Rocky, Too!

Our month in Kansas City was action-packed. Early on in our stay we made a big change in our household. We bid a tearful goodbye to our trust squirrel...

...and introduced him to his replacement.

Paul was beaming when our wonderful salesman Sylvester handed over the keys to our 2013 Jeep Wrangler Sahara. The name for this new squirrel came easily. Cue the movie music. This bigger, better, four-door squirrel is named Rocky 2!

While we were in "replacement mode", I finally parted with my beloved, and extremely well-worn Keens. It'll take awhile before the new pair feels as cozy as the old ones. But, they certainly look a lot more attractive. 

November in Kansas City means preparing for the holidays. One of the wonderful traditions we continued this year was a day of baking dozens of homemade rolls for Thanksgiving with two of our nieces. We enjoyed celebrating the holiday with both of our families. 

Besides Thanksgiving, somebody at our house had a birthday in November. The birthday celebration included a dinner at Jasper's, one of our long-time Kansas City favorites. 

And, the celebrating wasn't limited to a holiday and birthday. Our friend Kathy invited me to her annual Lobster Party. This girls-only event was lots of fun!

Between all that partying, I did manage to find some time to work on a project or two. I finished this baby quilt for our great-niece, who is expected to arrive this winter.

We're big fans of KU basketball. So, when friends Jennifer and Lance invited us to watch our beloved Jayhawks live in Kansas City, we were delighted. This was our first time inside Kansas City's Sprint Center, which is a fantastic venue. The Jayhawk victory capped off a wonderful evening. (Thanks, guys!)

Before heading out of town, we made a stop at Cummins Coach Care for the moose's annual maintenance. With his check up complete, Bullwinkle is ready to roll. 

We won't be in Kansas City for Christmas, but we were enjoyed attending our niece's performance of The Nutcracker. What a wonderful way to kick off the holiday season!

One of Paul's big projects during our Kansas City was to have the new Jeep outfitted for towing. With a shiny new baseplate attached to his frame, and our fancy braking system transplanted from the old squirrel, we left Kansas City and headed south yesterday. Rocky 2 towed behind the moose like a dream. He's definitely longer than the original, which requires extra attention pulling in and out of fuel stops. 

The first stop on our southerly trek is a quick visit with family in Monett, Missouri. We affectionately refer to this frequent stop of ours as The Crossroads to Everywhere. After a very busy stay in our old hometown, we're enjoying the peace and quiet of this small town. Tomorrow, we'll head further south in search of sunny skies and warmer weather.