Our First Christmas........with a 2lb Eggplant!

Christmas #2 for the Burkey family was the best yet for us. The whole week leading up to the holiday went by in a blur. Tues & Weds were focused on getting last minute presents bought and wrapped. Thursday was a very good day. It started with stockings in the morning and then a fun football game watched at Applebees with some friends. Steelers clinched a playoff spot and i ended up with some sweet Batman Roos.



Friday i was up early for work. Everyone that worked Friday got paid for an 8 hour day, even though all the branches closed early. But our branch only closed 1 1/2 early and it was on a day we had to work 1 1/2 hours earlier than normal. Thus we pretty much just worked a regular day, but will get paid the same as all the shortened day employees. Gotta love how stuff works out.



But after work we headed home, fully loaded up the Xterra grabbed the dog and headed out. We got to Hoisington just in time for a delicious stuffed peppers supper and then headed to the Hoisington Lutheran Church for their Christmas Eve Service. When we did the candle lighting Kelci's candle got a little too close to my program and suddenly we had a little fire going. But it got blown out and after a chuckle we got back to O Holy Night. After Church we did a lil socializing then it was back in the car to head to Great Bend. Met my parents at their Methodist Church at 11 and got to sing a few of the same songs and light another candle. Luckily no fire this time though!



Christmas morning we were up early to open our stockings and then we headed back to GB to open presents with my side of the family. We got my dad a authentic throwback Franco Harris Jersey and we could tell he really loved it so that made up extremely happy. And Lyla was all over the place and enjoying the wrapping paper more than anything.



Its amazing to see how fast shes moving around, and climbing down from the couch. It was only a few months ago that she even really got into standing up on her own, and now look at her go! Kelci and i both had a few moments where we realized that this time next year we're going to be celebrating Max's first Christmas!



Kelci let my buy myself a few new pairs of running shoes, plus Kelcis mom got me a pair of Vibrams and her parents got us both a new Camcorder so we were crazy blessed this Christmas. My mom hooked me up with a new Tri Jersey (in orange so she can pick me out in the water!) and my sister bought me some Nathan Hydration stuff for long runs. It seemed like we both received way to much stuff, but we were told to enjoy it because next year Max will be hogging all the presents!



We spend Christmas day evening with about 25 of Kelci's relatives on her Moms side and enjoyed more presents, games and grub



Sunday Kelci headed to the Catholic church with her mom and i headed out for a long run. It was only 25 degrees and the wind was blowing ice but it was still worth it to run. Ended up running out in the country on Oil Well access roads and found myself running for a mile down a dry creek bed following a deer trail. It was a literal winter wonderland with white covering everything as far as i could see.



Ended up coming upon a couple black labs on the road and 1 decided to follow me and my running partner (Bryce's dog Mudd) 3 miles all they way home. It had a collar and their neighbors locked him up and promised to call the vet the next day to get him back home.



After that it was time to watch the Chiefs and eat some pizza. Then it was back to Great Bend for a Christmas dinner with my parents. Then we got the dog in the car and headed back to Wichita.



Monday was a 5.3 miler on the river trails with 2 miles on the dirt loop by Botanica to stay out of the wind. Then Kelci and I headed to Wal-mart. We hadn't been full on grocery and supply shopping in probably 2 months. 1 full cart and 200 dollars later and were stocked up for another month or so!



Tuesday after work I got to work making a delicious Meatloaf with potatoes carrots and crescent roll goodness and we got all the Christmas stuff put away and organized back in its spot under the stairs. 45 min on the spin bike and then it was 10:30 and time for bed



Welp that was the week.



Hope everyone had a great Christmas and heres to a even better New Years!

Merry Christmas

I just {LOVE} Christmas! And I can't believe that it's here already!
We did an early Christmas with the Boxberger side of our family last weekend so that everyone could be there. My little cousins are all growing up so fast and it's so fun watching Gabby and Mal open their gifts. They are at that age where everything is so exciting and every gift is awesome to them.

Kevin and I opened out stocking presents yesterday morning since we knew today was going to be hectic. I got a ton of smell good body wash, slippers, and cute panties. Kevin got new dress socks, batman under-roos (what a funny sight) and a Steelers stocking cap. And even though a certain man in our house said that it was unnecessary to buy our unborn child Christmas gifts, there was a surprise in our little avocado's stocking. In haphazard wrapping and scratchy letters there was a baby sized package that said "To Max From Daddy". And I cried...I'm not sure that a present should be so important but that gesture said something to me. Kevin thinks of Max as a part of our family. I get to feel Max every day so I know he/she is real but Kevin doesn't have that constant reminder. All he sees is my ever growing belly. But he's starting to get it... there really is a beautiful child in there waiting for him to love. :) So yes...I cried over a onesie with a spaceship that said "My daddy is out of this world" but I know that little baby shirt will be the best present I get this year!

We wish you all a very merry Christmas filled with family, friends, love and laughter!

Love,

The Burkey Family

Kevin, Kelci and Max

23 weeks later and now its a PAPAYA!

So its Christmas again…eh


Cool....

