Thanksgiving in The Missouri

I'm back. The Thanksgiving holiday vacation is over. Game on.

It could be considered suicide to travel across the country with a two year old. But sometimes, it just has to be done. Come April of 2008, we will have two little people to deal with. There is no possible way April and I are lugging multiple kids on a plane. So, with great fear, we made the journey back to the Missouri land for Thanksgiving. While some would call Missouri a "fly over" state, I prefer the label, "Holy Land."

Oh yes, we blazed a trail

I really wanted to bring Cade back to the Midwest so my family could see him before he gets too big. Since we had a week off for the holiday, this seemed like the best opportunity to travel.

The journey started off on Friday, Nov. 16th, at 4:00 am. We were out the door at 5:00 am. Our Midwest Airlines flight left on time at 7:25 am. The big man did quite well all the way through. The only hiccup was when we had to check his stroller and Thomas the Train bag at the security gate. He cried and yelled while the TSA put his things through the metal detector. Otherwise, his new DVD player, along with Clifford the Big Red Dog (5 disc set) kept him fairly happy.

Thank you, O Merciful Clifford

The trip was divided into two legs. The first leg was St. Joseph, MO. That is where my dad lives. He is on a farm just outside of town. Cade had a great time visiting with his Papa Ron and Grandma Val. Practically minutes after emptying out of the super Kia rental (aka "Missouri Car"), we were rolling in the fall leaves. Good times. However, more fun was spent with all my dad's animals. Currently, there are seven horses, three dogs, and approximately six cats. Only two cats are allowed inside. Cade bonded with Molly and Coal, the inside kitties. Cade was also a big fan of Max, the pony. I think he loved Max because he is not too big. Every morning, Cade would say, "I Feed Max."

Touring the farm on "The Pug"

Cade & Coal

coming up for air

Papa Ron, Cade, & Max

Breakfast is served

We managed to swing over to Corning, KS (population 167) for a pre-Thanksgiving extravaganza. My grandmother, Pat, has lived in Corning for..........I could not even tell you. Ever since I was as tall as Cade, I would make the trek to Corning to see my dad's side of the family. This year, we all met at Terry and Elaine's (uncle and aunt) for food and football. It was so nice to see everyone. Cade got to meet his great-grandma Pat in person, an uncle, two aunt's, and a handful of fantastic cousins.

The skyline of metropolitan Corning, KS

Grandma Pat and Cade

While the big people were eating, watching K-State lose, and catching up, Cade managed to sweep the floors with a swiffer thingy, play on the slide, and nearly kill himself by walking on the tarp covering the pool. Of course, Cade wandered onto the pool on my watch. He was chasing a ball, and he forgot the fifteen hundred warnings instructing him to stay off the tarp. I was hoping nobody noticed, but the entire Engelken/Rethman clan viewed the debacle. Lovely. Parent of the Year.

sliding down the prairie

Ella, Kristen, and Jessica Rethman with their little cousin

While still in the northern end of the state, we managed to see my step-brother and his family. Scott, Karla, Roy, and Rex are all doing quite nicely. Scott and I watched the Chiefs lose, and the boys managed to take advantage of the good weather and hit the swings. Roy had on his Dante Hall jersey. You have to respect that.

Cade and Roy: Two Wild and Crazy Guys just swinging

Before our time was up for the first leg of the Missouri tour, I managed to mix in a visit with an old pal: Todd Walter Meierhoffer. We grew up together back in St. Joe, MO. Our parents literally threw us together in the same crib when we still in diapers. April, Cade, and I caught up with Todd at his parents' house. Rhonda (Todd's mom) actually got a little misty thinking back at how we used to play together. Now, Todd is your friendly, local undertaker. No kidding. He is in the family business: Meierhoffer Funeral Home & Crematory.

Todd, Scott, and Michael Meierhoffer.

The second leg of our trip took us to southern Missouri - to the city of Neosho. That is where my mom and step dad are. We wanted to break up the nearly four hour trip by stopping for lunch in KC at The Plaza. There, Woodie and Martin Howgill treated us to a lovely lunch. Woodie is one my mother's nearest and dearest pals.

