Early Morning In Missouri

The Three Graces

7:00

It's 7:00 and already we have had lots of action.  I was up at 6:00, made coffee in the new coffee maker but it was like water.  So Mary was up, got Tom up and they tried to fix it.  It was better but still not right; I think its the coffee, not ground fine enough.  Marlena was up as well at 6:00 and just drove off to school as classes start at 7:30, uncivilized I think.

Which Way Tours

From The Car Window

Yesterday was another easy drive and we feel fortunate to have had good weather and decent traffic.  We figured six hours to Lee's Summit and that's what it took.  We had only two stops along the way, once for breakfast and then at Kleinschmitd's, a country-western store we always stop at because it's so cool. It has an amazing array of boots, shirts, jeans, coats, vests, anything country-western and it's just fun to browse for 15 minutes and I usually end up buying a shirt.  Yesterday was no exception.

Nick And Peyton

We arrived at Tom's around 2:30 and were greeted by the entire family, Nick home from the University of Arkansas and Marlena from school.  We had not seen Nick since last March, the rest since August.  When we walked in, Tom was frying up meatballs and Mary was stirring in classic Sicilian pasta sauce, at our request.  We wanted Mary's pasta and meatballs for dinner.  It was fun to see Nick who was excited because he had just accepted a job with Commerce Bank in KC.  He graduates in three weeks, a semester early and starts working at the beginning of March.  Marlena is a junior, interested in nursing and doing well, and keeping busy playing for her school's tennis team this fall.  We only get to see them two or three times a year unfortunately and they grow up too quickly, the lament of all grandparents. 

Mary And Bella

A Dog's Life

Around 5:00, we settled down in the living room with a glass of wine and Nick's buddy came over. They have been good friends from 1st grade and both will be gainfully employed when Nick starts in March.  Peyton graduated in three years and has been working KC as an actuary and had just passed his first big test on the way to being fully certified.  He was excited.

Pasta And Meatballs With Family

We had a great dinner, just what we ordered, all the meatballs you could eat, lots of pasta sauce and pasta, along with garlic bread.  We ended up talking about the boy's work, how they were similar and different but both dealt with finance.  We also talked about books we loved and Nick wants me to recommend a book for him.  Peyton left around 7:30, with a doggy bag filled with pasta and meatballs since he's living in an apartment in downtown KC and accepts anyone's home cooking.

Nick left with friends around 8:00 to hit downtown Lee's Summit, so the rest of us sat around talking and watching some football and basketball while Marlena studied for her two tests today, one in Anatomy, the other in Spanish.  Both Evie and I were really tired from our drive so we went to bed just after 9:00 and neither of us had any trouble falling asleep.