I love the idea of Christmas, and I love Christmas itself, its just very time consuming. Not to bah humbug especially because Kelci lives for Christmas, I just find it overwhelming. Outside of the occasional nativity scene the purpose of Christmas is overlooked. Its ridiculously commercialized and maybe that’s great for the economy but it just seems so superfluous in regards to what Christmas means. Personally I don’t need 24 hour radio stations playing different versions of the same 20 Christmas songs, and advertisements for breakfast with Santa at Gander Mountain. I’m sure next year when we get pictures of Max with Santa it won’t be in front of a 30% off gun rack. But there is only another week and then the tree comes down and goes back under the stairs for another 11 months.

But even with all the Christmas distractions.. eh I mean enjoyment J we had a pretty great week. Thursday was dinner in old town with some of Kelci’s co-workers. One of her friends is changing jobs so we went out to Playa Azul. It was a good meal with some good friends. I had skipped out on my bike workout earlier so I don’t know if I really earned my Super Burrito…but it sure was delicious! Friday was the early day at work, then due to the cold and wind I ended up on

The weekend went crazy fast. Work was busy enough to fly by Sat morning and then at home we had a nice lunch and then I hopped on the bike trainer for 1 ½ hours while Kelci took a nap and then did cleaning. Then Kelci left for Christmas shopping and I just lounged around. It was a crazy cold and windy day. Sunday was an early morning with breakfast in bed then headed to the Y. Ran 4 miles on the treadmill then did a 6:12 mile on the indoor track. Base training for running is so boring at 8:30-9:00 mile pace so just felt like running fast. Then I hopped in the pool to loosen up, then rushed home for the Steeler's game.

The game wasn’t on TV locally and neither of us wanted sports bar food, so we pulled the game up on the computer and watched it on our computer screen in the bedroom. And while a 22 inch screen isn’t much it still got the job done. And so did the Steelers. Polamalu had 2 picks and Farrior had 1 and the defense scored most of the points. Eh… that’s Steelers Football

After that Kelci went shopping with her family and I settled down with a Ezra and Coke to watch the Chiefs get destroyed. The horrible thing about this team is every time they play well enough to raise expectations they immediately fail to reach them. Its pretty sad and while their playoff destiny is still in their hands if they cant beat the actually pretty good Rams next Sunday it’ll probably be all she wrote.

Monday was just another Monday with a run at the Y and some delicious BLT Kelci was jonesin’ for. Then Tuesday after work we did some shopping then headed to Babies R Us to register. Kelci and I were both completely overwhelmed right from the get go. We didn’t know what we needed, what we wanted, and what was pointless….so we pretty much just registered for anything. And 1 ½ hours later and 130 scanned items we left knowing a little bit more than when we came in.
Some things I learned:

200 diapers = 40 bucks and a newborn can go through 15 a day. That math comes out to about 80 a month, In DIAPERS only. Absolutely Crazy! And then there are tons of things just to go with diapers, diaper bags, special diaper only trash cans, wipes, jells, creams, and what not.

Baby food containers are cheap, but they take up space. Our little kitchen is pretty crowded, and if we end up with half of the bottles, Tupperware and food sets we registered for, our already overly crowded Kitchen is going to get even cozier.

While a crib is ridiculously expensive that’s the least likely place Max is going to sleep. We already have a bassinet, but there are baby rockers, and sleepers and pack and plays and bundle carriers. Etc etc etc
So basically all this kid is going to do is Eat Sleep and Poop, and if that’s the case and our families and friends come through on the registry we should have all three covered.

I got through 3 quick reads this week.

The first was a John Grisham novel – Playing For Pizza. While his normal book is usually based in the court room this one centered around a football field. In Southern Italy. Its about a Career backup football player who ends up throwing 3 interceptions in just a few minutes during the AFC Championship playing for the Browns (like they’d ever play in the AFC Championships!) He wakes up in the hospital with a Cleveland Lynch mob outside his window and he decides to get out of town. He ends up playing in NFL Italy for the Parma Panthers. It’s a fairly short book that just flies by and is pretty entertaining.

The second was a book I have been waiting to read for some time. Its called Again to Carthage by John Parker. He wrote a book in the 70’s about a Olympic class collegiate Miler named Quentin Cassady, called Once a runner. It was a book he wrote not for money but because he loved 2 things, writing and running and as a elite runner himself he truly got into the lifestyle of a 70’s distance runner. He sold once a runner out of the trunk of his car for years and it was only briefly published. So for 20 years copies were ridiculously hard to come by and it was selling used for 50-100 dollars. I was able to find a digital copy online a few years ago and read it sitting at my computer. Well now 25+ years later he picked up a few years after where he left off is Quentin’s life, and Q is now a Olympic Silver Medalist, a successful lawyer and a recreational runner. But due to some big emotional losses he realizes that hes not done with his Olympic dreams. So he sets to work and over the next year and a half tries to turn himself back into a world class runner, but this time at the Marathon. A absolutely great book that’s def worth reading.

The 3rd book is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and is book 1 of her hunger games trilogy. It’s a young adult series not far from The maze runner, Harry Potter etc, but its set in a post apocalyptic USA where the totalitarian government rules over 12 districts and from district 12 is a young girl who supports her family illegally hunting the grounds outside of her district. She ends up as her districts contestant in the “Hunger Games” a fight to the death contest pitting 2 teens from each district against each other. It’s a fairly good book I reread before I dig into the rest of the trilogy that I have not read yet.

The {UGLY} truth...