But it was after the lunch when the trip's Sports Center Top Play occurred. The Howgills, thankfully, were spared one Cade's most unbelievable blowouts in history. When I say blowout, I mean his diaper could not hope to contain its contents. We were walking along the streets of The Plaza, when Cade began to slow. He said, "So many poo-poos." I thought he was only repeating what I had said to him earlier that morning, because the ground at my dad's is peppered with horse droppings. Unfortunately, I did not fully comprehend.

As The Plaza has a handful of busy streets, I scooped Cade up to help us across one. I then smelled a soiled diaper, and we quickly saw a Barnes and Noble that would have a bathroom. After setting Cade down upon entering the store, I then realized the gravity of the situation. I was covered in poop. My shirt was toast. My left arm was thundered. I turned to April and said, "April!"

We made a beeline to the bathroom. I think only one person noticed my appearance. He had that, "That guy is covered in feces," expression on his face. I peeled off my shirt, and threw it in the trash. I discovered my jeans also had collateral damage. It was a similar story for Cade. Part of his attire was totaled. Luckily, directly next store was a Gap. New outfits were obtained, so we wouldn't have to hold our breath for three hour trip south.

For obvious reasons, this portion of the trip was not photographed. Sorry for the digression.

Once we did arrive in Neosho, the good times continued to roll. The weather was so cooperative (for the first five days of the trip). We were able to spend a lot of time outside. Cade was a big fan of the leaves (again). Neosho has a neat little city park, complete with waterfalls, fish, ducks, playground, and christmas decor. Before the weather turned bitterly cold and frosty, Papa Dick even took Cade for a spin on the riding lawn mower.

playtime with Grandma Sharon

Captain Caveman

Neosho or Niagra?

Oh, yeah. Neosho.

"I'm an excellent driver."

Watching Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving with Grandma Sharon.

We had several days of solid cooking from my mother. Fresh, homemade, doughy delicious cinnamon rolls, and big breakfasts were on the menu. This was above and beyond the Turkey Day spread. It was a week full of tasty morsels.

We spent a full week in The Missouri. Friday to Friday. Roaming across the country with a two year old can be taxing. The travel day home was a killer. We were spent. Three hours to get to the airport, a three and half hour flight, and then another hour to get from LAX to the front door. Energy was in short supply on the return trip.

Not even Super Spiderman slippers could perk up these super heroes.

We had a terrific time on our trip. Thanks to all of our gracious hosts. It was wonderful to see everyone. And remember, you will have to come visit us from here on out. Our suitcases have been burned.

7 Distinctive Facts

You may have noticed in the comments section (and judging by the number of comments, you haven't) that my good friend Kam "tagged" me. This means that I now have to list seven distinctive facts about myself. Here we go:

Fact #1: Carl's Jr. was the Arnold's of my teenage years.

On "Happy Days," everybody went to Arnold's to hang out. Even the guys who were too old to hang out with high schoolers were there. In Turlock, California (the key to the San Joaquin Valley, by the way), we had.......Carl's Jr.

Oh, yes, the home of the Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger and criss-cut fries was where we congregated on Friday and Saturday nights. The parking lot was full of cars. The Carl's was situated in a long, inter-connected strip mall, and the entire lot was full of cars. We would head there after football and basketball games. Sometimes we would eat, other times just chat. Often times, we would meet at Carl's, and then figure out where the real party was and head out. CJ's was the glue that held the social scene of Turlock together.

This is not the actual T-Town Carl's Jr, but it does look strikingly similar

Fact #2: The Hero Worship of George Brett.

I grew up in St. Joseph, Missouri - approximately an hour north of Kansas City. My formative years came during the glory days of the Kansas City Royals. They made the playoffs practically every year, went to the World Series twice, and won the World Championship in the magical year of 1985. The mainstay of the team was George Brett. My hero.

I wanted to be George. I think I still do. He was a first ballot Hall of Famer. It is unconfirmed he walked on water, but I think it did happened. I recieved a great biography of George the year he was inducted in Cooperstown as a gift(it was placed in a place of honor in Cade's nursery). April and I went to his restaurant on the Plaza in KC, and we came away with the souvenir t-shirt.

