Family Time

After Camp was over we spent the rest of the weekend with family. Russ's Grandpa Russ (yes same name) passed away and his services were this weekend. We are saddened by his passing but rejoice that there will be no more pain and suffering. Some of the Graham clan even made it down from Wisconsin and Iowa. Sunday we went to Sue and Mark's church to hear Sue share her sermon. Russ and Carolyn played in a praise band at the memorial service Sunday afternoon and they recieved many compliments on their wonderful music. We were able to go over to Aunt Lynda and Uncle Gary's house for dinner and then to see Batman with just our immediate Pearson clan. Busy weekend! This morning was the service at the graveyard which included a few honorary NAVY members shooting their guns in honor of Grandpa and his service to our country. I had never seen that before and it was quite touching. Now we must get back to our everyday lives but hold memories dear to our hearts.

Here is a picture on Grandma Elva with most of her children. We have our angel Diane watching over us and Steve was unable to join us. Having a big family has brought them so much joy and their family gatherings are so much fun!

Camp Courage

Saturday Russ and I hung out at Camp Courage for the afternoon. This is a camp for sickle cell anemia kiddos in the Kansas City area. This camp is sponsored by a place called Turning point. "Turning Point’s mission is to empower and transform the mind, body, and spirit of individuals, families, and friends living with serious or chronic physical illness. We provide innovative education services and tools that inspire people to take charge of their illness and live life to its fullest." (I took this directly from the website where you could probably learn more about sickle cell anemia if you are interested). Russ and I have been involved with this camp for several years and regretfully could not attend this year. Thankfully we were able to at least go up for the first afternoon.

I think it is so neat that this has also touched Russ's life and he is now a big advocate of Camp and Turning Point. It was so cute to see the "big boys" faces light up when they saw him. They remembered some of the card games he had taught them last year and they couldn't wait to play.

One of the biggest highlights for the "little kids" is the sandbox or AKA the sand from volleyball. They can entertain themselves for hours! Note to self: Must have sandbox when we have children.

The biggest highlight for all of the kids is SWIMMING! These kids are fish and cannot get enough of it. Some of them wore swim caps so they wouldn't get their hair wet. I think all age groups loved playing with the pool toys and squirting each other.

It is has been so neat for us to be involved with this and enjoy watching these kids get older. We hope to get more involved throughout the years. If you are ever interested in helping out, check out Turning Points website.

Life with the Pearsons

Sorry we have no pictures but thought it was time for an update on our lives. This past Thursday some of us work girls went for another happy hour at Kona Grill. Yum! We were hoping to make this a regular thing but now are finding it difficult when to get together again. Russ met up with us at the end to eat a couple rolls of sushi before we headed out for some shopping.

Russ and I have had some college friends, Aaron and Precia shacking up with with us for the past few days from Michigan. They brought their newest addition to their family, little Miss Raelyn (spelling??). She is super cute and really well mannered. I hope they realize how lucky they are!

For the 4th of July we had a quick little BBQ with Russ's parents. With Russ's Grandpa in the hospital, we had to work around when we was going into surgery. Then we went over to our friend Michael's house for some yard games. We enoyed another BBQ at John and Kelly's before driving out to Corporate Woods for the fireworks show. It was great! It wasn't so great waiting about 30 minutes in the parking lot to get back home though. Oh well!

Saturday night we went to the Power and Light District with Jamie and Emily for some fun at Howl at the Moon, the dueling piano bar. It was lots of fun but decided next time we need to get there much earlier to get a table.

Russ and I have been enjoying our bikes that we got for Christmas. We biked down to Brookside to pick up a few groceries today. Boy was it hot! I'm sure I was a sight for sore eyes trotting around the grocery store!

So, that's about it for now. Not too many pictures since our travels and weddings are over for at least a month! :)

Dominican Republic

Russ and I just spent 6 glorious days in beautiful, sunny Dominican Republic for our friends Kevin and Jenny's wedding. It was so much fun! We stayed at the Punta Cana Excellence all-inclusive resort. They had great food, drinks, activities, pools, etc. Our first travel day was Mr. Russ's birthday. I made him wear a Happy Birthday Boy ribbon on his back-pack. I'll be such an embarassing mother some day! We quickly adapted to the heat by enjoying Banana Mamas, Coco Locos, Presidentes, Sammy Sosas, Pina Coladas, etc.

Jenny and Kevin had a gorgeous beach side wedding. Jenny was of course a beautiful bride and the setting was amazing! We then enjoyed a cocktail hour by the pool and then onto the reception. The food and drinks continued until we decided to head to the disco. We danced it up and a couple of people decided to participate in a beverage contest. Many years of practicing paid off!

Russ and I tried to enjoy some of the activities that the resort tried to offer such as a scuba diving lesson in the pool and kayaking. I have to say that I felt a little bit like shark bate floating over the ocean, looking down! Russ was happy playing lots of poolside volleyball with the group and the girls mostly enjoyed laying on their mats soaking up the rays. We would have to take breaks and float down to the poolside bar for a refreshing beverage every now and then.

On our last night, we all hung out in Kevin and Jenny's amazing suite playing card games and dancing around to the I-Pod. We ate one more breakfast at Toscana in the morning and then started our trip back to the real world. Customs took so long that we missed our next flight back to KC. The worst part is that our plane was sitting there but the doors were already closed! They said they couldn't open them for the approximately 13 of us that had missed the flight. So, we thankfully got onto the 10:40pm flight by waiting stand-by. We made it home by 2am minus one of our bags. Most people left the airport without any of ther bags! Oh well, the price you pay for traveling. Just teaches you to go with the flow!

Thank you Jenny and Kevin for inviting us, we had a blast! Congrats and best of luck to you in the future! You truly are a great couple!

Birthday and Father's Day

Yesterday we celebrated Russ's upcoming birthday and Father's Day for my dad and Russ's dad. We had both families over for dinner and gifts. Here's Russ blowing out his candles. Looks like he's really into it! It always good to spend time with family and enjoy some good food! Thank you dads for everything you do.. we love you!

Yet another wedding.....

This last Friday Russ and I made a 9 hour treck down the Louisville, Kentucky for my friend Sandy's wedding. NOTE: there is a time change in Kentucky. We had no idea! We got checked into our hotel and thought we had about an hour to get ready. I just happened to look at the clock on the bedside table which said 5:53pm. I took my cellphone out which said the same thing. The wedding was at 6:30pm! We quickly changed our clothes and rushed to the wedding. They had just started when we got there. Sandy was beautiful and the reception was awesome. We didn't know anyone else besides the bride but sat with a great couple. They had been married 38 years and were still crazy in love. Hope we are like that!

For those of you who don't know, Sandy and I did the World Service Corps together about 8 years ago in Korea. We have stayed in touch all these years and she was in our wedding. She is a great friend and I am vert happy for her and James!

Russ and I ate at a cute little breakfast place called Toast and then started our drive back to Kansas City. It was a whirlwind of a trip but worth if for a great friend. I always try and tell myself to do for others as I would want done for myself.

Amanda and Chuck's Big Day!

This last Friday I had the honor of participating in Chuck and Amanda's wedding. Amanda of course was a beautiful bride and the reception was so much fun. It was at the Arts Incubator in the Crossroads district in Kansas City. It also was First Friday so it was alot of fun with all of the people and the great weather. Of course us CMH workers cut a rug on the dance floor! We all wish Chuck and Amanda the best!