It's been said a few times that I was a "not so cute" baby. And while I feel this statement has been overused by some (Kevin) I believe it is "somewhat" true. Take this picture for instance. I'm not hideous...just a bit pudgy with squinty eyes. Ok and my head is kinda funny shaped. I feel it can also be said that Kevin was a "not so cute" baby. Take for example, exhibit 1 shown below. The kid looks like he just went to the dentist but I honestly believe that was him giving his [good] smile! :)

That baby ugliness didn't last for too long...look at us below! All smiles and loving life!
There were however some awkward stages along the way...I think we had matching glasses? And with the help of contact lenses we grew out of the geeky look. And look at us now! Who would have thought these two semi-good looking people (I inserted the word {semi} here so that I wouldn't look conceited ;) ) came from those funny looking babies?

So while it seems that baby Max as no hope for being a cute baby I would like us all to remember that the baby stage doesn't last too long and that to a mother, a baby is ALWAYS cute...at least that's what our Mom's told themselves. :)

We love you baby Max and to us you are already the cutest thing in the {World}!

Just call me Santa!

You see I do have the big ol' belly and I have a ton of gifts under the tree!




That's right my friends I am down to 2 presents left to buy. I am so darn particular when it comes to gift giving! I want the person to look down in their box or bag and think "Wow! Kevin and Kelci really know just who I am!" Or maybe they could say "This IS exactly what I wanted! How did they know?" Have you ever received that gift that was right on target? And your eyes just lit up after seeing it? That's what every present should do!

And even when the recipient believes they are being very specific I feel the need to find "exactly" what they want. Since I know my little brother doesn't read this I'll give you an example. He said, "I want a good pair of wool gloves". Really? Not exactly exciting but I spent a good 2 hours "shopping" on the Internet just to find the king of wool gloves. And to go one further... I found wool "long-johns" to go with these wool gloves! He wanted wool...well he's gettin it! :)

So here's to spending the rest of the evening surrounded by pretty bags, bows and boxes! If you find the perfect gift you can't wrap it in just anything right? :)

Christmas 2009 in Florida

I'm so darn excited!

Promise not to laugh? :)

I'm taking a crocheting class in January!!!

I know, it sounds funny but I am ecstatic! I've been a bit bored lately, and I know all of that will change soon, but I feel like I need a hobby. So Crocheting it is! It looks relaxing and it doesn't require mass amounts of supplies be carried wherever you go. Oh and just think of all the cute stuff I can make for Max!

It will probably take me forever to be this good but can't you just see our baby in a little beanie like this! Who would have ever thought I'd be so excited about a bit of yarn and some needles?!

So friends and family put in your orders for next Christmas...or maybe the year after that...I guess it all depends on my crocheting ability!

Happy Thursday!

Another Week in the Life

Weds was a half day at work which meant i had my "Honey Do" list waiting for me when i got off of work. So some time was spent fixing tile in the bathroom, folding laundry, and cleaning up a few neglected corners of our house where my junk tends to congregate. But i did find some time to hop on the Trek and spin away on the trainer while i watch Knight & Day. Which was only mildly entertaining, not remotely plausable and pretty much unfunny even when it tried. Vanilla Sky is a pretty amazing movie with both Cameron Diaz and Cruise but outside of Gangs of New York i cant think of any other memorable performances for Diaz. But eh, i'm no critic and it got me through a 1 & 1/2 Hour SweatFest.


Thursday was just another day of work and then when i walked outside afterwords i couldnt wait to get home and run. It was almost 60 degrees and no wind and felt perfect. Got home grabbed the garmin, some shorts and my trainers and I was out the door. I hadnt run in almost 2 weeks due to the blisters so i kept it pretty short and only ran 3 1/2 but it felt great. Ran faster than i should have but i was just excited to be running. 25 min later i was back home just as the sun went down. Then with perfect timing Kelci got home just as i got out of the shower and we headed to dillions so i could get the stuff to make Steak Fried Rice. After i made supper we just spent the rest of the night watching tv, reading, and lounging like the old married couple we are!


Friday i was up early for work which seemed to just drag on, but some days are like that i guess, after work i got home and it was pretty nice out. So i quickly changed and took the dog out and started running. Worked my way down the river to Seneca and then headed into Riverside Park. Went the Wichita Tennis Center and around the lake. Noticed it was starting to get dark so high tailed it back home. Was a good 5 miler that i never pushed the pace on. Kelci was home when i got back and was practically salavating at a picture of a new pie at Pizza Hut, so while i showered she ordered and I was ushered out the door still dripping so i could go pick it up.



Saturday and Sunday were pretty lazy days. Saturday morning after a bowl of cereal i hopped on the trainer for an hour and a half and watched the Expendables. Which alot of people havent cared for but it completely met my expectations of mass violence in fairly unrealistic conditions so it was a win win. After that it was alot of lounging and being lazy.



Sunday came and I found myself planted in front of the TV watching football. Watched the Chiefs pull of a W and then rearranged some furniture to help make room in the !Nursery! for the crib and dresser we'll need for Max! Then I just hung around until the STEELERS game. A few friends came over for the game and we enjoyed a delicous chipotle dinner. The game was a defensive battle and yet again Polamalu saved the day and we ended up with a close win and the top of the AFC North standings.



