Living to the Full at the Big 12 Tourney!

This post is sponsored by Phillips 66. #partner

March ranks up there as one of my favorite months.  Warm(ish) weather, Daylight Savings, Spring Break, St. Patty's Day.  It's such a breath of fresh air after the long and dark winter.  I'm even a big fan of basketball during the month of March.  So when Phillips 66 reached out with an opportunity to attend the Big 12 tournament, and with a husband and kids who adore sports, I couldn't say no!

I loaded up the boys after school on Thursday and headed towards downtown to meet Craig, who had been there all day for "work".  We made a quick stop on the way at Phillips 66 to fill up with gas using their new Mobile Pay option on the My Phillips 66 app.  It was super easy to use and the app has so many great features, like displaying the nearest Philips 66 as soon as you open it.

Once my gas tank was full, it was onward to downtown.  I wasn't about to brave the traffic (and parking situation) near the Sprint Center, so I parked a ways away and we hopped on the street car!  Riding the street car may have as big a highlight as the rest of the night!  (Thanks to the sweet girl who took our photo while waiting for it to arrive.)

When we finally made to the Power & Light District, we met up with Daddy and visited the Phillips 66 game zone outside of the Sprint Center.  To say the boys loved the games would be a huge understatement!  The came away with some Phillips 66 goodies that they think is a pretty big deal!

Craig goes every year, but I had never been to the Power & Light District for the Big 12 Tournament.  Not that I was surprised, but uber impressed with how this city transform in order to host such an ordeal!

We finally made our way into the game and got to see Texas Tech defeat Texas.  It was the boys' first college basketball experience and though we missed seeing the Jayhawks play by a few hours (darn work schedule) but we were donning our Rock Chalk apparel anyway!

We only stayed for the first - of two - evening games and once again, enjoyed a ride on the street car en route back to our van.  It's always nice to do something unconventional, especially on a weeknight, especially when it means exploring this city that we very much love!

Our strategy as parents has always been to not allow our children to rule our lives or to stop us from doing the things we want, which goes right along with Phillips 66's tagline "Live to the Full."  So, a huge thanks to Phillips 66 for helping us to do just that while also giving our kids this new and exciting experience!

Last thing, along with Phillips 66, I am giving away five $25 gas cards over on Instagram!  The giveaway ends tonight and right now, your chances of winning are extremely high! 😉

A Rock Chalk Saturday

We normally try to go to a KU football game once each fall.  We're only about 25 minutes from Lawrence and it's pretty easy (and cheap) to get tickets for our family of four.  (Translation: KU is not very good at football.)  We also tend to go during the month of September - before the weather cools down too much and the craziness of pumpkin patch season hits.  This weekend we packed up our gear, along with our KU-fan neighbors, and headed to Lawrence for some good ole fall fun.  Our normal tailgate spot is only a block from the stadium, with one of Craig's co-workers.  They are so welcoming to both us and our crew of neighbors!  And bonus: I'm a big fan of that spot because they usually play the Iowa game on one of their t.v.s!  (Although this year, Iowa played later in the evening and we were home by game time.)  The KU game this year left much to be desired.  Let's just say the best part was the $5 freshly-squeezed lemonade I bought.  Brantley didn't seem to mind though.  That kid is sports-obsessed, I tell ya.  Win or lose, we still had a great weekend, as we always do with our crew of neighbors!

  

Holden's First KU Game

Last Saturday, we attended our first college football game in two years!  Two years!  Totally unlike us as we usually make it to at least one Iowa and one KU game.  We decided we would make it to a KU game this year, at the very least, especially since we knew Brantley would love it.  We got tickets with our KU-fan neighbors Bill and Alli, who also have two boys, James and Matthew (ages 2 and almost 4).  We decided on a non-conference game, in hopes of nice weather and for the fact that we might actually see a win. :)

We headed to Lawrence around 10am for the 2:30 game.  After not attending a college football game for two years, we wanted to be certain to experience the whole shebang, tailgating and all.  We met up with some of Craig's co-workers, who didn't take the whole tailgating thing lightly.  Walking tacos, beer pong, and not one, but two big screen t.v.s. (at which one point, aired the Hawkeyes and the Royals!).  There were also multiple kids, which was awesome for Brantley's (and Mommy and Daddy's) sake. 

