Jeopardy!, Three Weddings, and an Anniversary

Our summer vacation is quickly coming to a close, as we start rotations tomorrow.  As excited as I've been for rotations, I really hate to say goodbye to vacation.  It's been bliss.

We had a quick trip up to Kansas City the weekend after boards, for my Jeopardy! audition.  I'd tried out online back in February, and was invited via email in May to go to KC on June 13 for an in person audition.  As it was going to be after boards, we figured it'd be fun to take a little trip.  Julia cried almost the entire ride to Kansas City, but here's a fun photo from before the crying started.

See the tiny reflection of Julia in the mirror in the back?!

Julia playing on the hotel bed!

While Julia and I chilled at the hotel that evening. Aaron went out to get us dinner at a place we found on urbanspoon, but I guess they decided to close early for the night.  Instead, he ended up driving around until he found someplace that was still open and ended up getting us chicken for dinner.  Umm... a TON of chicken.  I think it was supposed to feed a family of four... haha!  We put the leftovers in the mini fridge... only to forget them the next day.  Of course.


My audition was held at the Westin Crown Center.  While I was busy, Aaron and Julia had fun exploring the Crown Center and played in the fountains outside.  There were forty people auditioning that day with me, but only twenty in my room.  We took another 50 question test, played a mock round of Jeopardy! with some of the other contestants, and also had a personality interview of sorts.  It was a ton of fun, thanks to the lovely folks from Jeopardy! who made it their business to ensure we all had a great experience.  I was impressed by how far some of my fellow contestants had traveled to be there.  I'm now in a pool of people that could get a call anytime in the next 18 months, inviting us to fly to LA to be on the show.  We were told we'd get about 3 weeks notice.  Two thousand people attend the in person auditions each year, and 400 get on the show, so the odds were better than I'd imagined they would be! 

When I was done, Aaron, Julia, and I went to a restaurant called Grinders for lunch.  One of the cooks chatted with us for a bit, and he mentioned that the restaurant had been featured on a show on the Food Network.  We had their Bengal Tiger pizza, which had tandori chicken and crab meat, among other toppings, and it was unique and fantastic.

Before leaving town, we took a walk around the grounds of the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.  We were going to go inside, but had forgotten that many museums are closed on Mondays.  Whoops.  Julia was better on the ride home, sleeping most of the way.  I read the newest Louis Sachar book, The Cardturner, aloud to Aaron.  My grandpa plays bridge with Louis Sachar, and he'd gotten a copy of the book signed for my sister.  The book renewed our interest in bridge, and we've been practicing bidding and playing a bit ever since.

Enjoying the nice weather and sculpture gardens.

A Chiefs' fan, a tired baby, and a shuttlecock.

On Saturday, June 19, Aaron and I were honored to be among the bridal party for my sister Meghan's wedding.  The wedding mass was beautiful, the bride and groom looked spectacular and so happy, the reception was quite the party, and a good time was had by all.  We enjoyed getting to visit with all the family and friends who were able to make it, and it was special to get to introduce to Julia to many people who hadn't met her yet.

Last Friday, we had a wedding to attend up in Wichita, so we went up a bit early to enjoy some time with our family and friends up there.  The wedding was lovely and we had a nice time with some of Aaron's high school friends at the reception.

Julia, ready to go on a walk with her parents, aunt, and grandma!

Julia loved the little pool Grandma bought her!

Wedding reception

We returned to Tulsa the next day, only to shower, change, and drop off Julia at my parents' house before heading South for another wedding!  A friend of ours from med school was getting married.  It was in rural Oklahoma and, unfortunately, we got lost...
                                                                                ....so we were really late... 
                                                                                                               ....and we missed the actual wedding.  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Oops. 
But, the reception was fun and we were glad we were able to celebrate our friend's special day with her.  One highlight of the reception was when we were asked to go inside, as the patio area was being evacuated due to the presence of three skunks.  Shortly after that, we heard a loud bang, and smelled skunk.  I'm not sure whether the gunshot killed a skunk or just scared them, but either way, it made for a memorable story!

We did a lot of driving that weekend, but the time passed quickly, thanks to an audio book from the library: Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculée Ilibagiza.  It's a very powerful and inspiring story that I would highly recommend.

Sunday was our two year wedding anniversary!  My, how time flies!  It seems like only yesterday that I was the one walking up the aisle.  Our dear friend Julie watched Julia so we could go out and celebrate.  We went to the movie theatre to see a film before having a steak dinner at Outback.  We made a quick stop to Target before having a walk around our park (the one where we went on a lot of dates, where we had our first kiss in a thunderstorm, and where we got engaged :)  The evening was such a treat!

At our park after dinner, a lovely end to a lovely evening!

The past two years have been the best two of my life.  God has truly blessed us with each other!  We pray daily that God will continue to strengthen our marriage and use it as a witness for the love He has for His Church.  We also pray, as Tobiah did, that we may live together to a happy old age!  Here's to many more anniversaries, for us and for all the couples who were recently married! :)


"He began with these words: "Blessed are you, O God of our fathers; praised be your name forever and ever. Let the heavens and all your creation praise you forever.  You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve to be his help and support; and from these two the human race descended. You said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; let us make him a partner like himself.'  Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine not because of lust, but for a noble purpose. Call down your mercy on me and on her, and allow us to live together to a happy old age."  They said together, "Amen, amen,"" - Tobit 8:4-8