Monday was work then 5 miles on the tready at the Y while i read on the Kindle, its actually not to hard to read while running ive found especially since i can make the letters larger and more visible. Kelci called as i was leaving the y and needed eggs and milk. This happened to be the one day i leave my wallet sitting in our bedroom so i had to head home first, run inside, then head right back out to head to dillions. All while completely drenched in sweat. I'm a pretty heavy sweater and running at the Y is running in a suana for me. I'm sure my head was steaming when i walked out of there!


Tuesday was work then an hour on the trainer. Then just a quiet night with wifey, around 9 Kelci mentioned being hungry for ice cream so while she thought I was out walking Bax, We had actually climbed in the car and raced to Braums and back, so when we came back in i was able to surprise Kelci with a double dipped cone in bed! Also after work we did find out something pretty amazing though. We were suprised with some big news from within our family that we couldnt be happier about, but which is probably still a secret for now.


Finished reading the 2nd book in the Maze Runner Trilogy - The Scorch Trials - by James Dashner. It was a quick read, and while its aimed at young adults. i.e. Teens & tweens i still found it entertaining. Its wildly different from the first book but in a intriguing way. It picks up only hours after the first book lets off and puts the protagonists through some seemly insurmountable challenges. Book has alot of seeing the good guys die and the bad guys win, with some new allys and a few new enemies. A great book but unfortunately the final book is still in production with a Fall 2011 Release. So it will be awhile til i see how it turns out.






After that I paid 9.99 on the kindle for the newest release from Clive Cussler. Since the book was 30 bucks at Dillions the other day i'm realizing that this kindle might just pay for itself. Cussler has been writing novels based around Seafaring adventurer Dirk Pitt for over 30 years and they have all been great books. Alot of tight scrapes and implausable situations where Pitt always seems to get away unscathed with the treasure and the girl. While Pitt has had to mature and is turning the reins over to his twin children, they share the same love of the sea and sense of adventure. Only negative - that unfortunately I was only able to enjoy this quick book for 2 days!

Blog Slacker

Yep that's what I am!

We had a weekend to stay at home and do a whole lot of nothing so that's what I did...well besides the laundry, sweeping, heavy cleaning, etc. :) We watched a few movies (my suggestion is to skip Eat,Pray,Love- it was cute but lasts way too long), and a few shows, and I went shopping. I'm almost/kinda/sorta done shopping except for 3 and 1/2 people. And these people are {HARD} to shop for. I want to find the perfect gift but just can't seem to pinpoint it.

Sunday we watched the Steelers game at home with friends! Woo Hoo! No crappy food from Brooklyn's! The game was another exciting one and the stress made Max a bit jumpy! :) I think he/she takes after it's Daddy already! He/She might be born with a Steelers birthmark.

Max is now a PAPAYA! That's what he/she will stay for the next 2 weeks. It's face is fully formed and it's ears are working pretty well. Let's hope that Max is a fan of Christmas music because it's Mommy sure is! :) Oh and I was in the bathtub on Saturday for a little soak and I saw my stomach move for the first time! AAAGGGHHH! Talk about a weird sight! That's my little Max in there! Awesome!
The following photos are from week 21 and 4 days. I haven't had anybody ask when I was due so that makes me wonder if people just think I'm a bit pudgy?!? Ha I love it!

2 Turkey Dinners a few books and A Kicking Avocado and Almost Zero Exercise

The past week was another quick one. Monday and Tuesday flew by and it was suddenly 6:30 on Weds and we had the dog in the car and were heading to hoisington for Thanksgiving. Got into Ho-Town later that night and after some xbox and mythbusters i was passed out on the couch.

We used thanksgiving as an excuse to sleep in until 9:30 and then after a little bit of laying around the day started to pick up momentum. Visited with Kelcis grandmother for a while then it was off to Great Bend for Turkey Dinner #1 in the Best Western Activity Room. It was a huge delicious meal spent with A side of Kelcis family we dont see much so it was a great time. After eating and a few hours of converstation it was back to hosington to grab the dog and all of our stuff, then back to great bend to my parents house. My Sister and Mother are very particular about their family pictures so i had multiple outfit changes Kelci had packed for me and i wasnt to happy about it. We put on outfit 1 and headed to the Local Convent to take advantage of their scenery. Unfortunatly it was below freezing and windy which made for less than ideal photo conditions. But we braved the elements and got the pics. Then it was a mad dash back to the Heated cars. Fast forward back home and a change of clothes and pics round 2 were done and it was time to sit down for turkey dinner #2. Another huge delicious meal that i know my mom put alot of work into so the least i could do was load myself up with 2 full plates!

Then it was back in the car for the 2 hour ride home, since I had work at 7:30 Friday morning and Kelci worked at 9.

Friday was a long tired day but we got through it and then looked forward to a lazy weekend.

Saturday we both worked the half day and then headed home and relaxed around the house. In the evening i headed down to OK to hit a couple of Casinos with a buddy. Unfortunately i wasnt too lucky and came home with lighter pockets. It was my friends first time at a Casino and aside from getting handled on the Blackjack Table he cleaned up on the Slots. And was nice enough to use his winnings for several rounds of drinks. But after 5 hours between the 2 Casinos we grabbed some food and then headed back to KS

Sunday we slept in and Kelci woke up feeling pretty horrible. Saturday i had taken the tree out and put it together so her plan for the day was to get the tree decorated and she did a great job. Growing up I always had a tree with a crazy hodgepodge mix of decorations, and Kelcis parents had a string of lighted shotgun shells so i think she decided we need to have a pretty tree. So our tree is decorated in fancy ribbons and fancy decorations and looks much nicer than anything i could have ever come up with.