The classic lefty swing

I think it is almost unfortunate that George is probably best remembered for the Pine Tar incident. My favorite Brett moment is Game 3 of the 1980 ALCS when he went third deck off Goose Gossage.

Brett calmly approaching the umpire after being called out for too much pine tar on his bat

Fact #3: I drink Diet Mountain Dew for breakfast

I won't lie to you. Diet Mountain Dew is by far the best beverage in the history of liquids. It can just be consumed at any time, any place. If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times: DMD is the nectar of the gods.

My breakfast consists of a power bar of some sort, and the DMD. Hey, some people get their caffeine fix from coffee. I prefer my pop. I guess it would be more socially acceptable to have a $4.00 Mocha Light Frappacino with no whip every morning (which would not necessarily be a bad thing), but I am that secure with my DMD.

Fact #4: Hootie Rules

Everyone has their own personal tastes and preferences when it comes to music. My brother-in-law is beyond a die-hard U2 fan. A guy I work with loves The Police. I get that. I respect that. But Hootie and the Blowfish is head and shoulders above all other recording artists. You heard me, McCartney. I have seen them in concert multiple times, therefore I say this with 100% certainty.

Darius Rucker and the boys

You can try to convince me otherwise, but you would be wasting your breath. Look through the music archives and you won't find a better song than "Let Her Cry." #1 All-Time. Top of the Charts. Just throw in Cracked Rear View, put it on song #3, and thank me later.

Cracked Rear View

Fact #5: My Favorite Writer is........ Bill Simmons?

Shakespeare, Hemingway, and Faulkner? All hacks. Bill Simmons puts them all to shame. Do you really think that the first three writers mentioned could create entire columns based upon the Cobra Kai from the Karate Kid? Only Bill Simmons can accomplish this feat.

Simmons is known as the Sports Guy, and he writes a bi-weekly coloumn for espn.com. He blends sports with pop culture refrences. He specializes in dropping characters and quotes from 80's and 90's movies in his coloumn, which is right up my alley. My only knock on Simmons is that he concentrates too much on the Boston area sports teams. He is a New England native and die hard Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics fan. But at least he admits it. If I was a big time writer for espn, I would be doing the same thing for the Chiefs.

Fact #6: My Better Half really is my better half

I am so lucky to have married April. She is the best thing to ever happen to me. Beautiful and smart are just the tip of the iceberg. I love her so much, and she is the best mother to Cade. It is unbelievable to think it has already been 6 and a half years since we have been married. The time really does fly.

The Big Day (8/12/01)

April does such an outstanding job at making our house a home. It has been quite a large undertaking with our new digs in RSM, and her vision is really taking shape. And she makes great homemade salsa.

Christmas 2006

Fact #7: I am THAT Dad

I wouldn't go so far as to call me a "Little League Dad," but I have no problem in steering Cade into the world of sports. He knows the Angels quite well, and has become a Kansas State fan (he loves Willie the Wildcat). He is just now starting to catching a ball, and is able to throw it back. Unfortunately, he is right handed.

Celebrating the kickoff to the 2006 NFL Season

April rolls her eyes, but I have supplied him with various jerseys. Chiefs.....check. Wildcats......check. Angels.......check. I even find random Target and Old Navy shirts that have Tigers and Bulldogs on them (for Pacific and Turlock High respectively). Even though Cade has shown more talent in the musical arts (you should hear him sing Sandler's The Hanukkah song), he will be putting on all sorts of uniforms in the years to come.

This happens every time the Chiefs lose

Two favorite things: 1) the Angels shirt 2) Popsicles from the Ice Cream Man

Although I didn't play soccer, I was an orange wearin' Tiger. Cade is just 16 years away from being a UOP Diaper Dandy

This Bulldog logo from Target is a dead ringer for the THS Bulldog. You gotta love the "Tarjay"

This was Day 1. Granted, the lid was courtesy Uncle [b], but the precedent was set.

Seven facts were requested, and seven facts were delivered. I feel that we are all now so much closer. Peas and carrots.