We did have one major scare when Brantley disappeared.  It happened in a matter of seconds.  Literally.  I realized he was missing, but knew he couldn't have gone into the street because we were lining the sidewalk.  Still though, major panic set in.  We started hollering for him and searching frantically.  Within minutes, our friend Bill had multiple tailgates searching.  Then, Craig remembered that a minute before, one of the other kids had told him he was going to the bathroom.  At the time, Craig didn't realize why the kid was telling him, but later realized it was because Brantley was going with.  Craig ran inside and low and behold, there was Brantley with these two other kids.  Doing absolutely nothing wrong.  I'm sure he was confused as to why we were so worried...and why Mommy was crying...but all was well with the world again and it made us realize how quickly something truly terrifying can happen.  Now when we ask Brantley "Remember that time we lost you?"  he says, "Bathroom...downstairs."  

In comparison to that, the rest of the day was pretty low key.  Thankfully.  Brantley was in awe at the football game, both boys behaved very well, and hey, KU even won!  The biggest challenge was probably trying to get James, Matthew, and Brantley to all cooperate for one picture.  It only took eight tries...

 

It was a fun fall Saturday and we look forward to going again soon!

 

I'm Baaaaack!!!!

Confession: I haven't logged on to Blogger for a good four weeks!  What a shame!  I've been loyally following other blogs (well....when time allows) via Bloglovin, but between teaching a new class and having two little ones at home, my "me" time is pretty limited.  There are never enough hours in the day as is, and when I do have an hour with "nothing" to do, the last thing I want to do is stare at a computer screen...let alone attempt to put sentences and/or pictures together!  But that doesn't mean I haven't been composing posts in my head.  So, don't you worry--there are a few coming your way soon(ish): Holden's 5-month update (what?!?!?!), our mini vacay to Austin (which seems like FOREVER ago), a bit about my school year (and new class) thus far, a tour of my classroom (maybe...if I can force myself to take pictures)...and more!

For now, I'll leave you with a very random list of a few things that life has revolved around for the last four weeks!

{ONE}

Another trip to Urgent Care and another round of stitches for Brantley.

{TWO}

Craig's birthday.  Yesterday.  His 36th!!  He's old, right?!  We celebrated with dinner at Cheesecake Factory.  Random weeknights out to eat are the best!

{THREE}

Which leads me to my next point.  I gifted him, get this, a voucher for a Kansas City segway tour!  (I'm going with, of course!)  It's totally his thing, random facts and history about this great city in which we live.  He's excited!  I'm excited!  Stay tuned...I'm sure it'll make for a great future blog post!  (And there's a Living Social deal right now--two for the price of one--in case you're interested, KC peeps!)

{FOUR} 

Kinnick's birthday.  He turned six a month ago yesterday.

{FIVE}

I hosted a Dr. Seuss themed baby shower.  Oh my goodness, possibly the cutest and most fun themed baby shower I've hosted to date!

{SIX}

The hubs painted our master bath vanity white.  Bye bye ugly 90s orange!  Next up, our kitchen cabinets!!!!!!  Hopefully. *fingers crossed*

{SEVEN}

Summer seems to be a distant memory.  And the weather is totally encouraging that.  We've already reached an overnight low of 40 degrees!  Brrr!!!  

{EIGHT}

My grandpa was rushed to Mercy Hospital in Iowa City (via helicopter) over the weekend after passing out.  Turns out, his heart had dropped to a dangerously low rate.  He had surgery yesterday to install a pacemaker.  Hoping that he's a new man now!  Some pretty scary moments though, that's for sure, and thanking God for the positive outcome!