Sunday was also the Steelers-Bills game and after a quick start the steelers let the bills back into the game and it went into overtime. Luckily they were able to pull off the win with their 4th field goal and the team went to 8-3. We watched a pirated tv channel on our computer so we didnt even have to leave the house for game.

After that I headed out for chinese food and the new Harry Potter movie with a bud while Kelci got to work on her tree.

Monday after work I headed to the Y and after half a mile on the treadmill the 8 day old blister on my foot was still keeping me from running. So out of frustration i ended up on the exercise bike with the old guys in the back of the Y. Not exactly getting any sort of base training in for the winter but hopefully i'll get my butt in gear here pretty soon. Last year I didnt work out much from Oct to Dec and i know it hurt me when i upped the mileage last February.

Not working out let to lots of down time and im sure Kelci is regretting buying me the Kindle. I just finished my first book on it. The reason its taken me so long to read on it has to do with the fact that I was reading a Stephen King Tome known as "Under the Dome" The physical book version is 1100 pages and it was a great read. My favorite book by him is "The Stand" and that book itself is no lightweight at over 1000 pages.

I also finished reading "The Maze Runner" which is a young adult novel about a post apocalyptic world where some of the worlds brightest kids are being tested to help save the world. It was easy to get lost in so it was a quick read. Now i'm onto its sequel "the Scorch Trials"

I also finished a good nonfiction book "Jarhead" which the Jake Gylenhaal Movie is based on. And its a hardcore in depth look at the Marines from the First Gulf War. Seems pretty crazy to believe we'd send thousands of marines to war to protect the interest of the Oil Companies. It was a pretty vulgar book with a few parts that could be taken as offensive but i believe he was just being Realistic


Oh Yeah... the little boy or girl (max) doing what Kelci calls "backflips" in her tummy, was kind enough to give me a high five the other day.... which turns out was pretty darn amazing

Max sure is a mover!

Wow this week has flown by! I feel like I say that every week lately but seriously...it just whizzed past!

Last Saturday and Sunday we went to the Cheifs game with the ^WHOLE^ Boxberger family. We had a lot of fun and had awesome seats! Oh and the Chiefs Dominated!!! And I am letting my novis blogging skills show by telling you all that I forgot to take my camera! :( I can assure you however, that it was a GOOD time!

Monday and Tuesday weren't very extraordinary.

Wednesday our Credit Union was robbed. It wasn't at either of the branches Kevin or I work at but it was a very scary/"real-life" event for us all. The girls at the branch were shaken up but nobody was hurt and we all said a big prayer for that!

Thursday was Turkey Day! We slept in, went to see Grandma-B, and then headed to GB for the first feast of the day. We always celebrate with the [very] extended Kaiser side for lunch. It's fun to see family that you wouldn't normally see but we usually end up in our "family pods" anyway. And there were a few people missing (Uncle Ty, Aunt Kim and families) that I really would have loved to be there. :) Next we went to the Burkey's for family photos. Let's just say we are super lucky to have such an awesome photographer! We put on our cute clothes, braved the {slight} chill, and smiled until our lips went numb. But it was totally worth it...the unedited shots turned out great so I can't wait to see the finished products. After pictures I got to spend a ton of time with Lyla while Darlene finished up with dinner. What a cute niece we have...I'm pretty sure she loves us. :) Dinner was very tasty and the company was even better.

We sure do have a LOT to be Thankful for!

Friday was NOT Black Friday in this household as we both had to work. :(

Saturday we also worked in the morning but I spent the WHOLE afternoon finding leftover sale items. I ~LOVE~ shopping...especially for others! Kevin brought the Christmas stuff up from the basement and then went gambling with a friend for the evening.

*** A highlight in the life of Max***

Kevin got to feel him/her move for the first time!!!! Max is such a mover! It feels like he/she is just doing flips in there all day. I was so excited when I first "thought" I felt it but this is a whole new, exciting experience now that Kevin can share it with me! Keep on moving little Maxter...I bet he/she is just practicing for the swimming lessons Kevin will undoubtedly enroll them in. :)

And today--Sunday...well it's still dragging on. I am sick. Blah! I hate being sick...with a passion. Between my dates with the bed I have managed to do 2 loads of laundry, clean up the room, watch the Steelers squeak out a victory, and decorate the Christmas tree. Not too bad considering I've went through at least a box of Kleenex doing so.

Here's to hoping this cold goes away and my presents magically wrap themselves! Oh and Happy Week 21 Max!

Kelci says the Kid Looks Just Like Me…..Mostly the Nose

The past few weeks have been just absolutely flying by, last weekend was a hectic one, Kelci and I both worked Saturday then immediately headed home to Hoisington for a couple of b-day parties. 1 for our amazing cousin Gracie who turned 9, and then another for Kelci's grandmother who turned 80 something. So it was an eventful Saturday. Then Sunday it was church, some video games with the brother-in-law and a game of Pollyanna and then back in the car for the drive back to Wichita. My Mom and Sister were at the house waiting for us because they had come to town for a 3 day shopping binge. So we headed out to Brooklyn's Chophouse (players) to watch the Steelers game that night. So we all got dressed up in our Steelers clothes including our niece Lyla. Watched the Steelers get pretty much handled by the Patriots but it was still nice to spend the game with family. Then Monday we had a birthday dinner of Little Caesars and Kelci and I got to spend a ton of time playing with Lyla who is a walking machine now. Also I finally persuaded Kelci to give me my present a much anticipated Kindle E-Reader. An absolutely amazing present and while I know she doesn't get the point of reading books on "digital ink" I still love her for indulging me.