The Cats Will Rise Again

You would think this would have been a terrific weekend. Veteran's Day allowed for a 3-day vacation. The weather in OC has been outstanding. But, sadly, this weekend turned sour. And quickly.

The Kansas State-Nebraska game Saturday morning absolutely killed my weekend. To put this in context, it was not easy growing up a K-State fan. Sports Illustrated did an article in the '80's calling K-State "Futility U." It was deemed the worst football program in the nation. The Wildcats went 4-40-1 from 1984-1988. This was a difficult pill to swallow. My parents went to Kansas State. My grandfather played for the Cats back in the 1930's. And I was raised on the Cats. We would take trips to Manhattan, KS to watch games. I had K-State t-shirts, sweatshirts, posters, and socks. Yes, socks. But it was tough rooting for a loser.

For years, this was the mascot, Willie the Wildcat. Lovable: yes. Intimidating: not so much

Throughout these lean years, Nebraska was always piling it on. In fact, Nebraska beat K-State 29 straight years. That is over a generation of blowouts. Not even Britney has been a train wreck for 29 years.

Nicely done, Brit. Nicely done.

But things started to change when Coach Snyder was hired in 1989. Immediately, he shook things up. Willie took a backseat. Snyder replaced the friendly critter with a logo that inspired the Wildcat Nation: The PowerCat.

With the addition of Snyder, and the PowerCat in 1989, K-State made the most dramatic turnaround in college football history. Sports Illustrated called Snyder a miracle worker. The Cats suddenly went to 11 consecutive bowl games, and even made Martin Gramatica a star.

Automatica Gramatica

During this reign of excellence, Kansas State broke the drought against Nebraska. The Huskers could not even defeat the Cats in Manhatten during an eight year span. Nebraska fans complained that KSU was running up the score during a big win. Life was good.

The Dali Lama

Big Hitter the Lama

Which brings us to this year. Coach Snyder retired two seasons ago, and the Cats have been up and down. The glory days may be gone, but we have beaten Texas two straight years. As for Nebraska, they are in complete disarray. Last week, Kansas scored 76 points on the Huskers. Their much maligned coach has his head on the chopping block. Their starting quarterback is hurt. An easy "W" for the Cats, right? Wrong. Nebraska decides to show up on Saturday, and drops a 73 point bomb on the Cats in Lincoln. 73? Is this 2007, or 1987? Holy schnikes.

Kansas State is now in jeopardy of missing out on a bowl. That is no beuno. They need to beat either Missouri or Fresno State to become bowl eligible. Missouri may be a tall task, and going to Bulldog Stadium in Fresno could prove to be difficult. I would be happy with a split. But would a 6-6 (3-5) record be attractive to any bowl? Texas Bowl? Insight.com Bowl?

Even if this season ends without a bowl game, there is one future Wildcat who will be rooting on the Purple and the White:

Caden. He is standing on the K-State stool that belonged to Paul Fairbank, who played end for KSU during the 1930-31 seasons

Thanks J-Dog Nuz

Several posts have been dedicated to the various projects undertaken here at the RSM abode. A special note of thanks was given to Gary Becker, the father-in-law / Schneider.

It was then pointed out to me that additional shout-outs are due. This makes perfect sense, because this was a definite team effort. And, more importantly, my skills in the home improvement arena are.......limited. April does not trust me with a power tool. Although she does have a masters, knowing that heavy machinery and I are incompatible does not require an advanced degree. For example, it was a cause for celebration when I successfully replaced my car's taillight.

First and foremost, Jaren Nuzman deserves major props for his crown molding skills. He has the knowledge, the skills, and the tools for just about any job. We have utilized his handiwork on both the condo and this place.

The master in action

This man would be jealous of J-Dog's expertise

Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools. I can fix it.

Examples of the crown moldings

It is amazing how quickly Jaren can put the crown up, even with all the angles.

Just a snippet of crown in this little nook of the kitchen (pre-backsplash)

Living room crown

The two master craftsmen admire their labor.

And to think Jaren will work for salsa and touchdown taco dip. And a little Cake Batter from the Coldstone.