{NINE}

I started attending a Tuesday night MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) group.  It's a Christian-based group for moms of children ages newborn through school-aged.  The focus is on being a better mom, but mostly it's just an opportunity to meet with other moms in my same position.  I'm really looking forward to it...I mean, crafts and/or snacks every other Tuesday?  That's totally up my alley!

{TEN}

The Hawkeyes are sucking.  And so are the Jayhawks.  And the Chiefs.  But, the Royals?  Still going strong(ish) and hoping to make the playoffs!  Let's go Royals *clap clap clap-clap-clap*

{ELEVEN}

We were nominated for the Ice Bucket Challenge.  And accepted.  And donated.

{TWELVE}

And in case you were wondering, my kids are still adorable.  Cuter and more fun than ever!

 

Sesame Street Live

It's funny.  When you become a parent, things change.  What you thought to be one of the most important aspects of your life may no longer be quite as important.  Iowa football, for instance.  I was a pretty die-hard fan pre-Brantley.  I let their losses ruin my Saturdays.  Seriously.  I still love Iowa football, but if you would have asked me on a Friday this fall who Iowa's opponent was the following day, I would have scrambled to check my calendar.  A few years ago, I would have rolled my eyes at the thought of that.

For Craig, it was KU basketball.  He planned his life around KU basketball.  Besides me, it was his top priority.  Hands down.  And I could probably even give a few examples of when he put KU basketball above me.  (Right, honey?)  Never, did I ever, think having a kid would change that about him.

Turns out, I was wrong.

In November, we decided to buy tickets for Sesame Street Live.  Brantley was obsessed with Elmo at the time and we thought it would be the perfect mid-January activity.  (He still is obsessed with "Melma", but has developed a newer love for Mickey Mouse.)  There were multiple showtimes to choose from, ranging from Thursday through Sunday evening and scattered all throughout the weekend, so I asked the hubs which time he thought would be best.  We ended up buying tickets for the 2pm Saturday afternoon show.  We thought that would give us the perfect excuse to grab lunch somewhere downtown before heading to the Sprint Center.

A few days before the show, as we were finalizing our plans, Craig realized he was going to miss the KU game due to the show.  And not just any old game, but the KU/K-State Sunflower Showdown.  Seeing that KU doesn't play Mizzou anymore, the K-State game is probably the biggest rivalry game of the year.  The hubs was forced to trade in his comfy couch and crimson and blue for Elmo, Big Bird, and the rest of the Sesame Street gang.  Lucky him.

When I asked why he didn't think to check the basketball schedule before deciding on a showtime, he replied with, "I was thinking more about Brantley and his nap schedule."

Altogether now...awhhhhhhhhhhhh. :)

And not only did he give up watching the KU game (in real time-he DVRed it, of course), but not once did he complain about missing it and may have even mutured the words, "It's all worth it for Brantley."

Proof that becoming a parent changes you in ways you never thought possible.

As for the show, it was 90 minutes long with a 15-minute intermission.  Brantley was amused for about the first 40 minutes, but got a little antsy (bored, tired) after intermission.  (As did his Mama and Daddy.)  We had pretty great seats--the first row not on the floor--though I will say, there wasn't really a bad seat in the place because of how small they limit the audience to.  And because we were in the front row of our section, Brantley was lucky enough to get to touch a couple of the characters as they walked through the audience.  No one as cool as Elmo...but characters nonetheless!  (Telly and Zoe...I googled them.)

Seeing Brantley's face when the character's first came on stage was one of those moments that makes parenthood worth every frustration, every penny, and every compromise.  Even if it that compromise is Sesame Street Live instead of a beloved KU basketball game.

Daddy & Brantley

In honor of March Madness and KU's upcoming first round game, here are some sweet pictures of Daddy and Brantley reading none other than a Jayhawk book!  So what if I made them pose for the pictures... :)