 

Tues was my birthday and after a few hours of work I headed to chipotle to eat a delicious bday lunch with Kelci, her mom, aunt and grandmother. Then the group of us met Andi, Mom, and Lyla at the Dr's office. We filled up the waiting room full of excitement. Kelci's sonogram ended up being scheduled for my bday which was pretty much the most amazing present ever. I've seen Kelci getting a little bit of a baby bump and of course knew we were having a kid, but actually seeing legs arms toes eyes a nose and everything was just absolutely amazing. It was thrilling and scary and awesome and just tons of emotions in a 10 minute sonogram session. We still aren't going to find out if it's a Maxwell or a Maxine so we'll just stick with max for now. After that it was a solid midday run, a nap and then London Broil and a Stout at Granite City. One of the best days of the Year.

 

Weds Thurs Friday were back to normal chill days with a little bit of running and a lot of reading, I borrowed my brother in laws Call of Duty game so between that and the wondrous kindle very little of anything else went down on my part other than a few runs getting ready for the turkey trot.

 

Saturday we were up fairly early so we could head over to Cowtown for the 35^th annual Turkey Trot 10 mile run. At 9:00 after pretty much no warm up I lined up in the mid-back of the 800+ runners and the gun went off. First mile was pretty crowded running around people but after a couple it started to spread out and I was able to slowly pick people off. I love starting towards the back and then working my way forward from there. Maybe I'm just a jerk but I'd rather pass people than get passed. Unfortunately right at the 3 mile mark I got a hot spot on the inside of my left foot, which 7 miles later turned out to be a pretty huge blister with a matching buddy on the other foot. I didn't wear my race shoes and just my trainers and like the idiot I usually am I didn't tighten them and that led to my mediocre battle wounds. Luckily the pain didn't slow me down and I was able to finish the race more than 10 min faster than when I did the same race in 2008. I averaged 7:22 per mile which for me and my total lack of running lately was amazing. I was shooting for a time under 1 hour 20 min and ran it in 1 hour 13.

 

After the race we dropped bax off at the Vet so he could attend camp for 2 days…aka a kennel, and then we headed to KC for the Sunday Chiefs game. Met up at the Hotel with Kelci's extended family…think 60 people... and then headed to the Ameristar casino for some KC BBQ. Then it was to bed early after the long day and long drive. Up early Sunday to head to Arrowhead for some SERIOUS tailgating. I tried not to let the blisters limit me and played some tackle football and devoured some delicious burgers, dogs and brats…at 10 am… then into the stadium and our lower level end zone seats which were absolutely amazing. From the great vantage we watched the Chiefs handle the pretty lackluster Cardinals. Then it was back out for post-game tailgating. After another rowdy game of Tackle football and another huge helping of food it was back in the car for the 3 hour drive home. Which traffic and road work were nice enough to turn into a 4 hour drive.

 

Pretty solid couple of weeks, now we have the turkey day right around the corner and Kelci keeps talking about how great our Christmas tree would look in the living room, so here comes the hectic season

 

Not sure about this all...

I'm going to admit it...I've been a little "grinchy" lately. And my attitude probably needs an adjustment. [Physically] I've been feeling great but [mentally] I'm stressed and agitated. And I don't want to be. I love this time of year...family, friends, and lots of togetherness. But it seems like this year everything is going so fast. I can't wait to see our families but at the same time we are "budgeting" the time we can spend at both places. Totally not relaxing! I want to put our tree up but can't "find" the time or energy. I get stressed about finding the *perfect* Christmas presents for everyone and I'm behind schedule! I wish we had more TIME! :)


From tonight on I'm going to make a conscious effort to be a little more cheerful! I'm going to remember:

that we are {LUCKY} to have so many people who {love} us
that we have jobs that allow us time off
that we don't have to worry about where our Thanksgiving meal will come from that we have a beautiful HOME to put our Christmas tree in
that we have the budget to be able to give to others

So here's to THANKSGIVING and to all we have to be THANKFUL for!

This is picture to put me in the "Spirit". Our first Christmas together. What a wonderful year it has been. :)

A bit of Randomness...

This week has just flown by!

I don't really remember Monday since I was so excited about Tuesday. And on Wednesday I vounteered at Catholic Charaties so that made the day a lot better. Today was a bit slow but I got home to supper in the oven (ham and potatoes), we watched a little How I Met Your Mother, and then I hit the treadmill! It's amazing how 30 solid minutes of hard walking can get this pregnant ladies heart a pumpin! But I just remember that I'm working out for more than just me now and it makes the whole 30 minutes better... well that and Kevin is right beside me playing video games so I'm really not alone. :)

Another random bit of info: That "strange" feeling I've been having for the last 2 weeks was definetily Max! Yep...he/she's a mover! I guess I've known it was Max but I couldn't be sure so I just put the thought aside. Now I ABSOLUTELY know it's Max. He/She is most active right before bed and right before lunch while I'm sitting at my desk. Oh what a great feeling!

