Pate's Full Circle: On the road again

Liam, Ansley and I spent this past week with the Kansas Pates in Wichita. We traveled down with our friend, Sasha, and her son, Peyton, on a Tuesday and stayed until Sunday. Eric and Sasha's husband, Bobby, joined us during the weekend and we had a blast. It was a fun week filled with lots of catching up, good food, and hot temperatures. Surprisingly it was hotter than Dallas, which is a rarity. In fact, one of the cities in Kansas set the record for the hottest city in the United States for several days at 115 degrees - hotter than Death Valley! Unfortunately Liam got a case of swimmers ear during our time there which limited his interaction with water until we got some good earplugs.

We spent our days taking walks, letting the kids play, and trying our hardest to beat the heat. After the kids went to bed, Jolyn, Sasha and I would have a nice glass of wine, a yummy dessert and watch a chick flick or paint our nails. We even got to have a meal out at Il Vicino (one of my favorite restaurants from ABQ which has a location in KS) after a morning of shopping. Funny side note: One night we watched "The Vow" with Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams. While we were talking about the premise for the film, Jolyn mentioned that a gal she knew growing up had been in a similar accident. I had also read at one point that the real life couple currently live in New Mexico. After googling the true story it turns out that Jolyn's acquaintance and her husband actually wrote the book the film was based on and currently reside in northern New Mexico!

On Friday evening Ryan and Jolyn hosted a dinner for all the orthopedic residents. Sasha, the hostess with most-est, rallied the troops (i.e. the rest of us), and planned a great event which was filled with great food and drink. Other than that, we really enjoyed each others company and just hung out. I look forward to future travels together!

Liam had a blast cooling down outside.

Holly and Liam devised this "fun" game of Liam jumping into her arms from this high rock....while both of them were soaking wet. In an effort to avoid utilizing Uncle Ryan's skills as an orthopedic surgeon, the game was put to a quick end.

Liam adores his big cousin, Holly. And she is so great with him, almost like a little mommy.

Feeding a family of ducks. The last time we were there in April, the ducks were little babies. Liam was prone to throwing his whole piece of bread in the water, but with a little help from Holly he learned the art of tearing small pieces.

On one of our many walks to Bradley Fair. Ansley has taken to lifting up one leg while riding in her stroller.

Enjoying a little floor time when Daddy came to town.

Sasha made a delicious chocolate cake the night of the resident's party. Also the night of Holly's 7th birthday!

Ansley making a little snack with her current toys of choice - bowls and spoons.

Ansley freaked me out by showing off a new skill while sitting in her travel chair on the counter. Quickly pushing her way to the edge and almost falling off. That meant meals had to be taken on the floor. "Nobody puts baby in the corner" was not meant to be applied to a baby who quickly scooted across the floor in her chair.