unmonumental. My brother spent all day out of town for work, and I spent the day in meetings from 8 until 5. Fun Friday.

But as we opened presents Friday night, it really did became fun. Nate was all about opening the presents, envelopes/cards, blowing out the "33" candles (over and over and over) and devouring the frosting on the birthday treats. He has brought a new excitement to our birthday that's been missing since we've become adults.

And to top it off, and what made it even better, was having my parents there, and being ALL together.

Working Out In Your Sleep

For those of you who know Steve's sister, Julie, this will make you laugh. (I hope you don't mind, Julie - I promise I'll never share anything embarrassing; but this is classic.)
This morning we all received an email from Jules which means a GOOD story.

The past few months Julie has habitually worked out at 5:30 a.m.

Anyway, this morning she thought her alarm had gone off and she had turned it off. She looked at the clock and saw 5:24 a.m., so she rolled out of bed, got dressed and headed for the gym. She was 3/4 of the way to the gym when she glanced at her car radio clock which read 1:30 a.m.!

After less than two hours of sleep, she had gotten up at 1:30 a.m., gotten in her car and drove to the gym thinking it was 5:30 a.m.!

Brookside St. Patrick's Day Warm-Up Parade

For those familar with KCMO, St. Patrick's Day is a big deal!
On Saturday the Brookside St. Patrick's Day Warm-Up parade went by our block. It's like a small town parade and a lot of fun!
We watched it with Steve/Ann/Nate, Roy/Angie/Quin/Tate, our neighbors, Scott/Kellie and Steve/Ann's neighbors Dave/Colleen/Dalton and friends.

Afterwards, everyone (plus some neighbors and random people walking by) stopped by for drinks, food and festivities. Spring is finally on its way.

Nate, Quin and Tate on their way to the parade.


Enjoying the parade.



There was even a person petitioning Oprah for president. Steve will be contacting you all soon for donations.


We decided Nate's not ready for Disneyland yet!


Here are our neighbors Gary and John on their scooters!


Later Saturday night we hit the Brooksider with our neighbors Scott and Kellie.

Vino, vino and more vino.

Last Friday Allison, Jen and I flew out to Napa Valley to visit Michelle. We spent four fantastic days together hanging out in San Francisco for a day, tasting wonderful wines, hiking, drinking more wine and just having a girls weekend. Michelle, for those of you who don't know, moved from KC to Napa last August to explore a career in wine.

Thanks to the fact that Michelle is in the wine industry, she took us to some wonderful boutique wineries and exposed us to qualities of wine we don't drink very often! The weather was sunny and beautiful, and we met a lot of great people.

Friday afternoon in San Francisco at Haight & Ashbury.

Friday night at Medjool.

Starting the wine tasting at The Terraces. www.terraceswine.com

Moving on to The Duckhorn Vineyard. www.duckhorn.com

Next we were off to the Kuleto Estates (high up on a mountain - very scary driving but well worth it when you see the view). www.kuletoestate.com

Our last winery of the day (night) was Viader where we spent 3-1/2 hours drinking wine with Cante the wine tasting manager. Cool guy! www.viader.com

On Sunday morning, Michelle took us to her future "work" home, Castello di Amorosa. It's a beautiful castle winery that will open in April. It's 15-years in the works and amazing! Michelle's boss at V. Sattui is the creator. www.castellodiamorosa.com

Michelle then took us for a hike up Mt. Helena. The hike up was beautiful. When we got lost coming down and had to hike a total of approximately seven miles it got a little scary. But we found our way (see sign) back down the mountain to our car!

After getting lost on a mountain in Napa Valley, what's to do except head straight to a winery! This time we went to a champagne vineyard - Mumm. I immediately had flash backs to the night of our wedding when I drank an entire bottle - ouch but oh so good. www.mummnapa.com

After our champagne, Michelle took us to V. Suttui. Michelle works at V. Sattui planning special events and large wine tasting tours. www.vsuttui.com

For our last night in Napa Valley we headed into Calistoga to the Vino Bar for tapas and Terraces wine.

And then ended Sunday night at some hole-in-the-wall bar in St. Helena.

If anyone is ever planning a trip to Napa Valley I'll get you in touch with Michelle for recommendations and suggestions!