And since I didn't post them earlier, here are a few pictures of our "2nd Honeymoon" as Kevin likes to call it.

Have a super fun weekend and Go Chiefs!

The Best Tuesday Ever!

OK so I don't really remember too many Tuesdays being very relevant so I'm going to say that this one definitely ranked in the top three ever!

First of all, it was my wonderful hubby's birthday! Happy 25 Bug! I got him a Kindle for his birthday and he pretty much loves it!

Also because I had the whole entire day off...and for good reason! You wanna know why? We got to see our amazing creation live and in action! Yep that's right! Max, at 19 weeks starred in his/her very own sonogram!

So here's how the day went:

I woke up to make a quick breakfast for the birthday boy and Darlene, Andi and Lyla (who were here for their quarterly shopping trip).

I did a few loads of laundry, took a bath and waited for my Mom, Aunt Kim, and G-ma to get here.

We met Kevin for lunch at Chipotle...which he {loves}

We all met at the Dr.'s for our appointment...let's just say there are already quite a few people who love baby Max!

Here is a group shot of the fam hanging out in the lobby:

Next was the sonogram:
Everything went fantastic! The sono tech said that Max measured great, had functioning internal parts, and was all-together just fine! That's exactly what we needed to hear and there might have been a few tears shed! :) P.S. We didn't find out the gender...so Max it will continue to be!

After the sonogram I had my regular appointment. I gained 2 pounds and again everything was fine.

Then Dar, Andi and Lyla headed out, and Kevin went home to catch some zzz's and do some running. We, on the other hand, went shopping for a "few" maternity items...let's just say I am one HOT MOMMA in my prego clothes! :)

We met back up for supper at Granite City (Yummy) and then Mom, Aunt Kim and G-ma headed home.

Kevin and I spent the rest of the evening relaxing and talking about just how awesome it was to see our baby! Here is a picture of my baby bump at 19 weeks and a few days...It really just appeared out of nowhere!

Well I think that pretty much sums the day up! What a lucky girl you say? Don't worry...I already know!

A national tragedy, some expensive melted chocolate and a few good reads

I've heard how blogging is pretty addicting but apparently i'd make a bad alcoholic because we've already started slacking. But I think it was primarily because we had a really boring couple weeks. That changed Once the 2nd week of November rolled around. Our 1 Year Anniversary came and we went to OKC to celebrate. Went down last friday the 5th and stayed at Kelcis Aunt and Uncle Kims - both named kim - house. Then after a ridiculous long sleep we woke up and headed out for some shopping and then headed downtown OKC to check out the OKC Bombing memorial. It was beautifully designed. Its made to make you stop and think about how horrible the bombing was and it definitely gave us goosebumps. Then we went through the actual museum which turned out to be a pretty awesome way to spend 20 bucks. Neither of us knew a whole heck of a lot about the bombing and we learned alot in a few hours

After that we headed back to the Kims got spiffed up and headed to Bricktown. We had reservations at a fancy Ristorante known as Nonnas. It was delicious and while the prices werent the friendliest it was worth it to make it a special occasion. After that we strolled around bricktown checking out a few shops and the riverboats and then headed to reservation #2. It was at a fondue restaurant called The Melting Pot. We had a pretty awesome waiter who walked us through the Fondue dessert options and we had a great time. It was definitely new for us and while were not used to a 40 dollar desert it was still worth it.

After that we headed back to the Kims, slept in extra long again due to the time change, did a lil more shopping then headed out of town. But we detours 1 1/2 hours to Tulsa where we visited the Oklahoma Aquarium. Which turned out to be pretty much amazing. From petting the stingrays to the largest walk-through Bull Shark exhibit in the U.S. it was something awesome where you would least expect it. After a few hours there we headed across Tulsa in some of the slowest traffic we'd ever seen due to construction. Unfortunately for a car that hadn't been much further ahead of us, they must not have seen the fully stalled traffic and ran their F150 directly into the back of a stopped semi. Driving by it looked like the back of the Semi had flatted the truck all the way back to the rear seat. By the time we drove slowly past it numerous people were running around the vehicle. Later we would find out that the driver some how survived the wreck but was trapped in the vehicle for 2 hours. Unfortunately her passenger, another woman was killed and a 2 year old in the back seat is severely injured.

Once we got through the traffic we arrived at our final destination. The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. I had never been to a hard rock and unlike Kelci i'm not a repeat visitor of Sin City so i was pretty excited. Got set up with a players card and got down to some gambling. I had wanted to play craps but the only option was poker and blackjack so i headed to the slot machines. Well 2 hours later i was 70 dollars richer and we headed out of the horribly smoky Casino. After a long 3 hour drive home we were able to call the weekend a success!

Monday was Monday Night Football for the Steelers. So we headed to Applebees to watch the game. Where Cody and I got pretty much wasted off of only 3 pitchers of beer and watched the Steelers pull out yet another close win.

Tuesday I had a pretty bad headache when i woke up but a gallon of water and some ibuprofen fixed that for me. Tuesday after work I had a interview with our marketing dept for a new job that they've created. (which as of fri night I havent heard back on yet) It went i thought extremely well, but they had quite a few applicants, both internal and external so i just have to wait and see

Weds was a lazy day and Thursday, which we had off work due to veterans day, was even lazier, but its what Kelci and I needed.

