Category Archives: Uncategorized

Carnival Cruise to the Bahamas

Spring Break came this last week – and we escaped the cool March to the warm waters of the Caribbean.  The girls have been asking to go on a cruise for several years.  After going on a Disney cruise eight years ago, they’ve wanted to experience the ship life again.

Linda worked diligently to create a fantastic 4-day getaway.  We first arrived in Orlando and drove to Cape Canaveral to stay the night.  The next morning we drove up to the Kennedy Space Center and did a quick tour.  What a massive and interesting place.  The space shuttle was on the pad and being readied for launch in April.

We then drove to the dock to catch our boat, the Carnival Sensation (pictured above).  We were on the lowest deck, but we did have a window.  The first thing Linda did was find a chair in the sun.  See if you can find her in the picture below.

I found time to sit in some shade and really relax – no phones, no emails, no work!

Our destination was Nassau, Bahamas.  We spent about 6 hours on shore at the Atlantis resort.  We went swimming at the beach and toured the Atlantis grounds, including the massive aquarium that is made to look like the ruins of Atlantis.  Very cool, indeed.

 

Just like any vacation – it was too short.  But we had a good time.  Be sure to ask the girls about staying up past midnight each night with the Circle C club (group of 12-14 year olds on the ship).

 

 

Enjoyed the K-State Run

You may remember my post in late January when I was down about how the Wildcats had dropped out of the polls and had tumbled all the way to tenth in the Big XII.  Shortly after that, the team found itself down a couple players (Freddy Asprilla and Wally Judge) and a second loss to Colorado stung all the more.  Changes were made and the boys won 6 games – including wins against Kansas, Texas, and Missouri.

Watching Pullen, Kelly, McGruder, Samuels, Spradling, Henriquez-Roberts, Peterson, and the other guys through the month of February was a blast.  It brought back memories of last year during the NCAA tournament and how tough the players were.  It was yet another “us vs. the world” scenario that has become so familiar to Kansas State fans.

Impressively, the Cats clawed their way back into the polls at #19 and was the #4 team in the Big XII.  Although far from the preseason #3 national ranking and favored #1 in the Big XII, it was a lot better than where we were just a month ago.

Unfortunately, our run came to an end – against Colorado.  After a first round bye, the Cats entered the game favored to win, but were trampled by the Buffaloes.  They sure had our number this year – sweep of all 3 games.  Oh well, at least we’re likely to go to the NCAA tournament (something unlikely just 4 weeks ago).

Mardi Gras – Mardi Paw

Today is Mardi Gras – or Fat Tuesday.  It’s the day before Ash Wednesday; a day to enjoy feasts and frivolity before the seriousness of the Lenten season.

We actually celebrated Mardi Gras a little early at our favorite restaurant, Cafe Roux, where they hosted “Mardi Paw” with a local boutique pet store & bakery.  Sunday morning found us outside the store with about 30 other dogs dressed in their best costumes for a parade led by a dixieland jazz quartet.

Sally picked up Third Place for her costume.  This included some expensive dog treats and a gift card to Cafe Roux.  Sally seemed to have a great time – and the cold weather didn’t seem to bother us that much because we were having fun, too.

Brunch with mimosas and Bloody Mary’s completed the morning.  Despite the plan to attend church later in the day, it seemed completely wrong to be enjoying parades, good food, and alcoholic drinks on Sunday morning.  Regardless, we had a lot of fun!

Happy Birthday, Emily

Emily celebrates another birthday.  The celebration started several nights ago with dinner for her friends at Buca di Beppo, an Italian restaurant that serves family style platters of awesome pasta.  The following morning found us at Cafe Roux for the Mardi Paws parade with Sally entered among many other dogs.  Dressed in a tutu, angel wings, and Mardi Gras beads, she took 3rd place among the large dog competitors.  We had brunch at the Cafe Roux with Grandma & Grandpa Maag.

Sunday afternoon found Emily at the store picking out a new phone – much to her surprise.  Because of the restrictions on who she is allowed to text, she’s not reached the astronomic numbers that Anna achieved when she got her phone.

Happy Birthday, Emily.  We love you so very much!!!

My trip to the Dominican Republic

Once again, the blog has been silent.  However, this time I have a good excuse.  I took a trip to the Dominican Republic with a group of friends from the on-line cigar community.  I hooked up with CigarTourism.com to be guided through many cigar factories and fields and be taught about the production of premium handmade cigars.

This was technically a birthday gift from Linda for my 40th birthday – a great gift, indeed.

The weather was warm (80 degrees) and I didn’t need any sunscreen because we were mostly inside or in shade.  It was a great getaway from work.  More importantly, I missed the snow blizzard of the season that crippled much of the country.

To read about my visit – click on “D.R. Trip Pics” at the top of the page.  This will take you to a collection of albums that are individually annotated.

Enjoy.

Wishing the Cats could play better basketball

So the Kansas State Wildcats started out ranked preseason nationally at number 3 and picked to win the Big XII.  There’s been stumbling and bumbling and now they are out of the polls and 10th in the Big XII.  Ouch.

We’ve never been huge basketball fans, but the improvement under Frank Martin over the past few years interested us and we’ve been hooked.

Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelley had some off-court issues with some impermissible benefits at a Manhattan Dillards.  In fact, their first suspended game was the game we attended here in Kansas City – a game we lost.  We’ve lost several more since then.  Unfortunately, there were many that doubted we deserved such high preseason rankings – seems like they may have been right.

Here’s hoping we can get better and start winning more games.

image from www.kstatessports.com

Snow days

So school was called off pretty quickly yesterday evening as the snow began to accumulate and cause lots of problems on the roads.  After several snow days last week, it seems the girls are hardly back to school.  However, it did give all the ladies of the house to catch up on “Cupcake Wars” and “Top Chef”.  Staying up much later than usual, Emily and Sally used part of their snow day to catch up on sleep.

As predicted, I shoveled the driveway and sidewalk a total of six times before I went to bed at 2:30.  Don’t think I was up all night shoveling – no, I was over at a friends house playing darts and enjoying a toasty warm garage.  However, when I got home a little after 1:00, the snow had stopped.  Cranking up the ipod, I shoveled several driveways (ours and some neighbors).  I may not have been on the bike, but I definitely got my exercise in for the day.

Linda’s piano studio has been hit with cancellations due to snow and sickness, so the lessons have been fewer over the past few days.  Make-up lessons loom on the horizon.

Wherever you are – stay warm and safe.  Spring is just a few months away!

Here’s a view from our garage early on in the evening; only half of the snow had fallen by this time.