Somewhere this week i was able to finish a couple of pretty decent books. The first one was Kitchen Confidential - by Anthony Bourdain. Its basically a memoir about coming up in the food industry working in 3 and 4 star restaurants in big cities al l over the world. its kind of portrayed as a tell all of all the horrible things going on behind the scenes at obscenely expensive restaurants. A friend of mine whom i used to work at applebees with lent it to me and while i could relate to some of the smaller things, there was very little nudity, freebasing, and all around shenanigans that are profiled in the book. But overall it was a pretty worthwhile read.

Another book i finished was A Fighters Heart - by Sam Sheridan, it was a borders bargain book find and was very interesting. Its about a Harvard graduate broseph that decides he wants to test himself in the world of fighting. So he found people to train him and found himself in a few fights. Alot of the book is about getting into a fighting state of mind and alot of what I'll take away from the book is basically about how fights are fought in the thousands of hours of training and how once your in the ring its just about already decided. I can use that in regards to my triathlon training.

20 miles of running 2 football games a tiger and a lyla bug

The week started off with a road trip to see the Ho-Town Cards take on the uniquely named Lyon lions. They thoroughly handled and the BIL got some work done. The game was in Lyons which Mrs. Kburk thought was about 45 min or so away. Turns out it was actually closer to 1 & 1/2 hours...but hey its a drive she's only done a hundred or so times...so easy mistake eh?...

Tuesday was a sad day in the Burkey household. We sold the motorcycle to a buddy of mine and I drove it over to his house. Only cried a little

Weds was a round of golf. Had 4 pars, almost holed 2 long chips and only had 1 bogey. Unfortunately my game was all over the place and all the rest were triples and quadruple bogeys. Definitely not highlight reel. I did get a flu shot that morning so we can use that as an excuse.

Friday after work I met Mrs Kburk outside the house to have her take me to Dillions for some Dog Food. But we turned that into a cross town jaunt for some delicious Yamasa grill. By far the best Japanese food I've had. Its actually about 20 yards from my old apt but since Ive moved out of the uptown ghetto we don't eat there very often anymore.

Sat morning i was up early to drive the hour and a half to Salina to pick up our niece Lyla. My sister and other BIL were heading to KU to try and enjoy what they pretty much knew was going to be another horrible loss. But anyways Lyla slept the whole way home and then continued to sleep for the next 2 hours. We were finally able to coax her away and decided to head to the zoo. Well 25 dollars later we realized that a 14 month old baby......could care less about being at the zoo. But we got some good pictures and Lyla did enjoy riding a goat. Although i learned that I didn't need to dangle the baby over a fence to let her ride the goat...when we were 100 feet from an actual petting zoo but eh we got the picture. After that we headed back to the house for a enjoyable evening practicing our parenting and capped it off with a trip to Braums.

Sunday we were up after a full nights sleep. Luckily Lyla slept through the night and never woke us up!! But we got up had some breakfast and i headed out the door for a 8 mile run while Mrs. Kburk and Lyla watched some Disney action read some books and played with the animal train. Then once i was home we did the baby handoff so Kelci could get ready for the day and the Steelers Game

The game was once again on CBS at the same time as the Chiefs so we had to head to the sports bar to be able to see it. They had the back banquet room set up for the Steeler Nation once again and all the tables were full. Settled in for a great game and Andi and Sean came in at half time and stayed and watched the rest of the game with us. Sean was a good guy and put up with only seeing the Chiefs on the muted 19 inch TVs in the corner while we watched the Steelers in full 106 inch projection glory.

After the intense finish and the Steel Town win, we headed home to recoup and 2 hours later Kelci's grandparents arrived. We were acting as a B&B for the night and they treated us to some Delicious brick oven Pizza for supper.

Well that was the week, looks like the next one will be quite a bit less exciting, which is ok, I'm ready for some Mr. & Mrs Kburk Time!!

Lots to say...

So I have a few things to blog about tonight.

The first being my little brothers football game. It was his last game of the season and with a little finagling we were able to be there! They won by a whole lot and we got to spend time with the family so it was a [fast] but fun evening. Here are a few pics from the evening:

What a face right???

Second on the list of things to share is our weekend with our niece Lyla. We had a fantastic time and she was great! It's so funny to see how she is turning into such a "little person" with all of her faces and sassy personality! I think the best part of the weekend for me was to see how she {bonded} with us! Kevin loved on her so much and was calling her all sorts of pet names by the end of the weekend. A few being Lyla-Bell and Miss Gorgeous. He's attached...that's for sure.

And since I'm new at this blogging stuff and can't figure out how to get the pictures where I want them to go here is another "list" of pictures.

They wouldn't put something this cute in the zoo...

Doesn't she look so small compared to this big ol' Gorilla?

I'm pretty sure she wasn't supposed to be this close but Uncle Kevin just had to make sure she got the best seat in the house. :)

Happy little girl after a great day at the zoo!

On Sunday we stuck with tradition and went to watch the Steeler's with Lyla in tow. She was a great sport and even wore her Steeler's gear! I would say she was a huge hit as she had all of the ladies in the room oogling over her cuteness.

Andrea and Sean met us at the resturant to pick Miss Thang up. We had a quick lunch and they were on their way.

Did I mention we had a great weekend and can't wait for more Uncle Kev/Aunt Kelci time?

Happy Monday!